25th May 2010 - Petra, Jordan (Part Tw0)

We set off and, after 20 meters, we are scrambling up a scree slope that makes the previous steps seem like the stairway to heaven. At the top of the scree slope is a vertical 10 foot climb. Charles, despite the climb being twice his height and wearing essentially all terrain flip flops, makes the climb quite easily. I follow him up, but now start to have doubts about the wisdom of trying to get this photo. Next as we walk across more scree slopes, Fatima tells us the story of the American tourist who fell on this route recently and lay in the sun for 2 weeks before they found his body. The body was only located due to the vultures and eagles circling above. Fatima’s insistence that he died as a result of not having his medication with him as opposed to the fall, is of little comfort to us. We push on through undergrowth, scree slopes and open flat land. On the flat land, Fatima advises us that many snakes are in this area and to look where we are treading. I don’t have a problem with this as I am wearing military issue desert boots. Charles on the other hand has already started collecting cactus in his feet looks wary upon hearing about the snakes. Before long, we reach another vertical climb. Bigger this time at 12-15 feet, we go up. I am hoping they don’t keep getting bigger. After 40 minutes following Fatima we arrive at the ledge above the Treasury. It is now hotter and the ledge is about 6 feet wide. I stand up with the camera and take one shot as dizziness and blurred vision hit. I sit down in a hurry but Charles doesn’t notice as he is pulling cactus thorns out of his feet. I try to stand up again but what I believe is vertigo starts to come on again. Charles realises there is something wrong as I sit back down. He offers to take some pictures and I hand him the camera. It is weird, that I have never suffered from this before and this is not a good time to start.

Pictures taken, Fatima explains that we need to take a different route down that doesn’t involve any vertical descents. This we assume is good news.; we assumed wrong. We start moving along the cliff face parallel to the ledge. At first the path is wide and I assumed this would be the same for the rest of the journey back to the visitors centre.

The path begins to narrow and then disappears. It is at this point I realise that Fatima’s route requires us to cross a 8 inch ledge with a drop onto a scree slope of about 8 foot. Below was a 1000 foot drop into the gorge. We clear the first ledge with ease and relief. The path widens again, but I suspect not for long. After another 10 minutes, we reach a narrower ledge, which Fatima walks across with ease. She has clearly done this many times before. This one has no scree slope below, it is a straight drop into the gorge. I now realise that that we are in a place where we have no right to be without professional mountain climbing equipment. We get across this ledge but on the other side you have to climb further into the cliff face, before dropping down again onto the path. The adrenalin rush from these ledges and the rising temperature are causing me to sweat heavily. I am losing fluid at an unhealthy rate. We move on as the path reappears again, hoping it stays with us forever. It doesn’t. The next ledge is the narrowest yet. We need to climb up about 12 inches but we are helped by an incline in the cliff face which forces our body weight left. This is the hardest one yet; but by the the time we have cleared it I realise that we are at the apex of the path and we must now cut in away from the cliff face. We do, and it is a welcome relief to be away from the gorge edge. We climb up scree and through undergrowth for another 10 minutes and emerge into the open. A goat herder and Fatima are talking and we take shelter inside a rock overhang to keep out of the sun. To say we are tired is an understatement. I am also burnt on both arms.

Fatima points out a cave about a kilometer across a flat piece of grassland. She tell us to climb the steps to the right of the cave and that the path will take us back to the visitors centre. We set off, relieved that the ground is flat and that we are almost back at the entrance. We reach the cave and climb the steps. We get lost for about 45 minutes but eventually find our way back to the entrance. Back at the hotel, a cold shower goes a long way to reducing my body temperature and I sleep early. A normal day’s sight seeing turned into the most amazing adventure, albeit a risky one.

25th May 2010 - Petra, Jordan (Part One)

I have no regrets about what happened on this day. I didn’t plan the events or expect to take such a physical and mental battering. As we set out from the hotel, it looked like just another day of sight seeing. The plan was to walk into the gorge, photograph the Treasury, look around and get back to the hotel and chill. But even the best laid plans.........

We head to the visitors centre and buy our tickets for the day. JOD 60 later we head through the entrance and start a gentle stroll down the hill towards the gorge. There are tombs left and right, carved into the rocks by the original occupants. We climb one, look around and return to the path. We are hassled (gently) by horse owners who want us to ride their horses. But we are British; we don’t ride we walk. At the bottom of the hill we buy water from a drinks station and head down into the gorge. It is cool inside as the walls are high and a gentle breeze takes the edge off the early sun. Tour groups abound, Japanese, Korean, French and German. The gorge winds left and right and finally emerges at the Treasury. I have been keen to get here for sometime. It is a photograph I have wanted to take since I first read about it in 2004. There are a lot of cameras around but I suspect many will be disappointed with the results when they upload or print their pictures. My pictures are showing severe over exposure due to light refraction of the rock. I wind the camera down 1 f-stop and then another which seems to do the job. We move to the right of the Treasury and move into a more open area, where caves (probably homes) are carved into the rock face. Just when it appears we have run out of things to see a set of stairs appear carved into the stone on our left. Charles asks a boy with a donkey where the stairs lead to. The boy doesn’t speak English, but the donkey says they lead to the high sacrifice place. We decide that it is worth seeing and anyway will provide a high vantage point for more pictures. This is where the plans all go out the window.

We start up the stairs. I believe we won’t be going very far. But as we climb, it becomes obvious that this is a much bigger undertaking than I originally calculated. We climb and climb on stone steps that have been in existence since before the birth of Christ. Every time we turn a corner expecting to be at the end another flight of steps appears and we have to go again. I am suffering. The camera rucksack is getting heavier as are my legs. Breath is at a premium and I start taking rest breaks sitting on rocks. My core temperature is at an all time high. At one stage a Boeing 777 flies past beneath me and the passengers wave up. Another corner and a group of tourists, also climbing, appear on a staircase 300 feet above. It is heartbreaking. Charles, having a lower centre of gravity, and 16 years on me, is ahead and having to wait as my lungs prepare to exit through my mouth. Finally we reach a fork in the track. There is a young woman, sitting under shade, who tells us where to go for the sacrifice area. She points in another direction and says that is where you can photograph the Treasury from above. Her name is Fatima and later we will be better acquainted with her. Now I have seen the photos of the Treasury from above online. It starts to play on my mind as we make one more climb up the steps and find a most welcome drink station. I must look ready to die after the climb. I am red faced, sweating and in the early stages of sunburn despite the hat and arab head dress. As we sit recovering a group of about 10 German pensioners arrive at the drink station. They are carrying rucksacks and don’t have a hair out of place or a bead of sweat on them. We spend the next 10 minutes looking for the secret cable car they came up on, to no avail. We are baffled how they climbed (According to my altimeter) 1200 feet and look like they are on a morning stroll. We decide in the drink station to go for the overhead shot of the Treasury.

We head back down and are told by another lady that we will never find the ledge over the Treasury without a guide. Again, we are British. We take advice from no one. For some reason this advice starts to sink in and by the time we reach Fatima again we are convinced taking a guide is a good idea. She offers to show us the ledge, making sound like a stroll in the park. It wasn’t.

24th May 2010 - Aqaba to Petra

After a decent breakfast, we leave the Marina Plaza Hotel and head north for the road to Amman. It is good to have Charles for company and to be back in the Range Rover and in control of transport again.

We are told that Wadi Rum is close to Petra. Today’s drive should only be about 120 KM. 40 KM north of Aqaba we see a sign directing us right from the main highway to Wadi Rum. Clearly the information we received was wrong. We turn off and 18 KM later arrive at the Wadi Rum Visitors Centre. We are approached by a local and asked if we want a tour and for how long. We opt for 3 hours and he fixes us up with a Land Cruiser that looks like it should have been scrapped 50 years ago. It has no door handles, window controls or air conditioning. The cost for three hours is JOD 70. We set off and the first stop is “The temple” which turns out to be a pile of bricks. We move on to the “Lawrence Spring” which is a tree half way up a mountain. I decline to make the climb and off we go again to “The Cave”. This is not really a cave as you can see up to the sky and after 20 metres you can’t go any further. It appears that the majority of these “Tourist Attractions” are just crap. We don’t give up, and head to “The Sand Dune” which is well, a sand dune. After traveling across Saudi Arabia I am seriously uninspired. The last attraction is “The Map”. This is a carving on a stone of the Wadi Rum area that was clearly done by a three year old.

Now these cheap attempts at creating things of interest are totally shadowed by the absolute beauty of Wadi Rum itself. The area is amazing (See pictures) and a reminder of just what Mother Nature is capable of when she puts her mind to it. The sand is an amazing red colour and the mountains and escarpments are surreal. We finish our tour and head back to the main highway to get to Petra. We follow the signs for Amman and after 45 minutes see a sign for Petra the has been hit by a vehicle. This causes confusion and we ask a local for directions. He directs us left and we are on a road with two way traffic. Initially, I am not convinced we have gone in the right direction but soon enough we are seeing sign posts for Petra. The road is winding and we spend about 45 minutes in what seems to be wilderness. We round a corner and see a major town in the distance. Descending further we are in Petra and, as I tell Charles to look out for the Mussa Springs Hotel, it appears on our right. Immediately the alarm bells are ringing. The place I booked, and paid a $12 deposit on, had pictures of a pool. This place definitely has no pool and looks lucky to have electricity. I ask if there is another Mussa Springs Hotel and receive a negative response. They have no record of the reservation or the deposit and ask to see the e-mail confirmation. I fetch it from the car and they are baffled that they have no record of it. They have rooms and immediately double the price. Apparently the deposit does not go to them but is kept by the online booking company despite the e-mail saying the contrary. I try to reason with them to no avail. I tell them to shove the hotel and we leave. We head deeper into Petra and see the Crown Plaza Resort. They have rooms and a pool and tell the truth. We check in. Tomorrow we will visit the “Treasury” and see what else is around the area.

23rd May 2010 - Cairo to Aqaba

We say goodbye to Jenny and take a car from the hotel heading to Nuweiba. After the experience earlier in the week, the coach is not an option. We are in a rush and behind schedule, mainly because I didn’t receive my alarm call at 5AM and more so because the hotel have under charged me by US$ 170 on the bill and I want to get away before they realise their mistake. Jenny will take a flight from Cairo to Doha at 7PM. I have welcomed hers and Charles’ company while there.

We have seen the pyramids at Giza and Sakkara, visited the Egyptian Museum (Rip off that it is) and encountered Chuck and Betty. Chuck and Betty are from Oklahoma. They think they are in Mexico and believe that the “Egyptites” were not very clever as all the buildings in Oklahoma have windows. They must mean before Timothy McVeigh visited. In two recent surveys it was found that 27% of Americans own passports and that 31% of the people surveyed confessed to anal sex. So anytime an American ask if you fancy going somewhere “new”; they don’t mean you should go home and get your passport.

We depart at 6.15 AM and after half an hour and a coffee stop we clear the city. We use a road that is forbidden to foreigners but takes 250 KM off the journey. We are stopped at several checkpoints and questioned. When told by the driver we are British, we are waved straight through. We navigate the tunnel under the Suez Canal and we’re into the Sinai Desert. 4 hours later we reach Taba and the mountainous area leading us in into Nuweiba. Our driver Ahmed has never been to Nuweiba before and comments that he can’t believe he is in Egypt, such is the natural beauty of the area. We reach the port at 12.15PM. We pay US$ 80 each for the one way trip and head to an open air coffee shop for some drinks before we board the ferry. The official departure time is 3 PM. At 1.30 PM we move into the immigration building, complete our departure cards and get our passports stamped. We are ushered to the foreigner waiting area and settle down until the ferry is due to leave. At this point I notice there is something wrong with Charles.

Knowing we would be leaving too early to eat breakfast, Charles had bought a big bag of sweets. During the drive, he had managed to consume nearly all of them. Having drunk 2 regular cokes on top of the sweets, he is now in a sugar rush. I first noticed the problem when he couldn’t sit still and was wandering all over the terminal building talking to people abot subjects they have no interest in. Soon he sits down and is gibbering incomprehensibly and talking complete bollocks. I figure he is planning on becoming an internal auditor. I take the remainder of any sugary substances away from him.

The 3PM departure time passes, as does 4PM then 5PM. I start to wonder whether the ferry might be cancelled today. Then at 5.45 PM we are ushered onto buses and rushed to the ferry, which leaves at 6 PM. Only a 3 hour delay. We arrive at Aqaba at 8 PM and, after a short cab ride, reach the Marina Plaza Hotel, where the Range Rover is parked. Tomorrow we will head North for Wadi Rum and Petra.

May 17th - 23rd 2010 - Cairo

The Cateract Pyramid Resort is a scummy hotel where, for the staff, everything is too much trouble. But it has a bed, shower and air conditioning which meets immediate needs. I am two days early in checking in and the down time is most welcome for catching up with sleep,laundry and writing this blog. A couple of hours a day at the pool is helping get a base tan and collection of mosquito bites.

On Tuesday, Charles (the real one) and Jenny arrived in Cairo. It is great to have company. We visit the pyramids at Giza and Sakkara on Wednesday and the Egyptian museum on Thursday. The Egyptian museum is as big a disappointment as it was 10 years ago. There was talk back then of building a new museum at Giza to house the many artifacts in storage and still being discovered. Now, 10 years later, it is still being talked about. The museum is old and the exhibits badly labelled, if labelled at all. In 2000 you could bring cameras into the museum and photograph whatever you liked. Now they are banned. To add insult to injury, the death mask of Tutankhamun is not on display as it is on tour. This museum was a rip off 10 years ago and hasn’t improved since.

On Sunday, Jenny will return to Doha and Charles and myself will head back across the Sinai to Nuweiba. This time it will be by car and we expect to make the 4PM ferry back to Aqaba. From there the drive to Petra will be about 100 KM.

Country Summary - Saudi Arabia

I am humbled by the sheer expanse of this country. I will not publish pictures of Saudi Arabia. There are large areas of this country unspoiled, particularly in the north, and I would like to see them stay that way. This is a country of amazing natural beauty and, regardless of the man made issues that the country might face, has a lot to offer. The Makkah - Jeddah road was the highlight of the trip and I am privileged to have made the journey. Whatever the reasons behind the governments unwillingness to open the country up, they are guaranteed to preserve these areas. Whenever man and nature meet, man exploits for financial gain. With the way the planet is being destroyed right now, I hope Saudi stays shut. In generations to come this may become the only country on the planet with unspoiled wilderness still remaining. Long may it continue.

Monday 17th May 2010 - Aqaba to Cairo (Part Two

We head North from Nuweiba to Taba. Before leaving the driver (In Arabic) reads a list of do’s and dont’s. An Egyptian guy in the next seat translates for me. One of the rules is no smoking on the bus. We set off and the driver and the passenger next to me both light cigarettes. Welcome to Egypt. It is clear that the air conditioning doesn’t work and after 20 minutes I am soaked with every article of clothing stuck to me. We head north toward Taba along the beach road where beach club after beach club are under construction or recently completed. They have interesting and original names like “Cleopatra Beach Club” and “Beach Beach Club” along with my particular favourite “KumKum beach Club”. The mind boggles on what happens in there. We leave the beach road and start to climb through a mountainous area. The bus is struggling and I suspect you could walk quicker. The volume of passengers and cargo are taking there toll. We get to the top and a place called Taba Heights. Another 20 minutes and we make a left turn into the sun. From my own planning, and the direction of the turn, I know that we have now entered the Sinai Desert.

The Sinai is desolate and barren with only the occasional car coming in the opposite direction. Darkness descends quickly and it is obvious that the suspension on the bus is as broken as the air conditioning. I am uncomfortable due to lack of leg room and the realisation that I haven’t eaten since breakfast in the hotel. At 8.15 PM, after 3 hours of driving we stop at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. The temperature has dropped drastically and the wind provides a chill made worse by still damp clothes.The kofta, rice and bread are just what the doctor ordered along with the chance to stretch my legs. We are due to leave at 9.15. The bus won’t start. Luckily there is another bus from the same company also at the restaurant and eventually they jump start our coach. I guarantee we won’t be stopping again. We hit the road again at 9.30 and, with a full stomach, I think sleep will come easy. I drift in and out of sleep until the driver puts on an Arabic music CD at almost full blast. I later learn that this is aimed at helping him stay awake, and indeed on two occasions later on the bus veers violently as he nodded of at the wheel. With the introduction of the music, the Egyptian woman in front of me becomes the life and soul of the party and starts a conversation with everyone on the bus at the same time. She also starts to sweat up which adds to the discomfort. We reach the Suez Canal at 11.30 PM and pass underneath by tunnel. With about a 100 clicks left to Cairo and the road now two lanes in both directions, I go and sit in the empty seat next to the driver. Now there is a real art to driving in Egypt at night. Firstly, there is the full beam headlight lesson. The car coming in the opposite direction will lower the beam of his headlights. The coach driver does the same as happens in many other countries. Then as the vehicles get close they switch the full beam back on to blind the other driver. This is accompanied by hitting the horn at the same time in an attempt to inflict shock and awe. Secondly, with two lanes to choose from. the only option is to drive down the white line in the middle. As the coach approaches other traffic from behind (Providing of course you can see them, as most have no lights) the driver flashes his lights, sounds his horn and over or under takes the lorry or car hoping that the other vehicle knows he is there. On two occasions while I was upfront they didn’t and the brakes were on pretty quick.

We eventually reach the Giza region of Cairo at 1.15AM. 8 hours after leaving Nuweiba. I am so pleased to be off the coach. A cabbie approaches me and asks where I want to go. I explain and he feigns not knowing the place. I say I will find another cab driver and he insists I go with him. I tell him in no uncertain terms that I have had a long journey and in no mood to be dicked about. We drive off and it is clear he hasn’t got a clue where we are going. We stop at another hotel (You can guess what’s coming) to ask his friend for directions and his friend hasn’t got a clue either. The cabbie tells me there is no such hotel and that I should stay here as it is nice and clean. I tell his friend to look up the name of the hotel on the internet from the computer behind the reception counter. He does so and comes up with a phone number which he rings. The hotel gives the directions to the cabbie and we leave. I insist the cabbie puts the trip on the meter and tell him if I see any landmark twice he will have a problem. We tear through Cairo for 20 minutes and the Pyramids appear to our right hand side illuminated. 5 minutes later I am in the hotel. I sleep the sleep of the dead.

Monday 17th May 2010 - Aqaba to Cairo (Part One)

I have crossed the Red Sea, Sinai Desert and Suez Canal in one day. Henceforth, I wish to be known as Monty or Moses. But what a journey. The hotel people are again as helpful as possible with checkout and taxi arrangements. My last task is to cross the palm of the head of Security with a Benjamin Franklin to make sure the car is well looked after.


The ticket from Aqaba to Nuweiba is US$ 70, which I think is pretty steep. I suspect I have paid the whitey price. But Cairo beckons, and this is the only ferry across the Red Sea operating since the Duba ferry sank killing hundreds in 2006. I reach the ferry terminal at 11.30 AM, stamp the passport and head by bus to the ferry. I am expecting 20 -30 people on the boat at most. It is packed! You enter the boat from the rear, and luggage has to be piled on the car deck. I remove the cameras from the bags and head upstairs to the passenger cabins. The smell of unwashed bodies hits you like a fist. Most of the passengers appear to be Egyptian, with just a handful of Europeans. You need to get your passport stamped by the Egyptian Immigration counter on board. I figure that getting done early will allow me to chill for the rest of the voyage. I go forward, fill out a form and hand over the form and the passport. I get a receipt and told that I will get my passport back in Nuweiba when I buy a visa. I take a look around and ask one of the crew if there is an open deck area. He advises that you cannot go outside anywhere on the ship. I find a seat and settle down. The ferry is due to leave at 12.30 PM. It suddenly occurs to me that with 300 - 400 people on board, and no deck access, that this ship is a disaster waiting to happen. Sure, there are life jackets under every seat, but with this many people below deck and the exits only big enough for one person at a time, any need to abandon ship will be a catastrophe. I just hope it’s not today.

The ship pulls away at 1.15 PM. A crew member asks me if I am ok and proudly states that the ship leaving 45 minutes late is a new record for 2010. Usually there is a 3 hour delay. The ship reaches a top speed of no more than 3 knots. Now, I took this ferry as it is the fast one. I could row quicker than this. There is also a slow ferry that takes twice as long. It must have no engines or sails and drift across with the current. We reach Nuweiba at 3.00 PM and are kept on board for 15 minutes before collecting bags from the car deck and exiting at the rear of the boat. Now all Hell breaks loose!!!

We are herded into buses that are already full and have to somehow squeeze in more passengers. One of my bags has to be put across the drivers lap. We reach the main arrivals area and directed to the passport office. It is hot and I am carrying two bags with clothes and camera equipment. After walking around looking for the passport office for 10 minutes, I can feel the early stages of dehydration setting in. Eventually I find it and he directs me to a bank 400 metres away to buy a visa for US$ 15. Visa purchased, I return again, hand over the passport receipt and visa and receive my passport back in return. Dehydration is becoming an issue. I buy two litre bottles of water, drink a third of one and pour the second over my head. My core temperature has got too high as I wasn’t paying attention to it. A mistake made by many in these parts. In Luxor 10 years ago I helped try and revive an American tourist who collapsed in 49 degree temperatures near the Valley of the Kings. She was seriously overweight and white and had no right to be walking around the desert in those temperatures. I was the first one to get to her and going by the lack of pulse I have to guess she was dead before she hit the ground. Carnage breaks out as the larger luggage arrives on a large trolley from the ferry (See picture).

I head for the arrivals hall where I put my bags through the X-Ray machine only to discover that there is no one operating it or looking at the screen. There is mayhem as customs officers are trying to search 10 bags at once and arguing with all the owners. I decide to walk straight through and see what happens. I am not stopped. On the other side of the terminal I turn right and head for the coach area where I hope to find transport to Cairo. It is 4.00 PM and a man approaches me about a bus to Cairo. He tells me it has WC and AC; He must mean leprosy, it is falling apart but of all the buses looks the most roadworthy. I pay EGP 80 (Ten quid) and load my bags in the luggage section at the side. The bus is due to depart at 4.15. We leave at 5.15. The buses from Nuweiba to Cairo not only carry passengers, they also carry cargo. Every available space in the luggage section is packed with bails or bags for the journey to the capital. There are 15 Egyptians on board, 3 Japanese and me. By my calculations from my original drive plan, I had the Range Rover in Cairo 5 hours after leaving Nuweiba. God only knows how long this will take !!

Saturday 16th May 2010 - Aqaba Jordan (Part Two)

I arrive at the customs post at 11AM. The customs officers descend on the car and intrigued that I plan to drive to London. They are mainly concerned with machinery I may be carrying. The cameras pass muster but the secondary GPS causes a problem and must be referred to the Head of Military Intelligence. He will decide whether it should be seized. I change money, buy insurance and obtain a visa. Next a customs officer called Mahmood takes me to see the top military man, who we have clearly woken up. He looks at the Garmin GPS and decides that sleep is more important. He stamps the customs form and I am clear to enter the country. The customs officers have been absolutely superb and were extremely helpful in everything. I owe them a vote of thanks.

As I leave the customs post a brown merc pops up behind me. It drops back to 300 metres behind and follows me towards Aqaba’s South Beach area. I stopped the car on the road side and took a photo across the Red Sea towards Egypt. The merc has pulled over as well. I got back in the car and slowed right down to 40. The merc has to catch up and at the next roundabout I go round 3 times before heading straight back towards the customs post. The merc stops on the roundabout not knowing what to do. I drive 5 KM back to the customs post before turning back again. There is no sign of the car as I take the correct road from the roundabout this time. Whoever was in the car has never been trained in counter surveillance.

A stop at the passenger ferry terminal for the ferry times and possibly obtaining a triptic proves fruitless. The ferry has gone for the day and the issuance of the triptic requires a local sponsor. THis means taking the car to Egypt is out. I had the triptic sorted out in Qatar, but was let down at the last minute by a lying douche bag. I buy the ferry ticket for the next day and start looking for a hotel for the night.

I happen across the Marina Plaza Hotel. I ask about a room and, after much debate, they have one. I later find out that it is a 200 room hotel with 10 guests. The staff are so friendly and helpful and the weather amazing. This really is paradise on earth. I spoke to the front office manager and he has agreed to let me keep the car here for the 4 days in Cairo. I am relieved it will be in a safe place until I get back. I will certainly come back here again. I spend a couple of hours at the pool. There is a strong Belgian contingent at the hotel. The females of the specie insist on levering their 250 pound bodies into bikinis designed for an anorexic 16 year old. It is not a pretty sight. Instead of banning the burkha, the Belgian government should be looking to make it compulsory.

Today’s 297 KM and yesterday’s 777 KM bring the total so far to 2671 KM.

Saturday 16th May 2010 - Aqaba Jordan (Part One)

I depart Duba at 8 AM after topping up the coolant in the car. The road north is not the best I have encountered, but it’s two lanes each way and the traffic is very light. All is going well as I reach Al Banda’a. This area is mountainous and reminds me of the Swat valley in Pakistan. It really is the back of beyond. After negotiating the town I am 130 KM from the Jordan border. I figure that once I am clear of the town it will be a straight run to Aqaba where the border crossing is. I couldn’t be more wrong. The road out of Al Banda’a narrows to one lane in each direction, The surface is bad and winds between hills and mountains. What happens over the next 90 minutes is by far the hardest and most perilous drive I have ever undertaken.

The road is one blind bend after another. You are completely at the mercy of the oncoming traffic. If the lorry coming in the opposite direction crosses the white line you have nowhere to go as you are already within inches of the hill face. Lorries behind and oncoming are travelling at speeds of 120 - 140 KMH despite the conditions. There are frequent warning signs for camels and landslides. There is physical evidence everywhere that the landslide signs are not there for fun. 90 clicks from Aqaba I came around a blind bend at 80 and in the middle of the road was a camel. There was a 30 foot drop to the right, so left of the animal, into the oncoming lane, was the only option. Luckily there was no oncoming traffic, but had a car or lorry been coming the opposite direction, it would have been all over.

The road eventually goes into a long straight descent and the Red Sea is off in the distance. The relief is enormous that that stretch of road is behind me. I follow the signs for the border and exit Saudi Arabia. A short stretch of road and the sign says “Welcome to the Heshemite Kingdom of Jordan”.

Saturday 15th May 2010 - Duba, Saudi Arabia

I am awake at 8.15 AM. It is later than I planned, but I needed the rest after the trip from Doha. I am aching in the lower back and have the beginnings of a blister on the sole of my right foot from pressure on the accelerator yesterday. I check out of the hotel at 9, and head into Jeddah traffic. I finally break loose at 10 and get onto Highway 5 N. The car is drinking petrol like no tomorrow. Yesterday took 4 full tanks to reach Jeddah. I find a petrol station with the coffee booth open. I fill both of us. The priority is to get as close as possible to the Jordan border before midnight on 16th May when my Saudi Visa expires.

Dahaban is the first town on the journey, followed by Tawwal and Qadimah. The road condition is amazing and comparable to any western highway I have ever driven. I am pleasantly surprised. After Qadimah there is a long period of nothingness until Rabigh. The terrain is flat with hills in the distance. Masturah, Badr Hunayn and Abu Shainana are soon passed and it seems every town on this leg of the journey looks the same. Yanbu is a major oil refinery area. I am stopped at traffic lights every kilometre and the speed limit is 100. As I emerge from Yanbu, the first sign board fro Jordan appears - 750 KM. This is good news as I am heading for Duba which is 350 KM. This will leave me with just 300 KM to drive on Sunday and exit Saudi.

The journey up to Al Wajh is the most desolate and remote drive I have ever undertaken. Even camels don’t go there. I drive for two hours without seeing a car in front, behind or oncoming. If you break down out there you are surely doomed. This brings home to me the size of the risk I have taken driving across this country alone. Not only from the accident / breakdown perspective but from the overstay implications of the visa that would undoubtedly result in being locked up. I push on to Duma and have to decide whether to go on to Jordan tonight or sleep in Duma. The Duma sleep wins out which will allow me to arrive in Jordan during daylight tomorrow. I check in to the Al-Tal Hotel which is SAR 120 per night. But it has wireless internet and coke in glass bottles.

Friday 14th May 2010 - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

As planned, started out for for the border at 4 AM. By the Millenium Hotel there was a bad car crash with a dead man in a tobe lying next to the vehicle. What a final memory!!

I looked forward to journey out of Qatar with excitement. Even the lady on the SatNav seemed happier than usual. Reached the border at 5.15 AM and everything was running smooth. Regardless of the fact I knew all paper work was in order I was still jumpy that one small thing overlooked could put the whole trip at risk. I cleared the Qatar side and, after the usual problems with scanning my fingerprints on the left hand, got away at 6.

The roads were empty and I anticipated a good run to Riyadh. Famous last words!! Thick fog descended after 30 KM and visibility dropped to 50 metres. I figured it would clear soon, but it was around until 100 KM before Riyadh when the sun got up and starting burning it up. The fog makes the journey even more monotonous and I started to struggle to stay awake. I needed coffee, but every time I stopped for petrol, the coffee booth was closed. I had to find another way to stay awake until I could get a caffeine fix. I started singing with the IPod. My rendition of Nessun Dorma with Pavorotti, Poker Face with Lady Gaga and Three Lions with the Lightning Seeds soon had the adrenalin flowing and sleepiness dispelled.

I reached Riyadh by 11 and changed on to Highway 40 to Makkah. Here the scenery changes to a few more hills and is slightly more interesting than the route to Riyadh. Makkah is 900 KM from Riyadh and I need to cover 750 of them before dark. There is still no sign of an open coffee booth and by mid-afternoon I am struggling again to stay awake. The Ipod comes to the rescue again. Pavrotti would turn in his grave!! 280 KM from Makkah and the sky is black in the distance. This doesn’t look good as I guess from the SatNav that it is over the area where I will be camping. Sure enough, I make the turn from the highway and I need the wipers on full to deal with the downpour. I figure that the worse case scenario will be to sleep in the car at the Wabha Crater. 10KM in the road has been washed away and there are small rivers growing as I watch. It is way too early in the trip to risk losing the car, so I turn back to Highway 40.

I am tired, annoyed and in the middle of a bad thunderstorm. I figure there must be hotel rooms available in Makkah ( or even a cup of coffee ). I crack on to Makkah and the storm seems to be getting worse. The adrenalin rush from driving through the storm kills any tiredness I am feeling and I decide that Jeddah would be a better option. Charlie, my imaginary friend, disagrees and wants to go back to Qatar. He is getting on my nerves insisting that Harry Potter is a real person and that the Beetles “White Album” was written by Aliens. After driving around the Makkeh equivalent of Spaghetti Junction for an hour, I finally get on the Jeddah road. This turns out to be the highlight of the day. The road descends down cliffs with scores of hairpin bends. It is a real challenge to keep the car under control. The speed limit is 70. This limit must only apply to foreigners as the Saudis hurtle down at speeds of 100 - 150. I see at least 3 hit the barriers and leave debris all over the road. These include cars containing women and children. At the bottom it is 66 KM to Jeddah which is all highway.

Jeddah resembles Death Race 2000. I see 2 accidents and at least 3 near misses. I decide to check into the first hotel I find and see the Madina Palace Hotel on the horizon. 20 minutes later I am checked in at 8 PM. The speedo in the car shows that the journey was 1597 KM (That’s a 1000 mile in old money). It was a 16 Hour drive. I eat a club sandwich in the restaurant before heading to the room. I am out cold before the concierge can deliver the bag. I never did get that cup of coffee.

Friday 14th May 2010 - 4AM-Doha Qatar

For what I am about to undertake may god direct me, protect me and forgive me - Johnee Dee 2010

T - 5 Days and Counting

Under a week to go now and everything is starting to fall in place. All visas, hotels and ferries are booked. The car is in for servicing (8000 Riyals - GBP 1200 for 4 new tyres- Ouch !!). The situation in Greece is causing some concern. I have to watch what happens there to gauge whether the border with Turkey will be open when I get there. Plan 'B' is in place which involves a slight diversion and taking the ferry from Turkey instead.

I am looking forward to Friday and actually getting underway. As the excitement builds, so does the trepidation at an undertaking of this size. I realise that you can't mitigate every possible risk on this trip; and will have to improvise at some stage if something goes wrong.