Summer Trip - Amsterdam, Israel, Petra

[Siun_O_Connell]

@Ian Sutton

I’m always loathe to say anything is a must see, as our tastes always vary, but I would encourage anyone to walk through the red light district to allow an opinion to be formed about whether this is sanitising an industry that exploits, or giving safety and security for an industry that is as old as time. Early/Mid evening is a good time to go, as there are usually lots of people walking around and there is a generally fun vibe to the area.

This is very good advice Ian - glad you raised it. I took my daughter to Amsterdam when she was 16 - as part of a business trip she helped on - and walking around the red light district led to some very good and insightful discussions that I am so glad we had. Everyone had seemed shocked I was taking her but it really impacted her in nuanced ways that I’m glad she experienced.

We also took a train (about 20 minutes or so?) from Amsterdam out to Haarlem for the weekend and that was lovely - plenty of good restaurants, great center city all cobblestone and walking about, sitting in cafes and soaking up Dutch life. In fact, we cancelled our time along the Rhine to stay for an extra day and just wander about.

[S_L_i_m]

Adding some updated notes for Petra/Jordan

1. Stayed at Petra Icon Hotel. Cheap and good location. Don’t bother staying at the Movenpick, just go for coffee, beer.
2. Jordanian wine, the ones I had, are plain bad. I was initially surprised that wine by the glass was the same price as beer and thought the beer was overpriced: turns out the wine was worse than the beer.
3. Sana’a Yemen Restaurant, the current Tripadvisor #2, far exceeds Falafel Time (#1) - I would say this place offered the best meal I had in three nights in Jordan.
4. Sunset and sunrise are the best times to visit Treasury etc. but that’s not a revelation. Sunrise especially is worth the effort just because there’s less people. I bought a two-day ticket and did one sunset hike and a sunrise one the following day.
5. Wadi Rum - stayed at Bubble Luxotel, did a sunset camel ride and stargazing, both very worthwhile. Note that I went on a full moon, which makes the sunset camel ride just a Star Wars fever dream (basically you’re on Tatooine) but it means you won’t see the milky way at night (have to go on a moonless night) so pick your poison.
6. Driving in Jordan, especially Petra. Watch out for the humps. There are many of them, most aren’t well marked, and a lot of them have faded out in the desert sun which means they are damn near invisible. If you’re going to drive, either (I) have full insurance, (II) make sure your travel insurance covers the car rental deductible, or (III) stick strictly to speed limits, because otherwise there are good odds you will mess up the bumper. I did not drive in Amman but from my research it didn’t seem like a good idea.