Petra: Its A Small World Afterall!

That morning I was talking to Yoko in the lobby when a familiar voice says my name. It turns out that Brian, a friend of a friend, that I had met in Dubai is also at Petra. We decide to check out Petra together and all jump in the truck for the morning ride down to the entrance. During the ride down, Yoko realizes that she has forgotten her ticket.



It is best to view the Treasury, which is usually the picture most people associate with Petra, in the morning. The light doesn’t reach the canyon crevice until 8-9am. Luckily it is best to view the Monastery in the afternoon.



Petra was absolutely amazing. The sheer size of both the Treasury and Monastery are incredible. You really have to see people next to both the carvings to see their true size. I ended walking up to the Monastery with Brian. Then around early afternoon we had explored most places in Petra. Brian headed back and I stayed to wait for the sunset at the “World’s End” which is near the Monastery.



Around sunset I meet up with a group of students that were on a trip to visit Petra. After taking some pictures for them at the “World’s End” we all trek down towards the entrance. It is about a 45 minute walk from the end to the entrance and they end up being late and running towards the entrance. It was kind of interesting to see. I say good bye to that group of acquaintances, I head towards my hotel.



After a long walk back up towards the hilltop hotel of Valentine, I see two familiar figures walking towards me. It was Nick and Paulina, the two Aussies I had traveled with in Morocco. I knew they were going to try to meet up with me either here or in Egypt. We hit a hookah stand after dinner and get some tea. That night we said our goodbyes as I am leaving tomorrow and they are staying to check out Petra.



The funny thing is that the entire time I’m meeting people at Valentine they always bring up how much of a bitch the female owner is. She’s even notoriously mentioned in the Lonely Planet as being less than polite or friendly. One of the first things that Paulina and Nick mention is that very fact. In my experience, the owner was really nice, but then again I was checked in by the husband and not the wife.