galmc2Report

After much debate I made the decision to send a package of clothes I no longer wanted to carry around (but were too good to just abandon) home from Bangkok. The key culprit was a pair of pants. As it turned out, perhaps this was a bit premature.

From briefly glancing at travel etiquette for Jordan we knew that wearing shorts were a definite “no” for Heather and probably not cool if I did it. For our brief stop in Bahrain and the Jordan airport, I glanced around to do an informal poll of male attire to see if there were others, like me, who were wearing shorts. I think I saw like one other guy.

So not wanting to be a disrespectful westerner, when we headed out for our first day walkabout in Amman I thought I’d see about buying a second pair of pants. I was pretty sure my one pair wouldn’t last our whole 16 days here.

I assumed I’d be able to find a shop that offered traveller-type pants, ones that were light, resilient and with cargo pockets. After much searching I settled on a pair that meet one of the three assumptions (cargo pockets). It required a visit to a local tailor to trim 2 inches off the length, as apparently pants in Jordan only come in one length. I don’t know what one would do if they required a 36’ inseam or more.

The next day I thought I’d take the new pants out for a test drive. First up, a casual walk to an English bookstore/coffee shop Heather had found. We used a new app, maps.me to guide our journey which Heather had on her phone, so she led.

So off we went. All was good. Pants were a little stiff, but I figured that would work itself out. Then we started to go up. Up streets, up sidewalks, up stairs that looked like they’d never end. Just up. Until we finally arrived. Sadly the desired book wasn’t available, but the coffee was good and the pants had made it.

Now it was onto the next destination. The Citadel, which is a landmark in Amman as it sits at the top of a hill. Now, perhaps I was a bit optimistic that the hill we climbed to get to the bookstore would allow for some sort of easy transition to the Citadel.

Nope. All the way down, then walk to the bottom of the new hill and embark on climb #2. And now it’s warmer. And the pants as we start the new climb are getting just a bit stiffer and heavier. Not good. But I persevered with positive thoughts and a keen heart.

We finished our exploration of the Citadel and, after turning down a couple of hopeful cabbies (like we needed a ride DOWN the hill), it was off for our third stop, the well reviewed Al-Pasha Turkish Bath. After all the sun and sand in Thailand for an extended period we both felt in need of a good clean. A look at the map seemed to indicate that this was back down at the bottom of the hill, not too far away.

Nope. We get to the bottom of the Citadel hill, then started walking along the main road. Then I noticed Heather indicating we needed to drift right, which meant we were now GOING BACK UP THE SAME HILL we had climbed to get to the bookstore. And it’s hotter out. And the pants are defying expectations and becoming even stiffer. And I don’t even want to speak about the chaffing.

But being a good partner I continued on. One foot in front of the other, as we again went up, up, and more up. I tried to regulate the output of my personal cooling system so as not to sully my good hoodie. This did require that I maintained an exact pace that Heather felt was way slower than needed (as evidenced by her being way in front of me). She claimed it was so she would not hear my complaining. I thought of it more as an audible monologue as opposed to “complaining.”

At last we turned a corner and saw the Alpasha Turkish Spa sign. Then the key decision was upon us….what to do? Many options were available, but a glance at my lovely partner who carried such a responsibility to navigate us made the choice clear. It was time for a little pampering, so VIP was the choice.

It was as advertised. Just a lovely 2 hour break to get pampered, have a great massage and rid ourselves of any spec of dirt or sand we had carried with us. And most importantly, a break from my pants, which were just a wee bit lighter afterwards (perhaps because it was cool and downhill to get back to the hotel).