We had a chance to have a quick look round Aqaba before we left. We could see Israel quite clearly across the bay. Our first impressions of Jordan are positive - it is modern, more developed with less poverty than Egypt but it is definitely more expensive. The drive to Petra took us along a modern road and then through mountains where we turned off to Petra. We checked into our hotel and decided to go off to see ' Al Beidha' -aka little Petra. We hired a 4x4...

The end of the holiday and back on the road. We were up for a 7:30 breakfast and 8:00 Taxi to Nuwebia. Plan was to go Petra via ferry from Nuwebia to Aqaba (we needed to miss out Israel to ensure we are allowed into Syria). I wanted to go back to Cairo as the FCO travel restrictions had now been lifted but the rest of the group revolted and said stick to the original plan. I relented. First part of the trip went well - an hour long ride to the port of Nuwebia...

The end of the holiday and back on the road. We were up for a 7:30 breakfast and 8:00 Taxi to Nuwebia. Plan was to go Petra via ferry from Nuwebia to Aqaba (we needed to miss out Israel to ensure we are allowed into Syria). I wanted to go back to Cairo as the FCO travel restrictions had now been lifted but the rest of the group revolted and said stick to the original plan. I relented. First part of the trip went well - an hour long ride to the port of Nuwebia...

After our night in the Sharm resort, we were singularly unimpressed with our hotel, It was finished to a high standard but the place was filthy and nothing worked - even got a shock off a tap. This place will not get a good report on trip advisor. After having an awful and expensive breakfast in Sharm, we had a look round the upmarket area in Naam bay. All very nice, but still a concrete jungle (albeit looking onto a nice beach). After this, we headed out of t...

We had all opted to take the trip to see sunrise over Mount Sinai. The mountain is at about 2,200 metres and the climb started at St Katherine's monastery. The trip to Mount Sinai started at 11:00 pm. We had managed a few hours sleep beforehand. It started with a minibus ride up to St Katherine's and the bus arrived at 12:30. We were with another group of 3 people and were met by our guide. We set off with the track lit by a full moon. The route up the mountai...