In Jordan …
October 22, 2007 | 8:55 pmI am currently in Jordan for a while … however, let’s examine how one would get there.
Moving between the West Bank and Jordan is almost always a dreadful trip. The whole experience is usually referred to as: “crossing the bridge“. You set out at the Palestinian Istira7a which takes a bit more time than it should, and is not quite an Istira7a. Then you set out on your first bus, and wait at a stopping point where the Palestinians will check your passport and ID.
After that, you are done with the Palestinian side …. onto the Israeli side. The bus moves a couple of hundred meters and then it stops, everybody exits and goes through a metal detector. Then everybody gets back onto another bus that takes another 300 meters or so to enter the “bridge facility building”. Before you enter that building, everybody lines up, and goes through another metal detector. At this metal detector you can actually see the second metal detector, which is only 15 meters away!!
After going through yet another metal detector (the third one), you get your papers checked (speed varies). Then, you get into another bus, and go to the area where you’ll meet your bags. This is an open area, where your bags are dumped on asphalt in the toasting hot weather. The surprise is that your bags will be traveling in a separate truck that will arrive about 30-45 minutes after you get there.
You get your bags and get on yet another bus that will finally cross that bridge and go into Jordan. After that you get into the Jordanian facility, get your papers checked after filling out that white sheet of paper, and then off you go. ….. By the way, the fixed the Jordanian facility so that everybody is issued a number upon entrance, and is served in order. This is good because it fixes all the shoving, pushing, and line cutting.
This trip takes an average of 5 hours (depending on the number of travelers). The frustrating thing is that Amman is geographically close to us. My grandfather tells us that it used to take him only 45 minutes to an hour to get to Amman in the good old days!!!
Eh … anyway ….. i am in finally in Amman after this long trip … i guess i should enjoy my time and get enough stamina for the trip back 
Qabbani
On October 22, 2007 | 11:59 pmًweclome to Jordan
hmm we might had a chance to meet u here
have a nice time , o 7amdellah 3a salameh
za3tar
On October 23, 2007 | 8:23 amya hala feek!
… sure, that’d be cool.
Jad
On October 23, 2007 | 9:55 amYa Ahlan o Alf mar7ab.
za3tar
On October 23, 2007 | 10:02 amYa hala bil mhalee.
Ola
On October 24, 2007 | 2:33 pmWelcome to Jordan! Hope the stay will be worth the trouble
We just had a bloggers meeting yesterday (they said it was a friends meeting to make it less official but technically it was an unofficial bloggers meeting :D) didn’t know you were here!
za3tar
On October 24, 2007 | 3:58 pmThank You! ..
Wow, that is interesting … so the blogger community in Jordan has regular meetings ??!! I’ve read about a couple of those meetings in one blog, but i thought it was more of a small group of friends who happen to be blogging.
I wonder what goes on in these meetings ? Are the real life identities of these bloggers similar to their digital ones ?
Qabbani
On October 24, 2007 | 7:16 pmhehe it was fun , and we enjoy it
i forget about u
sorry i should invite u to come hehe , any way its gr8
nothing go there , we just site talk to each other sometimes about blogging and some posts , or we just talk about life and things going around
u feel some are soooooooooooo way than there online identities and other when u hear them u feel like you read there post s live
Dandoon
On October 27, 2007 | 9:03 amEnjoy your stay in Amman
“This is an open area, where your bags are dumped on asphalt in the toasting hot weather. The surprise is that your bags will be traveling in a separate truck that will arrive about 30-45 minutes after you get there.”
I think this is the worst part about the trip, I actually remember that this area is surrounded with mountains from all sides, which makes it hotter than any other area in the valley. Plus people pack the weirdest things from Palestine. The process usually takes longer in the summer. I remember it took us 8-10 hours to reach Jenin last time we visited, probably because we visited in the summer, and because of all the detours we had to take. But it was worth it
Allah y3eenak 3al raj3a !
za3tar
On October 27, 2007 | 9:58 pmYeah … it sucks! But hopefully it should not be crowded this time of year!
Deemco
On October 28, 2007 | 11:59 pmI HATE crossing the bridge, it’s horrible! We do it every year, some times more than once, because most of my relatives live in jerusalem. Palestine is such a beautiful country, but it’s so hard getting into it. It’s such a hassle. It can be a very easy and simple trip if it weren’t for all the unnecessary complications.
Welcome to Jordan, I hope you enjoy ur time here