Dead Sea and Dubai

Dead Sea at sunset

I spent my last day in Jordan at the Dead Sea which is about an hour away from Amman. I was at one of those resorts that has 12 swimming pools and a bunch of tourists everywhere – but it was surprisingly relaxing and fun. My first order of business was to head to the Sea and float in it. I was unsure of what it was going to be like – I only knew that because of the high salt content you were supposed to float automatically. When I first got in the water, I could immediately tell the water was different – the only way I can describe it is that it felt slimy. The resort staff said that you should only try floating on your back, because you don’t want to get the water on your face and in your eyes – so I tried it, and it was a mind-blowing experience. It feels as though the water forces you on your back – if you’re not concentrating on planting your feet below you, you will be on your back before you know it. Once you get used to it, it’s quite relaxing. I was there just an hour before sunset, so the sun was low and the entire sky was orange. There were probably only 10 other people there. A DJ was playing music near one of the pools and as I was floating he started to play “Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams. It was all a little strange, but perfect at the same time.

One thing I learned quickly about the Dead Sea is that there isn’t sand below your feet, but instead rocks, some of which are quite jagged and sharp. Although I got used to being forced on my back, I was caught a little off guard when I was about to get out, and put my hand down to steady myself and  it landed on a sharp rock and of course I sliced my wrist. The last place you want to be when you cut yourself is submerged in the saltiest body of water on Earth. It burned like no other. The staff put an unnecessarily large bandage on it, which was a nice way to end the trip to Jordan.

The next morning I left for India – but I travelled via Dubai and had a seven hour layover there. Luckily, my mom’s cousin lives there and he came to meet me and take me to dinner. I had been to Dubai two years ago and there was already a big difference. Buildings were still going up everywhere and the metro system was now complete. The tallest building in the world was still under construction when I was last there but was finished this time. It is part of a large complex that includes a new shopping mall, restaurants, and a large water fountain. The mall has a special penguin display, making it the first time penguins have been in the Middle East. We ate dinner at one of the restaurants and sat on the patio alongside the water fountain so that we could catch the musical fountain show every 15 minutes. It was like the fountain show at the Bellagio in Vegas, except 10 times bigger and better. It was amazing to see, just as all of Dubai is. 

We got stuck in some traffic after dinner and I had to run through the ultra-modern Emirates terminal at the Dubai Airport but made my flight to Bangalore with 10 minutes to spare.

Dead Sea at sunset part 2

Salt in the wound - literally