The long trip home...

As any traveller knows, this is the worst part of the trip. The flight to a new country is full of anticipation. The arrival (thought possibly dramatic!) is the start of an adventure, the final day? Full of packing. Repacking... finding a way to put all of Nur's breakables into her two bags without the suitcase weighing a tonne....

We have spent our final day in the hotel! We checked out at midday, got online to pass time, and will meet our driver at 1:30 for the trip to Amman airport.

Then it's falafel time -- Nur had her very first falafel at Amman airport -- and then we will contemplate (and probably give in to) Turkish delight.

Our flight is late. We don't leave until 5.30, but you know how it is. You must be there for an international flight 2-3 hours early.

From Amman it's off to Dubai for a five hour stopover (please let it be A. airconditioned and B. cleaner than last time!!) So much time in an airport is dangerous. We can both see ourselves shopping until our last JD drops, so we can save ourselves the hassle of converting back to Aussie dollars.

But what to do with those shekels? Something tells me the people of Dubai will not want them!

All in all, it's been an amazing trip. We wanted an adventure, and in some cases, got more than we bargained for. We met some incredible people. Those who have kept up with our blog will no doubt have heard about them!

Nur learned to drive a manual car (however she will NOT be getting anywhere near mine when we get home! Ruby has enough war-wounds already!)

We have hiked, climbed, sailed, swam, sunbathed, nearly collapsed from the heat...

Nur and our new Belgian friend got in touch with their inner Israelis in Tel Aviv and gave the bagel boy a dose of his own attitude when he gave Nur a burnt bagel ("It's okay... eat it" "No! You eat it! And make me a new one!") and our friend H a bagel with the wrong ingredients! Seems the customer is not always right in the Middle East!

We have crossed borders without being arrested (though we came close!), were asked if we had weapons on the crossing from Israel to Jordan (clearly we look very dangerous!), have our hardest task yet to come: Customs in Melbourne! Yes we have wooden items, and we will be declaring them! We also spent all last night getting every last speck of Petra and Wadi Rum dust off our shoes, so that we don't get them quarantined and fumigated on entry to Australia!

We have eaten falafel in every city we've been to -- best by far was at a little cafe in Tel Aviv with the most divine hommus... you have no idea... it was made better by the fact that falafel man kept bringing out the free food and drinks until we looked like oompa loompas and had to roll down the street back to our hotel.

I have had hommus at pretty much every meal. Hommus for breakfast? Sure. Bring it on. The more the better. Nur has been tempted by the Middle Eastern sweets.. her attempts at resistance were futile! They were calling.. calling... and they would not take no for an answer! Besides, it would have been rude not to try some, according to her!

We may need a second job to pay off our holiday. Maybe we could open our very own falafel joint! Would you like fries (Old Jerusalem style!) with that?