Tel Aviv, Israel to Amman, Jordan
07.06.2010
I got up at 4a this morning to catch a cab to the airport at 4:30a. My flight was scheduled to leave at 8:15a and when flying out of Ben Gurion Airport, it is highly recommended to arrive at least three hours before your flight to get through all of the security.
I got to the airport a little bit before 5a and started the process of going though security. I got in line where the Royal Jordanian counter was located. The line was not too bad and I made it through without any problems. I continued along and put my bags on the conveyor belt to go through the x-ray machine. No one told me to go anywhere else so I waited until the Royal Jordanian counter opened only to find out I still had to have my bags searched. Grrrr!!! I went back to that line and waited forever to get my bags searched. This time it was fairly painless. I made some small talk with the guy as he went through my bags. He had never been to the U.S. but wants to do a coast-to-coast trip someday so I was giving him travel tips as he was rummaging through my things.
After that, I checked in for my flight and then went to the next security check. This included going through the metal detector and sending my carry-on through the x-ray AGAIN. Something in this particular pair of pants I am wearing keeps setting off the metal detectors, so I got the pat down and also had my carry-on bag searched thoroughly. I carry all my electronics in this bag, so it makes sense they would want to go through all of that. The girl going through my stuff was very nice and I made some small talk with her as well.
After all of the craziness of security, I was able to relax a bit and go find some food. I had an iced coffee with a chocolate croissant from McDonald’s. They don’t have egg McMuffins (for obvious reasons), so this was the next best thing I could think of for a quick meal.
The flight left on time and we arrived in Jordan a little bit after 9a. Royal Jordanian is a really nice airline. I love their flight attendant outfits. They totally remind me of the early 50’s when flying was fun and exciting.
I had a 10 hour layover in Amman and had thought about going into town for the day, but what I didn’t know is that Royal Jordanian puts up all of their customers in a hotel for the 10 hour layover. It was just what I needed. I was so tired. I took a nap and a shower and chilled out for the day.
I was able to surf the web a bit too, which was good because after my nap, I checked my email to find a frantic email from Paul, the director of the Home of Hope program I was going to be volunteering for in India. Apparently, I had booked my flight from Delhi to Bangalore for July 6th instead of July 7th!! I can’t believe I made such a big mistake. I guess I got a bit confused with the fact I left Tel Aviv on July 6th but wasn’t arriving in Delhi until July 7th. I had to think fast and started by calling IndiGo Airlines to see if there was any possibility of changing my ticket even though it was non-refundable. They wouldn’t budge, so I went online and bought a separate one-way ticket for the right date and was able to email Paul so he could get the information to the right people. I felt so bad! The Mother Superior, Sister Lily, had been at the airport waiting for me. Thankfully, it was not too costly of a mistake, but I still was out another $130 plane ticket.
Royal Jordanian picked us up at the hotel and took us back to the airport in time for our flight. I had dinner at the airport, which was good because I still had a about ten Jordanian dinar from earlier and needed to get rid of it.
The flight took off a little bit late. I couldn’t sleep right away so I ended up eating on the plane and watching the movie, “Flicka 2”, before finally sleeping for the last part of the flight.
I got up at 4a this morning to catch a cab to the airport at 4:30a. My flight was scheduled to leave at 8:15a and when flying out of Ben Gurion Airport, it is highly recommended to arrive at least three hours before your flight to get through all of the security.
I got to the airport a little bit before 5a and started the process of going though security. I got in line where the Royal Jordanian counter was located. The line was not too bad and I made it through without any problems. I continued along and put my bags on the conveyor belt to go through the x-ray machine. No one told me to go anywhere else so I waited until the Royal Jordanian counter opened only to find out I still had to have my bags searched. Grrrr!!! I went back to that line and waited forever to get my bags searched. This time it was fairly painless. I made some small talk with the guy as he went through my bags. He had never been to the U.S. but wants to do a coast-to-coast trip someday so I was giving him travel tips as he was rummaging through my things.
After that, I checked in for my flight and then went to the next security check. This included going through the metal detector and sending my carry-on through the x-ray AGAIN. Something in this particular pair of pants I am wearing keeps setting off the metal detectors, so I got the pat down and also had my carry-on bag searched thoroughly. I carry all my electronics in this bag, so it makes sense they would want to go through all of that. The girl going through my stuff was very nice and I made some small talk with her as well.
After all of the craziness of security, I was able to relax a bit and go find some food. I had an iced coffee with a chocolate croissant from McDonald’s. They don’t have egg McMuffins (for obvious reasons), so this was the next best thing I could think of for a quick meal.
The flight left on time and we arrived in Jordan a little bit after 9a. Royal Jordanian is a really nice airline. I love their flight attendant outfits. They totally remind me of the early 50’s when flying was fun and exciting.
I had a 10 hour layover in Amman and had thought about going into town for the day, but what I didn’t know is that Royal Jordanian puts up all of their customers in a hotel for the 10 hour layover. It was just what I needed. I was so tired. I took a nap and a shower and chilled out for the day.
I was able to surf the web a bit too, which was good because after my nap, I checked my email to find a frantic email from Paul, the director of the Home of Hope program I was going to be volunteering for in India. Apparently, I had booked my flight from Delhi to Bangalore for July 6th instead of July 7th!! I can’t believe I made such a big mistake. I guess I got a bit confused with the fact I left Tel Aviv on July 6th but wasn’t arriving in Delhi until July 7th. I had to think fast and started by calling IndiGo Airlines to see if there was any possibility of changing my ticket even though it was non-refundable. They wouldn’t budge, so I went online and bought a separate one-way ticket for the right date and was able to email Paul so he could get the information to the right people. I felt so bad! The Mother Superior, Sister Lily, had been at the airport waiting for me. Thankfully, it was not too costly of a mistake, but I still was out another $130 plane ticket.
Royal Jordanian picked us up at the hotel and took us back to the airport in time for our flight. I had dinner at the airport, which was good because I still had a about ten Jordanian dinar from earlier and needed to get rid of it.
The flight took off a little bit late. I couldn’t sleep right away so I ended up eating on the plane and watching the movie, “Flicka 2”, before finally sleeping for the last part of the flight.