Another Trip

I've been negligent in talking about this because it's kinda snuck up on me. The original plan was to go out sometime in late October or early November, see the signts of Jordan (many of which I have yet to see), head south to the Jordanian "resort town" of Acaba, then take a ferry across the Red Sea to Egypt. Once in Egypt, the plan was to dive a bit on that side (which is arguably the best SCUBA experience in the world), then head over to Cairo to see the Pyramids with maybe a day or so in Alexandria before returning to Amman, then Baghdad.

But then they told us that we were going to a required training in Amman in September, but that while the Company would pay for the trip, the money for the plane tickets was going to come from our R&R money, and therefore we needed to take our R&R time while we were out unless we wanted to pay for the trip ourselves later.

Being cheap, I opted for a second "vacation" in as many months (practically)...but I guess I've lost my nerve somewhat. So after the training, I'm going to head down to Acaba, take the ferry over to Egypt (at some point), dive, then come back to Amman. The diving was the main thing, although I hate to leave this part of the world without having seen the Pyramids...but at the same time, I'm just not up to wandering around the Arab world by myself at this point...although I "probably" could have been convinced if it hadn't meant lugging all of my SCUBA gear with me along the way. Granted, I don't have tanks, reg, or BC, but it's still a good bit of stuff to carry around.

The training should be interesting too and I'll get to see a few friends in Amman (not to mention getting to go to a grocery store that'll have RediWhip (for my tea) and Cracker Barrel cheese, or just being in a town with Pizza Hut and Domino's)

I'm not sure what day I'll be coming back, although I think I'm scheduled for the 21st right now. It just depends on if I end up exploring Egypt or not and if so, for how long.

Fortunately, the place we're staying in Amman has an internet connection, so I'll be able to keep in touch at least during the conference.

So, family o'mine, don't call tomorrow because I won't be by the phone. I fly out just before our normal chat time and will let y'all know when I'm coming back.