Allah akbar

I feel like I'm cheating you all with mere bullet points, but it seems convenient to summarise the business down to easily potable sentences. I'll do my best to embellish...

Living in London was an interesting experience. I wouldn't be chomping at the bit to go back there, but then I knew that before I had arrived. I don't want to overload you with the negatives, so I'll stick with the cream on top. I did the repatriation to a hostel costing a fraction of the price. It was called the Globetrotter Inn out in the west of London. It was a pretty rocking place with a bar that stayed open late, a 24hr gym and an absolute shitload of Aussies. A sprinkling of South Africans, Canadians and a few yanks were also staying there. When I mean staying, I mean 7 months - since it had opened. When people say you end your OE at London, they mean it.

The Sunday just been, I spent about 14 hours doing travel-type business. For some unknown reason, I had to get a flight to Jordon to Vienna, then back to Frankfurt, then down to Amman. At least there was a business seat in there somewhere.

Jordan's been pretty good so far. Pretty much the only impression I had of Jordon was a whole heapload of austere desert with ad hoc settlements of tents with dudes smoking Hublybubbly. Jordon has a liberal dosing of green-ness and it's surprisingly modern. The driving is pretty crazy, but cool nonetheless. The pedestrians act like they're made of the same gold the Dutch bikeriders are made of :) There's a Mecca mall here, and it's about four floors of pretty much the same stuff you find at regular western malls - including nice girls.

One thing that I especially liked about my arrival was the greeting at the front of my hotel by a big machine gun of some description. That and the metal detector at the front was also choice. The hotel is really palatial and it's pretty reasonable to stay here, at 75 euro a night, including the free use of the gym and two pools. Not like the extortionists at the Radisson in London. 169 pounds a night and 8 pounds for the priviledge of using their weener gym.... anyhorse, I digress.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is a holiday, but I'll be doing a half day. The weekend starts on Friday....I hope to get some photos for you loyal readers uploaded tomorrow or the next day.

Salam.