Faces with Stories

Even as a kid, she always liked to study the Atlas of the World and travel articles. She read them over and over and promised to herself: “I’m going to visit this place when I grow up.” Over the years, she proved to herself that everything is possible, if only you wish hard enough, which lead to her gathering up enough courage for her first long trip to Thailand at the age of eighteen.

During the years she spent travelling, going on adventures and partying, she visited 56 countries, and she believes this was only the beginning. The moment she comes back from her travels, she gets itchy feet and already starts having at least three new ideas for her future endeavours. She wants to see the whole world and gladly faces numerous new challenges when travelling. She also likes to meet interesting people and learn about fascinating cultures, try out local food and, of course, have fun. She shares her adventures on her blog, faceswithstories.

Which trip was the most memorable and why is it so special?

Lots of people ask me this, but I really don’t have a single answer to it. For me, Bolivia had the most beautiful nature, Iran the friendliest people and Vietnam the best food, Ethiopia was the wildest and “whackiest” of the bunch, and the best festival I’d been to took place in Spain.

What’s the face of Jordan like?

My trip to Jordan was short (ten days), but just long enough for me to see all the country’s most beautiful places. The most spectacular cultural landmark for me was definitely Petra. It’s obviously something you can see in hundreds of pictures, but when you’re actually there, it definitely swept off your feet. I also like the capital, Amman, as it’s a lively and picturesque city rich in culture. And, of course, one mustn’t miss out on the Dead Sea and the Mujib Nature Reserve (an adventure trail winding through a wonderful gorge).

I recommend renting a vehicle, because public transport connections are very bad and take much longer. Driving in Jordan can get quite wild sometimes, as all buses and lorries suddenly drive into the roundabout, always overtake you on the opposite lane, and motorways have large unmarked holes and speed bumps that can occasionally even make your car jump up.

Jordan offers very diverse accommodation options: from very cheap roof accommodation to very expensive hotels. My stay by the Dead Sea was the most memorable, mostly because it also offered a mud bath. I found spreading mud all over my body to be loads of fun. My stay in the Wadi Rum Desert, on the other hand, was quite something different, and the accommodation offered luxurious transparent tents. At night, you can look at the endless desert and the stars from the very bed. What an enjoyment!

The Dead Sea is a huge attraction. How does it differ from the Adriatic Sea and the Slovenian coast?

At first glance, the Dead Sea looks just like any regular sea, but it’s so much more fun. You can float in the water for hours on end and without any effort, thanks to its salinity (it’s six to ten times saltier than other seas). It’s fun because sometimes it’s hard to put your legs downwards, haha. But I found the “small pool” of medicinal mud from the Dead Sea to be a lot more fun because you’re rolling in the mud like a pig and then the only white part of your body are your teeth. That is, unless you get mud in your mouth (laughs).

As a fun fact, I should mention that the Dead Sea is the world’s lowest elevation at 430 metres below sea level. It’s alarming, though, that the water level drops each year due to severe seawater depletion and reduction of the freshwater entering the sea at the same time. The sea is being depleted mainly because of salt production, both on the Jordanian and Israeli side of the border. Altogether, one million tonnes of water are depleted each day. In order not to completely dry out the Dead Sea in the next fifty years, Jordan, Israel and Palestine have all started a project worth more than one billion dollars, hoping to build a canal of more than 180 kilometres in length that would transfer the water from the Red Sea into the Dead Sea.

Did you try any of the Jordan specialties? Which one and did you like it?

The main meal consists mostly of various meat dishes, while for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Jordanians eat fresh vegetables and hummus. They’re also great pastry chefs, so there are always lots of things to choose from at the bakery. Since Jordan is a Muslim country, you’ll have a hard time finding alcoholic drinks, but if you do manage to find some, it’ll be very expensive. The locals, despite having many good local beers, drink mostly tea.

What about the culture? Are the locals friendly, how did they welcome you?

The Jordanians are very friendly and are very eager to help, so I always felt good in their company. I would like point out to girls, though, that they shouldn’t wear clothes that are too tight or too short, if they don’t want to attract too much attention. There isn’t really a strict dress code, but it’s still a predominantly Muslim country.

Did anything unpleasant or silly happen on your trip?

Despite the fact that my partner and I rented a vehicle from a well-known and established company (in order to avoid any kind of unpleasantness when renting a vehicle), we got a five-year-old car that was quite well-worn and had a really high mileage, not to mention the thing that really surprised me – the car had no airbags. The local roads are quite rough so, naturally, we had a flat tyre, as those were also five years old and completely worn out. Luckily, some locals stopped right away and helped us change the tyre. And the car renting company didn’t give us a hard time, despite the tyre change not being included in our insurance.