We found a place that had free Wi-Fi and pizza. We all split a pizza while we surfed the web for a bit waiting to hear from "Hap". The manager eventually turned the internet off on us which really pissed me off because I was in the middle of paying well overdue bills back home. I politely asked if the internet was still working and the manager told me that we had taken too long. I explained that I was I the middle of paying an important bill but he did not empathize. This really set me off so I cursed a little bit... he got mad... I got mad... long story short… we left.
I got a text saying that "Hap’s" phone had just been activated so I called him and discussed with him where he wanted to meet us. He said to leave our bags with the guards at the gate and meet him at the Monastery. The guards refused to hold our bags. There is no sleeping inside the site which the guards were suspecting but we didn't really think we would be staying inside the monument. Even after we had the guards talk to "Hap" on the phone, they still refused to let us keep our bags there. We told "Hap" we would find a guest house that would oblige to our request and then we would make it back to Petra and meet him inside. We took a cab to the Valentine hostel that we had read about and luckily the women that were running the place let us keep our things there. We had to pay them for it but that was fine by us.
We went through the main gates of Petra around 2pm. "Hap" told us to get up to the Monastery around 4:30 so we could see the sunset. The monument was absolutely stunning. The treasury was one of the most impressive sights I have see in my entire life. It was obvious why this was one of the new wonders of the world. There were loads of tourists around but that didn't take anything away from the marvel of the ancient structures tucked away in those canyon walls.
The view from the top was amazing! The sunset was beautiful and the monastery itself was just as impressive as the treasury. I had no idea what to expect but I was blown away with each step we took through Petra. "Hap" called just after the sun went down and told us to come over to where he was. I couldn't see him so we walked around a little bit looking for the mystery man. He called again after watching us roam around aimlessly and told me to look up. Low and behold, there was a Bedouin man on top of the highest point overlooking the Monastery waving down at us. We found the trail going up and made our ascent. "Hap" was delighted to see us just as we were him. We realized quickly that this was not only a shop, it was his home. He had trinkets and knick-knacks for sale but he never bothered us to buy anything.
We sat telling stories, drinking beer, and singing songs with "Hap" as he played the ude. He was a very talented musician. He even had his friend bring us a giant plate of Fatteh for our supper. It was bread with chick peas, onions, tomatoes and garlic. It was very good as well. I couldt help but smile and laugh at the situation at hand. I never imagined that I would be stationed on top of a mountain overlooking one of the seven woders of the world, dining and singing with a Bedouin man like "Hap". It was a night I will remember forever.
We watched the sun come up over the hills and light up the valley below. We had to wait a little while before descending because we weren't supposed to sleep in the Monument. If we waited till the tourists started flocking in, we would be able to escape unnoticed. "Hap" mentioned that if we ever wanted to come back, he had a cousin who needed help with his tour business and would be happy to have us come and stay with him. We said we would think about it and bid our new friend farewell.
We met a little girl pulling a tiny goat along by its ear and took some pictures. She was only six years old and had her own little shop. She told us that a man once said to her that he promised he would buy something from her shop when he came up to the Monastery. He walked around taking pictures and when he went back to the small shop he decided he wasn't going to buy anything. He then fell on his way down the hill and broke his leg. She said she had camels for sail, and by camels we thought she meant real camels. It turned out that it was small camel ornaments that were very pretty but nothing we were interested in. Lindsey told her we didn't want them so the little girl said that Lindsey was going to break her leg as well. Harsh, coming from a cute little six year old girl.
After retrieving or bags from the hostel we caught the next bus to Amman. For the most part it wasn't a bad ride. The worst part aout the trip was arriving in Amman and trying to find a taxi. There seems to be a pattern with the taxi situations in unfamiliar territory. We had no idea what we should pay or where we needed to go. We figured that it wasn't going to be too much trouble. We did have an address of a hotel we found in a guide book but of course getting from point A to B is never as simple as you think it may be.
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