Last week I flew to Jordan for a short break. The plan was to spend a couple of nights at a Hotel at the Dead Sea to chill and relax, then go on to spend a few nights in Amman and visit the sights there. All was fine and all went to plan, after a slight hitch at the start of this holiday.

To begin with the airport at Paphos had a problem with the security scanners. Well, that’s par for the course in Paphos, they seem to be a lot more switched on at Larnaca airport… maybe that was the problem, the machine wasn’t switched on. Who knows, all I know is this was the first of many Queues that day.

So, into the departure lounge and an almost immediate call to board the aircraft… except this is RyanAir and I know how they achieve a fast turnaround. When your aircraft is about five miles out from landing, you are called to board. You are then shunted, en-masse, cattle prodded almost, into a confined area and made to wait up to 20 minutes until your plane has landed, passengers disembarked, and cabin staff given the aircraft a quick clean. Then you are herded onto the aircraft and told to sit down asap.

Two queues down.

Arrival at Queen Alia airport Amman in Jordan was uneventful and so was the taxi ride to the hotel. It’s a special treat so the hotel chosen was considered to be quite up-market. I won’t mention the name but it rhymes with a famous carpet maker named Wilton. It has its own access to the Dead Sea and is a Spa resort. Here’s a top tip. Do not book a holiday in Jordan when there is a religious holiday. Eid al-Adha is a public holiday and Islamic festival to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim (also known as Abraham) to follow Allah’s (God’s) command to sacrifice his son. This event is celebrated by Muslims around the world, and most of them seem to have descended on this one hotel to celebrate. Not being of any religious disposition, I had no idea I had walked into a huge event, until I entered the lobby. Over an hour later and a long argument about upgrades that didn’t happen and staff who kept disappearing after promising the world, I had a card in my hand and a room I was able to stagger to because my legs had stiffened so much during the process of registering.

Three queues down. And that was enough for one day. There were other queues, not least for food at the posh hotel and during the journey back with RyanAir. But I take it as only a true Brit can take it. We British know how to queue and suffer in silence, when all around are ranting and raving.

More from my trip to Jordan over the next few days, including an eye-watering introduction to belly-dancing and the ubiquitous Shisha.

Copyright © Tom Kane 2019

The post Queueing is a State of Mind appeared first on Tom Kane's Blog.