Around the World with Wes and Masami - Around the World Travelogue by Wes and Masami Heiser with Journal Photographs Expenses Lodging Guide Schedule Preparation Route

Jordan

Facts for the Visitor

Visas

US citizen:	14-day single-entry visas are easily purchased at the border for JD 10.
Japanese citizen:	No visa required. Visitors permitted to stay 14 days.

Language Skills Needed

English is sufficient to get around as a tourist, but learning to read numbers in Arabic is essential.

Cash Machines

Most cash machines are not connected to international networks. In Amman, the cash machine at HSBC is on the Cirrus and Plus networks. In Wadi Musa (Petra) one cash machine near the center roundabout is connected to Plus. There are no banks or money changers in Wadi Rum.

Currency

US$ 1 = 0.709 Jordanian Dinar (JD) on May 1, 2001. Jordan has a 3-tier currency system that many Jordanians use to their advantage to swindle tourists.

1 Dinar = 100 Piastres = 100 Qirsh = 1000 Fils.
The younger locals talk in Piastres. The older generation talk in Fils. If someone under the age of 40 says, "the bus costs 35", they mean 35 Piastres or 350 Fils. If a taxi meter reads 750, that means 750 Fils (or 3/4 Dinar), not 7.5 Dinar! Nobody talks in Qirsh but the coins are in circulation. The numbers on all currency are in Arabic only. Study before arrival or plan to be utterly ripped off.

Electricity

220V, 50Hz. Plugs have 2 round pins.

Health

International Certificates of Vaccination are not required.

Language

Arabic is the official language, but almost everyone speaks English.

Tips

Tips are not required, but they won't be declined.

Lodging

Budget accommodation is generally filthy and ill maintained. Trust nobody including hotel staff. As a general rule, a hotel manager will lie to guests about everything to try to trap them into purchasing their tours. If a hotel manager claims that the public bus leaves the following day at 07:00, chances are that it actually leaves at 06:00.

Public Telephones

Public telephones accept pre-paid telephone cards.

Internet

We couldn't find any Internet Cafes that support FTP. Prices range between JD 1 - 2 per hour.

Public Transportation

The Jordanian bus network is clean, fast, and inexpensive. But don't trust any bus drivers or bus station attendants to give accurate information. Even bus employees - all of them in our experience - will intentionally give tourists false information to make them miss the bus and have no alternative but to hire a considerably more expensive taxi. The extent of Jordanian collaboration to extract extra money from foreigners is unequaled elsewhere.

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