The Red Sea, Aqaba, Jordan

The Red Sea, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

This was taken from the room of our hotel in Aqaba, Jordan's only seaport (other than the price the view was the only good thing about the hotel, mind - absolutely filthy little dump). That's Israel (or Egypt maybe) in the background.

Mosque, Aquaba, Jordan

Mosque, Aquaba, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

We unfortunately were travelling during Ramadan - so as well as difficulty in eating during the day, we had mosques blasting us out of bed at 4am.

Camels at sunrise, Wadi Rum, Jordan

Camels, Wadi Rum, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

After getting up for the sunrise we were treated to this romantic little caravan of camels trekking across the desert. Looking more closely though we realised that they were a group of tourists from our camp. Their trek ventured about 5 minutes into the desert before turning around and coming back.

Wadi Rum, Jordan

Wadi Rum, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Our driver Mohammed spent most of the trip travelling in convoy with his uncle and continually berated the poor bugger for his rubbish off-road driving. The little 4wd in the distance of this photo is uncle's, and is comprehensively bogged in a sand dune.

Wadi Rum, Jordan

Wadi Rum, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Wadi Rum, Jordan

Wadi Rum, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

We did a 4wd overnighter in Wadi Rum, best known as the base of T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Fantastic scenery and colours.

The Monastery, Petra, Jordan

The Monastery, Petra, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Staggeringly large, this amazing temple is reached by a sometimes precipitous climb. Made more treacherous by the locals charging down the path on their donkeys, hoping to pick up another fare before the end of the day.

Tombs, Petra, Jordan

Tombs, Petra, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Camels and donkeys are the main forms of tourist transportation in Petra (other than walking) as well as being the best way for local Bedouin to extract money from visitors. Tania spent a bit of time on donkeys after spraining her ankle climbing down from the tombs in the background of this photo. And a donkey vs camel bidding war resulted in us riding cheap camels out of Petra at the end of the day - a not very comfortable but amusing sequence of "excuse me"s & "sorry"s as the rather bad-tempered camels barged through the remaining tourists.

Petra, Jordan

Petra, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Petra was once famously described as a "rose red city half as old as time"; easy to see why.

Camel, Petra, Jordan

Camel, Petra, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

A generally well behaved camel, quite used to having tourists thrusting cameras into his face, but with quite an effective snarl/spit/sneer available to use on those that got too familiar.

The Treasury, Petra, Jordan

The Treasury, Petra, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Pretty cool, huh? Never actually held any treasure; entire thing is carved out of the sandstone cliff and there's only a little unadorned square room down the bottom. They filmed some of the third Indiana Jones movie here.

Treasury viewed from the Siq, Petra, Jordan

Treasury viewed from the Siq, Petra, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

The main entrance to Petra is via the Siq, a deep and narrow canyon-like defile (only a couple of metres wide at its narrowest) that used to channel water into the city.

View from Karak Castle, Jordan

View from Karak Castle, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

This castle was laid seige by Saladin during the Crusades. Being more chivalrous days than now, when Saladin learnt of a young couple having their wedding night in the castle he gave instructions to his catapults not to bombard that area of the fortress.

The Dead Sea, Jordan

The Dead Sea, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Ah, forgot to mention the other thing about the Dead Sea - the salt content. This is why it is so buoyant... but it also makes the taste more foul than anything I've ever tasted. And it stings! Any little cuts, shave rash etc, ouch ouch.

The Dead Sea, Jordan

The Dead Sea, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Quite a surreal experience, the Dead Sea is so buoyant it is virtually impossible to sink. Even floating upright half of your chest bobs out of the water! It actually makes it impossible to swim with any conventional stroke as even on your stomach so much of your body is protruding from the water. Oh, and that's Israel in the background.

Church at Mt Nebo, Jordan

Church at Mt Nebo
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

I could give you some historical background to this significant site... but instead I'll bitch about the driver who took us up the windy mountain road to get here. One word can be used to describe 90% of drivers in Jordan (including ours) - maniac. Driving in this country is like dodgem cars - every car is covered in dents, every manoeuvre flirts with disaster and every young man (like our driver) is doubly idiotic. We saw at least one accident every day we were here - amazingly none of which involved us.

View from Mt Nebo, Jordan

View from Mt Nebo, Jordan
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

This is apparently the hill from where Moses saw the promised land.

The 5* look

The 5* look
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Time for another daggy digicam self portrait. The relaxed look comes from Tania finally being boil-and-rash-free -- and a few nights of luxury in a 5* resort. Our grubby backpacks and unglamourous aura brought down the tone of the place but we didn't care; we'd been on an island with no hot water for 2 weeks so we really were stepping up in the world.

Kayak off Ko Tao, Thailand

Kayak off Ko Tao, Thailand
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

No, it's not Tania and I - if it were us one of us would have the paddle planted in the other's head (kayak + couple = trouble).

Tania gets a tat

Tania gets a tat
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

... oh, and an on-beach tattoo service too.

Sunset, Ko Phangan, Thailand

Sunset, Ko Phangan, Thailand
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Ahhh, sunset on a Thai island, just picture cheap cocktails by the pool, karaoke, bbq fish on the beach etc - you get the idea...

Bus out of Cambodia

Bus out of Cambodia
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Again, the warning signs were all there - the bus had a broken windscreen, a smacked up front bumper, a missing rear bumper, massive holes in the exhaust, most of the seats were broken and torn and it was covered in mud. But hey, the tickets were just $12. Big mistake. By the end of the 8 hour trip to the border (for 140kms!) everyone was plastered with red dust, Tania had a faceful of mud from a 4wd going the other way, I had a graze on my head from where I hit the ceiling of the bus (I hadn't yet learnt to hold onto the seats in front) and we both needed attention from a physio. I've never seen a "national highway" like it. And apparently it is not a bad road for Cambodia.

Preah Khan, Angkor, Cambodia

Preah Khan, Angkor, Cambodia
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Another very evocative overgrown temple. Walking under a tree of this size is quite disconcerting, despite the fact that the temple's stonework must have supported it for hundreds of years!

Banteay Srey, Angkor, Cambodia

Banteay Srey, Angkor, Cambodia
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

A small temple with beautiful, delicate carvings in a lovely pink sandstone.

Sunset at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Sunset at Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

The traditional spot to watch the sun set over Angkor Wat is actually on top of a small mountain nearby, which we did the day after taking this shot. An absolute circus! Hundreds of people clambering along a steep and slippery little path in the dark.

Bas reliefs, Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Bas reliefs, Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Angkor Wat is absolutely huge - the largest stone temple in the world in fact. But the fine detail is interesting too if you have the patience - whole corridors of reliefs telling all sorts of stories.

Ta Prohm, Angkor, Cambodia

Ta Prohm, Angkor, Cambodia
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Overrun by the jungle and mostly left in the state in which it was rediscovered by the French in the 19th century, this place is an amazing testament to the power of the jungle. Half of it is in ruins and the other half is overgrown with enormous Banyan trees like this one. Some of Tomb Raider was filmed here - checkout Angelina in the pic!

Bayon, Angkor, Cambodia

Bayon, Angkor, Cambodia
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

About 800 years ago the city in which the Bayon once stood was one of the most modern in the world - it's population was about a million people at a time when London was only 30,000! The temple looks like a pile of rubble until you get close enough to make out all the sculpted faces - apparently they are a likeness of the emperor at the time, Jayavarman VII.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Originally uploaded by JonathanTheMan.

Had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to get this photo, and anyone who knows me knows what an effort that required. Not that we exactly had the place to ourselves, as many many other people had just the same idea...