After checking out and saying or last goodbyes to all the people leaving for Aqaba at the red sea we locked our stuff in storage and headed off to the pools again. This time we would spend most of the remaining time at the spa in order to prepare our bodies in every possible way for the gruesome flight back home.

To our demise we couldn’t buy the cushions on site, we will investigate the online shop when we get back though. The driver showed up as earlier confirmed and there was virtually no queues at Amman Airport so after browsing tax-free stores we got to the gate for the first leg.

The ratio of children, the average amount of luggage of the locals combined with a lenient view on numbered seats/illiteracy made the two first legs somewhat of a nuisance but we managed to sleep through the lot including the first six-hour connection. Now we were in Budapest, and looked forward to another six hour connection. A lucky strike earned us a power outlet in reach from a comfortable seat, with free wifi on top of that, Yay!

After publishing the blog it was relaxing all the way. The compulsory reading of a newspaper in the dead sea needed to be done however, as well as smearing oneself in mud from the same sea.

Hamzeh walked by us and mentioned that the lunch was included but closed in 30 minutes so if we would like to take advantage of that, now was the time. After an orgy in confusion we seated ourselves for a three-course lunch. Out of the thirty-two seats the wedding tour group used seven, the rest had either eaten earlier, didn’t know about it or had been directed to other restaurants by the hotel staff.

Back to the pool complex, the dead sea water was nice but a little too salty to taste, the whirlpool two and a half meters from our sun chairs was a sufficient replacement though.

Since there was some confusion regarding the lunch (apparently Hamzeh and Irina had ordered dinner, but the hotel had interpreted this as lunch) we took the bus to some panoramic view to watch the sunset and catch some mezze.

The sunset was very nice and the view was not surprisingly quite nice. One could see the lights from Jericho and Jerusalem glimmering in the night over the dead sea. Which reminded me, the Jordanian government refuse to let anyone dive and check the bottom of the sea for religious reasons as I understood it, interesting.
After bidding some of the more workaholic guests farewell we went to bed, tomorrow’s sleeping would probably not match our new standards unless Damascus airport had undertaken some serious renovating since our last visit.

We started the day by a trip to western Amman and the famous Lebnani snacks which were Mirsada’s favorite place to hang back in the days. After three orders we still hadn’t managed to get her favorite cocktail but left very full.

When driving from Amman to the dead sea I did some power-blogging so hopefully the blog will be updated any day now. We managed to check in among the first rendering us the last king-sized bed room, yay! The hotel, Marriott, had a wonderful lunch, the best beef pistachio I’ve ever had. The pool complex wasn’t bad either so after a quick dip in the dead sea and a free mud treatment we tried each and every pool.

A quick ironing session and we were dressed for success and went to the wedding. The wedding was very nice, a few things were different compared to the ones I’ve attended so far, e.g. traditional sword-fighting, no alcohol and of course the arabic chanting and singing. Other things were more easy recognized like the mix of old and new music, good food and pleasant company. A lot of dancing in my not so cold three-piece suit later we decided to leave for our six-cushioned bed.

Tomorrow it would be all relaxing, my guess is that the bride and the groom would need it more than the lot after the very hectic time of planning and organizing everything together with the wedding planner.