Black mud and rose-red mountains…

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: You almost think the aircraft is going to land in the middle of a desert…till it finally touches down on the runway, making the excitement for a dramatic landing fade away instantly. The six-hour journey was eventful though, thanks (but-no-thanks) to the extremely rude air hostess on board. And of course Audrey Hepburn who made it all so bearable with her comic antics in How to Steal a Million. Really, Royal Jordanian’s in-flight entertainment was the best part of the journey — it spoils you for choice. Spoilt enough to wish the plane got delayed by precisely 123 minutes—the time it’d take you to marvel at Meryl Streep’s passion for food in Julie and Julia. That’s not to be though. “Save it for the return journey,” you tell yourself, walking into Queen Alia international airport, noticing parts of it under renovation.

But what really strikes the unaware Indian mind is the liberal air of the country. And of course, the infrastructure, which is surprisingly better than India’s almost anywhere in the world. Pun intended—after all how many Indians travel to Chad for leisure? And comparison to Singapore and Malaysia is unwarranted indeed. That apart there is nothing amiss—Jordan has a way of making Indians feel at home. Most recognise your nationality and openly express their love for India. “I love India… I love Priyanka Chopra….You know Mithun, Shashi Kapoor….Amitabh Bachchan, Nutan….” you’d hear a lot of these when you walk down the streets of Jordan. “We grow up watching Bollywood movies,” our guide once explained. But none of that prepared us for what was to come after the open jeep safari across the maze of monolithic rocks at Wadi Rum. As we sat down in one of the camps, sipping the Arabic tea, a artist came and sat next to us with his ood (a guitar like instrument), strumming a tune that sounded familiar but was difficult to place. ‘Tere mann ki Jamuna aur mere mann ki Jamuna ka…bol Radha bol sangam…,’ he impromptu broke into the Raj Kapoor song.