Calling Ashraf
I cross the border between Jordan and Israel about twice a year for business purposes; I have done this for the last 5 years. Being a keen mathematician, by my reckoning, this makes roughly 10 crossings one way and 10…
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I cross the border between Jordan and Israel about twice a year for business purposes; I have done this for the last 5 years. Being a keen mathematician, by my reckoning, this makes roughly 10 crossings one way and 10…
Read moreNuisance First Law of Travel: Wherever you are in an airport, when they announce your departure gate, you will always be standing at the furthest point from that gate.
Read moreNuisance Second Law of Travel: Your suitcase will emerge on the belt immediately after 7 other over-sized suitcases are claimed by their feeble owners on either side of you thus, preventing you from retrieving it until the conveyor belt has…
Read moreNuisance Third Law of Travel: No matter how long or short the Immigration Line you choose to join, you always end up with the passenger immediately in front of you who is in the wrong queue, has a forged passport,…
Read moreCairo: I once had to travel from Jordan to Algeria but, the only available route that day was a connection via Cairo Airport. The travel agent in Jordan helpfully checked me on line and issued two boarding passes: Amman to…
Read moreJerusalem: My very first ever air travel was pre 1967 when half of Jerusalem was part of Jordan and it had its own little international airport. I was a thin and lanky teenager whose idea of travel did not extend…
Read moreYemen: When you land in a country for the first time, you have no reference point to fall back on, everything is unfamiliar and your brain requires time to adjust to the new surroundings. Arriving at Yemen’s Sana’a Airport on…
Read moreOfficer: What is the purpose of your visit? Me: I live and work in London Officer: What were you doing outside the UK? Me: I was on holiday Officer: As an “alien”, you are not allowed to enter the country…
Read moreWeary Wisdom: Although nature sometimes saddles us with less than perfect relatives, it makes up for it by gifting us with the wisdom to make the right decisions. A short conversation overheard in a marine equipment shop in Southern Spain: Very…
Read moreI am a catholic in my expectations of what a restaurant service should be like. I hate self-service, tick box menus, set menus and all other forms of aptitude testing approach to service. Here is a scene I experienced on…
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