When visiting the incredible site of Petra in Jordan, you MUST visit the Monastery. It’s a bit of a hike to get to it, but so worth it. It’s just as impressive as the Petra’s most famous building, the Treasury, but its remote location keeps the crowds away. The views at the top are unforgettable, too.
One way to get up is walking — and it’s a pretty long but doable hike. Matt from LandLopers struggled but succeeded getting to the top. Ayngelina from Bacon is Magic broke her hiking ban to do it.
Me? I decided to take a donkey up instead. I figured the novelty factor paid off for the laziness. Ibrahim told me taking a donkey uphill and walking down is easier and the best choice overall. Since I will take that man’s advice on just about anything related to Jordan, I agreed.
And the statement that is reiterated to me again and again on my travels proved true once again:
Just because it’s easier, it doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Holy crap, riding a donkey up stairs is HARD! You’re jostled all over the place and you’ll fall off if you don’t hunch over and hold on tightly.
And it’s terrifying — for some reason, the donkey insists on walking on the very edge of the stairs, and if you fall off, you’ll plunge to a serious neck injury if not your death.
“He’s going to step off the edge!” I kept shrieking to my guide, Haldoun.
“It’s okay, the donkey knows the way!” he would reply, in between telling me stories about his American girlfriend. (“She moves so fast, Basma! I know her one day and she wants to kiss me!”)
I was giving Haldoun relationship advice while filming, attempting not to fall off, and biting my lip to keep from laughing.
It was the furthest thing from graceful, and probably the least attractive I’ve ever looked. But I couldn’t stop laughing!
The video:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ciBFn0gnzg]
All I can say is that if you decide to ride a donkey to the Monastery in Petra, you better know what you’re getting into! It should cost you about 5 JD ($7.50 USD) if you get a good bargain. A tip is nice, too. I gave Haldoun an extra 2 JD for the hilarity.
Taking a donkey? Odd, but very much worth it.
Many thanks to the Jordan Tourism Board for hosting me in Jordan. All opinions, as always, are my own.
