Frequently in life the sequel to anything can disappoint, especially when returning to places once special.
Whether attempting to repeat a magical holiday, or returning to a place that was once very much home, that second experience is not quite as rich, or as fulfilling, as it seemed inside your memories.
Often it’s not the place that has changed, it is you, your experiences have broadened your horizons or simply age and the passing of time has altered your perspectives. What seemed astounding then, perhaps sadly, has been surpassed by new memories.
And so, having flown direct from Muscat to Amman with Oman Air (under four hours and bang on time, great service too), it was with some trepidation that I set foot again in Petra in Jordan, the ‘rose red city half as old as time’ listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
I’d come to this astonishing place a decade ago, a younger man in a very different place and time, not then much of a traveller, not then an expat. So different had Jordan and Petra been that it woke something inside me, a yearning for adventure and new horizons that led me on a journey to the place am I now in my life.
With so much to be grateful for, I was desperate for Petra, a UNESCO world heritage site, to overwhelm my senses again, not to seem smaller or less.
Thankfully, I should not have worried, in fact it seemed as new as that first day 10 years ago.
Read the full PDF of my visit to Petra, Jordan
Also read the PDF of my review of the Kempinski Dead Sea Ishtar resort
Scottiehack 