Really don’t want to board the flight back to the U.S.. last day of my adventure in Amman, Jordan

All good things must come to an end…which is so stupid….

This trip has been absolutely amazing. I’ve now seen things that I had only known from history books. Though, it has been much more stressful than my previous journeys.

Traveling internationally during this pandemic is not easy, or cheap. An American COVID vaccination card- means nothing. Every country has its own standards for what they will accept in a COVID PCR test. I learned that the hard way while stuck in Germany trying to make it to Egypt. My American COVID PCR test was not acceptable. A QR code is required to be on the printed test results. The Germans would not accept the fact that the United States test locations do not issue QR codes. I was bumped off of my flight to Egypt and made to run around for seven hours in Germany to get a new COVID PCR test in order to rebook my flight. This test cost me 200€, which is roughly $253. Once I made it to Egypt things became easier. But leaving Egypt to go to Jordan required another COVID PCR test. That one was in Egyptian ponds, I believe somewhere around $75 U.S. dollars. THEN, to leave Jordan and board my flight back to America, I had another PCR test done in Jordan. That cost was 25 Jordanian dinar, which translates to $36- the cheapest yet. Just for the damn COVID tests alone it came to an unexpected expense of $364 bucks. Now, luckily, my tests have all been negative. Phew. Because even a false reading of positive, you are not allowed to retest for 7 days and you must quarantine in that country while you wait. One of my fellow travelers is dealing with that exact situation right now- stuck in Jordan for a minimum of 7 days in quarantine.

I wanted to let you guys know what I’ve gone through so that you do extra research and you can budget properly if you plan on traveling internationally anytime in the near future. If you have any questions feel free to pick my brain.

Aside from the shit-show that is COVID, I can tell you that this experience is definitely up there at the top. I mean, I stood a foot away from a temperature controlled mummy of King Tut. My mind is still blown to pieces.