The build up to the trip is always so exciting, I couldn’t wait to switch on my out of office and jump on a plane. 

The transfer arrived just before 6pm and we were packed and ready to go in no time. After a quick 15 min drive to the airport, we arrived to absolute madness at ORT. For anyone travelling this holidays, arrive for your flights way ahead of time because the queues are insane. 

Thankfully, I checked in to our flight the night before, so we ended up in a queue that was slightly shorter. The entire process took about an hour. We checked in our bags, waved goodbye and gave hugs to our family and proceeded to passport control where we proceeded to wait for another half an hour in line. 

Our gate was far and boarding was starting in 20 minutes so there was no time for a lounge stop. We rushed straight to the gate. We waited for a bit and then boarded the flight. It was a full flight and it took a while to load everyone. 

I’ve decided that I prefer day flights because wow, sleeping in one seat is not fun – AT ALL. The cabin crew gave us some dinner and I chose fish which came with a stirfry and was decent. 

I spent the next five hours going in and out of sleep until eventually my sister woke me up to see the sunrise. Pictures does not justice to how pretty the sunrise was – up in the air, you really are chasing it. 

The cabin crew gave us some breakfast – I had some coffee and I promise, drinking coffee thousands of kilometres in the sky slaps different. 

We started cleaning up our space and got ready to descend into Cairo all while still admiring the sunrise. 

We got off the plane fairly quickly and proceeded with a bus to the airport. If your flight tickets meet certain requirements, you receive a free hotel room. We got our hotel room details, caught the shuttle and went straight there. 

The best part of travelling to a Muslim country is making salaam with everyone. We don’t have a language or a culture in common but that salaam exchange makes me feel united. 

The hotel was nice and we were really tired. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

A couple hours later, we woke up, freshened up and went for lunch. The food was interesting and there was a lady making fresh pita bread which was delicious with hummus. They also had really good flambé for dessert. 

We gathered our things and waited a few minutes for the shuttle to the airport. As we were waiting for the shuttle, the athaan for asr was called and ah, listening to the athaan being called loudly makes my heart feel so warm. 

A few minutes later, we were at the airport. We went straight to passport control, filled in the forms and walked to the lounge. 

We used the Ahlein lounge which had the best chocolate chip cookies. After about an hour, it was time to board our flight to Amman. 

This flight was much smoother than our first one and about two hours later, we landed at Queen Alia International Airport. We went through passport control (South Africans do not need a visa – it’s 40 JD if you’re from a country where it’s required) and got our luggage. The WiFi works perfectly at the airport and is simple to connect to if you haven’t activated a sim yet. 

Our driver was waiting for us and after a thirty minute drive, we were at our Airbnb where we settled in for the night. 

Step count (Monday): 12 921

Step count (Tuesday): 8 515