I can’t remember where I saw Petra first, but whether it was a glossy full-page spread or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the images of a city carven in stone captured my tiny child mind, and I told myself that someday I would see that city with my own eyes. Whilst I had some reservations about the cost and efficacy of coming to Jordan from Israel almost solely for the purpose of seeing the former capital of the ancient Nabatean civilisation, I’d had a tip-off from a coll

Everyone has their own philosophy regarding travel, and I see myself as quite a purist, refusing to accept the ‘validity’ of other forms of transport when I’m on a bicycle tour. Setting mental parameters like these can be useful when it comes to self-fulfilment of easily identifiable goals. Yet the flip-side of this is that any failure to adhere to such a rigid plan instantly counts as complete failure, detracting from enjoyment in situ according to stipulations decided upon