The Cube

The Northern Territory (NT) is huge and roughly divided into to 2 big parts - the Top End and the Red Centre. The Top End enjoys the tropical and rainforesty climates and covers Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Arnhem Land and Katherine area. The bottom of NT is the Red Centre consisting of Uluru, Alice Spring.

The NT has 2 main seasons, the Wet (November to April) and the Dry season (May to October). However according to the local Gundjeihmi, there are 6 different seasons.

Gudjewg (Monsoon): December to March
Banggerreng (Harvest time): April
Yegge (Cooler but still humid): May to June
Gunumeleng (Pre-monsoon): October to December
Gurrung (Hot dry time): August to October
Wurrgeng (Cool dry season): June to August


Almost 6 years ago, over a Good Friday/Easter Sunday holidays, I did a 3 days visit to Uluru and really enjoyed the experience. Australia being such a big land, it is significantly different being in NT versus the usual capital cities.

This round, I took advantage of the Labour Day long weekend and did a quick 3-days to the Top End with a friend. So yep, I was at the Top End during the monsoon season. In fact, the plane had to circled a bit before attempting to land due to the monsoon rain as we arrived to Darwin.

It was a long weekend but because of the flight timing, we get exactly 3 full days by arriving just past midnight on a Saturday and departing Darwin very early morning (1am) on a Tuesday. No annual leave taken.

Here goes.

Day 1: Darwin (1 night)

After picking up our rented car, we proceeded straight to the Darwin CBD where we booked a night at the H on Smith Hotel. Room was clean and updated but breakfast was forgetable.

Post breakfast, we wandered a little around this quiet CBD towards the Waterfront Precinct.

Christ Church Cathedral - where new cathedral was constructed around a historic porch

Darwin Waterfront Precinct

It was warm and humid, just like being back in Malaysia, so after a while we decided it is time for round 2 of breakfast and hit the Parap Market. This market only opens on Saturdays, 8am - 2pm. It is quite small but the cooked food on sale were of a good variety (in particularly South East Asian influenced food) and tasty. I read that the famous one to try is the laksa but both my friend and I lived in Northern Malaysia, curry laksa just isn't our favourite type of laksa. Instead we shared satay and eggplant baos, plus bought pineapples, purple dragonfruit and some Thai sticky rice dessert. They were all tasty food.

Indonesian satay with peanut and chilli sauce

Eggplant bao

We had our dose of coffee at a nearby cafe, Laneway Specialty Coffee. I decided on iced coffee in view of the hot temperature and because, ice-cream. We returned for an iced latte each the day we arrived back from Darwin, so yes, the coffee was good.


We didn't want to arrive in Kakadu in the dark plus wanting to leave some time for detour, so we left Darwin just after. Our first stop after leaving Darwin was Window on the Wetlands Visitor Centre. The visitor centre is on Beatrice Hill, one of the highest points overlooking the Adelaide River floodplains. There are interactive displays to explain the Aboriginal and European histories of the area, plus the wildlife in the area.


A short 5 minutes away was our next stop, the Original Adelaide River Queen Jumping Crocodile Cruises. It was a last minute decision so we went to the nearest and joined the last departure of the day at 3pm. It went for an hour and the crocodiles were just next to the boat.

The jumping one

The non jumping one.. because this was a big one and a little too heavy to jump

After the crocodiles were fed, the birds of prey were fed.


Day 1 ended when we arrived in Jabiru and checked in for the next 2 nights.

Day 2: Kakadu National Park

First stop was to the Bowali Visitor Centre to pay for the Kakadu National Park pass as well as checking which sites in the national park that were still accessible. Many sites were closed high water levels due to frequent rainpour in the monsoon seasons.

We went on our merry way to the Kubara pools walk, a 6km return walk past sandstone cliffs to shady monsoon forest pools. The staff whom we spoke to said that this is one of her favorite walks. However we didn't see the pools even though we went as far as taking off our shoes and crossed barefooted a big puddle of water.


The water was clean and it was refreshing but walking barefooted on the stones was similarish to the having reflexology which I don't do very well. After navigating through that puddle of water, we arrived to the start of the walk, only to see a string to prevent one from going further and caution signs to beware of crocodiles and buffalos. Considering that many sites were inaccessible due to water levels so we decided to turn back.


We repeated the take-off-shoes-and-cross-puddle exercise and that was the end of our Kubara pools walk.

So we went to the next walk near to Kubara pools walk, Nanguluwurr art site walk. This was described as a 3.4km return walk through woodlands to a quiet Aboriginal rock art site and to allow 2 hours.



We didn't think it took 2 hours, though I was hoping that there were more to the art considering that the walking to the art site took a while. It definitely felt a long walk especially it was really humid-warm the day of our visit.

We then returned to the hotel for lunch and decided to do the cruise on the Yellow Water. Friend went to make the booking and I was tasked to get a takeaway box for the pizza that we were going to eat-in. I accidentally became a 'pizza thief' after I left promptly after puting the pizza to the box, thinking that it would be billed to the room. I did ring the hotel reception to own up, just in case. ;)

I really enjoyed the Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudjba) Cruise which went on the Yellow Water Wetlands and the guide talks about the nature and culture. It was a little pricey though at $90 for 2 hours because we did the 4:30pm slot. The earliest slot is the most expensive as it includes breakfast and the ones during the day are shorter so are cheaper comparatively.

At certain areas at Yellow Water are closed to boating to prevent spread of salvinia, a free-floating aquatic fern native to South America. It was originally imported as an aquarium plant but reproduces very rapidly by growing from small fragments. 

Darter bird drying its wings

Day 3: Kakadu National Park, Darwin

We stopped by the Bowali Visitor Centre again as friend wanted to check out the Marrawuddi Gallery at the visitor centre which stocks Aboriginal arts, crafts, books and gifts. She got a cool art piece of a Mimi spirit. In the meantime, I rounded the visitor centre and saw this large termite mound.


We planned to stopby the Litchfield National Park to check out a couple of things including the magnetic termite mounds at the Litchfield National Park. Unfortunately we were caught at Scott Creek and stopped to wait for the water levels to recede. After we passed through this patch of the road, we decided to just continue all the way to Darwin to be on the safe side.


On arrival to Darwin, we went on a little hunt to find Kakadu plum and found them at the Aboriginal Bush Traders.  I wasn't familiar with it but according to friend, it is a superfood and contains high concentration of vitamin C.

We also visited the Mindil Beach even though the Sunset Market is not yet opened.


It was quiet apart from a handful other families who brought their dogs out for a run. We weren't expecting to see any sunset as it was cloudy the whole day but Mindil Beach did throw us a pretty sunset show which we caught when we had dinner at a nearby restaurant.


Our last activity of the day was to see the Bruce Munro Tropical Lights. It is an outdoor exhibition of illuminated sculptures across the CBD and they are lighted up nightly from 7pm-10pm. The city is taking this exhibition seriously, we found out that staffs are engaged to patrol around to ensure that the lights are still working, the exhibitions are still intact etc.

Here are the illuminated sculptures.

Pukul Lima (Temperate Clock), 2019

Telegraph Rose, 2019. This one comes with an audio element of morse code.

Green Flash, 2017. This is express the optical phenomena which occurs right after sunset or before sunrise, for a second of two. (Well, saw it, didn't snap it in time but didn't want to wait again)

Time and Again, 2019 (37 stainless steel lily pads forming a convex done with each lily with a design to represent past, present and future)

Sun Lily, 2019 (Created uniquely for Darwin, with the Spider Lily in the heart of the sculpture)

Light Shower, 2019

Water-Towers, 2010

Side note: Stay safe

Index page for my 10 days in Jordan trip.


Pre-travel
Breakdown of travel days and links to accommodations.
Things to consider when planning a trip to Jordan.
Food to try in Jordan.



Petra
Day 1: Arriving in Jordan and bus to Petra/Wadi Musa
Day 2: Main Trail, Ad-Deir and Al-Khubtha trails and Petra by Night
Day 3: High Place of Sacrifice Trail in Petra



Wadi Rum
Day 4: Jeep tour and overnight at Wadi Rum



Aqaba
Day 5: Of Red Sea and walkabout in Aqaba



Amman / Jerash / Al-Karak
Day 6: Back to the north to the capital of Jordan, Amman
Day 7: Day trip to Jerash from Amman
Day 8: Day trip to Kerak Castle from Amman



Madaba / Mount Nebo / Bethany Beyond the Jordan / Dead Sea
Day 9 - Day trip to Madaba, Mount Nebo, Bethany Beyond the Jordan and overnight at Dead Sea
Day 10 - Dead Sea and flight home



Side note: There are so much more other interesting places in Jordan like Wadi Mujib, Dana Biosphere Reserve, Aljoun...

Mansaf
Said to be the national food of Jordan. The main component of the dish is rice, a type of protein (traditional choice of protein is lamb) and jameed. Jameed is a hard dried out and fermented goats milk yoghurt, cooked into a gravy. It is used to pour over the rice and meat. Traditionally it is to be eaten with hand, where you shaped the rice into a ball shaped with your fingers and pushed the rice ball into your mouth. Of course, the more jameed you pour on the rice, the easier the rice ball can be formed.

The picture above was mansaf with lamb but the first ever dish I had in Jordan was mansaf with chicken. I find Jameed a bit too gamey for my tastebud though. I had mansaf with lamb in Amman in Al-Quds Restaurant in downtown, JOD 6.50 but the chicken mansaf was from Wadi Musa at the guesthouse. It was much more expensive but bigger portion at JOD 10.

Mansaf with chicken

Maqluba
It was my second last day and I really wanted to try maqluba so I went to Al Quds Restaurant at downtown as I recalled reading somewhere that they serve the dish. Well, they do but what I didn't expect was that they don't serve it daily. I was told they made it on a Saturdays and possibly another day on the weekdays. So I ordered the mansaf with lamb. I asked the waiter if he knew where else I can find maqluba but he told me a restaurant which was about 20 minutes drive away. It sounded like Al Quds and possibly is, though I don't know if they are afflicted to each other or just simply sound the same.

I was determined to try maqluba before I left Jordan and coincidentally picked up a leaflet from a restaurant that said they offer maqluba so I went the next day. I expected to see the dish served "upside down". After all maqluba means "upside down" and said would be flipped onto a serving dish to form a tower so I was a little disappointed. In fact I felt it was served like mansaf. It was still delicious though. I had it at Pizza Roma Cafe (yep, very unassuming name eh) but please note they charge 16% sales tax on top of the JOD 7 for the dish.




Mandi
I thought it was biryani but it was cooked differently. I've never had mandi before and this one was so good. The portion was huge but it was so good that I couldn't stop eating. This was JOD 12, also at the guesthouse where I stayed in Wadi Musa.



Mixed grill meat and chips
I thought I would try to save some money and not eat at the guesthouse in Wadi Musa on my third day so I just walk in to a random shop along the street. I suspected that the chef was a little heavy handed on turmeric. Slightly cheaper than the 2 says prior but still cost me JOD 9. Taste wise, could be better. I wrote some postcards while waiting and posted them after dinner but none of the intended recipients have reported receiving a postcard till now.



Fish sayadieh
Sayadieh fish is a fish and rice, an Aqaba specialty. I had the dish in a restaurant named Ali Baba, JOD 11.25. I was introduced to this restaurant by the hotel I stayed. Apparently it is an Aqaba institution but I found the waitstaff who served me a little unfriendly, even to me.

For some reason, the rice portion of the dish reminded of tomato rice.



Falafel and Hummus
Possibly the most famous place to get your dose of falafel in Amman - Hashem. There is no menu so you would need to know some names of the food you want. I ordered falafel, hummus and mint tea. All 3 items cost me JOD 2.50.

Please pardon my questionable food placement for photography, obviously I can't wait to eat

Kunefe
The famous place to go for this very sweet treat is Habiba. If you can, try to visit the old shop at Habiba Downtown. It is located at an alley way and a very narrow shop, you'll see a line of people queueing to get in to the shop. Pay upfront and you'll be passed a piece of paper to hand over to the staffs inside.

The first time I went there, the old shop was closed for 15 minutes. They have another shop round the corner which is much bigger and you can eat inside the shop but half the fun is eating it at the roadside with all other people!

There are 2 types of kunefe on offer, I wasn't sure which one to get and asked the person in front of me. He pointed to the one with white cheese, so that was the one I get. I can vouched that the one with white cheese is much tasty because I have tried the other one when I went the first time. To be honest, I probably can't tell which is which if I returned. So I guess if all fails, follow the person in front? A small piece costs JOD 0.70.



Kebab sandwich
From a random kebab shop near hotel. I can't read Arabic and don't know what is the right term to use to order so I took a picture and showed the staff, to which the staff replied, "sandwich". Ok and this was JOD 1.25.

Sorry - poor food photo, wrong focus but good sandwich!

Ice-cream
From a random shop in Jerash, JOD 2. This was cardamon pistachio flavour.



Side note: Ikea is where you go to buy one thing and came out with 5 more. 

The Promised Land

The day where transportation was easiest but also most expensive. The 4 places above are popular circuit for day trip from Amman. Despite their popularity, it still wasn't easy to get to these places by public transport.

The guesthouse where I stayed didn't have the option of joining other people for a cheaper alternative. So I engaged a driver via the guesthouse to get to Madaba, Mount Nebo, Bethany and Dead Sea, in that order because I treated myself to a night's stay at the Dead Sea, JOD 55.


Madaba
My stop in Madaba was to visit the famous Mosaic Map at St George's Church. Entrance fee JOD 1 (not included in Jordan Pass)

Housed in this 19th-century Greek Orthodox church is this mosaic map, crafted in AD 560, represents the oldest map of Palestin in existence and has 157 captions (in Greek) depicting all the major biblical sites of the Middle East.

Part of the mosaic map

Inside the church

Mount Nebo
Entrance fee JOD 2 (not included in Jordan Pass)

Mount Nebo, where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land, a land he was forbidden to enter. It is believed that when Moses died at age 120, he was buried in the area.


Inside the area, one can also enter the Moses Memorial Church which also house magnificent mosaics.



Moses' view of the Promised Land towards ancient Gilead, Judah, Jericho and the Negev is marked by an Italian-designed bronze memorial next to the church. The ironwork is said to symbolise the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross and the serpent that 'Moses lifted up' in the desert.

Just as Moses Lifted up the Serpent in The Desert, the Son of Man Must be Lifted up, So that Everyone Who Believes in Him May Have Eternal Life. (John 3:14-15)

Souvenir workshop
I didn't sign up to visit a souvenir shop but it included a demonstration on mosaic which was interesting enough so I'm not complaining.


Aside from mosaic making, also on offer was ostrich egg. I have no idea why I didn't take a photo. The ostrich egg was made by using crushed mosaic so it had a coarse texture. I was told that first the mosaics were crushed, then water was added to make it into liquid. Then some talcum powder was added make it less watery. Lastly a needle like apparatus was used to poke the egg to form the art required.


I almost bought this but walked away with a mosaic magnet. The word 'Jordan' was written with glue, then she added the said using a small funnel. After adding topping with sand, it was made compact by tapping the sand and make circular movements on a rough stone surface. Lastly glue was added and let dry.


Bethany Beyond the Jordan / Al-Maghtas
AD 26 - Jesus Christ is said to be baptised in Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan by John the Baptist. The first church is built soon after at Rihab, reputedly proteccting Jesus' disciples from persecution in Jerusalem.

I thought of visiting but wasn't sure if the trip would happened, so I didn't add Bethany Beyond the Jordan in to my Jordan Pass on purchase. I ended up paying JOD 12 at the ticketing office. If I added this option to my Jordan Pass, I would get a small discount and paid additional JOD 8 instead.

Visiting this Baptism site is a little different, the ticket comes with a sort of guided tour that goes for an hour. I said sort of, because I am unsure if the guide was for the whole group or just few people. Haha. After getting the tickets, we waited for a shuttle bus that leaves about every 30 minutes.


After a couple of viewing points, we reached the Baptismal Pool. This is no longer on the Jordan River as the river path has moved over the course of time.


From here, we continued walking towards Jordan River. Just before arriving at the Jordan River, the walking trail passes a golden-roofed Greek Orthodox church dedicated to St. John the Baptist.



Onwards to the Jordan River.


According to the LP travel guide, it is said that you can be baptised if the Jordan if accommpanied by a priest. No baptism happened when I was there, not at the Jordan side but yes, at the Israel side. At the time, I didn't realised that bapstim was in progress and tried to ask one of the soldiers. He misunderstood me and told me I should not go into the water. Haha. I didn't proceed asking but have since realised what happened at the other side of the bank.


Dead Sea
One of the world's saltiest bodies of water needs no further introduction.


This was my last stop of the day. After checking in, I walked to the beach area and slathered myself with mud, waited for it to dry and walked into the water. It was so buoyancy that it is tricky to navigate in the water. I tasted a drop of water to confirm that it was indeed very salty.

The container that was filled with mud goodness

Salt crystals sedimentation and Israel in faraway

Not much of a sunset when I was there but pretty nonetheless

I stayed in Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea for the night. The hotel was designed to look like Arabic Village setting.


I arranged for Raed, the driver to pick me up from the hotel and send me to the airport the next day, JOD 35. He told me in advance that if he didn't come, he would send his brother and texted me to confirm that his brother would come the same night.


Side note: Please have good weather in Darwin!