We arrived back at Amman at 10:00 am. We took a taxi to another bus station to catch the next bus to Damascus. Finding out that the next bus for Damascus left at 3:00 p.m., and thinking our journey would be seven hours, we did not want to get into the city that late. So, we took a service taxi, with two other persons, and left within a half hour -- this cost us $4.00 more than the bus would have.
In hindsight, the service taxi was the better option for crossing the border from Jordan into Syria. Our taxi driver was helpful in rushing us through the four/five checkpoints at the border to get us through quickly.
Everytime, we would get into the car and sit down, the taxi driver would drive a few metres and then motioned us to get our passports out AGAIN. When I would ask AGAIN, he would nod his head. It WAS Like the Amazing Race. I think it was also helpful that we went to the VIP/Diplomats Line as the Foreigners Line seemed somewhat derogatory.
When we arrived at the outskirts of Damascus, the Service Taxi Driver DROPPED us off literally and one of the other persons with us (who spoke no English). We were all somewhat puzzled about where we were. However, the Driver, kept motioning to us to get our luggage out of the car -- so we did. Yes, language can be somewhat of a barrier.
So, we proceeded to get a Yellow city taxi, which promptly appeared -- surprise, surprise. Luckily, the Yellow City Taxi knew exactly the area we wanted to go to. He was indeed, a good driver, given the amount of traffic as we got closer to the City Centre. We have discovered that cars do not signal, they beep while they are proceeding.
We were somewhat concerned as we had read that we should have reserved in advance as this is high season for travelling in Syria.
The location of the hotel is perfect as it is close the the National Museum and the old City.
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