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The "Veeeery" Best in All of Jordan
04.13.03
By Dick Gordon
Ever wake up on a trip and had absolutely no idea where you are?
It happens occasionally to me. Not this morning. The call to prayer
immediately set me straight some time between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.
We spent the day gathering what we need including six cases of
water and a generator. The Jordanians advise against the Korean
or the China models. We saw some Hondas made in India and passed
on those. We ended up with one that has a Japanese engine and
a British power unit. They are set up to run on kerosene (much
cheaper in Jordan), but it will also run on gas (used to be much
cheaper in Iraq we'll see). The man who sold it to us plied us
with tiny china cups of Turkish coffee and assured us it was "the
veeeery best in all of Jordan." I hope so. I'd hate to be
hosting a show from Baghdad and find myself forced off the air
by a dodgy generator. We also bought gas tanks, a pump, assorted
biscuits, crackers, dried fruit, apples, power cables, and plug
converters, half a dozen small bottles of whisky, and several
cartons of Marlboros (favors for those thought to be both friendly
and unfriendly). "Pack," we've been warned, "like
you'll get nothing you want in Baghdad." We were also asked,
by a couple of reporters who've been stuck in Baghdad, to bring
in cigars and espresso. That's ready to go as well.
The last time I did the 14 hour drive from Amman to Baghdad, (January
2001) Saddam Hussein was still in control. The hired truck cost
$300. It's going to cost us a lot more than that this time. The
road's thought to be a bit unsafe, especially for isolated vehicles.
Journalists have been hooking up in convoys to make the run down
the highway, because there have been reports of some Iraqi irregulars
trying to do a little extortion at impromptu roadblocks. Some
people have been two days on the highway, overnighting roadside
in the desert because they are slowed to the point where they
would only get to Baghdad in the dark, and the city is under curfew,
so they had to wait. Word is, its best to wear your vest throughout
the whole trip to be on the safe side. Great. Fourteen to 16 hours,
strapped in Kevlar and ceramic plates, bouncing around in the
back seat of a Suburban. That's something to look forward to.
We have what we need, we're ready to go now, except for those
damn lost bags.
Marc has spent much of the day on the phone to Air France and Royal
Jordanian Airlines trying to make sure our lost bags are here this evening.
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FIELD REPORTS
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