Adventure and Dead Sea
Today we started the day by taking a bus and heading to Wadi Mujib. It is a nature reserve that is next to Dead Sea. There are multiple different routes that can be explored, but some of them are really difficult and dangerous, people even has been dying on the routes. And they take a long time to explore, something between 6 to 8 hours. So we just took a easier and shorter route, river route that took us through a amazing canyon, walking along the river.
It was just amazing, walking through the river and just watch upwards and see how much water has been digged its way with all these years. I would say that the canyon was something around couple hundred meters deep, it was really amazing. Water was so warm and still colder than the air outside the canyon, so it was nice just to sit in the water and enjoy.
But then the fun part began, it wasn't just a nice small river that we were walking, there was a lots of rapids and small waterfalls and we had to make our way all way up to the big waterfall. It was so great and terrifying at the same time. Trying to climb up slippery rocks while water pressure is doing everything to push you back down... Well, that's an adventure, that's sure 
And in the end there was a great waterfall and I was able to walk behind the waterfall, and just take amazing shower up there, can say that when water falls rapidly from 50m, it almost hurts. And the sound is so laud that I think my ears are still hearing only the sound of the waterfall.
The way back was even more terrifying, you think that it is easier to came along the river, but that meant that in some parts when there was enough terrifying to climb up, now it was just jumping down, or sliding, or doing both at the same time. But it was so great, even though that I was terrified by my afraid of highs, but I made it.
After Wadi Mujib we went to Dead Sea. Well, it is a sea, and it was a beach, so nothing special there. Expect floating in the Dead Sea is just something. I was walking in the sea, and my legs weren't even near the bottom Too bad that I had some bruises and cuts in me, so I wasn't able to spend so much time in the sea, because even the small cut just hurt really much because the really salty water.
Nice day after all, too bad that I wasn't able to take camera with me to the river adventure, but my camera just wouldn't survived from all the water. I was so wet after the trip, and my shoes are still completely wet. Well, at least I don't need to wash them, I think that all the sand from desert trip is gone now
Trip to desert
Last weekend we had a little trip to see little more of Jordan. Our trip headed first to Petra, an ancient city that is built inside the mountain and then to Wadi Rum, a nice desert place.
Petra is just amazing place, you maybe have seen some photos of it, specially from The Treasury, because that has been featured in the Indiana Jones movie, but when you actually see it, it is just amazing. You cannot believe how big the whole place is.
And it is just a part, not everything has been dug out of sand and stone. It is just amazing how somebody actually could managed to build something like that and I cannot stop thinking that could we build anything like that nowadays anymore? The whole city inside the mountain, that is just something that I really don't think that is possible today anymore.
Next stop was to the Wadi Rum, a desert place where we had a food and slept - well in theory. In those two hours that I was able to sleep. Wadi Rum is a nice desert place we stayed right next to mountain that gave just a slightly shield from the wind, but it was still a really windy place. And right next to our camp was the real desert. It was - well amazing 
First time seeing real desert is an experience, and now I understand what everyone is meaning by saying that desert is just a big sandbox. Because that it is, nothing but sand. That part desert was not so dry so there was actually some plants growing, which was good for camels - during our camel ride they got hungry and just stopped to eat all plants. They just had to taste every plant they found
We watched sunset, which was beautiful but I think that sunset back home, on the lake is just so much prettier. And sunset is something that you should not watch in the group... And in the morning we watched sunset also, woke up early and just sat on the rocks and watched the whole show. That was nice, but again, sunrise back home, near lake on the winter morning is much prettier
In Amman
So, yesterday at 9PM we arrived to Queen Alia Airport, in Amman, Jordan. Passport check was funny, the hardest part was trying to teach the custom person how to pronounce my name correctly It wasn't so easy job to do, but in the end I managed to get it somewhere near enough. After finding working ATM that agreed with us to give us some local money we were ready for our trip to our apartments. Have to say that that bus trip was indeed something memorable, specially after you have used to finnish way of traffic. All those horns, and overtaking. What to do when there is rush and carline goes slowly? Well, instead of waiting in the line you just cut off the line and change lanes - and sometimes lanes aren't even important at all. It is possible to have in three-lane road two, three or even four cars at the same time - and all of them changing lanes at the same time. It was indeed something quite different. Good thing that I am not even able to rent a car here
Our apartments are really nice and good. Were are living two at the same apartment, sleeping in the same room and in addition we have bathroom (with shower) and living room. And balcony with just a great view. And what the best, we have service for 24/7, so if anything just broken or we need assistance, we just go to downstairs to ask for help Something that is something really really luxury in Finland. One interesting part in our apartment is the electricity, it is quite... well... in this case photo indeed speaks more than words:
At the one time when we were getting our apartment our television went dark and powerless (in that photo there is television, DVB set-top box and fridge connected to wall) and service guy was fixing it by just twisting the whole thing until we got our power. Well, we got a flash of light from wall socket but in the end we got power back to our fridge and television.
Flying
Yesterday I had something great in my life - my first life ever. It was of course a little bit exciting at first, but now afterwards I can just say that flying is just a great thing. I just like that feeling when the plane leaves the ground and all that nice feelings in the stomach when we were landing. Just great Luckily I had two flights then, so I had enough pleasure. And of course had a little bit time to take some mandatory flying photos...
All those horror stories about plane food - well, I had my flights only on Turkish Airlines, but I had to say that food was great, it was really tasty and didn't reminded at all like a rubber or anything And what was a surprise was that I had a proper meal on the both flights, not bad at all... In a kind I am already looking forward for the return flights, but luckily it is still in the future - at the moment here in Amman is just too much fun to go back
It has began
So here I am, sitting on the airport and waiting for the check-in to open. Many months ago, while it was still a spring (around Easter) I got an opportunity to attend to the summer course - in Jordan. It was just such a crazy opportunity that just could not leave used
So here I am, on a few hours I will be on the plane (hopefully) first time in my life. I already managed from the train trip as well as the bus from trainstation to airport so I think will manage just as well with airplane
I will be spending a hole month, 17.7 - 18.8 in Jordan, studying hardly of course, but keep checking this blog and my photo gallery for dozens of photos I will try to post on the trip
Old railway
I like Tampere that in the area that currently holds small industrial and stores you can find old rails. It is always a great time to cycle there and think when was the last time there actually went a train. A quite a while I think because tracks was all rusty and in those place where rails crosses a street, no cars slowed down at all. And today I noticed sad thing, they were removing tracks from streets so no trains at all anymore. It looked like they are still going to keep rails elsewhere, but it is still only a matter of time until they are removed also, i think.
Running at night
Great thing about summertime is that you are able to do something at nights also. Today was a first real warm summer day, it was quite warm to cycle fast in the sunshine. So somehow I didn't had such a great motivation to go out in the evening when there was still too warm for a run. So I left after 11PM to make my run. It had its own feeling when it was almost dark already, street lights were on and it smelled like it had been rained. And it was cooler than in the day. After all, just a great environment for running. And my run did went well
This spring has been quite different from others what comes to my running. Usually I get a lots of motivation to start running in the spring, but when it gets warmer and spring turns to summer, somehow I just stop running. But not this time, now I have been gone for a run couple times per week and managed to make my usual running trail even longer than I did in the begin. I still donät think I am a fast runner or that I am in a good shape (my runs are ~5km and takes a little bit over 33min), but if I keep running the whole summer, maybe in the autumn... Who knows...
A year later
One year ago (and one day) I decided to start a little project, I decided to post one photo every day. I had a small dream that I would even be able to take one photo every day but soon this was forgotten and I didn't even post a photo every day. But in the end, last day of March I posted last photo for the project and now I have 365 different photos that most of are taken near the posting date (usually previous weekend). More about the ending of the project can be read from http://www.mikian.com/photoyear/2009/04/01/end-of-story/ and in that blog you can also watch all photos by month, by category or by tags. Or if you like you can watch all photos in slideshow starting from the very first photo year ago and watch how the year is passing by in http://www.mikian.com/photoyear/viewer
This project was actually really interesting. More about how project went is on that last entry in Photoyear blog. But now when I think about last year and watching those photos, it seems that it has been a long time ago. Somehow I barely remember my decision to start the project, it feels like it happened many, many years ago. Well, last year was quite interesting and quite much happened, but interesting still, because usually I just have feeling that time just goes really fast. But nice thing is that I am actually really proud most of the photos, I managed to pick really great photos (if you just see all those photos I rejected from that project ). What project gave me, more inspiration to take photos, more motivation. I think that I am going to continue the project, but not as one photo per day, but still I am going to post more photos here than earlier. But only great photos
Definitely spring
Since last post it has finally started to feel more and more like spring. Okey, yesterday it tried to snow a little bit but this time it was only trying to snow, just like it should do in spring
Streets are already dry and sun is starting to be really warm when it shines and it does a lot now. And finally, it has to be spring when yesterday I saw three porsches on streets and today one more.
Spring?
At the moment weather here in Finland is a little bit weird, at least I feel so. Winter hasn't been so great, a little bit snow but there has been no really cold days at all. And now we are living March which I think as a quite spring month already. I think and like that in March the sun should shine and it should already be nice and warm but with snow still in the ground. But what we have in this year? Snowfall after snowfall. It has been snowing more than in the real winter (i.e. in January or February). It looks more winter than in January. Just weird...
