What should I do if I want to ship something from Jordan?
Most major shops that work with international visitors are experienced in arranging international shipments. Just make sure you feel confident that they can do the job. Some merchants may tell you that they can ship - "no problem" - but once you start probing the details, you discover they are engaging in wishful thinking.
Start by asking questions about the whole shipping process - who they use, what paperwork you will need for receiving your shipment, how long it will take, who does the packing, and the total costs for packing and shipping from the store to your door. You may be surprised by the answers to their questions!
Make sure you pay particular attention to the quality of packing. Some merchants don't have a clue as to how best to pack delicate items - they wrap to disguise the identity of the item rather than secure it!
There's nothing worse than finding a unique treasure and then receiving it damaged, because someone did not know how to pack properly. This is when that recommended suitcase full of bubble wrap, along with packing tape, comes in real handy as you re-pack items to your own standards.
Keep in mind that you will need to clear Customs at your end and pay additional fees for handling your shipment at the airport or shipping terminal and then arranging for it to be delivered to your home or office.
You may find the cost of receiving a shipment at your end is as expensive as the international transportation! Indeed, a US$500 shipping quote may turn out to cost you US$1,000 because of all the additional add-on fees and transportation charges at your end. International shipments by sea from Jordan should cost no more than US$250 per cubic meter.
You may find that shipping many items by air freight is more convenient and not much more expensive than shipping by sea. Be sure to check on the comparative costs of sea versus air shipments.
If you are considering air shipments, make sure you get a quote for air freight shipments, which can be arranged through a shipping broker. Shipping by FedEx, UPS, or DHL can be extremely expensive for large items - two to three times more than air freight.
TIP: Whenever possible, take your treasures with you. If you travel with one suitcase, you can use your additional baggage allowance to transport your purchases in another suitcase or a special well-packed box.
Many shops will pack your items to airline specifications. Alternatively, many hotels can help you pack boxes or will direct you to good packers. Just ask the concierge or front desk for packing and shipping assistance.
Using your baggage allowance in this manner may save you a few hundred dollars in international shipping costs. But be sure to check with the airlines on specifications for such a box. Security regulations on some airlines may prohibit such packing.
Is the duty-free shopping any good?
It's as good as it gets, which may not be saying much. You'll have to decide for yourself based upon your comparative duty-free shopping experience. Duty-free shopping is not all that it is made out to be.
It's primarily designed for impulsive rather than smart buyers. A smart shopper would need to know exactly what comparable items sell for elsewhere - is that US$700 Gucci watch really a good deal compared to other duty-free shops (try Dubai, Amsterdam, or Singapore), department stores back home, or on Amazon.com?
Most duty-free shoppers do not have such comparative information. Duty-free shops are designed for last-minute impulsive buyers who lack price smarts. Such buyers are enticed to immerse themselves into seductive Western-style retail shopping, complete with air-conditioned shops, nice displays, lots of lighting, price tags, sale signs, credit card processing, and customer service - qualities that may be missing in the local shopping scene.
First and foremost, duty-free shopping is a big business for both airports and retailers who realize big profit margins on ostensibly bargain items. Overhead costs for airport duty-free shops are generally very high (prime retail space), and those costs are passed on to customers who don't know much about this lucrative trade.
Although popular with many travelers, duty-free shopping does not particularly appeal to us since we can get similar items back home for the same or better prices through very competitive catalog and online shopping. So why should we carry such items around the world with us when we have limited luggage space, which we dedicate for acquiring more interesting locally produced items?
Amongst all the imported items, you will find some local products in the duty-free airport shops. However, these are not really duty-free, since they don’t have duties built into the price structure to begin with!
Check out the duty-free shopping, but don’t expect to get great bargains even though the stores advertise themselves as offering good buys. Remember, this is "goodbye retail shopping" in a very high rent setting. But everything is relative.
Americans, for example, come from a very competitive retail environment that emphasizes deep discounting in stores and factory outlets as well as online. For them, duty-free shopping is more an interesting travel distraction than an exercise in good shopping value.
VOLUNTOURISM OPPORTUNITIES
Are there any volunteer opportunities in Jordan?
Yes, you can find many opportunities to volunteer while on vacation in Jordan - from teaching English, visiting nursing homes, helping in an orphanage, and assisting people who are blind and deaf, to building homes, painting and refurbishing old schools, writing grant proposals, cleaning up the environment, and donating money to good causes.
Indeed, Jordan has joined the growing international voluntourism movement (see www.voluntourism.org, www.voluntourism.com, and www.wikipedia.org/wiki/voluntourism for more details on this travel concept, including examples and testimonials).
This is a great way to meet the local people, venture into new "travel" territory, give back to communities, and share your values with others who appreciate a helping hand. It can be a tremendously satisfying hands-on cultural experience.
If you are interested in incorporating a few hours or days of volunteering when visiting Jordan, for starters, check out this link to voluntourism opportunities, which appears on the Jordan Tourism Board North America website:
http://seejordan.org/voluntourism/index.html
Be sure to view their online video - the first of five featured sections called "Voluntourism in Jordan," which gives a nice overview of the concept of voluntourism in Jordan. It includes sample itineraries with voluntourism groups (Freedom House, International Traders, Petra Moon, United Planet, Karma House) operating in Jordan.
You also can contact several organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, that offer unique volunteer opportunities in Jordan.
Most voluntourism experiences involve doing some standard touring of Jordan (seeing the highlights) but also including a few volunteer opportunities along the way.
In some cases, you will be staying with Jordanian families rather than in hotels. In others cases you can luxuriate in a five-star spa along the Dead Sea after a few days of doing hands-on volunteering in a school or orphanage.
Today, voluntourism is a wonderful concept that translates into specific programs for all types of socially conscious and curious travelers - from budget to luxury - who want to contribute their time and/or money to worth causes and people in need of assistance without having to join the Peace Corps for a lengthy low budget volunteer experience!
Click here to go back to Page 14a.
Click here to go the next page, 14c.
Go to Jordan home page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15
