Wadi Rum

I made it to Jordan, the 3rd country, on my list. After spending a day at the beach in Eilat at the Red Sea, it was time to move on. And since it reached 104 degrees, being right next to the sea for a day was definitely needed. 

I had some recommendations on what do do in Jordan and obviously Petra was at the top of the list. Others had also recommended Wadi Rum. So I figured why not. From Eilat, I took a bus close to the border, walked through passport control, dealt with the taxi mafia on the other side, and arrived in Aqaba. From here I took a minibus to Rum Village. I had a very entertaining ride as these 2 Jordanian girls nonstop chatted with me on the hour long ride. Too bad most of it was in Arabic so I didn't have a clue what they were saying most of the time. But we were helping each other out in the language department. I helped reinforce some of their English and I learned a bit of Arabic. We did work on counting to 10 in English and their mom taught me a few basics phrases in Arabic. There were some other women on the bus who asked if I spoke Arabic as well since I'm sure they wanted to talk. It's too bad since they also talked the entire hour ride to Rum Village. 

Once I arrived, and after making sure I was with the right camping/guide company, I got a cup of tea, played soccer with a few local boys, and finally hopped into the jeep to head out to the campsite. We did make a couple of detours (checked on the camels and saw the Chicken Rock), and the guide let me drive for a bit. I haven't driven a stick shift in several years, but I'm happy to say that I was able to drive through the desert without stalling. Go me. The desert is known for their sunrises and sunsets, and we arrived just about sunset, but it wasn't promising. Too much cloud cover. Instead my camp mates and I sat around the fire, played some sort of guitar instrument, smoked some hookah (unsuccessfully for me), and drank tea. We then headed to the living room hut and proceeded to eat a ton of food that the hosts had prepared. On full stomachs, we chit chatted a bit more under the moon.

Attempting some local music.

I mentioned I was camping. Yes, there was a tent. But they are a bit more rearmament and actually had a bed and electricity. And way more sturdy than a tent, especially as it proceeded to thunderstorm that first night. It was kind of fun, but the thunder felt like it was right above me and woke me up several times. The following morning, I woke up to hopefully see the sunrise, but the clouds were in the way, again. Fortunately, after some more thunder and lightening, the weather proceeded to get better. Good thing since I was going on camel ride. I spent about 5 hours wandering around the desert checking out the various sights of Wadi Rum with my own personal tour guide. Only the best when you travel solo.

Riding Foo Foo.

I saw some springs, went into a canyon, ran part of the way up a sand dune (and walked the rest of the way), ran all the way down the sand dune, climbed up some rocks, and just took in all the beautiful ('jamil' in Arabic) scenery. The camel ride was pretty cool. Getting up and down was an experience in itself since it has to do this dip thing in order for me to get off.

We ended at the village, where I proceeded to go to a Jordanian, Arabic, and Bedouin wedding that I had gotten invited to. Of course I'm not traveling with wedding apparel, let alone apparel that would be appropriate. However, I made do with what I had (pants, dress, and scarf). There was a range of outfits among the women, from traditional Arabic clothing, to nice dresses, and jeans and tank-tops. The wedding was a 2-day event and separated by gender. Fortunately I was in the more fun tent as we got to dance. Apparently the men just sit around, drink coffee and tea, and chat. We also chatted, but we got to dance, so that already made it better. I made friends with a French girl who is volunteering in the village for a few months. The younger girls latched onto us and proceeded to teach us some of the dancing and kept providing tea for us. It was a long afternoon and evening though. And to think there was another day for celebration. I didn't meet the bride though. I don't think she comes until the 2nd day. After dinner, I made my way back to the campsite and met all the new people staying that night. The sky was much clearer so we played music and had more tea under the moon and stars around the fire.

Lawrence's Springs.

Since I wanted a down day to relax a bit more at the campsite, I actually decided to stay another night. After the sunrise, I went into the village to get wifi and connect with the girl I was staying in Petra. Well she didn't react in the best way and I decided to cancel my reservation with her. So I made new accommodations, and hiked a bit near the village. Afterwards, I headed back and relaxed at the campsite for a bit and watched the sunset. I also did a photoshoot with a Chinese girl staying overnight with her mom. I decided to spend the night under the stars. Which was pretty cool. No animals were lurking around. I only saw one fox and some lizards in mountains so far at that point. The moon was very bright, but it was nice as it reminded me when were kids and would camp out on the deck in the summer time.

Camping under the stars. 

Before moving on to Petra, I had one last sunrise. I drove with the owner of the campsite to a different location where we climbed a rock barefoot. He may have also proposed to me, which I managed to brush off. I think he was kidding, but a part of me wasn't entirely sure. But the sunset was really nice. 

I rode a camel, went to a wedding, may or may not have been proposed to and spent the night under the stars. All in all, a pretty nice time in the desert.