We arrived at Wadi Rum Village by bus from Wadi Musa. A German girl we met in Petra was on the bus with us. She was traveling solo, and had some really interesting stories to tell. We agreed to meet after our Bedouin camping experiences to travel to Aqaba together.
Wadi Rum Village is like no place I have ever seen before. Picture a wild west town constructed of cinder blocks, set in present day, in the heart of the desert, with some traditional Bedouin goat-hair tents thrown in for good measure. Some of the houses had camels in the backyard, because where else would they be? We actually saw a dead cat discarded beside the trash pile, as well as this EPIC set up. Such a quirky place that we didn’t have near enough time to explore!
Best of all, the Bedouin hospitality and warmth, combined with a jovial attitude made for a great start to our Wadi Rum experience. We were told to meet our guide Attallah Al-Blwi at the house with the blue door. When we eventually found the place, I asked if there was a washroom. There was one just across the street. This was the traditional ceramic hole in the floor with foot “perches”, and a scoop of water from a bucket to flush. (Really, facilities like this aren’t uncommon, but just so you know what the situation was!)
While we were waiting we were given sweet Bedouin tea and even free wi-fi which was nice to be able to check e-mail. Our group consisted of us and 3 French women who were a great trio to hang out with for the day. The 5 of us opted for a short few-hour camel ride, then a “jeep” tour through the desert before heading to the camp for the night. The camel ride was actually pretty fun, and mildly terrifying. Thankfully my camel didn’t bite me!
Wadi Rum had some of the most awe-inspiring vitas of our whole Middle East trip. Our driver, Halif, took us to Jebel Umm Fruth Rock Bridge, Jebel Burdah Rock Bridge, Lawrence Springs, the Lawrence of Arabia House and to see petroglyphs in Khaz-ali Canyon.
Since Jon had done 99.9% of the planning for the trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect when we arrived at the camp. The set-up was way more posh than I had been expecting, and actually quite cute. For dinner we had Zarb. I am thankful it wasn’t Mansaf.
Doing this tour was definitely worth it. After all, it isn’t every day I get to ride a camel through the Jordanian desert! I’ll be sure to cross that off my bucket list.
Have you crossed anything off of your list lately?
~j