Monday, July 13, 2009

Wadi Rum

Time to explore the land of Sir Lawrence of Arabia - Wadi Rum, Jordan. I can say that there was no rum to be found. The desert is surrounded by sandstone monoliths, which probably make excellant climbing, though not for me. Wadi Rum is about two hours from Petra. The hot desert is one of my favorite environments and Wadi Rum reminds me a bit of the desert southwest of the US.

My Wadi Rum tour was easily the most disorganized operation yet, but it still did not detract from the beauty of this place that so intrigued TE Lawrence. Actually, the tour operation was so bad that it brought an element of humor to the experience. Our Sudanese driver, though a nice guy, spoke no english, The jeep was started by hotwiring and was always on the verge of not starting - not a good thing in this heat. The four wheel drive did not work, so we got stuck in the sand. I thought we would have to ride the camels out, but in the end, we were able to free the vehicle and return. The night spent under the stars was nice, though I think not comparable with the night in the dunes in Morocco. Overall it was a great experience.
I have now left Jordan and am about to leave my next country, but that will have to wait for my next posting.