Exploring the Middle East: Jordan
After a long overnight travel, I arrived in Jordan in the morning. I had originally planned on catching a minibus to Wadi Musa (Petra) from Amman but ended up missing the last one and had to pay a fortune to take a cab all the way there. And the cab driver was very touchy, an inappropriate amount and I had to repeatedly tell him to stop. Needless to say, I was not starting out well here. Luckily, my hotel was quite nice and the guy at reception and the guy at the supermarket around the corner were both great and cheered me up. Not to mention, the food was amazing. The next day I went into the ancient city of Petra. Another over-priced adventure but it was a cool place. Lots of tourists though.
The following day I went to Wadi Rum and ended up being on a 2 day tour with a German couple my age who were really awesome! Our guide was Bedouin, the native people in Jordan. The Bedouins more or less own the Wadi Rum area which is a massive desert with “mountains” popping up throughout it. When we arrived we went for a camel ride! Since arriving in Jordan, I have become obsessed with camels, they are absolutely hilarious, so I was very happy about this activity. After the camel ride, we rode in the back of a 4x4 truck to several hiking spots and canyons throughout the desert. Our guide was young, but he did a good job. Not only was he driving us everywhere, but he also did all the cooking. We caught sunset which was beautiful and then picked a random location and slept outside. I woke up around 3am and when I looked up, the stars were stunning. The clearest I have ever seen them. The milkyway was easily visible. The next day was more of the same, lots of hiking and driving around the desert. We hiked up to a viewpoint where you can see the border with Saudi Arabia. At the end of the day we took a cab to Aqaba, the town on the Red Sea. I went scuba diving there the next day. The water was incredibly blue and the visibility was the best I have experienced. We did a wreck dive which was a ship that the King of Jordan ordered to be sunk specifically for the purpose of scuba diving and we also did the Japanese Garden area. I could see the Eqyptian and Israeli coast from where we were diving.
The food in Jordan was some of the best I have had. However, the men here were awful. I went for a run one morning in Aqaba and I have never felt so demeaned in my life. I would not go back as a single female traveller. But all of the sites I got to see were incredible and totally unique experiences. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was not unemployed (it was expensive) and in a group. There are several other places you can go, like the Dead Sea, but I just didn’t have the time because I wanted to head to Israel.
I love camels!
Ancient ruins in Petra
Monastery ruins in Petra
Treasury in Petra
Wadi Musa
Wadi Rum Sunset
Camel riding in Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum overlooking Saudi Arabia
Arabian nights
Wadi Rum
Ship Wreck in the Red Sea
The following day I went to Wadi Rum and ended up being on a 2 day tour with a German couple my age who were really awesome! Our guide was Bedouin, the native people in Jordan. The Bedouins more or less own the Wadi Rum area which is a massive desert with “mountains” popping up throughout it. When we arrived we went for a camel ride! Since arriving in Jordan, I have become obsessed with camels, they are absolutely hilarious, so I was very happy about this activity. After the camel ride, we rode in the back of a 4x4 truck to several hiking spots and canyons throughout the desert. Our guide was young, but he did a good job. Not only was he driving us everywhere, but he also did all the cooking. We caught sunset which was beautiful and then picked a random location and slept outside. I woke up around 3am and when I looked up, the stars were stunning. The clearest I have ever seen them. The milkyway was easily visible. The next day was more of the same, lots of hiking and driving around the desert. We hiked up to a viewpoint where you can see the border with Saudi Arabia. At the end of the day we took a cab to Aqaba, the town on the Red Sea. I went scuba diving there the next day. The water was incredibly blue and the visibility was the best I have experienced. We did a wreck dive which was a ship that the King of Jordan ordered to be sunk specifically for the purpose of scuba diving and we also did the Japanese Garden area. I could see the Eqyptian and Israeli coast from where we were diving.
The food in Jordan was some of the best I have had. However, the men here were awful. I went for a run one morning in Aqaba and I have never felt so demeaned in my life. I would not go back as a single female traveller. But all of the sites I got to see were incredible and totally unique experiences. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was not unemployed (it was expensive) and in a group. There are several other places you can go, like the Dead Sea, but I just didn’t have the time because I wanted to head to Israel.
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