Jordan

I promised Nicole that I would limit posts on airplanes and related topics, but I thought this was one worth mentioning.
Noticed the below indicator on one of our flights on Royal Jordanian. In case you don't figure it out, its a no-phone indicator. This particular flight apparently offered inflight mobile service. Gave it a try, but unfortunately couldn't get it to work.
Probably better to avoid bothering a cabin full of people and running up those international roaming charges.

Desert-haters, beware: Jordan is not the vacation destination for you. It seems like 90% of the country is vast, dry, uninhabited - and yet, for the most part, eerily beautiful - desert.

After our adventures in Petra, we were ready for some relaxation, and Wadi Rum (one of Jordan's most picturesque deserts, located about one hour south of Petra) was just the place for it. We arrived at our camp in early afternoon. (For those of you balking at the fact that Jake and I went camping, don't worry: the tents had beds and there was indoor plumbing!) It was a cool place, made even cooler by the fact that we had the whole place to ourselves for the night. After sitting around and enjoying the views for a few hours, we had a late lunch and then headed out in Talat's jeep for an off-road tour of the region.

Our camp in Wadi Rum

Even though April is high season here, we only encountered two or three other cars during our three-hour drive, which made the experience even more special. Jake's pictures don't quite capture just how quiet, beautiful, and surreal Wadi Rum really is, but they should give you some idea:

In addition to enjoying the meditative beauty of the desert, we also goofed around a little with Talat and Sami (our driver). Here's a few of my favorite pictures from the day:

We ended the trip by drinking some tea and watching the sunset atop some particularly red sand dunes in the middle of nowhere.

Back at the camp, we feasted on fresh local lamb and arabic salad with Talat and Sami, and spent the rest of the night relaxing around the camp fire and looking for shooting stars. The beds in our tent were very comfortable, although we would have slept better if it weren't for the howling of the wild dogs and the incessant "shrieking" of a local camel.

Yesterday, Sami drove us through Wadi Araba (another desert!) to the Dead Sea and on to Amman.

The shores of the Dead Sea - that white stuff is salt!

After four days of Middle Eastern buffet food, we were craving something a little different, and eventually settled on the Benihana at our hotel. Teppanyaki never tasted so good!

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A few final observations on Jordan:

- Bedouin tea: The Bedouins (the local people that live in the desert in Southern Jordan) love to drink tea, and boy do they like it sweet. When Talat makes tea, he adds about two-and-a-half HANDFULS of sugar to a small pot! It tastes good, but I think I developed a few cavities and an increased risk of Type II diabetes over the past few days. Talat told us that his father drinks about forty cups of the stuff every day; he must be on a constant sugar high!

Talat making Bedouin tea

- Camels: We've learned a lot about camels during our time in Jordan (and Dubai). They are really tall, they can run almost as fast as a horse, their "bark" is one of the most obnoxious noises ever known to man, and apparently they mate sitting down (although voyeurs would struggle to witness this because camels are very shy and don't like to "be romantic" in front of an audience). I'll miss the camels...but luckily for me, Jake does a pretty decent camel impression! (PS: I wanted to post a funny camel video that we made in Petra here, but we don´t have the bandwidth to upload it right now. It will be posted soon though, so look out for it!)

(The Nabateans being Petra's original inhabitants and builders of much of the site we see today. Though it might not be confirmed in the historical record, I'm sure they would have made efforts to capture similar sunset scenes as below.)

Our two days here have been action-packed. We've been especially lucky to have an incredible guide named Talat. Not only has he helped us understand the history of the site and taken us off the beaten path, but has also provided great insight into modern Jordanian culture. Last night, we even had the privilege of joining him for what I'm sure will rank as our best meal in Jordan at his family home (5 or 6 of his 11 brothers and sisters and some of their own families were also there!).
We've spent a total of 20 hours at the site over the past two days and have really had a chance to cover a lot of ground. Yesterday began with a walk down the Siq (gorge) to the Treasury (if you don't know Petra, you might still recognize it from Indiana Jones). The structure is truly spectacular and remarkably well-preserved, owing to the fact that its actually inset into the cliff face and therefore protected from the elements. The treasury, like almost all other structures in Petra, is actually a tomb - built to ensure that the Nabateans would live comfortably during the afterlife.

The afternoon was mainly spent hiking up to the "Monastery" - another tomb in the mountains above the site that also featured a very unique scenic view.


In case you're wondering, it wasn't really...

Today, Talat led us off-piste in the mountains around Petra and we enjoyed a mid-morning Tea on the cliffs above the Treasury. It was really something to look down at the groups gathered below, though we tried to keep as far away from the edge as possible. After lunch, we discovered a path leading up the other side of the canyon and ended up with an incredible vantage point on the other side of the structure (yes, that's us mugging for the camera with the Treasury below).
All-in-all, an active couple of days in Petra that have left us in need for a warm soak and a bit of rest - hopefully a lie-in tomorrow should be just what the doctor ordered!

Yes, those are people (well) below

We couldn't resist

We'll be going off the grid in the desert tomorrow, but stay tuned for Nicole's dispatch on our last few days in Jordan.

NB: If you're looking for an excellent guide in Jordan, Talat can be reached at [email protected] or through his travel agency www.seejordantours.com.