I never got to finish about Jordan.
WADI RUM: i mentioned quickly the other day about this place. A camping, 4wd'ing, mincing around heaven.
It is all at the same time canyon country, rock wall country, desert country, bedouin country and camel country. It also has very similar features to Fraser Island (well the sand and dunes anyway).
We jumped in a Landcruiser at the start of the valley, and after our crazy Bedouin driver raced a freight train to its crossing (we won by the way...just) we were into the heart of the Wadi.
It is not a massive place, you can drive from end to end in about an hour, but the features make it seem much more immense.
We spent time running up dunes, watching locals try to surf the dunes in their Jeeps (unsuccessfully), climbing rock features that are reminiscent of Hole in the Wall on Mt Castle (is that Mt Walker?), and speeding through the desert in the Cruiser.
Just before sunset we got to the camp, an isolated set of tents underneath a huge rock wall and tucked in behind another protective rock outcrop. The sandstorms they get here can last 3 days and you can only see 1m in front of you - the more protection the better!
The main Bedouin tent was a huge goat hair number that housed a luxurious interiour akin to a Turkish bar. Red-patterned carpets on the floor surrounded a fireplace where the Bedouin tent-master cooked chicken and Pita bread with thyme and olive oil. Around the outside of the interior were VERY comfortable backrests surrounding the entire tent, again adorned with that characteristic red patterned carpet. Lying back on these while the guide talked about Jordanian customs, I almost lost the battle to stay awake. The talk of Shisha soon got me back up and rearing to go.
Red wine, baklava, more shisha and talk rounded off a very enjoyable evening.
Living the Dream! Could have been a touch warmer though! Got below zero at night, it inspired me to buy another jacket for Everest Base Camp.
THE DEAD SEA: The itinerary mentioned that no trip to Jordan was complete without the experience of floating on the Dead Sea's extremely bouyant waters. 33% salt they are. Think about dilutuing that much salt in a glass why don't ya? And it's getting more salty over time as the sea loses 1m of depth every year! Thanks agriculture and dams. This is even speeding up the decay of Petra some 30kms away.
I had no idea about how floating in it would feel, but geez, it is really freaky at first. you can stand bolt upright in the water (well not as bolt upright as Glen McGrath), feet not touching, and have your shoulders sticking out of the water! Which is a good thing. Apparently people die there each year by diving under, and the extreme pressure forces VERY salty water into every orifice. Good fun.
We also got caked in Dead Sea mud (some cool photos to come) and it did feel like our skin was 5 years younger after we washed it off. No ad necessary.
After these fun and games we had a 5-star buffet with No shit the BEST dessert selecting I have ever seen. No point describing them, the best method is to tell you I had 2 very full plates of dessert after alrteady having 2 very full plates of mains. Nunu wasn't far behind.
Did I mention that we loved Jordan!
