A Wonderous Night in Petra

We arrived in Wadi Mousa after a fairly pleasant bus ride and were dropped off at the Petra Moon Hostel. We weren't really looking for a place to sleep because our Bedouin friend said we would be able to stay with, to keep complete anonymity, let's just call him "Hap". We just wanted a place to store our bags. It turns out a lot of hotels and hostels don't really want to take care of stranger's bags while they are out doing God knows what. "Hap" wasn't answering the phone either which wasn't helping. We went to the Crown Plaza across the street which was much nicer but we were still denied baggage assistance when we asked to leave our things. We decided to eat something and then figure it out from there.

We found a place that had free Wi-Fi and pizza. We all split a pizza while we surfed the web for a bit waiting to hear from "Hap". The manager eventually turned the internet off on us which really pissed me off because I was in the middle of paying well overdue bills back home. I politely asked if the internet was still working and the manager told me that we had taken too long. I explained that I was I the middle of paying an important bill but he did not empathize. This really set me off so I cursed a little bit... he got mad... I got mad... long story short… we left.

I got a text saying that "Hap’s" phone had just been activated so I called him and discussed with him where he wanted to meet us. He said to leave our bags with the guards at the gate and meet him at the Monastery. The guards refused to hold our bags. There is no sleeping inside the site which the guards were suspecting but we didn't really think we would be staying inside the monument. Even after we had the guards talk to "Hap" on the phone, they still refused to let us keep our bags there. We told "Hap" we would find a guest house that would oblige to our request and then we would make it back to Petra and meet him inside. We took a cab to the Valentine hostel that we had read about and luckily the women that were running the place let us keep our things there. We had to pay them for it but that was fine by us.

We went through the main gates of Petra around 2pm. "Hap" told us to get up to the Monastery around 4:30 so we could see the sunset. The monument was absolutely stunning. The treasury was one of the most impressive sights I have see in my entire life. It was obvious why this was one of the new wonders of the world. There were loads of tourists around but that didn't take anything away from the marvel of the ancient structures tucked away in those canyon walls.

The view from the top was amazing! The sunset was beautiful and the monastery itself was just as impressive as the treasury. I had no idea what to expect but I was blown away with each step we took through Petra. "Hap" called just after the sun went down and told us to come over to where he was. I couldn't see him so we walked around a little bit looking for the mystery man. He called again after watching us roam around aimlessly and told me to look up. Low and behold, there was a Bedouin man on top of the highest point overlooking the Monastery waving down at us. We found the trail going up and made our ascent. "Hap" was delighted to see us just as we were him. We realized quickly that this was not only a shop, it was his home. He had trinkets and knick-knacks for sale but he never bothered us to buy anything.

We sat telling stories, drinking beer, and singing songs with "Hap" as he played the ude. He was a very talented musician. He even had his friend bring us a giant plate of Fatteh for our supper. It was bread with chick peas, onions, tomatoes and garlic. It was very good as well. I couldt help but smile and laugh at the situation at hand. I never imagined that I would be stationed on top of a mountain overlooking one of the seven woders of the world, dining and singing with a Bedouin man like "Hap". It was a night I will remember forever.

We watched the sun come up over the hills and light up the valley below. We had to wait a little while before descending because we weren't supposed to sleep in the Monument. If we waited till the tourists started flocking in, we would be able to escape unnoticed. "Hap" mentioned that if we ever wanted to come back, he had a cousin who needed help with his tour business and would be happy to have us come and stay with him. We said we would think about it and bid our new friend farewell.

We met a little girl pulling a tiny goat along by its ear and took some pictures. She was only six years old and had her own little shop. She told us that a man once said to her that he promised he would buy something from her shop when he came up to the Monastery. He walked around taking pictures and when he went back to the small shop he decided he wasn't going to buy anything. He then fell on his way down the hill and broke his leg. She said she had camels for sail, and by camels we thought she meant real camels. It turned out that it was small camel ornaments that were very pretty but nothing we were interested in. Lindsey told her we didn't want them so the little girl said that Lindsey was going to break her leg as well. Harsh, coming from a cute little six year old girl.

After retrieving or bags from the hostel we caught the next bus to Amman. For the most part it wasn't a bad ride. The worst part aout the trip was arriving in Amman and trying to find a taxi. There seems to be a pattern with the taxi situations in unfamiliar territory. We had no idea what we should pay or where we needed to go. We figured that it wasn't going to be too much trouble. We did have an address of a hotel we found in a guide book but of course getting from point A to B is never as simple as you think it may be.

Hello Jordan! Lets Wadi Rum.

It was dark when we got to shore. We didn't know what we should pay for taxi rides from the port to the city but we did know that we shouldn't pay over 20JD for a ride to Wadi Rum. We found a guy who agreed to take us to Aqaba to get money, call Mohammed Hussein, and drive us to Wadi Rum. The driver was real patient with us. He brought us to a internet cafe so we could retrieve Mohammed’s number and even let us use his phone to contact him for directions. He then drove us to Wadi Rum where we were going to get picked up and then called Mohammed Hussein again to let him know that we were in.

We had to pay an entrance fee of 2JD a person to get into the Wadi Rum village. A man by the name of Shocker came and picked us up in his Toyota. He said he worked for his father Mohammed Sabah. Mohammed Hussein also works with Mohammed Sabah and that was who shocker was taking us to see. His home wast far from where we were picked up. Mohammad was at home with his wife and child who we never met but she made us tea and gave us some bread and cheese.

Mohammed Hussein didn't even realize we were the volunteers until half way through our conversation. Noor was the one we had been in touch with but she was out at camp at the moment. We were told that we would be helping out in the camp and in the village. There were tourists coming and going everyday. We would get camp ready for them and help prepare their meals. After finishing our briefing and tea Shocker drove us over to the other Mohammed’s house where we were give mattresses to sleep on. We were a little weirded out by the whole introduction. The other workaway introductions we had experienced were much more warm and anticipated than this one.

We were awaken by the children of Mohammed Sabah in the morning who were wanting to watch some cartoons. Mohammed Hussein came over to pick us up and bring us back to his house for some food. We were introduced to Noor, Farris, and Raja. They were tour guides for the Sunset Camp but Noor answered emails and worked on the website. There were guests waiting for a tour so we were split up into two jeeps and went with the tourists out into the desert. I sat shotgun with Farris and escorted a couple from Holland out into the desert. I was absolutely blown away by the view. I had never heard of Wadi Rum or seen pictures before which made it that much more of a surprise for me. The red sands ad mountains had a monumental affect on me as we drove out of the village. This was the setting for the Lawrence of Arabia movie, so I was told.

The first place we had stopped was Lawrence spring followed by Khazali Canyon, the sand dunes, the rock bridge and a rock that looked like a baby chick. I really enjoyed the rock bridge. The second sand dune we saw was quite amazing as well. It was big, red and untouched. It reminded me of a Microsoft Windows backdrop. We also stopped to eat lunch halfway through the tour. I ate with Noor, Farris, and Raja. They told me about other volunteers that had come before and how people would either stay for a couples days or months. They would give their volunteers Bedouin names as well. Ramsey was given the name Hilal, which means crescent moon in Jordanian Arabic. Lindsey was given the name Warda, meaning rose. I was given the name Marzouk, meaning blessed. I loved it. It was Raja who came up with the names for us.

 

 

They brought us to the desert camp afterward which was placed in the south end of the valley. It was really I the middle of nowhere. The hills could be see all around you and the view of the sunset was incredible. Hence the name, Sunset Camp. We were introduced to Mahmud, the cook, once we arrived and were told that we would be spending our days with him out at camp. He was from Sudan and didn't speak any English. He loved to joke with us. The camp was pretty basic. There were eight small tents that made up the back side of the camp that slept 1-4 people. There was a big tent on the south side of the camp that was said to hold up to 100 people if needed but I couldn't believe it. It looked like it would only hold about half of that. There was a circular tent in the middle of the camp where they would have fires if it was too windy or cold outside. On the west side of camp there was a large dinner tent. The kitchen was next to the dinner tent and the bathrooms on the back side of the kitchen. All of the tents were made of wood supports with goats hair blankets wrapped around the outside. The bathroom and kitchen were concrete structures. Mahmud made his abode in a room next to the kitchen. We slept in whatever was available although we ended up sleeping outside every night. The sky was amazing. There was absolutely no light pollution so the stars were extremely vibrant.

Most guests that we met out at camp would complain about how they were treated during their tours. The guides were almost rude to most of them and did not provide the hospitality that was expected. The guide interaction with the guests did appear to be insubstantial. There were times when I felt responsible for entertaining the guests, which I didn't mind. I love meeting new people and hearing about their travels. The guests are completely on their own out at camp after dinner is over. There is a fire for them but the guides pretty much kept to themselves. Unless there were younger ladies on tour. Go figure.

Our work out at camp was to fold up blankets in each tent from the night before, clear out the trash, clean the restroom, and help Mahmud with dinner at night. The rest of the time was spent reading, hiking and doing other random activities to keep ourselves occupied. We all spent one day in the village with Noor and Farris as well. We had to go to the village if we wanted to use the internet, although Noor had to spend most of her time on the computer to take care of business. My time in the village was extremely uneventful. Other than talking with Noor and Farris about their pasts, I really didn't do anything at all. Since Ramsey knew his way around the mechanics of cars, he helped Farris install a new clutch plate in one of the Toyotas. Other than that we didn't have to do hardly anything at all. We did have to pay for water which wasn't appreciated and they weren't always giving us lunch. We would only eat with the tourists in the morning and evening. Not exactly what we had agreed to. I guess we couldn't complain since we didn't work all that much but it is a little difficult to find food laying around the desert when everyone abandons you at camp.

The Wadi Rum experience was not as spectacular as I had hoped it was going to be. Being around cranky tourists for most of the day really started to wear on us. We were planning on staying out at Sunset Camp for a few weeks but decided to leave after five days. We had to get to Amman to apply for an India Visa so we packed up our bags one morning and caught a ride into the village with the tourists and jumped a bus out of Wadi Rum . Farris and Raja told me that we had to visit Petra before going to Amman. Raja said he had a fried who lived in the monument and that we would be able to stay with him. I had purchased a sim card the day before so I could use my cell phone and Raja gave me the man's number so I could call him once we got to Petra. I thought this was a nice gesture and Thanked him for helping us out. I really came to appreciate the company of Farris ad Raja over the last few days and hoped I would see them I the future. We rode out of the Wadi Rum Village at 8am that morning having no clue what was in store for us. One of the Seven Wonders awaited our arrival with arms wide open.

It's Dahab! Why didn't I go SCUBA diving!?

The arrival In Dahab would mark the beginning of the longest ad most eventful day of our trip. We were dropped off at a bus station just outside of town so we really weren't sure of what to pay for a taxi ride. We haggled down till we felt like we weren't getting worked over too bad and sat in the bed of a pickup for the 15 minute ride into town. We ran into an Aussie couple from our bus outside of the Penguin hostel who told us everything was booked up. We took a quick glance at their lonely planet ad the wished us luck in finding a place.

We ended up talking to a couple different hotels about doing a Sinai trip that night to see the sunrise and ended up making a deal with the people at Auskie. It was around 90EP per person. The bus was scheduled to pick us up at 11pm to take us to the base of Sinai. We left our bags in the hotel office. We had an entire day to kill before the bus came for us so we got some food at Auskie and then rented some snorkel gear and took a truck to the three pools. It was about 20mi south of Dahab and was an incredible place to snorkel and dive. Dahab in general is famous for diving although, unfortunately, we ever got a chance to go diving ourselves. We asked a dive shop next to our hotel for prices but it would have cost me quite a bit since I ever took my open water. The shop owner told me I would be able to take my open water if I could provide proof that I had taken and passed all of the coursework but Mr. Bob Carl still has my log book and records back in Minnesota unfortunately. Looking back now, I should have just retaken the whole course but we all ended up settling for snorkeling at the three pools. It was still quite impressive. The coral was in great shape and there was plenty of sea life to look at.

We made a walk down the waterfront to find a restaurant for a good meal so we had the energy we needed for our trek. It was difficult to make a decision for a place to eat because every restaurant had some type of special or discount going on. It became a bargaining battle between two restaurants and it was the free sheesha that sealed the deal for us. It probably wasn't the wisest decision considering we had to climb a mountain in a couple of hours but what are you gonna do? Free sheesha is free sheesha.

The tour bus was right on time to load a group of 8 people from Auskie. We also stopped by Penguin where we picked up four others to bring to the mountain. The ride would have been quite uncomfortable but I was excited and with the wind blowing in my face, I was totally contented. We had to flash our passports a few times along the way to the road police but ended up making it to the base of Mt. Sinai in about an hour. There were vans and buses everywhere! I couldn't believe how many tourists showed to do the Sunrise trek. We were split up into groups of about 15-20 people and given a tour guide. Ours gave our group the title of Falcon group. To keep track of us in the dark he would flash his light back on us and yell "Falcon!" in which we were supposed to respond with “Aiwa!” which means “yes” in Egyptian Arabic. The trail we took to the top was more like a road ad had hundreds of people ascending. It looked as if the mountain had bee strung with Christmas lights, seeing all of the flashlights going up the trails. Not exactly the Sinai experience I had expected.

We would stop to rest a few times so people could catch up and get drinks at one of the coffee huts. It got to be a little annoying. The camel traffic was unbelievable as well. Every two seconds there seemed to be a man offering up a camel ride or a line of camels passing carrying tourists up the mountain. The trek took about 2 hours to get to the top. There was a cluster of stairs we had to ascend at the end which was the worst part because the queue was so long. I had to get off the steps a few times and just climb up the rocks past people. Getting to the top early was a must if you were going to find a good place to sit. There were around 500 people waiting to find a good view for the sunrise. It was a fight for the best seats. I got a good piece of railing next to a couple Aussies taking hundreds of pictures and saved a spot for Lindsey ad Ramsey.

The valley below looked amazing. The colors of the morning sky slowly illuminated the mountains with every passing minute presenting one with an opportunity for some great photos. Once the sun was up all of the church groups began singing which was quite nice. It gave a more spiritual feel to our Sinai experience. I couldn't believe all of the sermons going on as well. People from all over the world were praying in all sorts of ways from Spanish to tongues.

 

We were driven back to Dahab where we could finally get some sleep. We were dropped off at Auskie and given a room. We pulled our bags from the office, put them in our room and then had a good breakfast at the restaurant. We decided to take advantage of the day instead of sleeping and wet snorkeling again. We met a Russian guy at our place who was going to do the same so he came along with us. We rented our snorkel gear for 10EP and walked to Eels bay. We got to see the spot where there was a terrorist attack the year before. There was no visible damage but apparently there were a few people killed. I couldn't believe it. Dahab seemed like such a quiet and friendly place to be.

The bay of eels was a fun experience. The coral was in excellent condition and there was plenty of sea life around. You had to dive down a little ways if you wanted to get up close to the action or see the field of eels poking their heads out of the ocean floor. I also got to see an octopus for the first time hiding in a little cranny in the coral near shore. I was a little hesitant to touch and get him to move so I just sat and watched hoping I could see him change colors or swim but he just sat there and stared back at me.

On our way back to get some lunch we ran into Julia who had just come from Luxor. Small world. We took a small cat nap and then met Julia at a restaurant near our place that had good music and great seats. We got to hear her perspective of American life which wasn't very flattering. Fat people and shopping malls was all she had imagined the states to be. We enlightened her that America really wasn't all about shopping and McDonald’s. We exchanged stories of our families and where we grew up. I think she had a better point of view by the end of the meal and hopefully would come visit someday.

With full bellies and tired bodies we were like zombies walking back to our room. Ramsey and I did one final internet check on the ferry times and prices to Jordan and then hit the pillows and were unconscious upon contact. The sleep we had was heaven sent and we all felt really good in the morning. I walked to get some snacks for the day while Ramsey and Lindsey wandered to find a good barber. Ramsey had purchased tickets to Lebanon from Jordan to visit his Dad’s family in Beirut and had to get his hair cut.

We took a taxi to the ticket office in Nuweiba afterwards and purchased our tickets to Jordan for 400EP. Way more than what we had read about but there was nothing we could do about it. Either stay or go. We made our way into the customs area where we waited in line for a while and eventually were directed to the front to get stamped out of the country. We were told to wait until they called our ship and would then be brought to our boat. We waited and waited for quite some time. This is when I discovered that my journal was left at the hostel. I was outraged. Over 4 months of writing down the drain.

The ride was short but it was good to be moving on. We had hoped for some free food or water for the trip but everything cost us money. The ferry was like a giant airplane cabin with rows upon rows of seats. If it wasn't for my iPod, I would have gone insane. I couldn't stand all of the cell phones playing music around me.  I cat understand how all the noise doesn't seem to bother anyone, except for us travelers. I pulled out my cell phone at one point and joined in, blasting some Gary Allan and Avenged Sevenfold. It had no affect. I just sat back ad waited till we got to Aqaba. We had a whole new life awaiting for us in Jordan.