Jordan’s Wadi Rum: Camping anyone?

It was somewhere between Jordan’s ancient rose-red city of Petra and meeting up with the Bedouin guide that the urge struck us. It’s not an unfamiliar sensation and most of you’ve probably felt it at some inopportune time in your travels. . .

Jordan's Wadi Rum

All that bottled water they’d been having us drink to stay hydrated had done its job, but now we both had a pressing urge to part with some of it. And the endless Wadi Rum desert-scape stretching out before us held little promise of any bathrooms appearing soon.

A turn-of-the-century Turkish train - Wadi Rum, Jordan

Well, that was until a small train ‘station’ – think “Lawrence of Arabia”  here – seemed to appear out of nowhere.  A train station that had a vintage Turkish train sitting on the tracks in front of it; one that probably had been in use back when the real Lawrence was traipsing through this part of Jordan.  The station-turned-modern-day-coffee shop -- with advertisements for its espresso drinks and undoubtedly, a bathroom inside -- was closed.

So we, along with another carload of tourists who had arrived, explored the train.

‘Not to worry’, our guide told us.  "You can use the bathroom at the Bedouin camp."

‘Right!’, I thought to myself.  We’d seen a couple of those ‘camps’ along the way. . .

Bedouin camp between Petra and Wadi Rum

. . .but then again there comes a point that one can’t be too picky or prudish when one travels.

So we climbed into that Bedouin guide’s pickup (you can read about that here)and set off into the Wadi Rum; first stop the Bedouin’s camp bathroom. 

And, here is where my Magic Carpet Ride tale takes a 180-degree turn. . .



The camp was amazing.

Posh. In fact, so posh I’m ready to return and do some camping – or better yet, glamping.


This Bedouin camp is designed for tourists, one of several the Bedouins have built and operate to provide accommodations to the growing number of eco-tourists drawn here. In this case, the facilities rival many we’ve seen in America that label themselves ‘glamp grounds’ (On the off chance you’ve not heard the term, ‘glamping’ it is short for ‘glamorous camping’. )

We walked through the restaurant/lounge area to reach the bathroom. . .

Restaurant/lounge at the Bedouin camp - Wadi Rum, Jordan

And as I opened the door in the tent-structure housing the “WC’s”, I thought I was seeing a mirage:

Ladies room - Bedouin camp, Wadi Rum, Jordan

With our pressing needs taken care of in the most luxurious of desert settings, we were off to explore the rest of this Bedouin camp:

A solar lighted walkway links the common areas above and the individual tents.

Tents at the Bedouin camp - Wadi Rum, Jordan

Can’t you imagine sitting under the stars sipping a glass of wine on your deck?

You can rent this tent - Wadi Rum, Jordan

And then retiring for the night in your own Bedouin tent. . .in a setting like this you’d almost expect Sheherazade to appear at your bedside, ready to lull you to sleep with one of her 1,001 Arabian tales.

Tent interior, bedroom and en suite - Wadi Rum, Jordan

If that cluster of tents was too crowded for you, they also provide some singles that are out a bit further:

For those wanting more solitude - Wadi Rum, Jordan

There was something magical about the Wadi Rum, and I am certainly ready to go back. Perhaps even in our brief time there we experienced what Lawrence of Arabia said best,

   “No man can live this life and emerge unchanged. He will carry… the imprint of the desert… and he will have within him the yearning to return…. For this cruel land can cast a spell which no temperate clime can match.” 

T.E. Lawrence*

Details:

Information about Jordan can be found at the country’s tourist site: www.visitjordan.com

Photos in this post were taken at:

Petra is to the north of Aqaba (the port city where our Oceania Nautica was docked for two nights as part of the cruise we took from Bangkok, Thailand to Istanbul, Turkey). It is an approximate two hour drive between Petra and Wadi Rum, both are marked with red pushpins on the map above.

(*Thanks to blogger friends the Traveling Solemates – I used the Lawrence quote from their site; they also are taken with Wadi Rum.)

Our 35-day cruise was coming to an end, but not before we transited the Suez Canal and headed for Israel, so we've got a few more Magic Carpet Ride tales to tell. Thanks for being with us. A big welcome to our new Google Friends and subscribers! Happy travels to you and yours ~

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