Camels and trucks in Wadi Rum (ish)
[The title includes the “ish” because we were never sure our tour actually took us to the famous Wadi Rum. Environmental regulations demand that all guides be certified through a government ministry, and some hoteliers had warned us that certain travel agencies use uncertified guides who take tourists to an area outside of Wadi Rum. Our hotel assured us, with a big map and everything, that we were going to Wadi Rum, but the guides went off road and we were never sure exactly where we were. I even brought along a GPS, but unfortunately it was only set up for the satellites over North America. While I was able to map the route from Mark Rovner’s house to the R St. Starbucks (Satellite photos actually show the grooves worn in the asphalt by his BMW), there was nothing to help me trace the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia, who actually travelled through the Wadi Rum area to defeat the Ottomans at Aqaba during World War I.]
This post is a bit dated, sorry. Our little side trip to Wadi Rum in Jordan got neglected because we both had a day of stomach distress, rode a ferry and the next thing you know we were on the beach in Egypt and other things seemed more pressing to write about. But the pictures are worth looking at. That said, look forward to the next post. Our driver from the east coast of the Sinai Peninsula (a trip that should have taken 6 hours, but took 12) had a heart attack in the middle of the drive. For those of you unfamiliar with the Sinai, it is a rocky desert about 200 kilometers wide with not much along the highway except army checkpoints, and luckily for our driver, an ambulance station.
But that is another story. Below is the driver of our wonderfully Mad Max Toyota pickup, specially designed to throw tourists into the air, where they may fall down to the sand dunes as if onto a pillow. Or onto the varied and assorted sharp pieces of metal in the truck bed. He was about 15 years old and had a tendency to send and check text messages on his cell phone as we shot up and down 45 degree inclines at 30 miles per hour. It was reassuring that he felt so comfortable. Quite unlike most bus drivers around the world who festoon their cabs with mountains of religious paraphenalia. Anyone who believes that strongly in the blissful afterlife is not someone I want cheerfully passing on blind mountain curves in rural India.
Our little group of S and myself and some Swiss tourists taking a photo break as our driver lowered the tire pressure. Better traction in the sand, you see.
There is a spot where you can climb on a big rock above a pile of ruined bricks that is purported to be Lawrence’s house. He had a great view and good parking, but not many museums and at least two hours from a movie theater.
After a long day of bouncing up and down in the back of a Toyota pickup, we decided to bounce up and down on a camel. Our guides and the Toyota driver pulled up to a guy and asked him if we could ride on his camels. The bedouin let their camels run wild to feed on the limited greenery in the desert, and collect them when they’re needed. This one was collected for our benefit a few moments later. It had a large brand on its neck in the shape of the Arabic letter for L.
Thrashin Badger makes sure the camel knows which way to go. It turned out to be a circle. Riding a camel is really comfortable. You can cross your legs in front of the saddle horn, lean back a little, and fill the desert with your romantic song. I chose Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher.”
After the half hour camel circle, we shared tea with the guy who rented us the camels. He shared his with his camel. He would also spontaneously start singing and then laughing, and our guides would look at each other and laugh really, really hard. They would also video him with their fancy cell phones. We left convinced that everyone thought the camel guy was crazy.
These camels get to enjoy the desert sunset EVERY DAY! If they would only turn around and look at it…
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August 9th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
My BMW tracks have been filled in now that i work at home. it’s Trader Joe’s Organic Roast made on the home espresso machine.
But thanks for the shout out!
BTW, the stories I’ve heard about camel travel were not as upbeat as yours. Permanent prostate damage seems to have been part of that conversation…