Wadi Rum is located at the sourthern part of Jordan and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The place is best known for its Mars-like planet environment. The color and rock formation of the desert made it as one of the top location sites for Hollywood movies including Star Wars, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, Lawrence of Arabia, and the Mega-hit blockbuster today, The Martian starring Matt Damon.
Images from the web
Matt Damon — who plays an astronaut stranded on Mars for more than a year — was blown away by the natural landscapes: “I was in awe of that place, it was really, really special,” he said. “One of the most spectacular and beautiful places I have ever seen, and like nothing I’ve ever seen anywhere else on Earth.”
If you recognize the Wadi Rum, you’re either an adventurous globetrotter or an observant film buff: It’s the site where David Lean, Peter O'Toole, and company shot the sprawling 1962 war epic, Lawrence of Arabia.
Top things to do:
1) Experience sunset in Wadi Rum. This is one of the best experiences I had. We waited for the sunset while our Bedouin friend/driver made us Arabic Coffee and Tea. So surreal, you can indeed say you are in another planet. It was actually my first time in a desert! Imagine, I've been living in Dubai for nearly 3 years but I never experience what it feels like to be in a desert. LOL! :P
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| Our Bedouin friend preparing our coffee |
2) Experience the 4x4 ride to see the magical landscapes of the desert. These are the quickest way to see the well-known scenic and archaeological sites. We had a great time on all the awesome spots our driver had drove us.
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| Carving of the head of T.E. Lawrence from Lawrence of Arabia movie |
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| Epic View |
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| The golden hour! |
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| Camels in the desert |
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| Short canyon stop. |
3) Posing and jumping at Wadi Rum. The photos in our travel not only depend on great photographer or a good quality camera. The place itself was photogenic!!! Posecapades here is a MUST. The large area of sand dunes piled up against the mountains was also fun to climb up to the top.
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| The epic jump shot! |
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Great to have my very own photographer during travels. My cousin in action. But who's that couple at the back?!
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4) Camping experience at the desert. We stayed at Hillawi Camp during our stay. The camp provided us with very basic amenities just enough for basic needs. The experience was pretty enjoyable as we had the chance to meet different people around the world, ate the food the Bedouin prepared for us, had a great dancing experience at night, and watched the sky in awe.
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| needed a good rest after a very tiring day |
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Food were prepared under the ground!
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5) Meeting the Bedouins. They are most famous for their hospitality and it is part of their creed, rooted in the harshness of desert life, that no traveler is turned away as defined by Brenda. Most of Jordan’s Bedouin live in the vast wasteland that extends east from the Desert Highway. The eastern Bedouin are camel breeders and herders, while the western Bedouin herd sheep and goats. Some Bedouin in Jordan are semi nomads, they adopt a nomadic existence during part of the year but return to their lands and homes in time to practice agriculture. The Jordanian government provides the Bedouin with different services such as education, housing and health clinics. However, some Bedouins give it up and prefer their traditional nomadic lifestyle. (Text from Wikipedia)
Travel Budget:
* 35 JOD for the 4x4 ride (free tea and coffee while waiting for the sunset)
* 57 USD per person at Hillawi Camp (including accommodation, dinner and breakfast)---WIFI is available for everybody's convenience but you have to buy your own drinks on every meal they are serving for 2JD each
* Tips for the driver or if you have a guide (this depends on the traveler how much he/she will give)
For our trip, I am recommending Jordania-Aventura for their honest and reliable services to us! :-)
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