Jordan

At the break of dawn, I got up for a quick shower before grabbing my things to check out. I refilled my water and found the car that was taking me to the camp for Wadi Rum Nomads. There was an assortment of stickers all over the car's ceiling. We went around Wadi Musa to pick up more people including Jack. It was always nice to see a familiar face, he was going with a different camp from mine though. I had to conserve as much money as I can throughout my stay in Jordan because Wadi Rum Nomads only accepted cash. They also charged a higher price compared to the other camps but I would say it was definitely worth it with what I got after learning about Josef's experience with his camp. On the way to Wadi Rum, the driver picked up some flat bread and we all passed it around to take some bits and pieces. We got to the ticket office and I bought my ticket for Wadi Rum and afterwards they dropped me in the middle of the desert and told me to go towards that outpost as that was the Nomads' office. I waded through the sand and knocked on a green gate and it was opened by a Bedouin named Faisal. I also met Diane, a lady from the Netherlands and one of the proprietors of the camp. We were joined by a Dutch couple and 2 Germans, Tristan and Hammond. The Dutch couple, I wasn't feeling the vibe too much. The Germans were pretty cool, I was definitely the youngest in the group. I still didn't know how I was getting back but I was planning on asking the Germans if they could give me a ride to Aqaba so I can catch a bus back to Amman. After getting briefed by Diane that for the Nomads camp, they treat the desert as an experience and not as an itinerary so we had a lot of freedom to do whatever we want per site and we decide when we would go to the next one. There were a lot of sights to see and there were various activities on each site. We were then introduced to Nouwaf, our guide for the day as we got on the jeep and set off into the desert.

Wadi Rum proved to be one of the most magical places I have been on Earth, the landscape changed as we went on further, the sand turned into a beautiful shade of red and rocky mountain loomed all around the us. Our first stop was Lawrence Spring, I was with the Dutch couple as the Germans opted to take a camel ride as well. It was a hike up straight away and in the heat of the desert without any shade. I still went with it since it would be a waste not to partake. The terrain was rocky mostly and I was able to ascend just fine without too much trouble. At the top was a water source. The people passing through the desert would carve signs on to the rocks to notify people of fresh water which was exactly what was on the rock at the foot of the hike. After hiking down, I took some more pictures of the surrounding landscape including the camels and a lone tree. Tristan and Hammond arrived later and looked around for a bit but skipped the hike. Now, our whole group was together and we went to the next stop: the Red Sand Dunes. It was an interesting destination because it was extremely difficult to climb up to the point that it was recommended to take a different trail as for every step up, I was sliding two steps down. From the top of the dunes, I could see the breathtaking Khazali Canyon from the distance which was our next destination.

It was quite a squeeze as the passage way could only fit two people at most. There were a lot of ancient inscriptions on the canyon walls, the funniest one was the family photo and with one of them having the ancient dong hanging out. We went to Little Bridge and I got some really epic shots thanks to Nouwaf. It was a very photogenic natural location with an arching rock bridge connected two sides. We went to Lawrence house next, there was an opportunity to do some more hiking around the rocky mountain near it. This location was quite unique because there were stone stacks literally everywhere. It was pretty hard to navigate through to the top without knocking down any. I ended up making some stacks and adding more stones to some other stacks myself. This was our last stop in the afternoon before going for a long siesta as the sun brings the heat to its peak for the day. Being in the desert, it was hard to find a place that offers cool shade but Nouwaf, who was born and raised here, knew exactly where to take us. He took us into a secluded valley and we hid under the right cliff. Here, he prepared for us some traditional Bedouin food which tasted amazing. I ate more than my share and probably more than anyone else as I didn't want the food to go to waste but there was still so much. After eating, everyone went into rest mode as we waited for time to pass by. It was a serene and zen time as the desert was in complete silence. The wind would blow sometimes here and there, and the occasional birdcall would be heard but it more or less felt like being stuck in time. The food soon attracted flies and their constant buzzing was quite distracting and made it difficult to get some rest so I ended up taking a walk and hiked above the cliff side to meditate. I saw footprints of an animal leading up and I saw some bones as well, what an odd place this was.

After the much needed rest, we were ready to continue the rest of the adventure. I brought out my edible chocolate that I got from Thailand and consumed it the best I could. Fortunately, it wasn't all melted and soon I started to feel the effects. We stopped by Mushroom Rock, a peculiar stone formation in the shape of its namesake, and from the distance, Nouwaf pointed to us Burdah Rock Bridge. Another rock bridge but this time it was situated in an altitude higher than the Khazali Canyon, thankfully we weren't going to hike this one as it required a whole day. We were dropped at Abu Khashaba Canyon next, we had to do a short hike through it and the edibles were already hitting me quite well at this point. It was a bit difficult to traverse through the sand but eventually I made it to the other side where there were huge sand dunes and an opportunity to try sand boarding. I tried to do it but hiking up the dunes was taking up all my energy and so I gave up halfway and tried to slide down but it was very different from snowboarding. We spent a long time here just relaxing before Nouwaf called us in with "Yallah" an Arabic slang for Let's get going." The third rock bridge for the day, Um Fruth, was at a much more considerable height but not as photogenic as the first one, in my opinion. It was finally time to go to our final stop of the day for sunset, Um Sabatah. On the way, I asked Tristan if I could tag along with them and was stoked that he said okay because that was now one less worry moving forward.

Um Sabatah proved to be one of the most amazing landscapes in the whole of Wadi Rum. With rocky mountains reaching the skies, coupled with the high and the sunset, words can't even describe the sheer amount of beauty the desert commanded during that golden hour. Nouwaf told us to meet back here after sundown and that we were free to go up and climb any mountain of our choosing. The Dutch couple announced that they were going to climb the most precipitous looking one with jagged cliffs but it was also the tallest so I followed suit as I wanted the best views for the sunset. It was just the five of us in the wilderness, all walking towards the sun. It felt a bit psychedelic especially with the weed, the energy was immensely powerful. I began the hike up which was supposed to be easy but after so much hiking since yesterday my legs were fatigued pretty quickly. Eventually, I made it up just in time and up some more to try and get the best vantage point. The reward was well worth it as the sun had just began to set in full majesty. I meditated and did yoga in the presence of such splendor. The most memorable part about Um Sabatah wasn't the sunset however, it was unfortunately a close encounter with Death. On the way down, I had somehow taken the wrong route and ended up in an unfamiliar zone. I saw the Dutch couple already below and they were telling me that the summit was up higher, I told them I already came from the top and was already heading down. Which is what I thought at first, but the route I took going down kept getting more narrow and more difficult to navigate through. It went from a beginner level hike to a highly technical free climbing session, one that I wasn't prepared for as I was still stoned and it required peak physical fitness and flexibility to maneuver through the nooks and crannies. I was stubborn and had the thought that as long as I was heading down, I would end up at the foot of the mountain but the path I took kept on getting narrower and I had to even do some huge jumps down to the lower levels to keep on continuing, passing through a lot of point of no returns. I kept on hoping that the path might get easier or that I would have found an actual walking trail but I couldn't even fit both feet on the ledges anymore and I was stuck hugging the walls and doing some bouldering to cross through the other side and avoiding the holes that led to a horrible demise. I was praying hard to my ancestors and guides to watch over me as it was a really life threatening situation. My luck just wasn't turning around as I found myself in a deadend, with all other routes leading to a huge fall several stories high. There were three options in my mind: Going back the way I came? I didn't have any energy left to do another crazy even harder hike up, I wasn't even sure if it was possible to climb back up, plus the sun had already set and it was getting dark. Risk going to the right side? The right side led to a huge fall down with the bottom being covered with spiky stalagmites, that meant certain death for me. The left side? The left side was still a huge fall but it didn't have the spikes, worst case scenario I maybe break my legs but at least I've made it down. I contemplated long and hard and with my life at stake, it was difficult not to succumb to fear and panic but I kept my breathing calm and tried again and again to reassess the situation and risks. I tried calling for Nouwaf as well but my voice echoed across the vast emptiness further reaffirming that I was truly alone in this situation and that there was no one else to help me but me. I chose to risk doing the left side, my plan was to crawl and hang on the stalactice on the ledge I was on and then to try and swing my body towards the wall, clawing on it and doing my best to slide and make it all the way down. I mustered up all my courage and put on my game-face on and hugged the stalactite like a koala bear, I later realized I couldn't swing as I didn't have the upperbody strength for it with the position I was in, so I tried to decrease the distance between my legs and the ground by climbing down the stalactite even more until it was only my hands left carrying the weight of my body. Then, I let go. I fell more than a few floors high that was for sure but I landed with both feet on the ground and let out a huge sigh of relief and gratitude towards the universe. I started to walk towards the camp that I saw from the top of Um Sabatah, hoping that the adrenaline could fuel me all the way and that I wasn't actually suffering any injuries because that would make the rest of the trip really difficult. I made it to the camp but it was empty, I approached one of the Bedouin and he offered to drive me to where I needed to be. It was a bit embarassing to be dropped off in front of everyone in a car but I tried to play it off by saying that I went down the other side of the mountain and coincidentally encountered this guy who was actually the owner of the campsite we were staying in as well. I switched card and got on the jeep with Tristan and Hammond to the Nomads' camp.

I was definitely still very shaken up from the experience, my legs were starting to feel some pain as well. I was shown to my hut where settled in with my things and since there was still some time before the meal, I took the time to rest up and lie down on the sand. Taking my shoes off helped a lot and the pain slowly subsided as the pressure was released and I was able to ground myself by walking on the soft sand. The Bedouin showed us how they cooked the food underground by using the heat of the desert, it was like a natural oven. We were served amazing food to which I happily gobbled down. They also serenaded us with traditional Bedouin music. After dinner, I quickly went for a hot shower and went back to lying on the sand. The stars now countless, I did some reiki and felt really strongly the energies of the night sky and desert and felt my fear and pain being replaced by a sense of awe and wonder. It felt like I was tripping again, the edibles were so worth it. The stars were shortlived however as the moonrise started to reduce visibility. This was my signal to retire back to my hut, though I did ask if it was possible to sleep outdoors but it was too late. I am definitely sleeping outdoors next time as it would have been an even more amazing experience.Read more