The Jordan Red Desert; Glamping in Wadi Rum

Standard tents at the site

Have you ever been glamping in the desert? I probably should ask if you’ve ever been glamping at all? I have not though I did do some “regular” camping a long, long while back, but after the time the raccoon made it’s way into our campsite and started devouring the vanilla wafers, I was done.

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But the idea of glamorous camping intrigued me so this “hotel with room service kind-of-girl” decided I would do the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan when it was offered.

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So there I was in the Red Desert. It really did look like the photos of planet Mars! And I was here in the same spot where they filmed #TheMartian, #StarWars and #LawrenceofArabia. #Starstruck!

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The ride to the site was the best as we boarded what they called our “jeep tour,” the beginning of our adventure. Me, a #Toledo girl (from truly Jeep country) getting on our “#jeep” which was really a Toyota pickup truck. I couldn’t stop laughing. But I prepared myself for the sand spraying and off we went.

Dang if I didn’t feel all T. E. Lawrence……

It was a totally different world made up of #Bedouins that live their own life on their own terms (and quite wealthy, oddly enough).

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And sure enough, where do we stop halfway through our ride to the glampsite? Why a tribe of Bedouins just happened to be there and were totally willing to let us ride a camel the rest of they way. The Better Half accurately immediately suspected a plot.

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I, however, was totally willing to support the local economy so I jumped on and let the 5 year old herder take charge of the largest beast I have ever been near. I’m not kidding. One of the camel herders was a child - and quite adept at it, I might add.

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And it really was one of the Best. Times. Ever.

Our tea service

I was so sore by the end of my #camel ride, I was even happy to see the Bedouin rest stop welcoming tent - in the middle of nowhere. We were all offered our welcoming tea - the Bedouins are very hospitable (but also Insert here the #BlazingSaddles movie scene “Does anybody got a dime?”) since donations are always accepted.

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The Better Half was waiting for me at the rest stop. He had chosen not to do the camel ride and stay with our most (t)rusted #ToyotaTruckThatThinksItsAJeep and our driver.

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So now you’re probably wondering where we went next? Well, all stops were done now and we made it to the site. If I hadn’t felt like Mars before, this site pretty much topped it by Hollywood standards. There were two types of accommodations to choose from - a Bedouin type tent and an upgraded dome type tent that had a glass see through area for full star viewing.

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So, after I parked my camel and collected my luggage (only kidding about the parking my camel part - but they really did have a camel parking area #truth ), we made our way to our accommodations.

View from the upgrade

And this “hotel girl” definitely had upgraded us to the dome with glass. The Better Half and I were impressed and pleased. It was a tent larger than any standard hotel room with a full bathroom and two viewing chairs. I was actually glamping and I loved it.

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The facility also had a very large dome that contained a banquet area and a smaller outside area was for lounging and dancing. You heard that right - we danced in the desert. The staff started out with Arabic dances, then Greek dances till a Turkish guy hijacked the stereo system and began playing his music. I kid you not. He hijacked it. We proceeded to give him the Turkish stare the rest of the night. #myfriendsknowwhatimean #notbiasedatall #thingshappeninthedesert

True Story.

#traveladvice #traveldiary #traveladventures #storyteller #wonderful_places #Bedouins #Nabateans #glamping #WadiRum #desert in #Jordan #Greek #Arabic #Toledo #Jeep #Bedouins #camel #Blazingsaddles

P.S. I had to ask my friends for a photo of me riding the camel since I was terrified to hold the camel with only one hand (my camel seemed to bounce - a lot). Does anyone remember who took this photo of us? Thank you!!