Wadi Rum – Day 2: From Sunrise to Stargazing
WADI RUM
Day 2: From Sunrise to Stargazing
April 05, 2025
PART I
We woke up at an ungodly hour for a sunrise camel tour. I have to admit that I wasn’t remotely excited, given that I had already done one back in Egypt and still had a sore butt from the experience.Â
Add to that the fact that I could recognise the various constellations I had spent the entire trip trying to memorise before I’d even had my morning coffee, and you can imagine my enthusiasm. That said, this would be the final experience we shared with Lara, Hans and Doug. Of course we were going to join them. Besides, Rafael had never ridden a camel before, so we probably would’ve ended up doing it later in the day anyway. So yeah, off we went.
Although I had done it before, I’d kinda forgotten how terrifying it was to climb onto a camel – particularly the violent jolt that came when it stood up. The ride towards the sunrise spot was pleasant enough, despite my glutes repeatedly begging me to jump off. My only consolation was that it would be just half a ride for me. Hans and I were taking turns on the same camel – given that we were one camel short after another had apparently escaped during the night. Cool, cool.
The Sun that Wouldn't Rise
So yeah, we eventually reached the sunrise spot, which offered a magnificent view of the desert below us.
We waited. And waited. And still, the sun simply refused to rise. Hidden behind an enormous rock formation, it took a full hour before we caught even the slightest glimpse of it. At least the delay meant that we got to spend a little more time together. When the sun finally did appear, we managed to get some sick shots, with the early light falling across the rock formations and creating the most dramatic of effects.
Coffeeless and hungry, we then started making our way back. Hans had made keeping up with the moving line of camels look far too easy. Maybe it was cause he’d been running downhill while I was attempting to climb uphill through loose sand. Or maybe it was just a matter of fitness – or my lack thereof.
We eventually made it back to camp, where breakfast was waiting for us. Our last breakfast together. Afterwards, we would all travel back towards Wadi Rum Village. There, we would drop off Hans, who was heading to Aqaba to continue his journey. Rafael and I would then be left at a parking area, where the host of our next campsite would collect us. Delia, Lara and Doug would continue towards the Dead Sea before returning to Amman. Â
Farewell my Friends
Our final goodbye was dignified on the outside and completely heart-wrenching on the inside. Throughout the trek, we had repeatedly made fun of the emotional lady featured in the tour’s promotional video. By the end of our own journey, however, I had to physically stop myself from bursting into tears.
We had indeed become a family. I had been right all along. But somehow, I was especially right this time. What a truly special bunch of people. I genuinely hope to see all of them again sometime soon. Actually, scratch that. I know I will – that’s the whole point of carrying Stones of Serendipity, after all.
PART II
Bubble-Tent Blues
Once we reached Wadi Rum Village, Rafael and I were collected by our new hosts and driven towards a high-end desert camp featuring bubble-style tents, where we would be spending the night. When we arrived, we were shown to our domed tent, both of us excited by the prospect of sleeping beneath its enormous curved windows.Â
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Our elation didn’t last very long. The second we stepped inside, we immediately noticed that the tent had not been cleaned properly. We informed the staff, only to be told that we would have to wait until the manager arrived. Apparently, we would also need to speak to him about booking our activities, despite having only one day left to enjoy the desert. And so, we settled into the tent and decided to make the most of it.
Only now, it felt incredibly strange being just the two of us. Alone. Our conversations kept circling back to how much we missed the rest of the group and how miserable we both felt now that the trek had officially ended.
Zero-Star Service
Eventually, we headed towards the lounge area in the hope of finding something to eat. Only there was no one there. By the time the manager finally appeared, I had read half a book, while Rafael and I were this close to heading into the desert to hunt for our own food. We were absolutely famished.
Altogether, it took nearly five hours for him to come and speak to us. During that entire time, we had lost an entire morning’s worth of activities and had no idea whether we would be able to join an afternoon tour or whether we had travelled all this way just to spend the day sitting around the camp. Worst of all, when he eventually arrived, he was completely unapologetic and immediately launched into calculating our bill. We were both livid. I don’t mean to be a Karen, but I’m quite the avid traveller. By that point, I had stayed in hundreds of different types of accommodation, including some extremely low-budget hostels. So it really is a big deal when I say that this had been my worst experience so far. As beautiful as the campsite and its domed tents were, the incredibly poor service and complete lack of professionalism overshadowed practically everything else.Â
Our anger was briefly assuaged by two things: the promise of lunch within the hour and the assurance that the manager would arrange a full desert tour covering most of the area’s highlights. Needless to say, my anger was no longer assuaged when lunch finally arrived two hours later. The food was good, granted, but by that point I was far too bitter about the entire situation to enjoy any of it properly.Â
Mars, Movies and Mushroom Rocks
Late that afternoon, we finally found ourselves in the back of another 4×4, accompanied by Saif, our guide, and a Canadian couple who would be joining us on the desert tour.
The tour was largely a rehash of the previous day. We made a short stop at a Bedouin camp, where one of the hosts played traditional music while we were served tea. We were then taken to see more ancient rock inscriptions, another natural stone arch and several dramatic landscapes that had been used as filming locations or resembled scenery featured in productions such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Martian and the Star Wars films.Â
We also encountered some incredible desert life along the way, including what we identified as a spiny-tailed lizard and a desert hyacinth. We passed caves, narrow passages and other natural formations before eventually reaching an enormous mushroom-shaped rock. There, we sat back and watched another spectacular sunset unfold over the orange desert. Â
A Better Ending
Back at the campsite, we were treated to another round of zarb before spending the next few hours stargazing. Far from the glare of the cities, the darkness of Wadi Rum revealed a sky filled with more stars than I could possibly begin to count. After spending the entire journey trying to learn the constellations, I could finally point some of them out without needing an app – although doing so after dinner was considerably easier than attempting it before my morning coffee.
We might have had a very rough start to the day, but all in all, it still turned into an incredible one. The sunrise ride had given us one final adventure with the group. The desert tour had introduced us to another side of Wadi Rum. And, beneath the stars, the frustration of the campsite gradually began to fade. Â