By admin My well-traveled friends advised me that I couldn’t go to Jordan and not visit Wadi Rum. A “wadi” is a valley, and Wadi Rum is the largest wadi in Jordan. It has been featured in numerous films; Lawrence of Arabia first put it on the map, but more recently Wadi Rum was a setting in The Martian and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The eco-tourism scene has been heating up in the region, with multi-day hiking and climbing tours for the adventurous folks, and overnight camping in luxury camps for the, well, less adventurous among us. As much as a multi-day trek through the dessert sounded incredible, I was dealing with time constraints (a good friend’s wedding in Connecticut), so I opted for the latter itinerary. My original plan was to stay in a traditional “luxe” Bedouin tent, but my friend Johnny told me I had to stay in a bubble tent. The idea of staying in futuristic accommodations in a landscape resembling Mars strongly appealed to the side of me that used to dream about being an astronaut. It may not have been the traditional Bedouin experience, but I was so in.
Getting to Wadi Rum
First, we needed to get to Wadi Rum from Jerusalem. The closest airport to Wadi Rum is in Aqaba, Jordan, but there were unfortunately no nonstop flights from Tel Aviv to Aqaba. I ultimately devised the following plan:
- Take a taxi from Jerusalem to TLV
- Fly from Tel Aviv to Eilat
- Take a taxi to the Eilat-Aqaba border
- Walk across the border from Israel to Jordan
- Take another taxi at the border to central Aqaba
- Pick up our rental car and drive to Wadi Rum Village, where we’d meet a driver to take us to our accommodations
Are you exhausted yet? Although I tried to work out a few different scenarios, this seemed to be the best option given the time that we had and all that we wanted to see.
The day started out uneventfully. I didn’t get sick on the winding drive from Jerusalem to TLV and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time before our flight to Eilat. We had booked flights with a regional airline called Arkia that I had never heard of before, but it seemed legit upon further research. We waited in line behind a bunch of tall dudes who were obviously basketball players; I would’ve been more interested in figuring out their situation if it wasn’t still relatively early in the morning and if I wasn’t still with David.
Then we encountered our first security check. Before reaching the ticketing agent, a woman asked for our passports and started interrogating us. I had heard that airline security in Israel was intense, but hadn’t yet experienced the scrutiny myself. Well, I was about to. The comments that our guide Meir had made about Israelis profiling people suddenly became personal. I felt that David and I were both immediately targeted because we were foreigners.
As I handed the woman my passport, she glanced at me, and I tried to look as natural as possible even though I wasn’t doing anything wrong. She quickly noticed that my passport was brand new. “This is a new passport,” she said to me. “Yes, it is,” I responded. “Do you have your old passport?” she asked. “No,” I told her, maintaining eye contact. Why would I have my old passport with me?
In fact, I did have my old passport tucked into the tote on my shoulder, along with print-outs of my hotel booking confirmation in Beirut and departure BEY>FCO flight details (supposedly necessary for a Visa on Arrival in Lebanon). Since Israel and Lebanon are mortal enemies (literally), I knew I couldn’t get into Lebanon if my passport displayed any evidence of a prior trip to Israel. While Israel no longer stamped visitors’ passports, my stepbrother had alerted me to the fact that I would get a stamp upon entry in Aqaba making it very clear that I had entered Jordan via Eilat, Israel. Some internet research confirmed this fact, along with the detail that this stamp could cause me problems attempting to enter Lebanon. F***.
My little brother provided the perfect solution: just get a second passport. Yes, the US allows citizens to obtain a second passport (valid for just four years) in a couple scenarios: 1) If your primary passport contains a stamp that will prevent entry to another country that you have confirmed plans to visit, or 2) If you have need to get a visa to visit a country but have consecutive international trips planned and can’t part ways with your passport for a long enough time to obtain said visa.
With all that background, let’s return to TLV. I had lied to the security officer that was supposedly very well-trained in detecting suspicious activity. I was also a foreigner, so I was already on high alert. My heartbeat started to beat faster and I felt the anxiety setting in. “Where’s your other passport?” David asked me as we continued to wait in line. “SHUT UP,” I hissed at him.
The check-in process went smoothly and we headed to security. After the pre-security check had been so intense, I didn’t feel good about our prospects going through official security. Sure enough, we were both flagged for additional screening, and the security officers needed to search all of our carry-on bags. Including my tote that carried my second passport THAT I HAD JUST LIED ABOUT. While I knew it wasn’t a crime for me to have a second passport, it would obviously raise a number of questions. Then there was all the paperwork around my upcoming trip to Lebanon. Again, not a crime, but it would cause even more uncertainty around my intentions. My heart started racing, and I tried to act as calm as possible.
Thank god the security officers only cared about my electronics. They scanned my laptop, phone, curling iron, hair straightener and every single charger and adapter in my bag. Paperwork? Not a concern.
We were finally let loose to wait by the boarding gate, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had done something wrong, and could be caught at any moment. I kept my tote close and tried to act calmly until we could get out of Israel.
One final disappointing note about our departure from TLV. We planned to stock up on booze at the duty free store before boarding the plane (our accommodations in Wadi Rum had made it clear that they did not sell alcohol, which seemed like a money-losing proposition to me, but good for them for sticking to their principles). However, since we were departing from the domestic terminal at TLV, there was no duty free store accessible to us. Wah-wah. We glumly faced the possibility of a dry evening in Wadi Rum. I took solace in the fact that I hadn’t been detained for questioning.
After boarding the plane, we made it to Eilat with minimal issues. As we hefted my bag off the carousel at baggage claim, we saw a convenience store in the distance. Was it possible that they sold alcohol? Yes, they did, although the options were extremely limited. We ended up with a tall boy (David) and a bottle of sweet white wine (me). Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Next, we needed to get a taxi to take us to the border. I tried to use Gett as we waited in the taxi queue, but was having no luck. Finally, a massive SUV showed up at the taxi queue. The taxi driver took both us and the young family behind us without much explanation. They were all speaking in Hebrew, and I’m pretty sure a deal was being arranged where the driver benefited from us foreigners, but whatever. We dropped the family off at a bowling alley/arcade/go-kart racing venue in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere (I mean, why wouldn’t you get off a flight and go directly to the bowling alley?), and continued on our way to the border. I had never walked across an international border before, but figured the Middle East was a great place to start.
After completing the exit paperwork and submitting the exit payment at immigration at the outdoor stand in Eilat (they thankfully didn’t care that my passport was new, nor did they care if my old passport was on my person), we walked through the duty free store featuring a wide array of wines and liquors. Seriously? Why didn’t my internet research tell me about this? I decided to buy a bottle of red wine since I really didn’t want the sweet white wine from the sad Eilat airport shop. “You can always drink it in Lebanon,” David said as I paid for my surprise treat. The shopkeeper raised her head sharply at the mention of Israel’s enemy neighbor. I shot daggers into David’s head with my eyes. “What do you mean, Lebanon? We’re going to Jordan. Get your countries straight,” I awkwardly attempted to save the situation. We still weren’t out of Israel and my nerves immediately returned.
Jordan offered a Visa on Arrival for US citizens that cost a little over $55, but the fee was waived with purchase of the Jordan Pass, which also included entry to Wadi Rum, Petra and other major attractions throughout the country. We opted to pay for the Explorer Pass, which cost $106. It was only $7 more than the Basic Pass and covered two consecutive days at Petra, which we planned to use.
By the way, upon entry into Jordan, we found another fully-stocked duty free store. Wine, beer, liquor – our vices were covered. David rightfully gave me a hard time about insisting that we needed to stock up on alcohol at TLV. Pro tip: If you’re walking across the border from Eilat to Aqaba (or vice versa), you will encounter numerous opportunities to purchase all the booze you could ever want.
We made it through immigration without any issues at Aqaba (again, no questions about my passport situation) and easily got a taxi to take us to the Enterprise office in town to pick up our rental car. After some delays with the rental car (we arrived late because David wanted lunch at the Eilat airport) and some complementary Jordanian coffee, we were on our way to Wadi Rum. I had decided to splurge on a Mercedes for our road trip through Jordan and was thrilled to finally feel a sense of control over what we were doing and where we were going.
Getting to Wadi Rum Night Luxury Camp and Taking a 4×4 Tour
We parked the car at the Wadi Rum Village parking lot and met the local Bedouin man that would drive us to our accommodations at Wadi Rum Night Luxury Camp. We climbed into the back of the open truck bed and delighted in the views around us.
Upon arrival, we knew we wanted to arrange a 4×4 tour of the desert. While I was used to planning everything in advance, that was not the way things worked in Wadi Rum. We checked in, told the manager we wanted to go on a tour, and were in another truck for a sunset drive minutes later.
At this point, I realized that I had left my wallet and passport in the car during all the commotion transferring bags at the parking lot. The anxious pit in my stomach immediately returned. Why had I decided to rent a luxury car that was without a doubt the nicest vehicle in the Wadi Rum parking lot? If anyone wanted to break into a car, they would of course go for ours, where they would find my wallet with numerous credit cards, cash in multiple international currencies, and my passport. WHY?! I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself that the chance of theft was slim. And at least I had a second passport with me, in the worst case scenario.
We stopped at one rock formation and got out to hike up the sandy hill. I quickly realized that shoes-off was the strategy for climbing the soft, uneven ground.
After seeing all the views from the hill, we headed to flatter lands for sunset.
Night at Wadi Rum Night Luxury Camp
We returned to camp just in time for dinner. I felt no need to shower or change since we were literally staying at a camp, luxury or not.
After enjoying the shisha with our duty free booze, I was feeling much more relaxed. Who cared if my wallet and passport were stolen? I had made it to Jordan and all would be fine. Right? We eventually staggered to our respective tents for a respectable bedtime. There wasn’t much to do in Wadi Rum after a certain hour, and it was also the kind of place where you have to wake up early, whether you want to or not.
David and I reconvened for breakfast in the morning, checked out, and boarded the back of the truck to head back to the parking lot at the visitor’s center. Guess what? Our rental Mercedes sat unscathed, and my wallet and passport were still resting in the center console where I had left them. Thank God. I vowed to be more careful going forward and we sped off on the camel-dotted road to our next stop: Petra.
