After a decent breakfast, we leave the Marina Plaza Hotel and head north for the road to Amman. It is good to have Charles for company and to be back in the Range Rover and in control of transport again.
We are told that Wadi Rum is close to Petra. Today’s drive should only be about 120 KM. 40 KM north of Aqaba we see a sign directing us right from the main highway to Wadi Rum. Clearly the information we received was wrong. We turn off and 18 KM later arrive at the Wadi Rum Visitors Centre. We are approached by a local and asked if we want a tour and for how long. We opt for 3 hours and he fixes us up with a Land Cruiser that looks like it should have been scrapped 50 years ago. It has no door handles, window controls or air conditioning. The cost for three hours is JOD 70. We set off and the first stop is “The temple” which turns out to be a pile of bricks. We move on to the “Lawrence Spring” which is a tree half way up a mountain. I decline to make the climb and off we go again to “The Cave”. This is not really a cave as you can see up to the sky and after 20 metres you can’t go any further. It appears that the majority of these “Tourist Attractions” are just crap. We don’t give up, and head to “The Sand Dune” which is well, a sand dune. After traveling across Saudi Arabia I am seriously uninspired. The last attraction is “The Map”. This is a carving on a stone of the Wadi Rum area that was clearly done by a three year old.
Now these cheap attempts at creating things of interest are totally shadowed by the absolute beauty of Wadi Rum itself. The area is amazing (See pictures) and a reminder of just what Mother Nature is capable of when she puts her mind to it. The sand is an amazing red colour and the mountains and escarpments are surreal. We finish our tour and head back to the main highway to get to Petra. We follow the signs for Amman and after 45 minutes see a sign for Petra the has been hit by a vehicle. This causes confusion and we ask a local for directions. He directs us left and we are on a road with two way traffic. Initially, I am not convinced we have gone in the right direction but soon enough we are seeing sign posts for Petra. The road is winding and we spend about 45 minutes in what seems to be wilderness. We round a corner and see a major town in the distance. Descending further we are in Petra and, as I tell Charles to look out for the Mussa Springs Hotel, it appears on our right. Immediately the alarm bells are ringing. The place I booked, and paid a $12 deposit on, had pictures of a pool. This place definitely has no pool and looks lucky to have electricity. I ask if there is another Mussa Springs Hotel and receive a negative response. They have no record of the reservation or the deposit and ask to see the e-mail confirmation. I fetch it from the car and they are baffled that they have no record of it. They have rooms and immediately double the price. Apparently the deposit does not go to them but is kept by the online booking company despite the e-mail saying the contrary. I try to reason with them to no avail. I tell them to shove the hotel and we leave. We head deeper into Petra and see the Crown Plaza Resort. They have rooms and a pool and tell the truth. We check in. Tomorrow we will visit the “Treasury” and see what else is around the area.
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