We cross over to Jordan on a ferry. The ferry is usually notoriously late but we strike it lucky and make the crossing from our Red Sea camp without too many dramas. We spend a night in Aqaba and discover that Jordan though just a boat ride away from Egypt is quite a different kettle of fish. About 6 million people live here, most of whom are Arabs and instantly I feel that life here occurs at a far more relaxed pace.
I find Aqaba to be clean and orderly and the people very friendly. It appears to be less frantic and the hassling is much less when compared to Egypt. I love Jordan instantly and I feel it makes for a great travel destination. We chill in Aqaba, drinking coffee at the local Gloria Jean’s and catching up with our friends and family via the free WIFI connection!
We setoff early morning for Wadi Rum. We arrive in goodtime and transfer to our 4 wheel drive vehicles for our desert safari. 
Wadi Rum of course is the place T. E. Lawrence made famous in his book “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, and brought to life for so many of us in the movie Lawrence of Arabia.
Wadi Rum is an amazing desert landscape of towering sandstone and granite cliffs, hidden cave art & sand dunes and is the place the Bedouins have called home for 
centuries. While today these nomads seem to make a living out of tourism, the old ways have not been completely abandoned and it isn’t unusual to see a Bedouin driving a herd of goats around the local villages.
We are on our way to a desert camp but make lots of stops along the way to take photos, have a picnic lunch in the desert and a bit of adventure.
Our host, is Sheik Wahid, who’s desert camp will be home for tonight. Our first stop is at a Bedouin tent along the way where we sip the sweet Bedouin tea which is quite delicious and shop for Bedouin jewellery. 
We also stop to climb and then run down one of 
the sand dunes in the area. About half of the group decide to give it ago and as we make the hard slog up the sand, I am thankful it is not quite as high as the sand dunes we sand boarded in South America or Dune 65 in Namibia which I climbed in the early hours of the morning to watch the sunrise!
It is late afternoon now and time to head for camp if we are to make it there before sunset. We unpack our bags quickly and head out for the lookout. It is so peaceful here and as we sit on the rocks, contemplate the day and watch the sun set on Wadi Rum, a distinct coolness settles in, reminding us of how drastic the temperature changes can be in the desert.
We walk back to camp for a dinner under the stars. We are camped in a spectacular location 
and the quietness of the desert is deafening. I tuck into potatoes, onions and chicken, roasted underground and wonder what it must have been like to have been a Bedouin in the days when there was absolutely no communication in these parts. The sound of the Sheiks mobile phone beeping reminds me it is less remote today.
After dinner, the Sheik invites me to join him for tea and a chat. I am glad of the opportunity to hear first hand the story of Sheik Zayid and so I step into his tent…
Men have looked upon the desert as barren land, the free holding of whoever chose; but in fact each hill and valley in it had a man who was its acknowledged owner and would quickly assert the right of his family or clan to it, against aggression.
T. E. Lawrence
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