After wrapping up the Europe part of our trip, Mom and I bid goodbye to hubby and MIL, and continued our travels to the Middle East. Our travel 'bootcamp' continued as we hopped across 5 countries in 6 days - Turkey, Jordan, Oman, U.A.E, Qatar. Thankful that Mom was willing to accompany me to this part of the world as I continued my quest of exploring more new contries. =)
27 May 2025 (Tues): Istanbul - Amman - Petra - Wadi Rum
After a short transit tour of Istanbul, we continued on with the 2nd leg of our flight from Istanbul to Amman at 2am...in business class as well.
P.S. Our entire Middle East trip would have been cancelled if it was 2 weeks late because 2 weeks after we flew this route, Turkish Airlines cancelled all flights to Jordan due to conflict in the region. As you can see in the bottom right photo above, our flight route was clearly planned to avoid flying through risky airspace.
This was another short 3 hours flight with meals served. Mom skipped the meal as she was napping the entire flight.
Arrived Amman airport 20 min ahead of schedule at 4.35am. The airport was pretty empty and immigration was fast with no questions asked. Malaysians don't need visa to visit Jordan so we saved some money on that. I wasn't sure if we needed cash for anything so I prudently withdrew JOD20 ($42) from the ATM at the airport just in case. Turns out, we actually didn't need cash at all as we were able to use credit card for everything.
Picked up this Suzuki Ciaz from the airport, which was super convenient. Booked this 2-days rental car from Budget for JOD 54 ($76), paid with CapitalOne travel credit. It took us about 30 min to complete the paperwork and car inspection (took photos and videos). The staff was nice and helpful.
Left the airport at 5.45am and started our 3-hour drive to Petra. Jordan drives on the same side as the US. The drive was pretty easy coz there weren't many cars around. I drove through many areas where I didn't even see any other cars at all. This was my first time driving in desert so the landscape was quite interesting to me.
Before coming to Jordan, I've read about the many random speed bumps on the roads. Now I know what people meant but to be honest, they weren't too bad coz the speed bumps were mostly there when passing through towns.
There were also quite a few police roadblocks, and we were stopped a few times. They usually just asked where we were from and said welcome to Jordan. It wasn't a good idea driving 3 hours after taking a 3-hour red-eye flight but the speed bumps and roadblocks certainly kept me awake.
One annoying part about driving in Jordan was the constant change in speed limits, with speed cameras everywhere. As much as I was extra careful adhering to the speed limits, I still got caught by a camera when I missed a speed limit change and had to pay $35 for the ticket...lol!
Finally made it to Petra around 8.50am. Parked our car for free at a nearby parking lot and bought our 1-day ticket from the ticket counter for JOD 50 ($77) per person. The tickets were pretty pricey in my opinion but it's one of the 7 wonders of the world so I am willing to 'splurge' on this.
Walked about 30 min from the visitor center to the Treasury. The walk through the Siq, a long, narrow chamber lined with towering cliffs wasn't difficult, just long.
Lost count of how many same same but different photos we took along this walk.
After walking through the Siq for what seems like forever, twisting and turning, we finally got a peek of the Treasury!
So glad to finally make it to my 7th (and last) 7 Wonders of the World!
Petra, also known as the "Rose City" due to the color of the sandstone from which it's carved, is famous for its unique rock-cut architecture and historical significance as an ancient city. The Treasury is the most photographed structure in Petra.
There was a lot more that we could explore in Petra but it was getting hot and we still had to drive to Wadi Rum so we decided to head out around 11am.
Walked another 30 min through the Siq to get back to the main entrance.
I was excited to find a Korean restaurant/house near Petra for lunch. The owner was a nice Korean lady. The food was good and reasonably priced. We were the only customer there...lol!
The 2-hour drive from Petra to Wadi Rum took us through some cool desert sceneries and some deserted areas with no cars at all.
Just as I was getting sleepy, I suddenly saw these camels crossing the highway...slowly...like what?! I quickly turned into the gas station so that I could stop for photos. It was actually kinda sad to see the camel trying to eat a bardboard and its legs tied together (to restrict its movement).
Entering Wadi Rum area at 3.15pm. Wadi Rum offers one of the world's most breathtaking desert landscapes with enormous red mountains and vast sand dunes.
We had to drive through the desert to get to our hotel - Hassan Zawaideh Camp. It was quite windy when we arrived and mom's luggage got 'sandy' very quickly as she dragged it through the sands. I booked this 'tent' for $63/night, paid with CapitalOne travel credit. The room was pretty basic but had everything we needed for a good rest, including aircon and a clean bathroom.
We originally planned to go on a jeep tour but ended up napping after checking in, and decided to skip the jeep tour since visibility wasn't as good due to the strong winds.
I chose to stay in this camp just so that I could take photos of these 'Martian' tents without staying in it. Fun fact: Wadi Rum was used as the filming location for Mars scenes in the movie "The Martian".
Welcome to Mars on earth. Apart from the Martian and Star Wars, Wadi Rum was also the filming location for Hyun Bin's The Point Men movie, which was how I heard about this place.
From Switzerland's Alps to Jordan's desert...I am so thankful for the opportunity to see this beautiful world.
Spotted some camels near our camp.
The camp was nicely lit up at night. They had a campfire dinner but we didn't join.
Was hoping to see the Milky Way but no luk on that, just a sky full of stars.
28 May 2025 (Wed): Wadi Rum - Dead Sea - Amman
Woke up at 5.30am to catch the sunrise but it was on the other side of the mountains/rocks. It was so peaceful and quiet when the wind is not blowing crazily.
Free breakfast at the hotel at 7.15am before checking out.
Checked out at 8.30am and it was time to hit the road again.
Bye bye Wadi Rum, bye bye camels!
Our drive from Wadi Rum to Dead Sea via the Desert and Dead Sea Highway took about 4-hours. We were pushing the 'boundaries' driving through Aqaba and all along Jordan's border with Israel. This was probably the closest I'd ever get to Israel because Malaysian passport is valid for all countries except for Israel, which explains why I was 'intrigued' to see it from afar.
Despite the ongoing regional conflict, we actually felt very safe driving around Jordan (mom pretty much slept all the way). As mentioned before, we encountered a few police roadblocks and had to show our rental car registration card in a few instances, but otherwise, they were quick and easy. We were asked to open our trunk/boot in the checkpoint near Aqaba since it was close to the border, and all vehicles went through the same check.
The drive along Dead Sea highway was easy. Road conditions were good and there weren't many other cars around. I listened to podcast to keep myself entertained along the drive.
Made it to Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa at 1pm. Instead of paying for a hotel day pass to soak in the Dead Sea, I decided to book this stay just the night before for $125/night even though we were only gonna be here for a few hours. I was able to use my CapitalOne travel credit to pay for this stay.
Checked in at 1.30pm and changed before heading down to soak in the Dead Sea.
The elevator to the beach wasn't working so the hotel buggy took guests up and down the beach. It was hot but we didn't plan to be out long.
Hilton's private beach has beach chairs and umbrellas. Beach towels were also provided. There weren't many people on the beach.
Dead Sea is a unique body of water with a high salt concentration, making it possible for people to float effortlessly. Its high salinity means it cannot sustain most forms of life, giving it the name "Dead Sea". The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth and is bordered by Israel, Jordan and the West Bank. We could see Israel on the other side.
Mom and I took turns to get into the water to float. The waves did make it a lil' harded to stay in place but it was still a cool experience to float effortlessly. The water was extremely salty and we had to keep our head above water at all times and avoid getting water in our eyes or mouth. Just one splash of the salty water in our eyes and we immediately felt the pain...lol!
The hotel provides basisns of Dead Sea mud on the beach for guests to apply to their skin (mud spa). The mud is known for its high mineral content, which are believed to have skin-nourishing and rejuvenating benefits. We indeed felt our skin moisturized after the mud spa. We spent about 40 min on the beach and washed off the salt water and mud before taking the buggy back to our room.
Chilled and rested in our room for the rest of the afternoon, and enjoyed the beautiful sunset from our balcony at 7.20pm before checking out.
We booked the hotel for the night but had to check out at 8pm after spending only 7 hours here as we had another red-eye flight to catch. We drove about an hour from Dead Sea to the airport and returned our rental car at the airport at 9.30pm.
Next stop...Muscat!
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