Travel October 4, 2025 0 Comments

How Hitchhiking on a Party Bus in Jordan Turned Into the Wildest Adventure I Never Saw Coming

Have you ever found yourself willingly hopping on a bus 130 miles in the “wrong” direction, with a bunch of strangers speaking a different language, and wondered if you’d accidentally wandered into a real-life adventure novel? That’s exactly how our journey unfolded after leaving Petra, that ancient marvel carved into rose-red cliffs. There we were, squeezed into a tour bus filled with Jordanian women cloaked in hijabs, who turned out to be some of the liveliest road trip companions you could imagine. With zaatar and butter sandwiches in hand and tea warming our palms, the music kicked in and suddenly the bus wasn’t just a vehicle—it was a dance floor barreling along winding roads at 50 miles an hour. What happened next was an unexpected plunge into the heart of Jordan’s warm, spirited culture under the glowing desert sunset of Wadi Rum. If you think you know the Middle East, think again—the party we stumbled upon could rewrite your entire travel playbook. LEARN MORE

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Leaving Petra, we joined a tour bus full of Jordanian women–heading 130 miles in the wrong direction. We don’t know why we did this, considering we weren’t exactly sure where they were going or when they would arrive to our intended destination, but we knew it was going to be an adventure. We hopped in, and were immediately offered zaatar and butter sandwiches and cups of tea. Then the music cranked up. “Annie! Mike!” “Come dance,” said the ladies in harmony. The bus was going 50 miles an hour on snaking roads, but they didn’t care. These seemingly conservative woman, cloaked in hijabs, were ready to cut loose and we weren’t about to hold them back. Chanting our names and spinning us round and round, we laughed until our cheeks hurt.

Little did we know the party was just getting started. We reached the Wadi Rum desert as the sun was setting over the red mountains, and we couldn’t understand why they would want to see this legendary landscape in the dark. Then we saw the strobe lights bouncing off the dunes. Two dance floors were set up, one for men and another for women. Our new friends ordered three hookahs for our table, further extending the invitation into their worlds. There wasn’t a single westerner at this party…and we felt so honored to have experienced the light and warm-hearted spirit of the Middle East.