Five hours, two buses and $5 later we arrived in Wadi Musa, the modern town that sprang up around this formerly lost city to cater to tourists. Because Jordan is pretty flat the drive was easy. The scenery, however, was less than inspiring – desert as far as you can see. This is broken up at times by a shepherd desperately seeking some greenery for his goats and small, prickly shrubs, which are all that can survive in this dry and dusty country.

We survived, saved $150 on a taxi, and landed at a roundabout in Wadi Musa with not a clue where to stay for the night (we decided to risk this country sans guidebook – not a good idea). While I waited with the bags my travel buddy was suckered into following a tout to see his hotel. His report: a dump. So I set off to try another hostel that was a bit further afield.

I was sold just on the view. The two-storey hostel overlooked what I can only imagine the Grand Canyon rivals. Petra (which is actually the name for an area that covers a couple hundred kilometres) is hidden among the rose colour sandstone cliffs and hills that jut through this area.

After stuffing ourselves at the all-you-can-eat buffet at our hostel, my travel buddy, who was still recovering from his illness, crashed while I hung out in the lounge. It's amazing the people you meet in these places.

There was one couple who had been travelling for more than a year around the world and an American a guy who now lives in Israel. These random people are resources like no book could ever be. After stocking up on tips for where to go in Laos, Vietnam and how to survive Egypt (our next stop), I decided it was time to go to bed; we had big plans for hiking the next day.

First stop, the Petra ticket office, which was a good two kilometres from our hotel through Wadi Musa. And this was only the start of our walking. Boy do these Jordanians know what they have on their hands. A three-day pass for the site was about $50 each! Most people suggest a two-day pass, but since my travel buddy was still recovering from whatever hit him in Amman, we coughed-up for a three-day pass.

With these hot tickets in our hands, we still had a one kilometre hike (or camel, donkey ride if you're not tight backpackers like us) through the only truly accessible route to Petra – the As-Siq. This impressive, naturally formed cut, runs through the cliffside with daunting 200 metre sheer sides and only three to four metres wide – just one of the reasons this was such a secure camp for 30,000 Nabateans in the first century AD until an earthquake in 363 AD started the exodus. It also meant the city was then lost until Swiss explorer Johan Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it in 1812.

For those Indiana Jones fans it's also what Harrison Ford runs through at the end of 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. You know when the treasury blows up? After battling Italian tour groups and horse and buggies threatening to maul us in the As-Siq, it then expelled us almost into the impressive Treasury or Al Khazneh that still stands at 30 metres wide and 43 metres high. It's the most elaborate rock-carving in Petra and gets its name from the belief that pirates hid their treasure in the decorative urn, which some Jordanians tried to shoot open. You can still see the holes! Sadly it is solid sandstone.

And that's just the beginning. After ogling the Treasury and without a map we decided to take some stairs we stumbled across. Walking the sandstone steps was like looking through a kaleidoscope. I couldn't stop taking pictures of these amazing, natural colours, much to the frustration of my travel buddy. Anyway, these stairs took us far above the camel and donkey riding tourists to the area known as the Place of the High Sacrifice. The views of the Petra valley were beautiful and after my travel buddy's quick nap, we descended only to then hike, up to what is known as the Monastery.

Past a theatre engraved in the hillside and other rock-carved tombs on the left we found the 800 meandering stairs that would carry us up to the Monastery. If I hadn't seen it I would not have believed it and certainly never would have comprehended the scale. The monastery, or Ad Deir, is Petra's largest carved tomb monument, built in the 1st century A.D. Honestly I don't know how the Nabateans did it.

It looks like a giant chess piece. At 50 metres wide and 45 metres wide, the word 'giant' doesn't really do it justice but that's the best I've got. Adding to the mystique was the sun setting and casting it all in a golden light which helped further enhance the colours of the sandstone.

Of course I was also mesmerised by the two stray puppies who seemed to start a pick-up game of wrestling much to my amusement and my travel buddy's frustration. Hey, I love the carvings as much as the next girl, but how can you not love the puppies? Anyway, from the Monastery we walked to a point that overlooked both the Jordan Rift Valley and into Israel. As a hawk spiralled overhead I felt very small in comparison to the enormity of the landscape.

It was starting to get dark, though, and I had no plans to sleep outside in the desert so we climbed down as quickly as we could. Unfortunately it was a three-kilometre hike to the exit and after that neither one of us could face the climb back to our hostel. We caved and got a taxi praying we were back for the all-you-can-eat buffet! After gorging yet again, it was time for bed before more hiking the next day.

Early risers we are not, but we managed to get out around 9 a.m. because I wanted to make the trek up to the Jabal Haroun, the highest peak in the area where a small white church containing the tomb of Aaron stands. Uh ... so you're supposed to take a guide to go on this off-the-beaten path. Ha!

We struck out alone with nothing more than the Jabal Haroun in our sights and a hope we could find a path. Hot is one word and dry is a second I would use to describe this hike.

There was hardly a tree on the path, but helping to keep the spirits up were the Bedouins who, as incredibly friendly people, were constantly offering tea. We didn't have time to stop, but my travel buddy did become the cookie man handing out the treats to the children who didn't look like they'd had a bath in ages.

Eventually we found a lone tree and decided to take advantage of the shade and eat lunch under it. With canned tuna, bread (for my travel buddy), chips and apples we settled on two stones to chow when a herd of at least a hundred goats came over the hill and headed straight for us. I started heading for the branches of the tree, but luckily my travel buddy stayed calm and noticed the little girl trailing them.

Not more than eight years old, scruffy and skinny, she was alone watching the herd and decided our lunch looked pretty good. We gave her what we had left – some bread, chips, cookies and even mustard which she turned into a sandwich.

I thought she must have been starving to be eating this disgusting combination, but when I offered her a tomato, like a typical child, she stuck her nose up. She wouldn't eat an apple either! After unloading what food she would take, we continued our climb.

Shale rock and hidden paths made the last part of this steep climb tricky so you could imagine our surprise when we were almost at the top and found a police post up there! Talk about lonely work. Apparently they're there to monitor any attempts to cross the Israeli border into Jordan. I'm afraid these guys in their PJs were hardly intimidating, but who can blame them for vegging, stuck way out there all by themselves for days on end.

Passing the Police we made the last push up to the white church to be greeted with a beautiful breeze and amazing views. All the cursing, dry mouth and sweating all seemed worth it.

Because it took so long to get up there (at least four hours), we had to jet down so as not be caught in the dark. After four more hours, hundreds of no thank-yous to teas and a flashlight exit from the Siq there was not a chance we were going to walk back to the hostel. A taxi ride later we made the tail end of dinner before crashing into bed for a 7 a.m. bus the next day that was going to deliver us to Aqaba on the coast of Jordan where we could take the ferry to Egypt!

Next stop: Egypt