distant heat
Distant Heat, Jordan
01/08/07 11:10 Filed in: TV
Jono (from Above & Beyond) invited us to Jordan, to film on one of the most exciting gigs in their agenda:Distant Heat
On Monday we took a plane to Vienna, ate echte wienerschnitzel in downtown, then headed back to the airport to catch our plane to Amman. It was early in the night when we got to our hotel, so after a quick dinner we went to sleep.
Next day before we started shooting, we went to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to get permissions to film wherever needed to. Those permissions never been asked though. Ever.
We got our press passes for Distant Heat, the rest of the afternoon was spent in Jerash, a Roman city in such a good condition, that even those with limited amount of sensibility for history would raise their eyebrows.
On Wednesday, we went to the Dead Sea to spend an afternoon there before we go to Aqaba. I was dumb enough to taste the famously salty water just to see how salty actually it is. Well, VERY.
I love the fact, you can only float in there...
We used our underwater camera for some shots during the afternoon.
I had a thermometer on the table, after a while this is what I saw on it:
The road to Aqaba was filled with heavily guarded checkpoints and a restaurant equipped with a suspiciously looking kitchen, so we didn't feel like eating in there.
We got to Aqaba pretty late, but it was still better than for Jono, Tony & Dave Seaman, who had to sit 4 hours in a car after the 6 hours of flight from London. They arrived around 4 in the morning, but at 2 pm we've had lunch at the beach bar...
Of course we did some filming, and the underwater camera had some good use in the sea too.
It was a great afternoon filled with beach and sunshine.
It was dark by the time we got to Distant Heat, but it still felt a very special place to held a party at. Local dj BeeBee had a great warm up set, then Dave took over at midnight. The crowd was very mixed, alot of tourists, most of them - like us - flew over especially for this party.
The free food was a great addition, especially in the morning, where it provided some extra energy for those in need.
At 3:00 a perfect Above & Beyond dj set started, Jono & Tony rocked the crowd hard, and the hits just kept flowing. The crowd were singing along most of them. As sunrise came, it was obvious why is Wadi Rum one hell of a unique place to party.
The sun comes up real fast, and the colours you see are just unbelievable.
Jono was right when he said it is something we should see...
Sunrise @ Distant Heat Festival
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In the morning we headed back to the hotel, sleep.
Next day our cameraman had some stomach problems. By the end of they day he felt so bad, we had to call a doctor to see him.
Food poisoning is a nasty thing, but a few injections and various other medicines had their effect, so he got much better.
In the morning he got two more injections, so we were able to go to Petra, that provided one of the most iconic locations in the Indiana Jones Trilogy, the temple of the Last Crusader.
Of course there is a gift shop.
It is a huge area, which seems a lot longer in the afternoon heat. If we get a carriage, it is extremely bumpy.
But it is definitely a jaw dropping experience to walk through.
...which only multiplies at the end:
Entering Petra
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After all the amusement, we filmed while Pisti (the cameraman) could do, then headed back to Amman, to go to the airport at 8:00 am. Then Vienna, where instead of waiting a few hours for our Budapest plane a friend of mine picked us up, so we got to Budapest earlier than with a plane.
Ever since I try to rest, as on Firday we go to Ibiza!
