The week I fell in love with Morocco part 3-Valley of Todre Gorges -village of Rissani-Erfoud

In day 4, after a good night's sleep we continued our adventure to visit the valley of Todre Gorges--the shape of this valley is constantly changing due to the weather. Last year , heavy floods took place which had affected the shape of these valleys even further.
Driving through the valley reminded me of the Grand Canyon and would be a rock climber's dream. Maybe I'll pick up rock climbing as my next hobby--who knows.. :)

We spent a good hour just walking along the valleys and watching local families gathering for their day outing in the Gorges. Imagine u could say that u're just popping out for the day to spend a day in the Gorges... there aren't many places you could say that except for places like Morocco.
The water was very clear and cooling--we even saw a few kids jumping in for a morning swim.



We drove to the top of the valleys in order to see a panoramic view of the Todre Gorges..it was breathtaking to see the mix of oasis where there were signs of agriculture in the form of the desert and greenery.

We then continued to drive to the Er-Rachidia region which is on the edge of Erg Chebbi which is the largest sand desert in Morocco.

During our drive we stopped to see the vast number of well dunes along the desert. When I looked at the well dunes it reminded me of the story of Nabi Yusof a.s when he was thrown into the well by his brothers. We were already hot being out there in the desert in the blistering heat for a few minutes so I do not know how Nabi Yusof a.s must have felt being stranded there for days alone before he was discovered by some merchant travellers.

After a long ride on the road we finally reached the village of Rissani where we were greeted by Hafidz-the most well dressed Berber guy I have seen with his cool orange scarf and not forgetting his slippers made of goat fur....Loved it! He was our local guide in Rissani.

Firstly, he took us to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif -a descendant of I-Hesn d Dakhl and considered to have been the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty of Morocco. An interesting fact about him was he apparently had 400 wives (I kid you not...this is what Hafidz told me)--talk about being a player right?!

We then headed to visit the Kasbah in Rissani where we met Rashid- a businessman who owned a family carpet business. He visits families living in the Saharan desert who still follow the craft of making handwoven rugs. He was very hospitable to us serving us mint tea and showed us an array of exquisite rugs....Nabiha and I ended up purchasing rugs for us to take home. I look forward to having the rug in my room back home. :)

After a long day--we were then picked up by Muhammad who wouold take us to Auberge d'Nor for our camel trek to our tents that night in the Sahara..This was the part of the trip which I had been looking forward to the most...

So if you're interested to find out what happened stay tuned for part 4. :)

The week I fell in love with Morocco-Part 2 -High Atlas Mountains-Ourzazate-Tinrhir

On day 3, we set off on our road trip through Morocco- our journey started from Marrakech and headed towards Ourzazate. The route took us through the High Atlas Mountains. An hour into the drive, I started to feel dizzy and a bit sick...the morning's breakfast felt as if it would come out again.. it wasn't a nice feeling....

I really wanted to enjoy the scenery as we drove up into the mountains but the dizziness wasn't going away. It reminded me of the time when I was a young girl travelling with my family to balik kampung before highways existed and there were endless country roads which were continuously winding throughout the whole journey. I used to get carsick easily and had to take pills to make the journey more bearable. As I got older, I managed to control it by listening to music and sitting by the car window in order to distract me from feeling dizzy. The car-sick feeling came back to haunt me in the Morocco trip...but I tried to control it and having the fresh air as we drove up the mountains instead of the air cond unit helped me.

Morocco's roads leading up into the mountains were very well maintained...there weren't many potholes as one would see in places like Malaysia. This was because you don't get big trucks travelling frequently along these roads...Most of the mountain people (Berber) still used transportation such as donkeys and horses which meant roads were generally well maintained.

Once I overcame feeling car-sick, I was able to enjoy the views of the mountains of Morocco. I felt truly blessed to be able to witness God's creation of nature and beauty and felt humbled on how small and insignificant we are compared to the mountains that we saw in Morocco. Those of you who appreciate nature would hopefully be able to understand that feeling.We visited the Kasbah near Ait Benhaddou where films such as the Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator were filmed. The kasbah are villages in the mountains which often have a row of craft shops which are made by the Berber people. We visited the craft shops and I even managed to try out the desert style of wearing a scarf.

We continued driving towards Ourzazate and went for our first Hammam experience. I didn't know much about Hammam before this except that it was similar to a Turkish bath. The Hammam experience was more than that -we received a body scrub by the lady at the Hammam followed by a Moroccan style massage and oils. The body scrub and massage was a different style than what us Malaysians are used to so it was definitely an experience. Would I want to do it again? Probably not. I think I prefer the Malay way of spa treatments.

After hammam we felt tired and famished and stopped over for lunch before heading to Tinrhir. Before we reached our hotel , we passed by the Atlas Studios which is where movies like the Mummy was filmed. We didn't go inside the studio but from what we could see it looked as if it was a larger production house but not as big as Universal studios of course. I can understand why Morocco would be an ideal film location because the mountains and desert has so much to offer.

We reached our hotel in the evening called Kasbah Linmani -which had an entrance that looked very similar to a jail door so for the rest of the trip we referred to this place as the Jail. Inside , however, the place was nothing like a jail. Overlooking our rooms we could see the rocky desert- a taste of what we would experience as we drove towards the Saharan desert.The meal at the hotel was included but in terms of the food we had tasted elsewhere it was so-so...

The next day we headed further into mountains to discover the Todre Gorges which I will write about in part 3..

The week I fell in love with Morocco-Part 1 -Marrakech

For those who know me in person, I love travelling be it with family or friends.
When I was at university, I could only afford budget holidays to Europe travelling to short haul destinations on a limited budget staying in cheap hostels. Although it was often on a tight budget, for me it was always the company which made the trip memorable and enjoyable.

Since I am planning to go back home soon, I wanted to visit Morocco which has always been on my wish list for a long time. When I was a student, a trip to Morocco was out of my budget range so the trip has always been postponed. Alhamdulillah, I am now working and I have been able to save some money for this once in a lifetime adventure trip.

Planning for the trip
Before the trip, my travel buddies and I had a few key places which we wanted to cover:
Marrakech, Fes, Casablanca and camel safari trip to the Saharan desert. This helped us decide on our itinerary.

Initially, we wanted to travel around Morocco on our own in order to save costs but after discussing the itinerary and travelling arrangements we felt it was more economical and more time efficient if we opted for a tour package.

For those of you who are interested in travelling to Morocco and would like to go for a tour package here are a few tips which you may find useful:
1. If you are a Malaysian, you will need to get a visa before you can book tours or flights to Morocco. Getting a Moroccan visa in the UK is pretty straightforward...their office is near Paddington and visa forms are provided there. All you need to provide is four passport photos, a provisional flight and hotel itinerary ,your passport, proof of right to stay in the UK and visa fee of GBP 18.34

2. Tour packages do not include flights so if you know when you would like to visit Morocco try to book the flights as early as possible in order to get the best deals... I went during late summer which was hot but bearable-similar to Malaysian weather but the ideal time to visit Morocco is springtime as it's not too hot and the scenery in the mountains are greener.

3. There are many websites offering tour packages to Morocco. Many of the websites have a set itinerary but a lot of these companies are flexible so if the set packages do not fit with the length of time or the places you want to cover --email the company directly for a tailored itinerary. Most of the time, the companies will try to accommodate your itinerary within your own budget.

4. Shop around for the best tour package deals...it can vary significantly. We emailed about four or five tour operators and the packages varied from 300 to 800 pounds for the exact itinerary so it is worth spending time in getting the right tour package.

5.Many of the tour packages require deposit payment in advance of the trip. Make sure you know exactly what you are paying for. We had all our accomodation, entrance fees , transport costs included in the tour.

6. The local Moroccan currency is MAD (Moroccan Dirhams). You can't buy MAD abroad so you should either take some cash and change at the bank or money changer at the airport or use credit/debit card. Note : there are a lot of ATM machines in Morocco but not many moneychangers so either change your cash at the hotels/airport ; otherwise pay by card but beware you may incur high commission charges.

Day 1&2 -Marrakech

The aerial view of Morocco when we landed was breathtaking...we could see the stretch of the desert and sand dunes followed by occasional riads with outdoor swimming pool. We were excited about the trip just by looking at the view from the plane.

We met our driver Khalid at the airport---I was quite apprehensive before the trip about meeting our driver...Various people have told me that one should be wary with Moroccan men and not to be taken for a ride/conned by them. But alhamdulillah when we met Khalid for the first time we knew that he was a good man and that we would be safe with him.

On day 1, we stayed at Riad Omar which is near the famous Djemma el-Fna square. Riads are houses which have been turned into inns and has a courtyard in the middle which can be occupied by a fountain or any other water feature. It brings natural light into the building. The rooms in Riad Omar were basic and small but it had its own quirky charm. I loved the tiles and architecture of this building. Since the square was nearby we decided to check out Djemma el-Fna. The square got busier as the evening went on...there are various things going on in the square..mainly catered for tourists. One could see snake charmers, storytellers, henna tattoists and various food and drink stalls. We were told before the trip to try out the orange juice--and it was amazing...the BEST freshly squeezed orange juice I have ever tasted and all for just 3 DH a glass. We walked around the square for a bit to enjoy the busy atmosphere before heading for dinner. We walked along Avenue Mohammad V to see the Khartoubia Mosque-largest mosque in Marrakech which looked splendid at night.
As we were all hungry we saw the sign of KFC and jumped for joy...for those of us in the UK we haven't had spicy KFC fried chicken for at least a year so seeing the sign prompted us to go for a KFC night. Even the KFC in London doesn't have the KFC spicy fried chicken. After dinner, we headed back to our riad for a good night sleep to explore Marrakech the next day.

On day 2, we met Rashid our local guide with Khalid. We visited the Bahia Palace built in the late 19th century. Initially, Si Moussa (grand vizier of the sultan) used the palace for his personal use at the end of XIX century, this palace would bear the name of one of his wives. It has a large courtyard and surrounded by rooms intended for the concubines. The architecture represented Islamic and Moroccan style and is closely resembled to the architecture which we would later see in Fes.

Our next stop that day was the Saadian Tomb which dates back from the time of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty and outside the garden his soldiers and servants. The tombs including those of the soldiers and servants were made of marble which strikes me as odd as I thought gravestones would only have tombstones but these were more extravagant as the tombs were made of marble. We saw this again when we visited King Hassan IV's and Mohammad V's in Rabat. Wallahualam -this may be the Moroccan culture.

After visiting the tombs we did a quick tour around the souks which is the largest in Morocco and the Menara gardens before attending Friday prayers at the Khartoubia mosque. Visiting the souks was a bit rushed so we didn't really shop around. We visited a carpet centre in the souk which was way overpriced and so maybe it was a blessing in disguise we didn't shop there as we found better and cheaper bargains in Fes.
We then headed for Friday prayers at the Khratoubia mosque..the mosque was simple inside but looks magnificient at night.
After prayers, we went for our first taste of Moroccan cuisine. Khalid took us to a small cafe restaurant which served couscous and tagine. On Fridays, it is tradition for Moroccans to eat coouscous...I guess it is the equivalent of Brits eating Fish and chips on a Friday. It was the best couscous I have ever tasted and chicken cooked in tagine with prunes was the best we had out of all the other food we had in Morocco that week. Khalid entertained us with his display of serving us Moroccan mint tea which is a must after every meal as it helps relieve the feeling of being bloated after a heavy meal like the one we had.

After a hearty lunch meal, Khalid took us to the Marjorelles gardens which was owned by Yves Sain Laurent-it is a unique garden surrounded by cactuses and buildings with bold colours..the colour blue and yellow was most prominent.

We spent at least an hour there doing various photoshooting opportunities especially for my travel buddies who had lots of fun posing for the camera.


It was a long day as we had covered a fair bit around Marrakech--and we were looking forward to just relaxing back at our 2nd riad which was Terraces des Oliviers. This was one of the best riads we stayed in during our stay...the rooms were massive and the architecture in the buildings were just exquisite..what I love about the riads are from the outside it looks plain but once you get inside it surprises you. There's always so much light coming through the courtyards which brightens up the whole place. We spent the whole night chilling at the Riad since we had a long day drive the next day--it was a good decision because we were well rested for the journey ahead.

22

I kinda like this song..it manages to capture the feeling of those in their late 20s/early 30s who haven't yet settled down and going through the Bridget Jones phase..

When she was 22 the future looked bright
But she's nearly 30 now and she's out every night
I see that look in her face, she's got that look in her eye
She's thinking how did I get here and wondering why

It's sad but it's true how society says her life is already over
There's nothing to do and there's nothing to say
'Til the man of her dreams comes along
Picks her up and puts her over his shoulder
It seems so unlikely in this day and age

She's got an alright job but it's not a career
Whenever she thinks about it, it brings her to tears
'Cause all she wants is a boyfriend, she gets one night stands
She's thinking how did I get here, I'm doing all that I can

It's sad but it's true how society says her life is already over
There's nothing to do and there's nothing to say
'Til the man of her dreams comes along
Picks her up and puts her over his shoulder
It seems so unlikely in this day and age

It's sad but it's true how society says her life is already over
There's nothing to do and there's nothing to say
'Til the man of her dreams comes along
Picks her up and puts her over his shoulder
It seems so unlikely in this day and age

Someone I used to know

Another great acoustic session fromthe truly talented Zee Avi...
No introductions required on the song--the music speaks for itself...

Giving back

"Charity is for those in need"

Any amount of money can never replace the feeling of joy when you know you are able to help and give a little back to those who need it most. Last Thursday, as part of the EY Womens Network I joined with other EY colleagues in helping out at the Breast Cancer Haven in Fulham for the day. The charity opened in the year 2000 from a lady called Sara Davenport whose nanny suffered from breast cancer and wanted to create an environment for those who are affected by breast cancer away from the environment of hospitals which can at times be stressful to cancer patients. As I arrived in the morning at the Haven, I was impressed by the layout of the place. I was expecting a run down building but instead I arrived to a bright airy reception. The day started out with an introduction to the place by the Corporate Fundraiser-Maxine. She is as enthusiastic as you would think a fundraiser should be... We were split into groups and I wanted to help out with the gardening but the slots were taken up quickly by other people. Instead, I volunteered to wash the walls on all the floors around the building....it sounds really mundane but by cleaning the place up gives it a new lease of life.... In the afternoon, my team went to the streets around Fulham sending mail out promoting on the programmes run at the Haven and leaflets outlining what the charity did. When we were washing the walls we visited each of the floors we were able to gain an insight on the facilities available at the Haven. The Haven is a drop-in centre and the building consists of rooms where treatments such as acupuncture or counselling sessions take place. There are also rooms where classes like yoga and makeup classes take place. Each room has a name such as Rose, Lavender etc..which all have a homely feel to it. This was a recurrent theme throughout the whole place. In the lower ground floor, there is a working kitchen where volunteers come to cook for visitors to the Haven and also the staff working there. The volunteers cook recipes catered for visitors with various needs and even sell products (mainly organic in nature) to visitors who are interested.

The Haven offers series of cooking programmes for those who are undergoing treatment or those who have recovered from breast cancer... The volunteers were kind enough to cook us lunch as well. Food plays an important part in someone's recovery from cancer treatment therefore the ingredients used are important. The Haven is one of a kind in London and have expanded in another two locations in the UK. However, opening and maintaining a Haven costs money-fundraising is key... This charity is a small organisation so Maxine explained that initially when the Haven was opened they had to rely on high profile organisations to raise money in a short time. For example , last year they held a function at the Natural History Museum attended by celebrities. The cost of the ticket would only cover running the event therefore the charity relies on people spending money during the night e.g. at the charity auctions. In one night, you could potentially raise at least GBP50k in one night. However, due to the high costs of running the event and times of recession it is not possible to hold such events on a regular basis as people are not willing to spend as much money.

Therefore the Haven needs to expand ther network and raise awareness of the existence of charity. I raised the question whether funding is shared amongst other cancer charities like Cancer Research UK. Unfortunately, funding is not allocated across other cancer charities so each charity is to thier own although they do work together. The Breast Cancer Haven are trying to work with private medical insurance companies in order to provide specialist services with patients under these companies who may need it. In principle , the NHS are suppose to be doing this but due to the intense pressure NHS are already under it is not possible for NHS to provide palliative care to all of their patients. It is not easy to raise money consistently for a cause you believe in but if people believe in what the organisation is doing and feel strongly about it..there is still hope.

Throughout the day, I saw some of the visitors attending the classes such as the yoga classes and you can see from their faces that the Haven does make a difference in their lives. If I won the lottery, I would love to quit my job and spend my time working for various voluntary organisations and actually making a real contribution to this world...in issues such as health and world poverty..

Well, I may not win the lottery anytime soon so in the meantime I am trying to do whatever I can within my means to help out with various organisations... My future intention would be to get involved with the VSO -Voluntary Services Organisation but this may be put on hold after I move back home for good.

A few weeks ago, I ran in the Race for Life charity run at Hyde Park with two of my friends. It was a great day and thoroughly enjoyable...Cancer has affected us in one way or another...I have seen family friends suffered with their loved ones and close friends who have lost loved ones through this disease...The Race for Life day was an event of raising awareness on the disease as well as recognising the lives that have been lost and also to those who have survived through the research in this disease which would only happen through the funds raised by people fighting for the cause.

When I was doing my A-levels I had originally wanted to study medicine and become a doctor. However, I didn't feel that I could face the emotional challenges I would face in training as a doctor.

As corny as this may sound to you, I have tried to be a person who would always try to help people in whatever I can with no strings attached. I would like to think whatever I do is out of sincerity. This can sometimes make me appear as someone who is 'weak' and 'can be taken for a ride' but if that's what people think only God knows what my sincere intentions are. I'd rather be that person than someone who is selfish and thinks of what would be best for them and them alone...

I believe charity can come in any types of form..even a smile is a charitable need. When someone is feeling down-a smile from a stranger can brighten someone's day... I hope those of you who read this article would reflect on whether you try to do a charitable deed however small you think it is. Whatever charitable deed it may be, the impact can be greater than what you think to the particular individual so keep doing it. If you are interested in finding out about the Haven it is on http://www.breastcancerhaven.org.uk