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.
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.
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.
Posts
1 comment:
The unthinkably giant dome ceilings & minuscule wooden designs in marble are once-in-a-lifetime vision to live rest of life with. The elegent mausoleums, humongous public speaking area (think, why did they plan it in tomb?) are gonna hold you in there, almost for ever.
Post a Comment