Marrakech, the last of Morocco

Warning: long post ahead

This will be my last post on Morocco.

As we didn't book any hostels in Marrakech, we bumped into one of the runners and he brought us to view some of the nearby hostels. Finally, we settled for this one which cost 60 dirham a night and for our 2nd night there, they gave us discount. So it was 50 dirham. Weird enough, they also rent out their shower to any non-staying customer for 10 dirham.

Marrakech is something like a land of sharks. The sellers and even the snake charmers were really aggressive. For example, H and P who went closer to take photos of the snakes were chased by the charmer for money, just for snapping a few shots. They looked really angry and aggressive if you didn't pay too. I saw someone who paid one of the snake charmers to put a snake around his friend which gave him a really big shock. Hehehe....

The post office where I sent off most of my postcards. Hope that they'll arrive.

Djemaa el-Fina square - the place where you can see all the snake charmers, acrobatic acts, musicians, etc.

It is a UNESCO heritage site. But after the experience with the snake charmers, we dared not even go near any of the performances.

This photo was taking at maximum zoom from the orange juice stalls opposite. hahahah. At least they didn't come running to ask me for money. What if one of the snakes lost interest in the flute and decides to run away?

Koutobia Mosque

Tallest building in the medina. Very useful landmark to get your bearings right. It's about 5 minutes walk from Djemaa el-Fna square.

Back to the square - there are fresh orange juice everywhere which made it a torture to me as 1 glass was only 3 dirham and I am allergic to citrus fruits!!!! So sad. By that time, I was already having a really huge ulcer on my tongue most probably due to the spices that they put in Tagines. I cannot survive in Morocco for more than a week.

Calf's brain - the only 1 thing that I wouldn't try. At least snails were more appealing.

The nightmare - hundreds of restaurant stalls. The promoters there were really aggressive. Not only that they keep on dragging you by the hand/ arm into their stall saying 'just see, just see', they made you promise to return to their stall for dinner. I think we've broken a lot of promises.

Shopping time

There are soooo many stalls inside the medina. Not only was it packed with human beings, I was at high alert for motocycles squeezing through the narrow paths and cartwheels which knocks your legs if you didn't avoid it in time. Phew... Again, the annoying Konnichiwa greetings occurs and this time, the frequency multiplied by 20 times.

The shopkeepers' standard greeting was 'Come, come, just see. I give you good price'. But then the good price was only good in their perspective and there was a lot of haggling to do as prices can be higher by 10 times the actual price. If you can haggle in Marrakech, you can haggle anywhere for the best price.

Dinner:

We did go back to the 3rd stall which practically dragged us in earlier and all the workers clapped their hands when we arrived. Now, this is when I concluded that I will never step into Morocco again.

They promised us free drinks and 1 free dish for the night. Looking at the menu, there were many choices and the prices was on average 40 dirham per dish.

We had salads, kebabs, tagines, battered shrimps and calamaris. I think we ordered around 8 dishes. Food was not bad.

This is one of the food that you must try if you're in Morocco - Bastilla. It is a pastry with pigeon cooked in nuts and honey. More sweet than savoury and reminds me of curry puffs.

In the middle of clarifying

When we asked for the bill, the waiter just scribbled 430 on a piece of paper and told us that he's giving us a dish free, so the total was 400 dirham. We paid the sum and got ready to depart but P and E realised that they charged us far more than what we've ordered. So, we asked him for the proper bill and my goodness, his handwriting was ineligible and he even had the nerves to write that the total sum after all the adjustments made was still 430 dirhams. I couldn't stand it longer and took the piece of paper from him and rewrote all the numbers to recalculate. The extra charges of 70 dirhams were for bread and olives (10 dirhams per person) but it was written in the menu so we can't argue. The thing is, nowhere in Morocco were we charged for the olives and bread. A higher price was charged for the 2 Bastilla that we've ordered but H and YH remembered the exact price so it was corrected. But even then, he still over-charged us 50 dirhams, which we got back in the end. When he went back to the counter to get the change, we even saw his boss turned really angry and threw the money at him. I pity him cause he's been employed to con tourists but of all people, they chosen the wrong ones to cheat. Nice try, but bet you didn't expect that we were so aware of the prices and are able to do mental calculations faster than you. So, beware of scams even for food.

Shopping time again! The shops closes quite late, some especially near the main square opens till midnight.

Supper - we went to have tea or coffee at a nearby restaurant. The waiter's English was limited and we even drew Calamaris on a piece of paper to ask if they had any but they didn't. Guess what happened, we were allowed to go to the restaurant stalls to buy some and the waiter even gave us 2 empty bowls to take them back. So nice of him.

Last day in Marrakech:

KFC for brunch - the spicy flavour for the chicken was just extra spice sprinkled on top of the fried chicken. But it was delicious.By that time, I was already quite broke but decided to exchange more money to buy more souvenirs.

This open top tour bus is practically in every city that I've been to. We were planning to visit the palaces that morning.

The colourful spices

Square near El-Badi Palace

As the palace was closed till 2.30pm that day, we decided to have tea at El-Badi Palace rooftop restaurants overseeing the square.

The sugar container was shaped like a Tagine.

Even wrote my postcards while we were there.

Tagines being prepared.

We wandered off the beaten path and ended up in an area only the locals roamed. It was such fun as we got to see mothers scolding their children on the back lanes, locals buying vegetables and having their lunch, barbers giving their customers a shave, and daily products sold instead of souvenirs. We did get lost after a while but managed to find our way back to familiar places.

The cakes sold at the medina was really expensive. I think it was 40 dirham per piece. We didn't haggle for food prices. Maybe it could have been cheaper. E bought this doughnut hung on a string for just 1 dirham in the not so touristic area. See how much the prices differ.

The shop were we bought the most things. In the end, after bargaining for such a long time with the shop keeper and even returning for the 2nd time, we just had to take a photo with him. I do miss fixed prices without having to worry about scams or how much do I need to tip someone.

More late night shopping.

By the end of the day, we were so skilled in haggling that we even haggled for fresh orange juice. Initially it was 18 dirhams for a 1.5 L bottle of orange juice but by bringing our own bottles and bargaining, it came up to 30 dirhams for 2 bottles.

Dinner at the same restaurant where we had supper and being served by the same nice waiter. This was the only time I felt that it was worth tipping him. Food was again the standard orders.

Snails for supper - the snails at Fes was still the best that I've tasted.

Marrakech airport and breakfast on the plane

It was a nightmare trying to arrange for transport to the airport as we had to get there by 5am. Initially, the runner who recommended the hotel promised to get us a van for 25 dirhams per person but when we went back to confirm, he disappeared. At the same time, our hotel person said he could find transport for 30 dirham per person and he said it would be a van. So, we took up his offer. Guess what was the final scam. Luckily there was a taxi which was meant only for 4 person turned up at 4am when we were supposed to depart. At least we got to the airport on time.

The final straw was at the check-in counter. Clearly the counter was open but they wouldn't let us check-in till 6am and our flight was supposed to be at 7.15am. Marrakech airport is notorious for long queues at the security gates and passport control and I don't want to miss my flight. So, I waited there till 5am and when I saw a family traveling to London managed to check-in, I quickly ran there and luckily, they allowed us to check-in. I don't know what's the point of delaying us from checking-in and causing us to miss our flight. I don't want to remain in Morocco for any longer than planned. Are they trying to make us buy another set of flight tickets due to missed flight? I just can't help but have negative impressions of Morocco.
Back to London at last!

You will never believe how relieved I was. First time that I felt so relieved that I've returned from my holiday destination.

On our way to Chinatown for lunch

Dim Sum at Gerard's Corner. Enough of all the Tagines and bread.

I hope that you've enjoyed my travel log on Morocco. If you're planning to go there for a holiday, make sure you take into account all the tips that I've written in the last few entries.

Next up: London - finally up to date with all my posts.