Jason's Trip Around The World, and now life in Singapore - Morocco

Morocco - Two Cultures

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Sat, 12 May 2007 17:17:55 -0400

Well this is my last night in Morocco, it has been a memorable two weeks
here, it seems like I have been here much longer.

Morocco is an interesting place, you have a very larger generation
gap, the older people who are more set in the ways of Islam, and then the
younger generation, wearing western clothing, and hair styles, and
provocative clothing, and not abiding by all the rules of Islam. You can
tell the older generation doesn't know what to make of the younger people.
Some of them get quite upset when a younger couple simply holds hands in
public. I think it has to do with the rapid change, and perhaps a little
bit of envy. Morocco is an Islamic country, but it is a pretty relaxed one,
as they say here "We are a long way from Mecca".

The King of Morocco is also a stark contrast to his father and
grandfather, he only has one wife, and is really pushing tourism. Which is
apparent by all the construction every where. Tangier is really bustling
with construction, they are hosting the 2012 Expo. It would be neat to
return here at that time to see how things have changed. The King does not
charge an income tax for the people, just a business tax, he is self
sufficient with interests in various Moroccan and foreign companies, he is
also donating some of the many palaces around the country to museums.

Food in Morocco is great, from Tangines to couscous, and the best
bread around, so light and fluffy, I think it is because most places still
use wood heated clay ovens. The people are genuinely kind as well, most of
the people here are more than willing to help other Moroccans and tourists
alike. Of course you have the odd shady character trying to pull a quick
one. (More so here in Tangier than else where in the country) Essaouira and
Fes were my two favorite locations, both a stark contrast of each other,
Essaouira is the laid back beach town, and Fes has the huge souks (markets),
and is a very old city.

This is right up there in my favorite country I have visited, I
certainly wouldn't live here, but I would come back, I wouldn't call it a
budget location, but there are some good deals out there, and you can get by
inexpensively providing you don't drink much.

Tomorrow I am off to Gibraltar for a couple days, I am somewhat
looking forward to being in an English speaking country again, then it is
off to Izmir, Turkey. Which I see on the news is having a few problems, so
hopefully things settle down.

PS - Happy Mothers Day Mom

End Of Tour.

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Thu, 10 May 2007 23:00:59 -0400

Well I am writing this on the train to Tangier, a lovely 9 hour train ride.
The trains are quite comfortable, so it's not that bad.

I must say the 12 day tour of Morocco was quite enjoyable, saw a good chunk
of the country, and experienced it's culture and it's people. As well I met
some great people, from various parts of the world, and my interest in
traveling more of Africa has certainly increased, we will have to see how
time plays out. The final meal of the tour at the Riad we were staying in was
truly amazing, so much good food. I have certainly enjoyed the food here in Morocco.

The last few days of the trip have been a little more relaxing, Essouaria
was pretty relaxing, it's a wind surfing paradise, with a fairly nice beach,
and temperate climate as I mentioned. Yesterday was the first day I felt
hot, as the cold spell is over, and I must say I am glad we didn't have to
travel in the 30+ degree heat, even though it's a very dry heat, the heat
brings out a lot more of the 'smells' of the city, I could just imagine the
souks of Fez in 35 degree heat, especially the leather tannery.

From what the tour leader has told me about Tangier, I am certainly looking
forward to it, I may even rent a car and drive down the coast line, as it is
apparently still pretty untouched, but we will see how things progress.

I am a little upset with myself, it seems over the last few hotel transfers
I have misplaced my 'bag of cables' not a huge loss dollar wise, but more a
pain in the ass if anything. My bluetooth headset which I use for calling
home was the most expensive item. My USB memory card reader was in there, so
I can't get photos off my camera. Hopefully I can find a store in Tangier.
Now that I write this, I now realize that my battery charger and extra
battery for my camera was in there as well, that will be harder to locate I
think, very frustrating, but I have no one to blame but myself, not sure how
I could have misplaced that. Oh well nothing I can do about it now.

I'll write a little Morocco recap after a day or two in Tangier.

Aït Ben Haddou & Essaouira

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Mon, 07 May 2007 11:06:05 -0400

Well I am in an internet cafe writing this, as I haven't been around
internet for a while.
There has been a fair amount of time spent in a van lately, the Moroccan
landscape is quite beautiful, from the Atlas Mountains, to plains and
vineyards, we didn't travel far south enough to see the desert dunes
however.

After Marrakech we drove to Aït Ben Haddou , a very small town, there is the
new part, and then there is the old Kasbah, the most preserved in Morocco,
basically it is a small town built out of clay, mud, straw and rocks, and
has to be reached after every rain fall, quite nice to look at. A few movies
including gladiator were shot here, in fact one of the local guides was an
extra in it, and various other films, quite an interesting character. Some
of us did a hike up to another Kasbah, long walk, and the wind was intense,
but learnt a bit about the land and how people live off of it, still old
aqua ducts are used for irrigation. And I saw my first pomegranate tree, it
was just a baby one, so there was no fruit.

After the hike we had a very good dinner of Chicken, and couscous, quite
tasty. I was quite wiped out after the hike, and I was battling a bit of a
head cold so I slept like a rock.

We then headed to the costal city of Essaouira, a very laid back city, it has
similar climate to the Canary Islands, never warmer than 30, and never
cooler than 18. Lots of people from Marrakech come here during the summer,
last year it was 48 in Marrakech, and 24 here in Essaouira, and it's only a 3
hour drive. It at one time was the largest Sardine port in the world, now
it's more just a quaint fishing village, and I must say today I had the best
seafood lunch I have had in ages. It was at an outside grill, we had shrimp,
crab, sea bass, sole, and one other fish, along with tasty Moroccan Salad
(Tomato, Cucumber, Onion, and Red/Green Peppers) Very tasty.
We have the next day off from any tour duties, so I am just going to relax
around the beach, and enjoy the tasty seafood.

Then we head back to Marrakech for our last night with the tour. I do enjoy
the tour atmosphere, but I also do enjoy being on my own schedule, but I did
meet some really interesting people on this trip, and saw some amazing
sights, so it was well worth it. I definitely recommend Morocco, I would see
it sooner than later, as there is lots of construction going on, and it is
becoming more touristy. April/May is definitely the time to come, as things
are green, and the weather is temperate!

I will upload photos as soon as I can!

Marrakech

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:32:51 -0400

Well we arrived in Marrakech late afternoon on Thursday, had a little rest
and then made our way to the main square. This is where there are street
performers of all sorts, and all sorts of grills and food vendors. I went
and visited a snake charmer, and had a couple snakes wrapped around me, the
photos I got, I seem to look quite terrified, but it wasn't really that bad,
neat experience.

Then it was off to the snail soup stand, basically it's a bunch of snails
boiled in a peppery broth, I wasn't going to have any but the group
convinced me too, and so I used a toothpick and got a snail out of it's
shell, and down it went, wasn't bad, wasn't great. Not something I will
crave that is for sure.

We then went up to a patio as the sun set and had a pretty good coffee, and
then the call to prayer from the near by mosques started, quite an
interesting vibe in the large square. I recorded the prayer call so you can get an idea of the sounds.
Watch It Here. We then had a good dinner at a
grill shop, fresh vegetables and chicken, lamb, beef, and great calamari.

Friday we went to a garden, which wasn't overly exciting, and then into the
medina of the city, since it was a Friday, the Islam Sabbath day, some of
the shops were closed, but a lot were not, the medina is not as exciting or
as old as the one in Fes or Meknes, but there were a couple interesting
sights. An old Koran School, where kids would get educated, and quite a few
would sleep there as well, pretty small rooms, and then there was a water
reservoir that was built around 1060 A.D. by Saudi Arabian Berbers, it is
the oldest structure in Marrakech, it was quite interesting to see how much
lower it was then the rest of the city, it was because over the hundred of
years, the city has been rebuilt over top of it's self.

Tonight is a free night from the group, so I am going to venture out on my
own and see what the night vibe is like, it certainly is a mix of cultures,
you have some of the women who are fully decked out in the traditional garb,
with only there eyes showing, and then you get some that are dressed in
tight shirts, and jeans, there are all sorts of booths selling fake label
clothing like D&G and Versace. Morocco definitely has a strong European
influence then most Islamic countries.

Tomorrow I leave for a very small town, and then we head to the Atlantic
coast for 3 days, so not sure how internet will be, I have been rather
surprised so far though. I have also decided to head to Tangier for 3
nights after the tour, as that is very close to Gibraltar where my flight to
Turkey is from. It is supposed to be a pretty 'alive' city.

Meknes.

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:08:21 -0400

Our group left Fes, and went to go see an old Roman city, most of it was
destroyed during an earthquake, but lots of it was restored, and there were
some pretty nice mosaiks, that were created around 1BC-3AD, so very ancient.
It was quite nice to walk through all the old history.

We then went to a city called Meknes, which was at one time an imperial
city, it was quite nice. We went into the medina, and into the markets,
which were a little tamer than Fes. We had an amazing lunch. Camel Burger!
We went to a shop, where there was fresh camel meat, (and a Camel head
hanging in the shop). The meat was then ground up right there with some
onions and spices, we then took the meat a few shops down, and it was cooked
on a grill, and we had mint tea, and Camel Burger, quite tasty.

I am now on a train to Marrakech, I am looking forward to exploring that
city. I will upload some photos as soon as I can!

Update Lots of new Morocco Photos Here

Casablanca.

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 06:32:54 -0400

Well last night went for dinner at Ricks Café, which was a
recreation of the café from the movie Casablanca. Quite a nice restaurant,
had a shrimp dinner, it was ok, nothing exciting, some of the other meals
looked nicer.

Met the rest of my tour group, an older couple from Capetown South
Africa, a middle aged couple from Sydney, a young couple from Zurich
Switzerland, and then two older single ladies from England, and Australia,
and then our tour guide, a guy about my age from Australia that has been
doing Morocco tours for 10 months, seems like an interesting group of
people, and it seems I will have my own room during the trip so that is
nice.

This morning we did a tour of the 3rd largest Mosque in the world, quite impressive
it only took 6 years to build, and was finished in 1993. Quite high tech, with heated floors
retractable ceiling, and a sound system. It can hold 20,000 people inside, and another 85000
people outside for prayer. It is truly massive.

Just packing up to get ready to get on a train to Fes, which should be quite
interesting, not sure how the internet will be in these smaller cities. But
I will try to do updates as much as possible!

First Impressions Of Morocco

jason@willock.org (Jason Willock) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 12:24:36 -0400

Well I have arrived in Casablanca Morocco, the flight was with a company
called ClickAir, it was quite cheap, about $75cdn for the two hour flight,
it was quite odd, there was a mad rush for everyone to get on the plane, it
is because they don't assign seats, it's first come first serve. The plane
was less than half full though, so I got a whole row to myself. For the
price of course you wouldn't expect a meal, but I was quite hungry, and when
they brought by sandwiches I figured I would get one, $15cdn for a Chicken
Sandwich and Coke. I see where they make there money!!

Anyhow, we finally land at the airport, after what was the worst descent I
have ever been on, the plane was jumping all over the place, apparently
there were some crazy cross winds, but we landed safely. Cleared customs,
fortunately I didn't have to open my luggage up, seems they were only
targeting locals, and other Arabs.

My tour included shuttle to the Hotel, it was about a one hour drive, and I
thought they drove crazy in S. America, they don't drive fast here but lanes
don't seem to mean the same thing here, at intersections you just move into
whatever lane you feel is the best, the bigger vehicle gets there choice.
Being a pedestrian here is quite the adventure, often they are standing in
the middle of the road waiting for a gap to cross. Pedestrians certainly do
not have the right of way. When I was walking about I just followed the
locals and stuck very close to them.

Speaking on walking around, I didn't venture to far from the Hotel, which I
must say is very nice, and I have my own room, and when I checked in, I saw
a list of 8 people, and the only other male name was the leader. So it's
looking good, I may have my own room the whole trip. Anyhow about walking
around, I went to go find some lunch, I really wish I studied French more,
as everything here is in Arabic and French, and I am having a hard time
making the switch from Spanish, I keep answering everything in Spanish. I am
sure a couple days I'll be a bit better. There are lots of street merchants,
selling everything from nuts to sunglasses, and designer shirts. This is the
first time on my travels that I feel that I really stand out, I have seen
very few white skinned folk, and I don't think I have seen another blonde
hair blue eyed person, I do get stared at a bit, it's a unique feeling.
Walking around I felt totally safe, however I am sure it is a different
story after dark, fortunately I will have the group to travel with.

I had an interesting lunch of chicken and potatoes with a side of coleslaw,
it was actually quite tasty, a fair kick of spice to it, I definitely am
looking to the food here.

Anyhow I should have a little nap, before I meet the rest of the tour group
in a couple hours, the two hour time change, and having to get up at 6am
today have certainly drained me.