Beware of over-friendly locals in Marrakesh
 

The saying that "the wider the smile, the sharper the knife" is to an extent true. On my way to the Merdesa, a young local claiming to study Economics at university offered to lead me but instead guided me to the tannery. Though interesting as well, the tannery was a trap really as after he passed me on to another man who explained the process of leather making (see my Off the Beaten Track tips), I was whisked off to a nearby shop where the real business began. Luckily, I got out of what could've been a a long and arduous bargaining session by saying that I was only a student and have less than 100 Dir with me (always does the trick!).An eye opening experience and the only thing I lost was 5 Dir to the two "guides". MORAL of the story: Not to say that carrying on a conversation with a local is bad, but be very wary if you ask one question and s/he seems to be overly enthusiastic about giving you directions (just how many people would walk 20 minutes with you all the way to a place that's in in the opposite direction of his original path?). Just remembers: Non-money mongering locals often point you in the right direction, but wouldn't walk you there. A good way of getting the right directions is asking shopkeepers, since they've got better things to do (say, looking after a shop!) than to go after the pennies in your wallet.

Welcome Aisha, we'll do our best to meet your needs.

Beware of over-friendly locals in Marrakesh
 

peterpan1805 wrote:
The saying that "the wider the smile, the sharper the knife" is to an
extent true. On my way to the Merdesa, a young local claiming to study
Economics at university offered to lead me but instead guided me to the
tannery. Though interesting as well, the tannery was a trap really as
after he passed me on to another man who explained the process of
leather making (see my Off the Beaten Track tips), I was whisked off to
a nearby shop where the real business began. Luckily, I got out of what
could've been a a long and arduous bargaining session by saying that I
was only a student and have less than 100 Dir with me (always does the
trick!).An eye opening experience and the only thing I lost was 5 Dir to
the two "guides". MORAL of the story: Not to say that carrying on a
conversation with a local is bad, but be very wary if you ask one
question and s/he seems to be overly enthusiastic about giving you
directions (just how many people would walk 20 minutes with you all the
way to a place that's in in the opposite direction of his original
path?). Just remembers: Non-money mongering locals often point you in
the right direction, but wouldn't walk you there. A good way of getting
the right directions is asking shopkeepers, since they've got better
things to do (say, looking after a shop!) than to go after the pennies
in your wallet.




Oh yes, I know this place!
http://geo.bb24.biz/index.php?lat=48...kesh,Moro cco

Beware of over-friendly locals in Marrakesh
 

peterpan1805 wrote:
The saying that "the wider the smile, the sharper the knife" is to an
extent true. On my way to the Merdesa, a young local claiming to study
Economics at university offered to lead me but instead guided me to the
tannery. Though interesting as well, the tannery was a trap really as
after he passed me on to another man who explained the process of
leather making (see my Off the Beaten Track tips), I was whisked off to
a nearby shop where the real business began. Luckily, I got out of what
could've been a a long and arduous bargaining session by saying that I
was only a student and have less than 100 Dir with me (always does the
trick!).An eye opening experience and the only thing I lost was 5 Dir to
the two "guides". MORAL of the story: Not to say that carrying on a
conversation with a local is bad, but be very wary if you ask one
question and s/he seems to be overly enthusiastic about giving you
directions (just how many people would walk 20 minutes with you all the
way to a place that's in in the opposite direction of his original
path?). Just remembers: Non-money mongering locals often point you in
the right direction, but wouldn't walk you there. A good way of getting
the right directions is asking shopkeepers, since they've got better
things to do (say, looking after a shop!) than to go after the pennies
in your wallet.




Oh yes, I know this place!
http://geo.bb24.biz/index.php?lat=48...kesh,Moro cco