Trip report: Casablanca and Marrakech

"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

Another useful tip for travel in Morocco:- Spend one day MAX in
Marrakech
and then get the hell out.

Hmmm... Marrakech is worth at least two days.

Get on a bus down to Essaouira and chill out there. Half the price of
Marrakesh, sea breeze, wonderful colonial (Portuguese) architecture, walk
the city walls, fresh sea-food, absolutely no hassle whatsoever in the
souks. Morocco truly at its best.

Indeed it's a nice place. But Morocco has so much to offer elsewhere as
well.

During my last trip to Morocco I experienced little hassle. It's just a
matter of being careful and keeping a certain distance to Moroccans in
tourist hotspots such as for instance Marrakech's Djemma el Fna.
And by the way, even there not everybody tries to rip you off. While
walking in Djemma el Fna I was offered a delicious freshly squeezed
orange juice at a very reasonable price.

I agree. The food in the local food hall was also good value with everybody
offering free samples to entice you in.

tim

On the particular moment of Mon, 7 Jan 2008 18:43:58 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "tim....."
put forth:


"a.spencer3" wrote in message
...

I once spent two days negotiating for a genuine ceremonial knife. It's a
ritual and a way of life, intended to incorporate hospitality and
conversation.

But presumably you wanted this item. The point is that you are taken in by
the guides and someone trys to sell you something that you don't want, at a
price that is far too high and expects you to 'waste' an hour negotiating
the price down to something, which in many is still more than buying a
similar thing (though not hand made) at home.

If the negotiating is fun, then it's not a waste. If the sellers just
flick you off like another one of you will be along in 2 minutes, then
you are unlikely to get a bargain.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

"Mike...." wrote in message
...
Following up to Dusty Furtile Morrocan
wrote:

Sadly, you talk the truth. I hated telling locals to **** off, but it
did become necessary at times.

i think i might tick off africa by going to one of the spanish
enclaves, or maybe i wont bother :-)

I came back via Ceuta, and whilst woking out the transport there was a
satisfying accomplishment (I recommened not even thinking of trying it the
other way) when I got there, it was indistinguishable from being in Spain.

Tangier is equally easy to get to, and whilst it is the least interesting
Moroccan city (by a long way) it is undoubtidly different to Europe.

tim

On the particular moment of Mon, 7 Jan 2008 19:58:38 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "tim....."
put forth:


"Dusty Furtile Morrocan" wrote in
message ...

When you arrive by an overloaded train, many others want a taxi too,
and you may find yourself on the road waving at already full taxis.

The technique I used was to just jump in giving the illusion I was
willing to pay any price, and then once moving, insist they start the
meter. Apparently they are defenseless against this.

I fail to see how. The only one that I insisted turn on the meter refused
("it is broken") and just repeated his demand for 10 Euro for the 3 mile
trip. I started to get out and we agreed on 5 Euro which was still four
times what it should have been, but it was a long day, I was tired.

So you got ripped off a bit. Happens to all of us from time to time,
unless you're a Mac user.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

On the particular moment of Mon, 7 Jan 2008 19:59:54 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "tim....."
put forth:


"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
m...
In article ,
says...

Another useful tip for travel in Morocco:- Spend one day MAX in
Marrakech
and then get the hell out.

Hmmm... Marrakech is worth at least two days.

Get on a bus down to Essaouira and chill out there. Half the price of
Marrakesh, sea breeze, wonderful colonial (Portuguese) architecture, walk
the city walls, fresh sea-food, absolutely no hassle whatsoever in the
souks. Morocco truly at its best.

Indeed it's a nice place. But Morocco has so much to offer elsewhere as
well.

During my last trip to Morocco I experienced little hassle. It's just a
matter of being careful and keeping a certain distance to Moroccans in
tourist hotspots such as for instance Marrakech's Djemma el Fna.
And by the way, even there not everybody tries to rip you off. While
walking in Djemma el Fna I was offered a delicious freshly squeezed
orange juice at a very reasonable price.

I agree. The food in the local food hall was also good value with everybody
offering free samples to entice you in.

I would also agree with this.

A problem with being excessively pestered is that you can find
yourself rudely shunning genuine kindness through no fault on anyone's
part.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

Following up to Dusty Furtile Morrocan
wrote:

If the negotiating is fun, then it's not a waste.

as much fun as dealing with estate agents and used car salesmen.
--
Mike
Remove clothing to email

Following up to Dusty Furtile Morrocan
wrote:

"http://www.stumbling.co.uk"

After Scotland, Tasmania, Romania, the Himalaya, and god knows how
many other mountains, I couldn't be arsed doing the long bus trips.
There didn't seem much point, and it was reportedly heavily touristed.

quite possibly, i was really adressing kilimanjaro being climbed with
cerebral palsy, but i didint make that too clear.
--
Mike
Remove clothing to email

"tim....." wrote in message
...

"a.spencer3" wrote in message
...

"tim....." wrote in message
...

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:25:50 GMT, "a.spencer3"

wrote:


Agree totally re Casa. Just miss it.
Marra is Marra - helps if you speak French? I love the place.
Must admit I never got drunk on any of countless mint teas!

I saw a snippet on Dutch TV of a program about Dutch royal tours of
2007.
In the
bazaar in Istanbul a carpet seller offered the queen, her son and his
Argentinean born wife Maxima, tea.
Maxima said to the Turk in Dutch "We are a typical Dutch family, we
take
the
free offers, but never buy anything"

I tried to turn down the offer (as I don't like tea) and the response
was
"are you refusing my hospitality". This kind of puts one in a position
where you have to accept. I took the tea and discovered that it
doesn't
taste anything like the stuff sold in England.

As to (not) buying something, if you really don't want it, it is easy
(if
time consuming) to avoid. The opening prices are staggeringly high -
they
may be good value for hand made quality items (assuming that they are
hand
made quality items), but I have no desire to buy such items in this
environment and would only be interested in cheap (but functional) tat,
which it is not.


I once spent two days negotiating for a genuine ceremonial knife. It's a
ritual and a way of life, intended to incorporate hospitality and
conversation.

But presumably you wanted this item. The point is that you are taken in
by
the guides and someone trys to sell you something that you don't want, at
a
price that is far too high and expects you to 'waste' an hour negotiating
the price down to something, which in many is still more than buying a
similar thing (though not hand made) at home.


For the momentary tourist, maybe. They are ripped off.
However, the souk people usually live in relative poverty by our standards,
and none could expect them to ignore such relatively easy income.
(I do not refer to the roving hasslers whom everyone, including the locals,
detests).
But I was living within the souk for some weeks, made numerous friends, and
knew exactly what I was doing and buying.
In fact the actual purchase became almost secondary. It was bound up with
other previous favours given and received. I knew the owner needed cash to
visit relatives in the mountains and this was an honourable way of providing
it.
But that beautiful knife is there on my wall as I write!
No regrets whatsoever, I assure you.

Surreyman

"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

Another useful tip for travel in Morocco:- Spend one day MAX in
Marrakech
and then get the hell out.

Hmmm... Marrakech is worth at least two days.


Good grief, I once spent nearly two months there! You must be talking about
sightseeing rather than visiting or travelling. And even the sights are
worth a week if you realise what's there.

Surreyman

"Dusty Furtile Morrocan" wrote in
message ...
On the particular moment of Mon, 7 Jan 2008 19:59:54 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "tim....."
put forth:


"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
m...
In article ,
says...

Another useful tip for travel in Morocco:- Spend one day MAX in
Marrakech
and then get the hell out.

Hmmm... Marrakech is worth at least two days.

Get on a bus down to Essaouira and chill out there. Half the price of
Marrakesh, sea breeze, wonderful colonial (Portuguese) architecture,
walk
the city walls, fresh sea-food, absolutely no hassle whatsoever in the
souks. Morocco truly at its best.

Indeed it's a nice place. But Morocco has so much to offer elsewhere as
well.

During my last trip to Morocco I experienced little hassle. It's just a
matter of being careful and keeping a certain distance to Moroccans in
tourist hotspots such as for instance Marrakech's Djemma el Fna.
And by the way, even there not everybody tries to rip you off. While
walking in Djemma el Fna I was offered a delicious freshly squeezed
orange juice at a very reasonable price.

I agree. The food in the local food hall was also good value with
everybody
offering free samples to entice you in.

I would also agree with this.

A problem with being excessively pestered is that you can find
yourself rudely shunning genuine kindness through no fault on anyone's
part.
--

Absolutely.
And, largely, Moroccans are amongst the most genuinely kind I've met.

Surreyman