Trip report: Casablanca and Marrakech

I do remember a trip to Penang where I had the MOST wonderful time trying
to phone to Blaswick, Colorado and next thing was there was no more toilet
paper !
Oh and we stayed 50 years ago in such a wonderful place in Achkabad, just
next to the 7/11
And how scrumptious were these buns bought in Kakandoro, even if the baker's
hand were really dirty


"Keith Anderson" a écrit dans le message de
...
On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 13:27:35 +0100, Dusty Furtile Morrocan
wrote:

[insert top-posted comment about Africa not being in Europe here]

After a long and delay trip involving two EasyJet flights, we finally
arrived in Casablanca. First time for both of us in Africa. As I have
spent a lot of time in Asia, I found myself making comparisons
immediately in regards to the surrounding chaos. Certain things like
people forcing their way onto the train before others could get off
and the like. It astonishes Europeans to see this behaviour, as it
actually takes longer for the train to get underway and results in
people getting shoved around.

My wife was in a dire state of hunger by this stage, and so I opted
that we take a taxi direct to Hotel Gallia, in the new town. The taxi
driver that took us there from the train station didn't manage to rip
us off, although he apparently tried to tell the receptionist of the
hotel that he had done the hotel a favour. Whatever, the room was
reasonable, with a shower inside, but oddly no toilet. In fact a
number of the hotels we stayed in were like this. My question to you
is: What do you do if you wake in the night needing a pee? Brave the
dark hallways for the communal bog? Hmmm...

Naturally there was a holiday on at that time, meaning many
restaurants were closed. We were hungry, but no Moroccan food was to
be found. The first night we had McDonalds, and the second Chinese.
Never mind, as we got our fill of couscous in the following days.

Immediate impressions of Casablanca. Well, in the film there was
little reason to be there, and that's pretty much the case now.
There's a reasonable medina, and an utterly mammoth mosque which
beggars belief, and that's about it. The mosque is definitely worth
touring. The architect did an awesome and very stylish job, right down
to hiding the loud speakers out of sight. After seeing that, you can
tick off Casablanca.

Catching the train to Marrakech was pretty straightforward, with a few
delays, and problems getting a seat, but the trains are modern and
quite clean. The Marrakech train station is miles away from the old
city, so we jumped in a taxi. In the centre of the steering wheel is a
noisy button that seems to need to be pressed to make the car go
forward. The traffic in Morocco is an excellent example of freedom.
You are not bound by any of the usual rules, such as staying on one
side of the road, or staying off the pavement. You can simply make a
bee line for anywhere, and swerve around anything that's bigger, like
a building.

There are a zillion flea pit hotels in the old town, all in subtely
varying states of squalor. We found ourselves one near the main square
in Marrakech, which again had a shower and no toilet, but had a decent
bed. Hot water was activated by shouting at the receptionist.

Djemaa al-Fna? Yes, that's the massive 'square' in the centre of the
old town where money has changed hands for centuries. Finally we found
what we were expecting from Morocco, with numerous vendors, and
showmen abound in a continuous flurry of activity. Freshly squeezed
orange juice, olives, dates, snails, tea, hashish and banks of
eateries, all nicely set up to rope in the tourists. The vendors are
all too often over aggressive, which gets tiring fast. I got really
****ed off where we tried to watch some musicians, and was immediately
badgered for money. After handing over a few dirham, another man then
asked me for more money to watch, and got very aggressive when I
didn't pay up, and refused to let the show proceed. There were dozens
of (African) people around, but we were the only ones asked. Later, a
man came up and threw a monkey on my wife's shoulder, which she didn't
appreciate, and when I told him to get it off, he proceeded to throw
it on me. I gave it some pistachio nuts, and told the man to leave us
alone. A woman accosted my wife and just started drawing a henna
tattoo on her hand, and after it was finished, demanded hundreds of
dirhams for it. My wife handed over the equivalent of about ten euro,
and I was livid. Sadly that type of thing happened all too often in
Marrakech, and left us with a sour taste in our mouths. Fortunately it
wasn't so bad in the rest of Morocco.

There are also the souqs, which are a maze of little streets, where
even more stuff is sold. Interestingly, many of the goods were made in
China. Still, there are plenty of herbs and spices for sale, alongside
a zillion different trinkets. Little wooden camel anyone?

Other things of note:

- With the mini taxis, try to get them to use the meter. They will
often try to negotiate a price first, and it will be much higher that
a metered fare.

- In Marrakech, train tickets must be bought at the station, which is
a fair way from the old town. A bus that goes there is easily found,
but I have no idea where the returning bus starts from. It's
apparently not too near the station.

- Restaurant recommendation in Marrakech: Chez Brahim on Jamaa El Fna
Rue Dabachi No. 38. Great atmosphere, food and value. A nice place to
go after being hassled all day.

- Also in Marrakech, go back the Djemaa El-Fna after dinner, and try
the spicy ginseng tea. It gives you a serious buzz, and is served with
a small plate of yummy cake.

- Have a mint tea, if you dare. It's really a glass of green hot water
with heroic amounts of sugar in it. In these quantities sugar induces
giggly gurgly state, rendering the victim powerless against price
gouging.

Next up: Rabat and Fez
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com

Great stuff - keep up the good work.

Also stayed a night in Casablanca - hotel was a case of faded
elegance.

In Marrakesh, stayed in the Grand Hotel Tazi just around the corner
from the Djemaa - one of the few places in the old town that served
beer. Comfortable room and excellent food - the tajines were out of
this world.


---


Keith (formerly of Bristol UK)
now moved to Berlin/nach Berlin umgezogen

On the particular moment of Sun, 6 Jan 2008 15:11:20 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "Gerald Oliver
Swift" put forth:


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

"SuperDung" wrote in message
...
Whatever, the room was
reasonable, with a shower inside, but oddly no toilet. In fact a
number of the hotels we stayed in were like this. My question to you
is: What do you do if you wake in the night needing a pee? Brave the
dark hallways for the communal bog? Hmmm...


er.....pay more for the hotel....;-)

I kind of thought that. I don't think I paid more than 40 Euro per night
and never had a room without full facilities, though some of the rooms
were tatty.

Last year, in March, I paid MAD 515 (Euro 47) for a double room with full
buffet breakfast at the Ibis, next door to the train station.
It had a very nice outdoor pool and a bus to Djemaa el Fnaa (MAD 3) stopped
right outside the front door.
That was by booking on Accor's website (http://www.accorhotels.com) 2 weeks
in advance.

The problem being that the hotel is in the arse end of town!
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

Gerald Oliver Swift wrote:

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

"SuperDung" wrote in message
...
Whatever, the room was
reasonable, with a shower inside, but oddly no toilet. In fact a
number of the hotels we stayed in were like this. My question to you
is: What do you do if you wake in the night needing a pee? Brave the
dark hallways for the communal bog? Hmmm...


er.....pay more for the hotel....;-)

I kind of thought that. I don't think I paid more than 40 Euro per night
and never had a room without full facilities, though some of the rooms
were tatty.

Last year, in March, I paid MAD 515 (Euro 47) for a double room with full
buffet breakfast at the Ibis, next door to the train station.
It had a very nice outdoor pool and a bus to Djemaa el Fnaa (MAD 3) stopped
right outside the front door.
That was by booking on Accor's website (http://www.accorhotels.com) 2 weeks
in advance.

I see you can get advance rates there (no change allowed) for MAD 479
including breakfast... that's a useful recommendation, thanks!

--
(*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate -www.davidhorne.net
(email address on website) "If people think God is interesting, the
onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about.
Otherwise they should just shut up about it." -Richard Dawkins

"Gerald Oliver Swift" wrote in message
...

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

"SuperDung" wrote in message
...
Whatever, the room was
reasonable, with a shower inside, but oddly no toilet. In fact a
number of the hotels we stayed in were like this. My question to you
is: What do you do if you wake in the night needing a pee? Brave the
dark hallways for the communal bog? Hmmm...


er.....pay more for the hotel....;-)

I kind of thought that. I don't think I paid more than 40 Euro per night
and never had a room without full facilities, though some of the rooms
were tatty.

Last year, in March, I paid MAD 515 (Euro 47) for a double room with full
buffet breakfast at the Ibis, next door to the train station.

It was full when I tried to book a few days before.

It had a very nice outdoor pool and a bus to Djemaa el Fnaa (MAD 3)
stopped right outside the front door.

You used the bus!

Or more pertinently, you actually managed to find out about the bus!

All I ever got when enquiring was "use a Taxi it's cheap", which it is if
they don't try to rup you off, which they usually the do. I hated this
aspect of Morocco, so much so that I'm loath to go back: too much walking
because trying to avoid getting ripped by the taxi driver is too stressful.

tim

"Dusty Furtile Morrocan" wrote in
message ...
On the particular moment of Sun, 6 Jan 2008 15:11:20 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "Gerald Oliver
Swift" put forth:


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

"SuperDung" wrote in message
...
Whatever, the room was
reasonable, with a shower inside, but oddly no toilet. In fact a
number of the hotels we stayed in were like this. My question to you
is: What do you do if you wake in the night needing a pee? Brave the
dark hallways for the communal bog? Hmmm...


er.....pay more for the hotel....;-)

I kind of thought that. I don't think I paid more than 40 Euro per
night
and never had a room without full facilities, though some of the rooms
were tatty.

Last year, in March, I paid MAD 515 (Euro 47) for a double room with full
buffet breakfast at the Ibis, next door to the train station.
It had a very nice outdoor pool and a bus to Djemaa el Fnaa (MAD 3)
stopped
right outside the front door.
That was by booking on Accor's website (http://www.accorhotels.com) 2
weeks
in advance.

The problem being that the hotel is in the arse end of town!

not if you're arriving by train.

You have to do the round trip from station to 'old town', so why does it
matter if you do it before checking in/out or after?

tim

Last year, in March, I paid MAD 515 (Euro 47) for a double room with full
buffet breakfast at the Ibis, next door to the train station.
It had a very nice outdoor pool and a bus to Djemaa el Fnaa (MAD 3)
stopped
right outside the front door.
That was by booking on Accor's website (http://www.accorhotels.com) 2
weeks
in advance.

I see you can get advance rates there (no change allowed) for MAD 479
including breakfast... that's a useful recommendation, thanks!

You're welcome!
Gerry

It had a very nice outdoor pool and a bus to Djemaa el Fnaa (MAD 3)
stopped right outside the front door.

You used the bus!

Or more pertinently, you actually managed to find out about the bus!

All I ever got when enquiring was "use a Taxi it's cheap", which it is if
they don't try to rup you off, which they usually the do. I hated this
aspect of Morocco, so much so that I'm loath to go back: too much walking
because trying to avoid getting ripped by the taxi driver is too
stressful.

Rather surprisingly (for Morocco) the bus stop had a timetable, a route map
and a fare indicator.
Moroccan taxis.........the stories I could tell you........

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

Regards
Gerry

On the particular moment of Sun, 6 Jan 2008 17:35:36 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "tim....."
put forth:


"Dusty Furtile Morrocan" wrote in
message ...

The problem being that the hotel is in the arse end of town!

not if you're arriving by train.

You have to do the round trip from station to 'old town', so why does it
matter if you do it before checking in/out or after?

I guess if you only plan on one visit to the old town, then it makes
sense.

I'd also guess most people want to spend more time there than that,
and prefer a place closer to the action.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

On the particular moment of Sun, 6 Jan 2008 17:33:20 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "tim....."
put forth:


"Gerald Oliver Swift" wrote in message
...

It had a very nice outdoor pool and a bus to Djemaa el Fnaa (MAD 3)
stopped right outside the front door.

You used the bus!

Or more pertinently, you actually managed to find out about the bus!

All I ever got when enquiring was "use a Taxi it's cheap", which it is if
they don't try to rup you off, which they usually the do. I hated this
aspect of Morocco, so much so that I'm loath to go back: too much walking
because trying to avoid getting ripped by the taxi driver is too stressful.

*sigh*

Sadly, you talk the truth. I hated telling locals to **** off, but it
did become necessary at times.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

Dusty Furtile Morrocan wrote:

On the particular moment of Sun, 6 Jan 2008 17:33:20 -0000 in relation
to Mary's disappointingly immaculate rumpy pumpy, "tim....."
put forth:



"Gerald Oliver Swift" wrote in message
...
It had a very nice outdoor pool and a bus to Djemaa el Fnaa (MAD 3)
stopped right outside the front door.

You used the bus!

Or more pertinently, you actually managed to find out about the bus!

All I ever got when enquiring was "use a Taxi it's cheap", which it is if
they don't try to rup you off, which they usually the do. *I hated this
aspect of Morocco, so much so that I'm loath to go back: too much walking
because trying to avoid getting ripped by the taxi driver is too stressful.

*sigh*

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


They're Arabs, they are *used* to it...


:-)


--
Best
Greg