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Marrakech or the land of Adidas Berber – Part 5
Thursday, January 27th, 2011Departure and last thoughts
We spent the last few hours of our vacation in the sun on the terrace of Riad Souad. There is something surreal about being in the warm sun, overlooking miles and miles of flat roofs with satellite dishes, with the Atlas Mountains in the background, and the prayers resounding from one minaret to the next all around us. I can’t quite explain it. When it was time to go, we had booked a transfer with the Riad. It cost us 150 dirham I think, no messing about. Got to the airport, filled yet again another landing card, spent the last few dirhams we had (watch out, not all shops in the airport accept them, and if they do, they usually inflate the price by 10% on average), and away we went.
In terms of food prices, a tajine or a couscous will cost you 40 dirhams in places on Djeemaa el Fna and about half that if you go on streets a little less busy (see comment on part 2). A Coke will cost you 14 dirhams, a salad anything from 5 to 20 dirhams for the same things depending on where you go. Bottled water if you buy in the shops cost around 3 or 5 dirhams, double that in restaurants.
I liked Marrakech, but I would only come back for a longer period than 4 days if we had excursions booked. Obviously this was the first time away with Noah, so that was out of the question. My maximum would be one week, with 2 days of doing nothing, 1 day shopping, 2 days exploring the city and the rest doing excursions in the mountains etc… Obviously longer if you decide to go to other places like Tangiers or Casablanca. People are very welcoming and respectful, as long as you are too. Being in a Muslim country, I thought it was going to be a lot stricter than what I saw, but to be honest we behaved the same way we usually do.
So yes, I would recommend it for a long week end, ok with kids as long as you’re prepared. People are welcoming, the food is ok, and pricewise it is very reasonable. More than anything it is the feeling of being away from the day to day routine, but at the same time have the option to have familiar things around you: the French language for me, the TV.
It is also an excellent destination if you want to go travelling in India for example, but don’t know if you’ll cope. If you want to test yourself, go there, experience it, and whatever things you see make you uncomfortable or happy, multiply that by 100, and you almost get there.
Marrakech or the land of Adidas Berber – part 4
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Travelling with Noah, 6-months old.
So this was the most stressing unknown aspect of the trip: how was he going to be on the plane? Would he scream down? Would people just tell us to shut the kid up? Could we ... [Continue reading this entry]
Marrakech or the land of Adidas Berber – part 3
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Other places
For food, we’ve also eaten “Chez Brahim”. There are two places belonging to the same person, located within meters of each other when you walk from Riad Souad to the square.
The first one is the baker’s, or ... [Continue reading this entry]
Marrakech or the land of Adidas Berber – part 2
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Djemaa el Fna and the Souks
Djeemaa el Fna is the point of reference in the Medina. This is where the Koutoubia (main Mosque) is located, where you can access the souks, the market, the banks, the Muslim and the Jewish ... [Continue reading this entry]
Marrakech or the land of Adidas Berber Part 1
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
The arrival and accommodation.
Ok, it is not quite that limited, but I think we must have heard: “want shoes? Look Adidas Berber” about 50 times, while we were shown traditional Moroccan shoes.
So here goes. We landed in ... [Continue reading this entry]
AnneandMark