Marrakech
Before I went to Marrakech I had high hopes of seeing something wonderfully different, and I definitely saw some ¨different¨ but it´s hard for me to say that it was wonderful. A lot of Arabic culture reminded me of Egypt, and the people were generally nicer, but it seemed in most cases they were doing it to make money, which I guess makes sense and I don´t blame them but it doesn´t really add to the quality of my experience, if you know what I mean by that.
People told me the market there was amazing. I would say that it was BIG. No doubt there. There are a thousand merchant shops selling all kinds of different things, from pieces of random meat on the counter you can´t tell the difference between to random musical instruments that you wouldn´t have a clue how to play without a lesson from the experienced.
But I think the magic ended for me at BIG. I took some pictures so that I wouldn´t forget and I think it made it worse that we were only there for a day and a half, and so most of the time we were just stuck in the big tourist trap area. That´s what Marrakech sorta seems to be, at least in the Medina (old town) where all the crazy stuff happens. Everything is done to entertain or feed the tourist, and that´s just what the city is built for and around.
On our 2nd day, Yan and I rented a motorbike after asking our hotel for recommendations on where to rent, and we drove out of town toward the Atlas mountains. Just a straight shot toward the snow capped peaks and that was really fun and what a superb view it was. It felt really great and it reminded me a bit of riding a motorbike in Koh Phangan when I was in Thailand. The wind blowing past the face while you´re a motorbike is just a feeling that is so freeing it´s tough to describe with words. Except in yesterday´s case it included a couple of dust storms and moments where we had to stop and cover our faces until the wind stopped so that we could continue driving through it without getting pelted with dust all over our faces.
Downtown Marrakech is probably a great place to see once, and I wouldn´t stop anyone from going. I would probably recommend that they head toward Fes and stay longer there. Fes seems a lot more genuine Morocco (I will write about Fes later). Yan wasn´t impressed either, but she comes from China and so she´s got a world of coolness already at home, so she might be biased :) . If an American who hasn´t traveled much goes to Marrakech, I think it would blow their mind. It really is different from the 1st world, but compared to Thailand or China or even Egypt, I´d much rather be in those latter places instead. I don´t plan on heading back to Marrakech but who knows, stranger things have happened.
There was quite a bit of pollution where the river was supposed to be (it was completely dried up). The main tourist walks were nicely maintained while everything outside it just looked dumpy. I´d rather a place look dumpy everywhere the same, that way I feel like it´s really Moroccan, instead of cleaning things up for just the travelers to see. It sort of makes me feel cheap when I see that happening.
People told me the market there was amazing. I would say that it was BIG. No doubt there. There are a thousand merchant shops selling all kinds of different things, from pieces of random meat on the counter you can´t tell the difference between to random musical instruments that you wouldn´t have a clue how to play without a lesson from the experienced.
But I think the magic ended for me at BIG. I took some pictures so that I wouldn´t forget and I think it made it worse that we were only there for a day and a half, and so most of the time we were just stuck in the big tourist trap area. That´s what Marrakech sorta seems to be, at least in the Medina (old town) where all the crazy stuff happens. Everything is done to entertain or feed the tourist, and that´s just what the city is built for and around.
On our 2nd day, Yan and I rented a motorbike after asking our hotel for recommendations on where to rent, and we drove out of town toward the Atlas mountains. Just a straight shot toward the snow capped peaks and that was really fun and what a superb view it was. It felt really great and it reminded me a bit of riding a motorbike in Koh Phangan when I was in Thailand. The wind blowing past the face while you´re a motorbike is just a feeling that is so freeing it´s tough to describe with words. Except in yesterday´s case it included a couple of dust storms and moments where we had to stop and cover our faces until the wind stopped so that we could continue driving through it without getting pelted with dust all over our faces.
Downtown Marrakech is probably a great place to see once, and I wouldn´t stop anyone from going. I would probably recommend that they head toward Fes and stay longer there. Fes seems a lot more genuine Morocco (I will write about Fes later). Yan wasn´t impressed either, but she comes from China and so she´s got a world of coolness already at home, so she might be biased :) . If an American who hasn´t traveled much goes to Marrakech, I think it would blow their mind. It really is different from the 1st world, but compared to Thailand or China or even Egypt, I´d much rather be in those latter places instead. I don´t plan on heading back to Marrakech but who knows, stranger things have happened.
There was quite a bit of pollution where the river was supposed to be (it was completely dried up). The main tourist walks were nicely maintained while everything outside it just looked dumpy. I´d rather a place look dumpy everywhere the same, that way I feel like it´s really Moroccan, instead of cleaning things up for just the travelers to see. It sort of makes me feel cheap when I see that happening.
posted by Jimmy at
3:02 PM
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