Morocco?

mudcow007

Going to Spain in a few weeks for ones birthday, an quite fancy a day trip over to Morocco.

anyone ever been>?

is it worth it or is it just full of hawkers trying to sell carpets?

gtvlusso

mudcow007 wrote:

Going to Spain in a few weeks for ones birthday, an quite fancy a day trip over to Morocco.

anyone ever been>?

is it worth it or is it just full of hawkers trying to sell carpets?

Yes, been there lots for work and pleasure. Well worth it, you do get allot of hassle in the bazaar's - but head down and be prepared to haggle.

Vibrant little country - if you are taking a better half and said better half is blond; ahead scarf is the way forward. They really appreciate the effort to maintain the religious beliefs of the country. This is of course at your discretion, but my ex covered her bright blond hair with a scarf and people were very appreciative of the token effort.

mudcow007

yeah taken my other half, she is a brunette i'm hoping i can trade her in for a flock of camels

we are looking at getting the boat across to Tangier an have an amble around

gtvlusso

mudcow007 wrote:

yeah taken my other half, she is a brunette i'm hoping i can trade her in for a flock of camels

we are looking at getting the boat across to Tangier an have an amble around

Do it - Hire a couple of bikes in Spain and take them across on the boat, I think it it 2 hour on the boat from memory ~12 years ago for me.

Go for 'high end' goats, easier to get into your luggage allowance

Tangiers is pick pocket central; try and blend in a bit; don't wear a back pack.

Ben6899

Don't come home without a tagine.

msmancunia

Careful how you go Mudcow - a guy on the same trip as me got more attention than I did and I'm blonde. They took quite a shine to him so your girlfriend might end up coming back on her own and you'll be staying there!

I went to Morocco at Easter; it was great and we just dressed conservatively - both on and off the bikes. gtvlusso is right - you'll be pestered in the souks, so wearing sunglasses (if it's sunny) cuts down on eye contact!

Loads of bargains - esp spices, leather, fake stuff, and expect to haggle. They don't like it when you don't at least try, but they are good fun and it was easier than I thought. If you brush up on a couple of words of French that's useful too.

mudcow007

gtvlusso wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

yeah taken my other half, she is a brunette i'm hoping i can trade her in for a flock of camels

we are looking at getting the boat across to Tangier an have an amble around

Do it - Hire a couple of bikes in Spain and take them across on the boat, I think it it 2 hour on the boat from memory ~12 years ago for me.

Go for 'high end' goats, easier to get into your luggage allowance

Tangiers is pick pocket central; try and blend in a bit; don't wear a back pack.

i have more of chance of asking my mrs to ride a pogo stick than her riding a bike

looks like a fun trip,

we are staying in Nerja im hoping its going to be warm-ish!!

cornerblock

gtvlusso wrote:

try and blend in a bit

Like this?

mudcow007

msmancunia wrote:

Careful how you go Mudcow - a guy on the same trip as me got more attention than I did and I'm blonde. They took quite a shine to him so your girlfriend might end up coming back on her own and you'll be staying there!

i remember a few years ago being in India an having loads of people surrounding me an rubbing my head (shaven) asking me why i had no hair an shouting "Crazy English"

that's what it must be like being a celeb, i'm not going to lie i loved it....not one of them wanted my autograph though

msmancunia

You're such an attention-seeking tart, Mudcow.

(when I went I had random people wanting to have their picture taken with me because they didn't see many people as pale as me!)

mudcow007

msmancunia wrote:

You're such an attention-seeking tart, Mudcow.

(when I went I had random people wanting to have their picture taken with me because they didn't see many people as pale as me!)

ha you don't look anything like Casper the friendly ghost do you?

bigmat

India was mad, my (blonde) wife got loads of attention, there were queues of people wanting pictures some places. I got a bit towards the end of a trip when I had a full beard - apparently I looked like some Bollywood star called Raja or something. Well and truly got my own back when we got to Bangkok though, the girls were loving me there!

Back to Morocco, thinking of going over to Marrakesh in spring. Any tips? Any issue with taking a couple of pre-school kids?

gtvlusso

BigMat wrote:

India was mad, my (blonde) wife got loads of attention, there were queues of people wanting pictures some places. I got a bit towards the end of a trip when I had a full beard - apparently I looked like some Bollywood star called Raja or something. Well and truly got my own back when we got to Bangkok though, the girls were loving me there!

Back to Morocco, thinking of going over to Marrakesh in spring. Any tips? Any issue with taking a couple of pre-school kids?

Just get your jabs done as per the foreign office advice - some of the jabs have lead times. Summer in Morocco means sand flies.....but, I think you will miss these. Enjoy it, expect to be hassled though - can be hard work. A firm 'NO' mean 'Maybe' in Morocco!

msmancunia

mudcow007 wrote:

msmancunia wrote:

You're such an attention-seeking tart, Mudcow.

(when I went I had random people wanting to have their picture taken with me because they didn't see many people as pale as me!)

ha you don't look anything like Casper the friendly ghost do you?

haha not far off - just with freckles!

msmancunia

BigMat wrote:

India was mad, my (blonde) wife got loads of attention, there were queues of people wanting pictures some places. I got a bit towards the end of a trip when I had a full beard - apparently I looked like some Bollywood star called Raja or something. Well and truly got my own back when we got to Bangkok though, the girls were loving me there!

Back to Morocco, thinking of going over to Marrakesh in spring. Any tips? Any issue with taking a couple of pre-school kids?

I went at the beginning of April and it was nice and warm most days - take a fleece or something for the days it isn't. The Djemma El Fna is amazing at night and one of those must-see things, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jemaa_el-Fnaa
- less busy during the day so maybe take the kids first to get them used to it, and then go back at night to eat. There are fire eaters, and acrobats and great food stalls and all kinds of stuff - don't normally like them but maybe take reins or one of those wrist-leads for the children if they aren't being carried because the square is packed at night and once you get through that the souk is a bit of a maze. Try and stay in a riad for a night if you can - there are some beautiful ones in Morocco.

The square is full of hawkers, but once you fight your way through those (head down, no eye contact, and don't let them put a monkey or a snake round your neck because you may scream like a girl like I did. And the monkey weighed a ton.), the souk is a lot less hassle. Didn't spend much time in Marrakesh because we toured, but it was pretty cool. If your wife needs a break from you all for a couple of hours, one of those posh hammams is really nice and they only cost around £40-£50 for the works.

If you don't fancy Marrakesh then Agadir is more like a traditional holiday resort, and Essaouira on the coast was my favourite place - smaller, by the sea, less frenetic, great seafood, and we stayed in a great riad. Just a really chilled out place, and you can get the train from Marrakesh.

madtam

It's a great place for a visit, although you want longer than a day trip.
Marrakesh is OK but rather touristy, Agadir could really be any Southern Med. tourist resort, but Eassouria is a different place entirely and the place to chill for a few days if possible. It does have the tourist bit with camel rides or kitesurfing, it also has a small souk and a more traditional feel as well. If you get the chance then staying in Riads is good advice.

If you do want to buy a carpet from a hawker then you will get the chance - you will probably have a good chance of getting some good quality Morrocan drugs but I really wouldn't recommend trying to bring any back to Spain through Ceuta or via Tangier as they are pretty keen on looking for it.

itboffin

Headhuunter

BigMat wrote:

India was mad, my (blonde) wife got loads of attention, there were queues of people wanting pictures some places. I got a bit towards the end of a trip when I had a full beard - apparently I looked like some Bollywood star called Raja or something. Well and truly got my own back when we got to Bangkok though, the girls were loving me there!

Back to Morocco, thinking of going over to Marrakesh in spring. Any tips? Any issue with taking a couple of pre-school kids?

I had the queues of people thing when I went to China in 1999... I was outside the Forbidden City for a good 20 mins before I managed to tear myself away while coach parties of Chinese people had their photos taken with me...

Headhuunter

If you go to Morocco, you should go to Fez, it's the world's only functioning medieval city (or something like that), basically its structure hasn't changed for hundreds of years and its aligned to the desert so that it catches any breath of wind... It's amazing as you enter the town and walk through the crowded, narrow streets it's like someone has switched the air con on....

Fireblade96

Headhuunter wrote:

I had the queues of people thing when I went to China in 1999... I was outside the Forbidden City for a good 20 mins before I managed to tear myself away while coach parties of Chinese people had their photos taken with me...

I did quite a bit of work in China in the mid-90s on the new mobile networks, so I was working in places where foreigners were few and far between. I'm pale & freckly too, and back then I had long red hair and a matching beard so didn't exactly blend in ! On a visit to the Great Wall I had the Chinese tourists asking if they could get their photo taken with the exotic foreigner ;-)

vitesse169

msmancunia wrote:

BigMat wrote:

India was mad, my (blonde) wife got loads of attention, there were queues of people wanting pictures some places. I got a bit towards the end of a trip when I had a full beard - apparently I looked like some Bollywood star called Raja or something. Well and truly got my own back when we got to Bangkok though, the girls were loving me there!

Back to Morocco, thinking of going over to Marrakesh in spring. Any tips? Any issue with taking a couple of pre-school kids?

I went at the beginning of April and it was nice and warm most days - take a fleece or something for the days it isn't. The Djemma El Fna is amazing at night and one of those must-see things, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jemaa_el-Fnaa
- less busy during the day so maybe take the kids first to get them used to it, and then go back at night to eat. There are fire eaters, and acrobats and great food stalls and all kinds of stuff - don't normally like them but maybe take reins or one of those wrist-leads for the children if they aren't being carried because the square is packed at night and once you get through that the souk is a bit of a maze. Try and stay in a riad for a night if you can - there are some beautiful ones in Morocco.

The square is full of hawkers, but once you fight your way through those (head down, no eye contact, and don't let them put a monkey or a snake round your neck because you may scream like a girl like I did. And the monkey weighed a ton.), the souk is a lot less hassle. Didn't spend much time in Marrakesh because we toured, but it was pretty cool. If your wife needs a break from you all for a couple of hours, one of those posh hammams is really nice and they only cost around £40-£50 for the works.

If you don't fancy Marrakesh then Agadir is more like a traditional holiday resort, and Essaouira on the coast was my favourite place - smaller, by the sea, less frenetic, great seafood, and we stayed in a great riad. Just a really chilled out place, and you can get the train from Marrakesh.

We went to Marrakech in March '05 fo 5 days. Was fantastic. About 24deg every day, cooler nights tho, we bought some local garb to wear in the Jamma el Fna and the souk - didn't get a second look from the traders as we blended in well.
Be very prepared to haggle - that's a great sport. Bought loads of leather stuff, olives etc real cheap. Eat in the Square in the evenings, good food - lots of, at knock down price.
Also went for an evening at a full on restaurant, the Dar es Salaam. Belly dancers, music, food all good stuff.
Immerse yourselves in the culture for a few days and it will be great. Enjoy...