I was originally supposed to arrive back in the US on May 9th. However, I delayed my return so that I could fit in one last trip. I really wanted to go to Morocco and everything there is relatively cheap. The culture seemed rich with their mint tea, souks, leathers and carpets, and colorful tunics. It was nice to go somewhere 'exotic' with John and discover new things in AFRICA, the first time for both of us. We were so excited to go but to be honest didn't do much planning for this trip.
Our experience in Morocco was a bit eye-opening. There were a few things we knew before we left but it still felt very unexpected when we actually came across certain things in reality. We flew into Casablanca and stayed from the 12th of May until the 16th. We took a day trip to Rabat, the capital, as well.
There wasn't too much to see in terms of sightseeing. We saw the Hassan II Mosque, 2nd or 3rd largest in the world. We tried to go to the beach. We went to the souks in the Old and New Medina. I think our favorite part of the trip was our free daily breakfast of mint tea, the best orange juice ever, baguettes and croissants served with jam, butter and cheese! And the fact that you can go almost anywhere for super cheap in a taxi.
Moroccan Experience #1:
The first morning during our yummy breakfast, John a learned a very important lesson. He took his tea outside with him to smoke only to have some stranger take the cigarette from his hand to take a puff and then a sip of his tea. I guess Moroccans like to share. Note to smokers: bring extra with you.
Moroccan Experience #2:
After visiting the Hassan II Mosque, we had McDonalds for lunch. We had plans to go to the beaches in Ain Diab but we were already along the Corniche where there was a public (and free) beach right at the McDonalds. There were a lot of locals and we didn't see any tourists around but decided to lay out for a while. I had some soda left from lunch so I brought it to the beach. The minute I step foot onto the beach a little boy comes running up grabbing up at my drink. I was confused but didn't really want it anymore so I gave it to the boy. The boy went running off drinking my soda and he had other kids running after him trying to get some too. How bizarre... and gross.
There is a second part to this experience at the beach. If there is one thing that I had a hard time dealing with was the staring. Moroccans like to stare. I don't know if it's because they hear me speaking English or if it's because they have never seen an Asian person before. But everywhere I went I got a look from 97% of the people around me. I couldn't get a tan because I had to keep my legs and arms covered all the time and yet I still got stared at.
Soon after we sat down, we had these kids who began to creep around us. It wasn't long before they found a spot very close to us. They lied in front of us, just staring. They would ask for money and keep trying to get our attention. We simply ignored and thought they would stop. I'm talking to John and all of a sudden a gust of sand comes our way. Wow, were they serious? They were throwing sand at us. John started talking to them and they kept asking for money and asking if I was Chinese. It's amazing how much these kids don't know.
John lost his ring in the sand as we were trying to leave the beach. He started digging around in the sand. The kids soon caught on and came over to look with him. John offered a couple dirhams to whoever could find it. In a matter of minutes, we were surrounded by a crowd of people watching what was going on. An adult came and stopped all the kids from what they were doing. Again, I was confused because then he started to help John look for the ring. It was quite the scene.
Moroccan Experience #3:
We were in Rabat and had just visited something like another mosque and mausoleum of some sort. We were walking to find a taxi to find the Royale Palais when a girl comes up to us asking us what our names were. She wrote my name in henna on her own hand. I told John that I really did want to get some sort of henna in Morocco since I always thought it was pretty. John asked her how much and she said only as much as we wished to give her. Before I knew it, she had the henna all over my arms. Five minutes hadn't even passed before we were drying our arms.
John gave her 20 dirhams and thanked her. She was a nice girl and had made friendly conversation. She started saying that 'it was nothing' but then proceeded to say that each side of my arm was 100 dirhams! How confusing can these people be! She's demanding more money yet not taking the money John is putting in her hand, after she had already told us it was up to us. Honestly, she did a sloppy job. I mean how can you do a nice design in just a couple minutes? John was furious and ended up giving her the equivalent of almost 8 euros! When it dried off, it just looks like orange marker doodled all over my arm and it still hasn't faded away. Grrr.
Our time in Morocco was most definitely interesting I would say. I was glad we got the chance to go but perhaps I'll just admire it from afar. But I would still love to see other parts of Africa for sure! I think the best part about it was that we really didn't have too much of an agenda and that I had someone special to share it with. :)
Our experience in Morocco was a bit eye-opening. There were a few things we knew before we left but it still felt very unexpected when we actually came across certain things in reality. We flew into Casablanca and stayed from the 12th of May until the 16th. We took a day trip to Rabat, the capital, as well.
There wasn't too much to see in terms of sightseeing. We saw the Hassan II Mosque, 2nd or 3rd largest in the world. We tried to go to the beach. We went to the souks in the Old and New Medina. I think our favorite part of the trip was our free daily breakfast of mint tea, the best orange juice ever, baguettes and croissants served with jam, butter and cheese! And the fact that you can go almost anywhere for super cheap in a taxi.
Moroccan Experience #1:
The first morning during our yummy breakfast, John a learned a very important lesson. He took his tea outside with him to smoke only to have some stranger take the cigarette from his hand to take a puff and then a sip of his tea. I guess Moroccans like to share. Note to smokers: bring extra with you.
Moroccan Experience #2:
After visiting the Hassan II Mosque, we had McDonalds for lunch. We had plans to go to the beaches in Ain Diab but we were already along the Corniche where there was a public (and free) beach right at the McDonalds. There were a lot of locals and we didn't see any tourists around but decided to lay out for a while. I had some soda left from lunch so I brought it to the beach. The minute I step foot onto the beach a little boy comes running up grabbing up at my drink. I was confused but didn't really want it anymore so I gave it to the boy. The boy went running off drinking my soda and he had other kids running after him trying to get some too. How bizarre... and gross.
There is a second part to this experience at the beach. If there is one thing that I had a hard time dealing with was the staring. Moroccans like to stare. I don't know if it's because they hear me speaking English or if it's because they have never seen an Asian person before. But everywhere I went I got a look from 97% of the people around me. I couldn't get a tan because I had to keep my legs and arms covered all the time and yet I still got stared at.
Soon after we sat down, we had these kids who began to creep around us. It wasn't long before they found a spot very close to us. They lied in front of us, just staring. They would ask for money and keep trying to get our attention. We simply ignored and thought they would stop. I'm talking to John and all of a sudden a gust of sand comes our way. Wow, were they serious? They were throwing sand at us. John started talking to them and they kept asking for money and asking if I was Chinese. It's amazing how much these kids don't know.
John lost his ring in the sand as we were trying to leave the beach. He started digging around in the sand. The kids soon caught on and came over to look with him. John offered a couple dirhams to whoever could find it. In a matter of minutes, we were surrounded by a crowd of people watching what was going on. An adult came and stopped all the kids from what they were doing. Again, I was confused because then he started to help John look for the ring. It was quite the scene.
Moroccan Experience #3:
We were in Rabat and had just visited something like another mosque and mausoleum of some sort. We were walking to find a taxi to find the Royale Palais when a girl comes up to us asking us what our names were. She wrote my name in henna on her own hand. I told John that I really did want to get some sort of henna in Morocco since I always thought it was pretty. John asked her how much and she said only as much as we wished to give her. Before I knew it, she had the henna all over my arms. Five minutes hadn't even passed before we were drying our arms.
John gave her 20 dirhams and thanked her. She was a nice girl and had made friendly conversation. She started saying that 'it was nothing' but then proceeded to say that each side of my arm was 100 dirhams! How confusing can these people be! She's demanding more money yet not taking the money John is putting in her hand, after she had already told us it was up to us. Honestly, she did a sloppy job. I mean how can you do a nice design in just a couple minutes? John was furious and ended up giving her the equivalent of almost 8 euros! When it dried off, it just looks like orange marker doodled all over my arm and it still hasn't faded away. Grrr.
Our time in Morocco was most definitely interesting I would say. I was glad we got the chance to go but perhaps I'll just admire it from afar. But I would still love to see other parts of Africa for sure! I think the best part about it was that we really didn't have too much of an agenda and that I had someone special to share it with. :)
Hassan II Mosque
Beach where we got harassed haha
John & I in Rabat
Crazy Henna Doodleage
The Kasbah!
Leaving Rabat
Souk in the New Medina
One of the hundreds of Petit Taxis!
1 comment:
I just read this! Seems like you had quite the time there. I miss traveling =(
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