A Girls Guide to Marrakech (2 of 2)

DAY THREE - WEDNESDAY

With Elena feeling unwell and deciding to stay in the Riad, Phoebe and I did the only sensible thing we could think of. In the midday heat we set off in search of the Koutoubia Gardens. It is very important to stay hydrated, especially in 42 degree heat... So phoebe and I set off with a small bottle between the two of us, when in reality we should have had a litre each.. Opps! After finding Koutoubia there was a little mix up about where the gardens actually were - and it took us ten minutes and a conversation with an overly friendly Russian man to discover we were actually in them.

Not wanting to go back immediately we decided to find the Henna Cafe that had been recommended to us. It's found just on the outskirts of the medina, and I couldn't recommend it more. Everything was so reasonably priced and the food was fantastic - but then again, we were two hungry, dehydrated travellers so anything would have seemed good at the time! Simply sliced orange and cinnamon is my new favourite pudding - so refreshing and fragrant! The henna is much better than the stuff you get offered in the square - and is its natural brown rather than being dyed black. What makes the cafe even better is that its a non profit organisation, and all the proceeds go towards the education of locals. Well worth a visit: http://www.hennacafemarrakech.com/ 

We spent the rest of the day by the pool, recounting our stories to Elena and hiding from the sun. Every evening we went into the square to eat - which was such good value. Moroccan food is so interesting, the depth of flavours from such simple ingredients is really interesting - I'm trying to figure out how to do a student budget friendly tagine style thing!

The square was as you can imagine: busy yet pretty:

DAY FOUR - THURSDAY

And on day four I realised why it was probably better to pay a little extra for your food. I'm not exactly sure what happened, what I ate or if it was just heatstroke from the day before.. But I spent most of Thursday afternoon lying naked on the bathroom floor, throwing up everything that was left in my system. I woke up in the morning feeling a little achey and generally under the weather with a sore throat - but I could not be persuaded to stay in all day - day four was our last day - our shopping day! 

I didn't take photos of the souks because it was a little intimidating: lots of men shouting at you in a variety of languages, each of them demanding you come into their store and buy their produce. We had been warned by a large number of people that as a group of three young girls we would be hassled more than normal, but in reality it wasn't as bad as we'd expected. I think by day four we were more accustomed to politely smiling and saying 'no thank you' - never once did I actually fear for our safety despite a disgruntled stall owner chasing us down the alleyway shouting: "IF IT WASN'T FOR RAMADAN  I'D SMASH THIS GLASS OVER YOUR HEAD" and repeatedly called Elena a "bad woman". 

Haggling is a encouraged by everyone, even stall owners! And whilst I'm very happy with the price I paid, I probably paid way too much. Lots of people will give you lots of different advice when it comes to haggling: pretend to not actually like the product too much, pretend you've seen it cheaper elsewhere, half the figure they give you, start a 100 dirhams cheaper than what you want to pay etc, and if in doubt - just walk away - chances are they'll come running after you. Personally I would always just aim to pay what you think is fair - there's no point in trying to be clever and get the cheapest price possible. Haggling for the sake of haggling is just boring - especially when everything is cheaper than what it would cost in the UK. 

So yes: the markets were busy, smelly and hectic. But if you dress sensibly and act politely it is a fantastic experience. I loved every second. 

OVERALL

I loved every moment of Marrakech, yes, even bringing up the entire contents of my stomach and running a fever so high you could have fried eggs on me - it was just so eye-openingly beautiful. A few people made comments about us being an all female group, and it did begin to get me worried, but in reality #FUCKIT - it really wasn't that bad. If you dress in a way that is respectful to the local customs (which a lot of tourists didn't.. which I felt was a bit rude) there is absolutely no reason why you can't travel as a group of women. 

So, things to remember:

1. Drink water - lots of it. 
2. Don't use the tap water to brush your teeth - another reason that could explain my explosive vomit. 
3. Cover your knees and shoulders. 
4. Drink mint tea, have as much of it as you can, it is gorgeous. 
5. Relax!