Thursday 3 December 2009

Honeymoon Escapade: MOROCCO n back




The last of destinations for our escapade....Morocco!

We arrived at Marrakech slightly after sunset & checked in at Riad Andalla. Thankfully tis time, we had an airport transfer service & the owner fetched us from where the taxi stopped somewhere near the Jemaa el Fnaa square. Took us into the small derb Zaari to welcome us into the cosy cosy riad & gave us recommendations for places of interest to visit, where to eat & change our Euros to Morroccan dirhams. Our adventure begins from there. The next couple of days were spent sightseein at Majorelle Garden, which was once a home to the designer Yves Saint Laurent, as well as the Koutobia Mosque. Of course, not to forget the souks(markets) of busy Marrakech which very much reminds us of our very own Geylang market during Ramadhan, only that the souks & the square are lively like that every single day! Around us were many mosques & we were most amused by the prayer call. They dun syncronise all at once but one after another...it was weird for us especially hearing them first time in the early morning for Subuh. We can't quite make out the pronunciations till we finally hear them out in our room where we dumped our bargains.

After checkin out from the riad, we continued discovering the beautiful nature of the country, passing through the Tiz & Tishka pass to admire the Atlas mountains, view the beautiful Rose Valley & Dades Gorge stopping at Dar Ayour one night to be warmly received by a Berber guesthousekeeper who even brought us into his basement reserved for friends only cos I mentioned abt sheesha & he actually asked his friend to come over & bring some Apple flavoured sheesha for us to share while watchin a Spanish movie! How awesome! There we were also excited to see many many stars on the terrace & we looked forward to spendin the nite in the Merzouga desert the following day!

The next mornin we opened our eyes greeted by a sight of beautiful rock structures & a flowing stream which we can only hear the nite before as it was so dark! Before the drive to Merzouga, a part of the Saharan desert, we were wowed by the Todra Gorge! We reached Merzouga in time for sunset & after a session of drumming, we gotta noe a couple from Spain, Maria & Israel. We bonded over dinner & had a great time with the Berber guides! We were asked to sing somethin to reflect our culture but Iyuan & I were both stumped. So not culturally-inclined, we had to disappoint them with presentin them with nothin...eeks!! The only thing we told them abt SG are mainly the Foood & Shopping! Those are the SG culture I noe best! After the magical surreal Merzouga trip, we checked in at the riad called Riad Les Jardins de Mouassine, on another side of the souks of Marrakech. Then we met Maria & Israel again the next day near the square to do some last shopping & bargaining at the souks together as well as a lil sightseeing at the Bahia Palace.

We had fun but were quite disappointed that the Marrakshis did not celebrate Eid ul Adha on Friday like in SG, instead they celebrated on Saturday, the day we were bound for London. Bahh..so we spent Friday sleepin in a tad longer & packin our luggages, which has expanded from 1 huge case, 1 shoulder bag & 1 haversack to 3 huge bags + the 2 hand luggages! Upon reachin London Gatwick Airport, we had some time to burn so we decided to go back to Bayswater since Knightbridge was not very convenient for us. Only to realise the bloody Central line got disrupted & we had to go through hell during our last trip to the Halal Subway! Oh well...we survived but were shagged out! Upon arrivin in Singapore, I looked so crappy but were very happy to see my family & the lesbos with their hubbies! Iyuan then wanted to go home for a shower but we did a lil drive down by Orchard Road before headin home as grandma wanna see the Christmas light up. Then..our honeymoon was over...

So like a berber's respond when asked how are u...i say Morocco is Bi khair, Alhamdulillah!!


132 comments :

  1. Ahh you're finally there...awesome!!!Thanks for sharing the wonderful pics

    ReplyDelete
  2. OOH YES YES YES>> THIS IS THE PLACE I SO WANT TO GOOOO!!!!!!!! aiyoh.... so beautiful lah coco-morrocco. i dream of it always!

    ReplyDelete
  3. so authentic.. wwwahhhhhhhhh.. how do i convince chris over.... *sigh* i so want to be enveloped in the enviroenment. Food must be gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  4. *swooooooooooooooooooooooooon*

    ReplyDelete
  5. *masyallah.. so so surreal* I love it.reminds me of Andalusia Spain truly........ *waaahhh *sob* sob* so unreal.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Did you guys jalan2 by yourself or ada guide? and where is this place?

    ReplyDelete
  7. heheh. i kept sighing with pleasure looking at the fotos.. wishing i can be there one day too.! heheheheheh such a great experience!

    ReplyDelete
  8. and u wonder how they make then so perfectly conical everyday?

    ReplyDelete
  9. its so beautiful aint it. Design with words of God? I find them perfect and intellectual.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I really love where you stayed.. was it ex?

    ReplyDelete
  11. HAHAHHA i overload with comments... Love the album. Great work guys! :) U must tell me your moroccan itinerary, was it Ex and how long were u there for, ok? Hugs.. Emi.

    ReplyDelete
  12. but i bet there were loads of stars right?

    ReplyDelete
  13. the stairs remind me of a scene in Ayat Ayat Cinta..

    ReplyDelete
  14. so did u buy the skimpy belly dancer outfit?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cosy. And sensuous. I loike. They better be sure they have the "DND" signage outside.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This tower reminds me of Assassin's Creed.. I'd love to venture out here

    ReplyDelete
  17. Izzit a must to sleep in tat headgear?

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'll kiss tat camel.. and touch its humps! Ooooh I so wanna see a REAL camel!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Eh did Iyuan got his weeeeeeed?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sophie most definitely will! Hmm not that ex ah both the riads considering it is in the medina itself and like 3mins to the el Fnaa.
    hint: the first riad was waaaaaaaaaay better in terms of service and staff, altho a tad smaller.

    ReplyDelete
  21. nope they dont, no locks on the doors either...thats what makes it cool

    ReplyDelete
  22. nope..but i was hoping i was wearing a freaking FARGO hat! Freaking cold i tell you no joke

    ReplyDelete
  23. wat a funny pose...mata dia ke mana aje tu...haha

    ReplyDelete
  24. Man! Teh tarik satu! Hehe
    (nasib baik Sudiman takder kat multiply)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wah Sophie! Morrocco looks dreamy......must indulge in more details regarding flight etc...i so wanna go there now! haha.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Brave girl..hahaha..i'm terrified of camels..

    ReplyDelete
  27. did u buy d coca cola home...? like d can...hehehe!

    ReplyDelete
  28. nice....like yr fren mentioned earlier...indeed d settings luk like dlm citer "ayat2 cinta"....

    ReplyDelete
  29. sedap tak? wats it suppose to b? mixed vege?

    ReplyDelete
  30. mintak bayaran kot....hahahaha!

    ReplyDelete
  31. dis is soooooooo beautiful.....

    ReplyDelete
  32. oooohh....i m soooo jealous! hahahah!

    ReplyDelete
  33. r they yr frens dat u just got to know there?

    ReplyDelete
  34. yeaps Alhamdulillah!! thanx for appreciatin Morocco thru my pics :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. i tell u...i can alternate between couscous & tajine every other day cos they are yummy! breakfast also yummy....breads with either honey spread or apricot & tomato jams...and cream cheese...with either tea or freshly squeeze orange juice, perks me up all day durin my stay there!! oh in tis eatery captured in pic, called Dallas cafe or somethin like that, there's freshly squeezed variety of fruits everyday & good shawarma!

    ReplyDelete
  36. in marrakech, we roam on our own...for the mountain & desert trip, we booked a guide via www.atlasandsaharatours.com...RECOMMENDED!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. hahaha i noe the trick! but i won't spoil the fun...go to Marrakech & see!!

    ReplyDelete
  38. i can't figure out if those are words of God inscribed, i overheard someone explaining that the king who used to own tis palace wasn't a good Muslim...but i luv em carved works! indeed made to perfection!!

    ReplyDelete
  39. the exact reason why i chose tis room when i made the booking via the internet! hehehe...ambience babe, ambience...haa i loike!

    ReplyDelete
  40. can say it's reasonable price, ard 80euro/nite

    ReplyDelete
  41. oooo MANY MANY dee!! only thing i can't capture them in pic!! Iyuan did try but his made the stars look like meteorites! dunno if he'll upload

    ReplyDelete
  42. heheh nope. i'd go to egypt or turkey for proper ones if i do wanna buy any

    ReplyDelete
  43. ah.. u wore this when we met u tt day right??

    ReplyDelete
  44. ALAMAK... honey and jam and apricot and tomato jams and cream cheese.. fruits and shawarna.....wah this sure can lure chris in! ehehehahahhaha. Ok i will tempt him tonight! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  45. supi's fav.... backlanes... haha....

    ReplyDelete
  46. reminds me of the art we saw in turkey.... beautiful indeed....

    ReplyDelete
  47. alalala.... i look so super round... hehe...

    ReplyDelete
  48. hehe u noticed, yeaps i was wearin these!

    ReplyDelete
  49. dunno! iyuan said they looked like rows of monkeys instead!

    ReplyDelete
  50. pressure cooked chicken & onion with moroccan spice and a tad of nuts & raisins....sweeet~

    ReplyDelete
  51. I bet Marrakech's an inspiration for Assassin Creed. Even the men wear clothes like those in the game's character...iyuan bought one!

    ReplyDelete
  52. alamak! i should have taught that berber tis phrase man!! hahaha

    ReplyDelete
  53. hehe it is dreamy! to me it is like a fusion of Mediterranean & Middle Eastern right smack in North Africa that oozes with old world charm & warm people~
    flight-wise, we got to marrakech via paris then go back via london. both ways using Easy Jet budget airlines, set us about EU400+=SG800+, there are also other budget airlines from europe but tis one was recommended by my colleague who said had lil or no problems such as delays or flight cancellation, so we followed her recommendation.alhamdulillah, all was smooth goin :)

    if u need more details, PM me k! i'll try my best to provide u with more info!

    ReplyDelete
  54. i have one already like that from saudi. but i bought one bottle that looks like a football as a memento..hehe!

    ReplyDelete
  55. hee ni posing je, i bought another one without hoodie called Gendora. tis one is called Jalaba

    ReplyDelete
  56. yups yummy...mixed vege soup with Moroccan spice~

    ReplyDelete
  57. i didn't want my hand to be henna-ed! she juz grabbed & draw, i was shocked but takkan nak leave it halfway kan? end up payin like SG$40 for that grafitti on my hand cos we didn't have other notes. She said she charges 600-800 dirham equivalent to abt SG$120-160 but for me, i can pay anythin.... after that incidence iyuan don't wanna walk around the Jemaa square anymore, scared those ppl there find other ways to "ketuk" us!

    ReplyDelete
  58. it's either a cow or goat for sale!

    ReplyDelete
  59. yeah gotta noe them during the desert trip

    ReplyDelete
  60. oooo traditional fanus! did u buy any?

    ReplyDelete
  61. oh! is that what i think it is??? mcm mana org tu masuk with one leg?

    ReplyDelete
  62. this is how arabs sell meats. they hang it up that way to show its freshness. its more costly than the pre-cut meats :) i slalu beli yg dah potong kecik2 hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  63. ahh.. i got this habit of checking out pple's footwear... hahahah where else i'm always wearing my slippers!!

    ReplyDelete
  64. i cant help smiling looking at ur lovely photos. morocco is amazing subhanallah. cantik sangat.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Wow! So many beautiful pictures of exotic places!

    ReplyDelete
  66. oh my!.....dats scary....tapi ok lah, nasib baik it turn out nice...

    ReplyDelete
  67. so did u pay? or u manage to escape?

    ReplyDelete
  68. yeap bought one on the 2nd last day of the trip...cannot resist!

    ReplyDelete
  69. i was so moved looking at the man riding tis bicycle n taking his fake leg off to pray. he went into the musolla with crutches. i almost cried there, moved by his devotion. Masya Allah

    ReplyDelete
  70. indeed!! i can't help goin Wow! Masya Allah!! Wow!! Masya Allah!! almost everywhere i go...so many things awed me there!

    ReplyDelete
  71. thank u Lee, Morocco was indeed an exotic country full of charm & beauty~

    ReplyDelete
  72. guess what? we do the typical Singapore "bo chap" look & got away without paying...lol

    ReplyDelete
  73. i was tracing out a heart & i dunno why it turned out upside down! BUMmer!

    ReplyDelete
  74. kidnapped into his harem ... hahaha

    ReplyDelete
  75. ooh lala I see the inspiration of my fave YSL fragrance In Love Again

    ReplyDelete
  76. nice one! me like Supi with flowers in her hair

    ReplyDelete
  77. ouhhh! hehe how thrilling! but but but....it's superrr cold in there!!!

    ReplyDelete
  78. neat! .. they look like a formidable block indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  79. yes they are Gordon, but for juz a lil while :)

    ReplyDelete
  80. suddenly i wanna go back..and just chill on the roof patio..

    ReplyDelete
  81. oops i juz saw ur comment...now still? or thinkin of Hanami of Ueno Park?

    ReplyDelete