OK, let’s talk about traveling again–one of my favorite topics and hobbies, if one can call it that. Since we are just about to embark on a long visit to Paris, I thought I should write something and share it about our last trip.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I recently went to Marrakech and Ouarzazate (oh-wa-zar-zaht) in Morocco. This was my second visit to the country, with my first being maybe in 2010 or so with my mom, aunt and cousin. We crossed over from Gibraltar and visited Tangiers, which wasn’t the best experience. However, after living almost nine years in Abu Dhabi and now having had quite a few years since being in the Middle Eastern environment, I was ready to get in the thick of it.

Before going to Marrakech, I had this romantic idea of the crazy markets (souks) with shouts of people encouraging you to visit their shop to look at their wares. I imagined the scents of spices, olives, leather, and whatever else floating in the air as I walked aimlessly through the streets. Also, I had a cautionary feeling about being a single Asian woman traveling in the area. 

To address the latter, I invited a friend to join me who accepted and was a lovely travel companion with whom to share the experience.

The reality of the other notions really differed. Apparently, perhaps ten years ago or so, there was a strong encouragement to dial down the amount of harassment that store hawkers were using to pressure tourists to enter their shops and buy something. As tourism is one of their main sources of income, the Moroccans were encouraged to be more inviting rather than insisting. This change, though, altered the ambience of the city and culture. While it is always a welcomed element to not have aggressive encounters during an outing, there is still a subtle shift that alters the nuanced expected experience.

All that being said, we had a fun time making connections with vendors, revisiting the spice souk, which definitely had aromatic elements to trigger salivation and encourage the purchasing of spices for future culinary moments.

Although I would say that I probably saw everything I wanted to say in two days, I have said that it would be an excellent long weekend trip to get some wares at a cheap-ish price and to just feel a different vibe. Whether or not that will happen anytime soon is uncertain, but I would not be opposed to another quick trip.

If you are worried about going or are considering if it is a destination for you, then let me encourage you to just go and enjoy! The riads are all seemingly beautiful. The hospitality and food are glorious! Of course, you must be aware and careful as is the case for most travel locations and experiences, but it is not more so in Marrakech than anywhere else in Europe.

As for Ouarzazate….

I was able to organize a private transfer through my riad out to the desert location over the Atlas Mountains from Marrakech. It was about 4.5 hours in total. 

If you are an introvert or prefer quiet time, it’s probably a good idea to warn your driver beforehand. Mine was a little put off by the fact that I only answered questions and was otherwise with my own thoughts. In any case, it was a fine trip and the views were stunning. 

The northern mountain range was nothing to look at, but the mountains I saw were picturesque in the changes from greens to greys to desert reds and browns. It was more than enough to distract me from any form of superficial conversation that may have occurred. Taking in the views was worth the passive aggressive wrath of my driver. 

Ouarzazate is home to the largest film studio in Africa – Atlas Studios and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ait Benhaddou, which is a historic town located on the former caravan route between the desert and Marrakech. 

Other than these major sites, there is not much else that is on offer out there except the starting/ending point of the major desert activities like the Marathon des Sables or the Morocco Desert Challenge. 

If you want some tips for the trip, feel free to contact me directly. I would say that just about every riad can help you arrange transfers to/from the airport or to other destinations. You can pretty much walk both within the old town (Medina) and outside of it to the YSL Museum, etc., but taxis seem pretty easy to access outside of the squares. Haggling is always a fun activity, but one thing that worked great for me was to tell our spice stall guy – Abdul – that I had a specific budget and to let me know when I hit it after asking for all the spices and whatnots I was interested in. 

Mostly, just have fun with an open mind! I’d definitely go again. 

Happy travels,

~T 🔥🐉♋️