Marrakech: Love & Hates of Visiting Marrakesh, Morocco - Wolters World
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About Taxi. there is a counter in every small taxi. DONT let them say a price! look at the counter and make sure they start with 1. 77 dh (old counter) or 2 dh (new counter) daytime and 2. 55 (Old counter) or 3 dh (New counter) after 20: 00/8 pm. The REAL price between Jama el Fna to Plaza. is 8 Dh daytime and 10 dh evening/night. But you as a White tourist will be asked to pay 40 - 50 dh. That is when i say Fu. Y. to the taxi driver and look for another taxi. Maybe as a tourist for one week in Marrakech or if you are in other Maroc city you dont care about paying 4-5 times what it really cost, but when living in Morocco, I want to have SAME price as locals have. Even if i am a White European man and most people think it say 50 dh on my forehead.
I have lived 7 years in Morocco ( 4 Years in Casablanca, 2 years in Marrakech and couple of month in Agadir, Essaouira and in Tanger) in total and have been traveling between Sweden and Morocco since 24th of November 2009 and last time I was in Morocco, January 2020. So I have been in Morocco on and off for more then a decade.
The reason why I moved back to Sweden, mostly, was that I had to be ANGRY all the time to not to pay extra in taxi or anywhere else. To look angry, never smile to a taxi driver, never answer his questions how is your family or what do you do here in Morocco and so on. And i am a very nice person normally, and to be angry is not how I want to be. The second reason why I stopped living in Morocco, was that I could not handle to see all the mothers beat their children so much. I just could not handle that. One time I even ran to a mother who had picked up a stick on the road and started to beat her 3 years old daughter with it, and I took the stick from the mother and started to shout at her. in English. instead of in French. she of course did not understand, and maybe she would not even understand what i said if i had spoken French to her. She just looked at me and smiled. and there is no social service like there is in Sweden, who CAN take away children from their bad mothers, so there will be no change for that poor little girl and she will be beaten up and when she is old enough. the mother will put her in prostitution. You see, it is the mothers in Morocco who force their daughters in to this, so the mothers does not have to work. but lets change the subject. too depressing.
How ever, I come back to Morocco for many reasons. One is that I LOVE to sit in one of my favorite restaurants in the Cornish in Agadir, eat my 3 course meal for 55 dh and look at the Atlantic sea. To rent a Jetski 30 minutes for 450 dh, sleeping in my favorite hotels, stay in Marrakech couple of days and remember the good times I had there, and make new once. To go back to my home city Casablanca, go to medina and eat at my favorite cheap restaurant and have a Shwarma mixed for 32 dh and have a frech pressed Panashe with different fruits and do some business I still have in Morocco.
What I have learned when living in Morocco, is to know WHERE to eat cheap and have amazing foods, not where to eat expensive. Because it is very easy to eat at expensive places and that is where most working girls or girls who play girlfriend, will take a white european man to eat. (I have experiense with many girls who play girlfriend who want to show me a great restaurant I have not been in. After having this situation, when the bill came (620 dh for three couscous and one 1, 5 liter of Sidi Ali water bottle (Me, the girlfriend and her best friend) and not to loose face I payed of course, but didnt want to see her again. I started to google the restaurants before I met a girl I was going out to eat with, and if it was the most expensive restaurant in the city she had picked, I broke up with her directly. There are Maroc girls who cares about you, and your economy, so they will never take you to expensive places, the oposite actually, they will take you to cheap but good places, and THAT is the different between a good and bad Maroc girl. I will give you one example. Couscous on fridays. in Casablanca. The same dish cost 18-25 dh in cheap place, 200 dh in one very expensive restaurant in the Cornish. The regular price in many places such as in medina or in Maarif, (close to Twin center) is 55 - 60 dh. So the knowledge when living and walking almost everywhere in every city i visit, I find this amazing cheap places but with amazing foods.
Date: 2022-02-04
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Comments and reviews: 9
Sabino
I love your travel energy and enthusiasm. You need to be strong physically and mentally to travel. I am not that strong: I get annoyed easily, and I hate being uncomfortable. When I was younger, I used to be bolder, eat whatever I found in the streets, and sleep in the sand. Now I want my normal hotel, I want to be clean and comfortable. As far as I go is Spain. France is a little bit too far, and Paris is too much for me. Spanish cities have the right size. I also enjoy some cities and nice beaches in Latin America. I would love to go to Asia, but a 20-hour flight is not for me. I am such a coward. Mexico and the US are my favorite travel destinations. Yucatan is very nice, Mexico City, Queretaro, Seattle, Washington, New Orleans. Besides, with people like you, traveling all over the world, I kind of get a good idea of what is like. So I live vicariously through people like you. Thank you for sharing those amazing experiences and for being so brave.
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I love your travel energy and enthusiasm. You need to be strong physically and mentally to travel. I am not that strong: I get annoyed easily, and I hate being uncomfortable. When I was younger, I used to be bolder, eat whatever I found in the streets, and sleep in the sand. Now I want my normal hotel, I want to be clean and comfortable. As far as I go is Spain. France is a little bit too far, and Paris is too much for me. Spanish cities have the right size. I also enjoy some cities and nice beaches in Latin America. I would love to go to Asia, but a 20-hour flight is not for me. I am such a coward. Mexico and the US are my favorite travel destinations. Yucatan is very nice, Mexico City, Queretaro, Seattle, Washington, New Orleans. Besides, with people like you, traveling all over the world, I kind of get a good idea of what is like. So I live vicariously through people like you. Thank you for sharing those amazing experiences and for being so brave.
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Nick
I travelled around parts of the middle east before I was married. I've always wanted to take my wife some place like that. The hospitality, the craziness and activity, the souks, etc. However, I remember the female companions that were with me never getting treated right. The only place they could go without a man and expect to be able to do anything would be the restroom. I myself stood out from the locals for being a white male and was regularly cut in line or ignored by the locals, just as if I were one of the foreign laborers that they import. I just don't want my wife to be treated like that.
I'm sure Morocco is much more modern than the places that I went to, but the trade off is that it's probably less safe. When you remove fingers for stealing, you country tends to have low petty crime rates.
reply
I travelled around parts of the middle east before I was married. I've always wanted to take my wife some place like that. The hospitality, the craziness and activity, the souks, etc. However, I remember the female companions that were with me never getting treated right. The only place they could go without a man and expect to be able to do anything would be the restroom. I myself stood out from the locals for being a white male and was regularly cut in line or ignored by the locals, just as if I were one of the foreign laborers that they import. I just don't want my wife to be treated like that.
I'm sure Morocco is much more modern than the places that I went to, but the trade off is that it's probably less safe. When you remove fingers for stealing, you country tends to have low petty crime rates.
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Mo
100% spot on. I love Marrakech for all its imperfections but one thing that annoyed me the most was when you get lost in those alley ways. Trust no one as every single person will want to make some money off you and take you for a ride (My experience. But when you see the brotherhood amongst them, you kind of mellow down a bit, to think that there is humanity in these people after all.
The reason is huge divide between the rich and the poor, typical of the third world countries.
They are however blessed with the weather, fruits and veg are in abundance and the culture is rich in history. Do visit
Thumbs up (despite all the negative. :)
reply
100% spot on. I love Marrakech for all its imperfections but one thing that annoyed me the most was when you get lost in those alley ways. Trust no one as every single person will want to make some money off you and take you for a ride (My experience. But when you see the brotherhood amongst them, you kind of mellow down a bit, to think that there is humanity in these people after all.
The reason is huge divide between the rich and the poor, typical of the third world countries.
They are however blessed with the weather, fruits and veg are in abundance and the culture is rich in history. Do visit
Thumbs up (despite all the negative. :)
reply
Nature
Hey Mark, very interesting and informative video! Good advice you & yr wife. Anyway, I am from Saudi Arabia and I visited Marrakesh several yrs ago I guess in October because I was aware of the hot weather there, so I said to myself, I won't come from hell to another hell! On that trip, I visited also Essaouira and the weather there was much better ( windy but cool, but I had an unforgettable experience as I lived in several Riads ( totally isolated ) without a TV or Ref. and was difficult to find with that very narrow paths!
reply
Hey Mark, very interesting and informative video! Good advice you & yr wife. Anyway, I am from Saudi Arabia and I visited Marrakesh several yrs ago I guess in October because I was aware of the hot weather there, so I said to myself, I won't come from hell to another hell! On that trip, I visited also Essaouira and the weather there was much better ( windy but cool, but I had an unforgettable experience as I lived in several Riads ( totally isolated ) without a TV or Ref. and was difficult to find with that very narrow paths!
reply
Amsterdam
Marrakech and Morocco are amazing. Staying in a Riyhad is like being in an old Hollwood movie. But be aware, that not all owners are looking out for their guests interests. They have their own network of guides, taxis, etcwhich may not be the best. Official guides arranged through your hotel can also be sort of scammy. Sometimes we had better luck hiring guides in the street.
reply
Marrakech and Morocco are amazing. Staying in a Riyhad is like being in an old Hollwood movie. But be aware, that not all owners are looking out for their guests interests. They have their own network of guides, taxis, etcwhich may not be the best. Official guides arranged through your hotel can also be sort of scammy. Sometimes we had better luck hiring guides in the street.
reply
Wellerstein
1. Reason they rather speak to a man is not to be disrespectful to husband if present. If you go out in group of women they will speak to you with nonissues. It is like that in all Muslim countries.
2. Dress modest, do not wear short skirts or shorts and you will get respect. If you head is covered you won't have anyone looking at you in a wrong way.
reply
1. Reason they rather speak to a man is not to be disrespectful to husband if present. If you go out in group of women they will speak to you with nonissues. It is like that in all Muslim countries.
2. Dress modest, do not wear short skirts or shorts and you will get respect. If you head is covered you won't have anyone looking at you in a wrong way.
reply
travel
The officers at passport control and customs were not very friendly. Moroccan Dirham is a closed currency, they actually search me on departure.
Touting is prevalent at Jemaa el-fnaa. Also, I was asked if I wanted to see the desert. I declined because I live in Las Vegas.
reply
The officers at passport control and customs were not very friendly. Moroccan Dirham is a closed currency, they actually search me on departure.
Touting is prevalent at Jemaa el-fnaa. Also, I was asked if I wanted to see the desert. I declined because I live in Las Vegas.
reply
90
In morocco we have problem of bureaucracy every where lot of papers lot waiting. and Frist how suffer is the Moroccan. me as all Moroccan we like the tourism feel good and comfortable in our country, should the price be fixed and writing. year by year the things get be better.
reply
In morocco we have problem of bureaucracy every where lot of papers lot waiting. and Frist how suffer is the Moroccan. me as all Moroccan we like the tourism feel good and comfortable in our country, should the price be fixed and writing. year by year the things get be better.
reply
Max
Be Very aware of orange mobile ( prepaid ) SIM card at Casablanca airport, they are thieves - the charges me double what I am supposed to pay, even did not even provide me with e call credit I double paid for insist on getting a receipt or pay with. Credit card
reply
Be Very aware of orange mobile ( prepaid ) SIM card at Casablanca airport, they are thieves - the charges me double what I am supposed to pay, even did not even provide me with e call credit I double paid for insist on getting a receipt or pay with. Credit card
reply
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