Tag: Marrakech

Morocco: A Peek Into My Expat Past Life – Part 2 of 2

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Marrakesh, Morocco

This 2nd part of the special blog anniversary edition took me a while to write since I have been distracted by a new love in my life (talk about love in the time of COVID). His name is Cotton, a Maltese pup that I just got a while back and is now giving me much love and joy. He reminds of Bruno, the Tibetan spaniel I got while living my expat life in Casablanca, Morocco which I wrote about in the first part of this article. Timid and shy at first, both their personalities started to show after just a few days of bonding by sleeping and playing together (I learned that putting the puppy on my tummy while lying in bed on its first day in his new home breaks the ice and creates that feeling of trust and probably mimics his Mom’s warmth and heartbeat which lessen the pup’s separation anxiety).

Top left (clockwise): Cotton in his bed of toys; licking my face; playing with his squeaky porcupine toy; snuggling in my comforter; watchin Youtube of Maltese pups; sleeping with his SmartPetLove Snuggle Puppy toy (with real-feel heartbeat for separation anxiety)

The other thing that gives me much joy lately are the comments that you readers have left on my blog. The blog is not only commemorating its first year anniversary but also celebrating all the readers from 5 continents and 38 countries/territories (as of this writing) for giving this space global acceptance of its themes. The comments that you’ve left only inspire me to write more about experiences that I can share from my Filipino roots point of view with global citizen perspective. We all live in a small world and the themes on travel, food, health, and positivity are universal languages that resonate well across the globe.

Some of the comments readers from all over the world have left on the blog site

A decade after I first set foot on Moroccan soil (and African continent), I decided to sort of do a homecoming. So I included a few cities in Morocco as part of my annual holiday itinerary that year, not only to see places that I’ve missed while living and working there, but also to see some of my friends as well. So right after the Barcelona leg of the trip, I took a Royal Air Maroc flight to Casablanca and was welcomed by my friends in my hotel. We had a pretty good time, swapping stories and what’s new in our lives and just simply catch up.

Sights of Marrakesh

One of my friends arranged for a car to take us to and around the places that we plan to visit. First stop was Marrakesh (or Marrakech), one of the more popular Moroccan destinations. You’ve probably read about this exotic place in travel magazines as well as seen in the movies (prominently featured in Sex and The City 2, among others). This is one of the ancient cities in the world that continue to preserve the legacy, glory, and remnants of its past, without sacrificing the comforts of modernity. We went to see some of its more touristy sites, like Jama El f’na market and medina of Marrakesh, where anything from ordinary (like the usual souks and tea shops in the medina) to the bizarre (like the snake charmers and performers in the market) can be found. We had lunch not in the medina itself but in a restaurant that is known for very good tagine (or tajine), a Moroccan dish that I wrote about in the first part of the article which is my favorite Moroccan food (I specifically requested to eat in a Moroccan restaurant in Marrakesh that serves the best tagine).

From top left (clockwise): Jama El F’na Market; charming the snake charmers; medina of Marrakesh; one of the souks in the medina

We also went to see Menara Gardens and Jardin Majorelle. The former is an ancient botanical gardens where ‘menara’ refers to the pavilion with a small green pyramid-shaped rooftop. It sits at the edge of a water basin (that looks like a small lake) which apparently is used to irrigate the surrounding gardens. Jardin Majorelle, on the other hand, has no ancient roots, but a botanical garden that is a product of modern French orientalist artist vision who put together a diverse flora and was later acquired by the late French fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent (or YSL for short). You can find YSL’s memorial in the garden. The garden is fashionably diverse, from the choice of flora to the colors of the villa complex that houses a few museums.

Menara Gardens

Going around the city you’ll also find ancient structures and architectures. Two of the prominent ones are the Koutoubia and El Badii Palace. The former is a 12th century mosque with a garden and an imposing minaret that can be seen from mostly anywhere in the city (like Eiffel Tower in Paris). The latter is a 16th century ruins of a royal residence, a massive complex that occupies a whole block of the city. On the roads, you will see horse or donkey drawn carriages. You’ll be mesmerized by the sights and sounds that it feels like being transported to an alternative time and universe.

(Top): Koutoubia mosque and minaret; (bottom): Jardin Majorelle

The next stop was Rabat, Morocco’s capital. While Casablanca is the business and cultural capital, Rabat is the country’s center for politics and government where the country’s monarchy resides as well as diplomats and supranationals. Two of its main tourist attractions are the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. Hassan Tower is a 12th century minaret of an unfinished mosque. It is surrounded by what looks like columns, which apparently should have served as foundation of what was supposed to be the biggest mosque in the world at that time. Like the minaret of Koutoubia, the Hassan Tower can also be seen from mostly anywhere in the city. From the opposite side of the Hassan Tower is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. It contains the tombs of the Moroccan king and his two sons. The ornate structure has the same green tiled pyramid-shaped rooftop as that of Menara pavilion. No surprise there given that green is apparently the color of Islam. The interiors are beautiful, where the aesthetic details are typical of Arabic heritage, mostly comprised of metallic hues of gold and silver blended with the soft texture of Middle Eastern textiles and carpets.

Top left (clockwise): Hassan Tower; Mausoleum of Mohammed V; tomb of the king; intricate interiors of the mausoleum

It was a homecoming of sorts in a country that I consider as second home. Much has changed since then, even the way locals treat foreigners particularly Asians. Before, they favor Asians than any other foreigners, but now, with the influx of Asian tourists particularly Chinese, I didn’t get anymore the same attention that I had years earlier. Perhaps the novelty of race is fleeting, depending really on how one treats locals. I still have high respect for a country that opened my eyes to the world and heightened my travel senses, and to its people whose humility has enriched my soul. My first and last visits to Africa (with South Africa in between) have been significant milestones in my life, that’s why it is a fitting story to celebrate the anniversary and to welcome Africa as the latest continental addition to the global footprint of the blog.

Rabat, Morocco

Thank you dear readers for giving me the opportunity to share my stories and for the lovely thoughts that you have left on the site. The pleasure was all mine.

Moroccan landscape

The Joys of Travelling (Solo)

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On top of the world (Cape Town)

Travelling alone seems to be a distant and daunting concept to most people. I remember in my latest foreign trip last December to Bangkok and Pattaya where the Philippine immigration officer asked me what’s the purpose of my travel to Thailand and I said ‘For vacation.’ That puzzling look comes with the dreaded question “Alone?”. I said ‘Yes.’ I lost count of how many times I would have to answer that question, both here in my beloved country and at the passport control of some countries (though some countries have already recognized the growing niche market of people travelling solo, particularly among millennials). So what makes travelling solo appealing to people like me?

Wandering in the wild while on wildlife safari (Pilanesberg)

Not that I don’t like traveling with company. I had the pleasure of traveling with my folks a few years ago to Europe. Since I’ve been to Europe a few times before that trip, I was officially their travel guide, baggage collector, personal assistant, and jack of all trades. It gave me the opportunity to play a role of a good host, making sure that all their needs are taken care of. I’ve never seen my Dad cried before, so when I finally did see those tears of joy, it was priceless. My Mom now has bragging rights of having breakfast in Italy, lunch in Spain, and dinner in France all in the same day! How’d that happen? Well, after spending a week in Italy, the next leg of the trip was Lourdes (France). But there was no direct flight from Rome to Lourdes, where we have to take a flight via Barcelona with about 5 hours layover. Since it was an early flight, we had breakfast in Rome. When we arrived in Barcelona before 10AM, knowing that we have about 5 hours to kill, I decided to bring them to the city (I was in Barcelona the year before so I pretty much know my way around). So I rented a locker in the airport, put all our hand-carry bags in, and took a cab to the city. I brought them to Sagrada Familia, the iconic, majestic Gaudi creation that is still unfinished up to this day. Then we had lunch before we took our connecting flight to Lourdes. We arrived in Lourdes late in the afternoon and had an early dinner.

Stumbling into the bizarre (Kuthna Hora)

I also had traveled with my sis and bro-in-law, both in Europe and US, a few years ago. For the Europe trip, we went together to London, then went our separate ways , them to places I’ve been to, while I to places I haven’t been to. We rendezvoused in Paris (among my top 5 cities), after which we went back to London for our return flight to Manila. With them it’s different, coz I’m in a company of people my age (ok, I’m a few years older, but believe me, I would usually be mistaken as the younger sibling). The activities and the dining are also different, since there are 3 people making decisions.

I have traveled with friends also and that too is different experience. You know, you play roles and act differently when you’re with your friends, family, and peers at work. You are behaved with parents, can be timid with siblings, goofy with friends, and proper with peers or staff at work.

Standing in the oldest standing structure in the world (Gozo)

So what makes traveling solo appealing? Traveling alone gives you that freedom to be just yourself. You don’t have to be behaved, timid, goofy, and proper. You are free as a bird. That freedom leads you to a path of self discovery.

As I mentioned in my earlier post (entitled Hey, it’s me), ‘I travel to overwhelm my senses, to discover and to explore, to savor and experience so that at the end of the day, I’ll come out a different, better person with a story to tell.’ What better way to achieve that than by traveling alone. This is why I now have stories to tell. I’m now a different person than I was before my last trip, than I was on that trip prior to the last one, and so on and so forth. The path to self discovery is best traveled only with and by yourself.

Channeling Leonardo di Caprio on The Beach (Phi Phi Island)

Traveling solo also gives you the flexibility and latitude to make the trip exclusively your own. You don’t have to wait for someone if you want to start your day already. You don’t have to worry if you want to make changes in your itinerary. You don’t have to be constrained by the needs of your company. Your time is your own. You don’t have to deal with the drama coz your drama is your own.

Charming the snakes with the snake charmers (Marrakesh)

The next best thing after self discovery is that you meet people and see the goodness in them. A couple of years back, I tripped and fell on the rugged cobblestone covered streets of Porto. Since it was my hand and cellphone that broke the fall, my hand was dripping with blood and I was a bit disoriented while lying still on the ground. Tourists and locals alike ran towards me to assist and helped me get up. Some offered me bottled water, thinking I was dehydrated and lost consciousness under the summer heat. In a second, you feel you’re not alone. Though your world turned upside down after the fall, you are surrounded by thoughtful, caring, and generous strangers, thinking how lucky you are to experience the innate goodness and pureness of heart.

Wild river adventure (Queenstown)

Then there are the new friends you meet along the way. I have met young and old, abled and disabled, singles, couples, and families. The thing with solo travelers is that we tend to be magnets to families particularly if you have a certain charm (wink wink). How many times have I been invited to join families having a meal, or in their family activities. Like an adopted son or nephew. It’s actually very heartwarming.

Dennis and Maria of Germany. Lovely couple I met while having tapas in a resto (Barcelona)

You also tend to be adventurous when you are on your own. You try things you haven’t tried before, go to places you haven’t seen before. From mounting Mt. Vesuvius to cruising Milford Sounds. From discovering the bizarre in Kuthna Hora to navigating the exotic medinas of Marrakesh and Essaouira. To be awed by Kotor and dreamy in Amalfi. From channeling Leonardo di Caprio on The Beach of Phi Phi Island to water rafting the rivers of Queenstown for the Lord of the Rings sceneries. To be captivated by the Game of Thrones vibe of Dubrovnik and held captive for a moment in Alcatraz. From exploring the old in Gozo to what’s new in Shinjuku. You will realize that there is so much more you can do on your own.

History on The Rock (Alcatraz)

So have I convinced you to go solo? I know that travel is not for everyone, much more traveling alone, but you should at least try it once in your lifetime. You will discover the world around you and uncover the world within you.

Back home feeling homey (Palawan)