Getting to Marrakech
Marrakech, Morocco
Day 5
Getting to Marrakech has been one of the most interesting and stressful journeys Ive ever taken.
Our flight left Luton Aiport at 6am this morning. This meant leaving the hostel at 1:45am, walking 2 miles to the bus stop, taking an hourlong bus ride to the airport and then getting there 2.5 hours early. The most difficult part of that was figuring it out logistically - searching through Londons various train, subway, bus and nightbus timetables until we were able to come up with that (the best we could do without spending a fortune).
We were able to get some spare sleep here and there, which made our 9:30am arrival a little more manageable. Getting from the airport to our Riad (hostel) was pretty stressful, though. Our rather insistent cab driver ripped us off, charging us 3-4 times the normal fare (our fault for not working that out beforehand). He took off speeding down the highway toward town. At first I assumed that everyone here drove the way he did - using the lane markers as mere suggestions, narrowly missing running down people on motorbikes, and spending just as much time in the opposite lane passing other cars (no matter how many where approaching). Quickly, we realized that he was just in fact crazy - as the angry responses from those that we blew passed made abundantly clear. This fact was reinforced moments later as he was pulled over by the police.
Im not exactly sure what happened here, but it seemed like he took our 200 Dirham fare, got out of the cab, talked with the cops partner, then got back in the car and sped away while the original cop yelled at hi, angrily. Our suspiscions of bribery were quickly confirmed as the driver demanded another 50 Dirhams "for police." We insisted that we wouldnt pay him anything more (by this time I found the expected cab fare from the airport in my guide book). Perhaps a minute later, he pulled over and tried to lead us down an alleyway. At first we feared that hed taken us to some forced labor camp or worse, but the fact that he let us take our bags and was asking a number of people on the street where our Riad was allayed our fears - some.
He found an old man that knew where it was, and we begrudgingly followed and waited as he knocked on the door. The person that came to the door was not carrying shackles or wearing a hangmans mask, but rather a small woman wearing a birthday hat, Rashida, that I recognized from the Riads website. Thankfully our driver decided at that point to leave us alone, and abandoned hope of getting his lost bribery money back.
But anyway, after 30 minutes or so, the stress fades away and it all becomes part of the fun.
Marrakech has been truly fantastic so far. Its very lively, grimy, colorful and smelly. Ive been sitting in this small internet cafe for over an hour now, and the sounds from the small street market, rumbling motorbikes, that distinctive third-world smell, and the call to prayer have been pouring in, reminding me of the vibrant, sweaty city that is tucked away just around the corner.
Anyway, I made it to Marrakech and I am happy to be here. Time to get back out there.
-ben
Day 5
Getting to Marrakech has been one of the most interesting and stressful journeys Ive ever taken.
Our flight left Luton Aiport at 6am this morning. This meant leaving the hostel at 1:45am, walking 2 miles to the bus stop, taking an hourlong bus ride to the airport and then getting there 2.5 hours early. The most difficult part of that was figuring it out logistically - searching through Londons various train, subway, bus and nightbus timetables until we were able to come up with that (the best we could do without spending a fortune).
We were able to get some spare sleep here and there, which made our 9:30am arrival a little more manageable. Getting from the airport to our Riad (hostel) was pretty stressful, though. Our rather insistent cab driver ripped us off, charging us 3-4 times the normal fare (our fault for not working that out beforehand). He took off speeding down the highway toward town. At first I assumed that everyone here drove the way he did - using the lane markers as mere suggestions, narrowly missing running down people on motorbikes, and spending just as much time in the opposite lane passing other cars (no matter how many where approaching). Quickly, we realized that he was just in fact crazy - as the angry responses from those that we blew passed made abundantly clear. This fact was reinforced moments later as he was pulled over by the police.
Im not exactly sure what happened here, but it seemed like he took our 200 Dirham fare, got out of the cab, talked with the cops partner, then got back in the car and sped away while the original cop yelled at hi, angrily. Our suspiscions of bribery were quickly confirmed as the driver demanded another 50 Dirhams "for police." We insisted that we wouldnt pay him anything more (by this time I found the expected cab fare from the airport in my guide book). Perhaps a minute later, he pulled over and tried to lead us down an alleyway. At first we feared that hed taken us to some forced labor camp or worse, but the fact that he let us take our bags and was asking a number of people on the street where our Riad was allayed our fears - some.
He found an old man that knew where it was, and we begrudgingly followed and waited as he knocked on the door. The person that came to the door was not carrying shackles or wearing a hangmans mask, but rather a small woman wearing a birthday hat, Rashida, that I recognized from the Riads website. Thankfully our driver decided at that point to leave us alone, and abandoned hope of getting his lost bribery money back.
But anyway, after 30 minutes or so, the stress fades away and it all becomes part of the fun.
Marrakech has been truly fantastic so far. Its very lively, grimy, colorful and smelly. Ive been sitting in this small internet cafe for over an hour now, and the sounds from the small street market, rumbling motorbikes, that distinctive third-world smell, and the call to prayer have been pouring in, reminding me of the vibrant, sweaty city that is tucked away just around the corner.
Anyway, I made it to Marrakech and I am happy to be here. Time to get back out there.
-ben