March, 2010

• 4 March

  Djellaba Power!

  

  The best purchase I have made on my Moroccan trip so far is my Black and Gold Djellaba, in fact, it ranks as one of the most useful travel purchases ever for me. Why does rocking a Djellaba for a Trini make sense? Moroccans are instantly impressed that you are wearing a Djellaba, especially if it is a nice one. …
• 4 March

  What to actually look for in Marrakech … forget the Palaces and Tombs

  For the past three days, I have been doing things in reverse. By meeting up with two great guys from the local Couchsurfing network, Mohammed and Houssam, I have been shown a side of Marrakech that the tourists don’t generally see right away and they have provided me with some first hand local knowledge that I could access without spending more …
• 4 March

  More Moroccan belly time … Part Trois

  Oye, lemme get a Kafta Tajine, Coke and some pepper sauce, and allyuh put some pepper in the god damn tajine nah, like what ah have to do to get some peppah in meh food? Allah, ent putting none for me in there yuh know. This is what I would like to say to a Marrakhi, but there are some …
• 3 March

  Duck and cover …

   
• 2 March

  To Hammam or not to Hammam … How to Hammam in Morocco

  

  Today was one of those traveling days, where you’re tired, cranky and suffering from a bit of travel fatigue … you’re set in one of the most fabulous and mysterious cities in the world and yet all you can think about, is watching Sportscenter and eating chips in your home. So I decided to listen to my body and take …
• 2 March

  Lawd, meh belly can’t take it no more … Djemaa el Fna food touring at night … Part Deux

  “Lawd  … meh belly full … ah cyar eat no more … but ok … one more piece. <Two minutes later>…. aight, aight … gimme ah small plate of <insert food item here>” Trinidadians love their bellies. It’s part of our culture, it’s part of our heritage and part of what makes a Trini, a Trini. After a second night …
• 2 March

  Is ah concrete pitch party at the Djemaa el Fna …

  “Holy shit, is like dey close down the Savannah, pave it, and put the all the Debe doubles vendors, the Breakfast Shed, Shay Shey Tien and he 50 Chinee cousins, and have Machel and David Rudder singing easy kaiso and soca at the same time … they have to have some blasted corn soup in here” There has been much …
• 1 March

  You’re in Fez … spend a little money on a Riad

  Hotels are a dime a dozen and offer conditions that are officially ranked, reviewed, regurgitated and inevitably catalogued. If in Fez/Marrakech/Essaouira, try staying a Riad. The definition of a Riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden. But they are so much more than that. The riads are inwardly focused, which allows for family privacy and …

February, 2010

• 28 February

  More Moroccan culinary artistry, smelly tanneries and Fassian Carpetbaggers

  Walking through Fez is like watching an old movie from my childhood. I remember the biblical epics starring Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas and Lawrence Olivier, with the backgrounds of tiny streets, tons of busy people, laughing children, layered aromas of manure, kafta kebabs, mer and incense complete with donkeys wandering around. Well walking today was no different from those scenes, except that the donkeys are carrying LPG …
• 27 February

  Arabian … ahem … Moroccan nights in Fez

  There is a reason that cliches are called cliches. Typically, all the guide books mention that you should not make friends on the trains, because you’re likely to meet a smooth talking Moroccan on the trains claiming to be very well to do, with a good job. They get into easy conversation with you about your job, family, the country …