Before the trip
I had been to Morrocco in the past and my first visit to this country was not the greatest experience. It left me with a lot to desire for. In 2018 I travelled with my parents to Tanger by ferry. The old town was run down and we were introduced to Tanger with uncomfortable stares. Not only that but we were also followed and pestered by kids for at least 10 minutes trying to sell us rocks from the beach. Many touts insisted for us to follow them and for some reason, my dad decided to do so until we stopped after being led down a dark and sketchy alleyway. A surreal experience occurred while we had dinner. We left our car parked on the street and went for food. By the time we came back to it, a man was washing our car in the poorly lit streets of Tanger. To be fair, he did do a decent job and must have spent quite a while on it. He must have seen the Spanish number plate and expected to receive some compensation for his unsought services. Overall, Tanger was tired and people did not appear to be welcoming.
Although my first experience of Morrocco was negative, many had a lot of positive things to say about Marrakesh. Sometimes experiences vary depending on your ethnicity but Marrakesh seemed to be a place that both my Western as well as my Chinese friends highly recommended.
The Night we Arrived
I travelled with my friend Sven and we planned to tour the city of Marrakesh followed by a quick two-day motorbike trip to the countryside. We flew from Malaga Airport on the 8th of January and arrived at around midnight. The flight was only 1 hour and 30 minutes and it was incredibly cheap, only 30€ for the return flight. Even in the middle of the night, I could tell that Marrakesh was nothing like Tanger. It felt more like a Middle Eastern city such as Qatar or Dubai. The air was dusty, the streets were dark, vehicles were multiple decades old and not many seemed to respect traffic rules. My description is not a criticism but rather an expression of the mysterious charm that the city holds.
Day 1
The very first thing we saw as we woke up and gazed out the window was a telecommunications system placed between the leaves of an artificial palm tree. It was a comic scene as it resembled an authoritarian state´s lame attempt to hide its spying equipment. Straight out of a cartoon. My first impression was that the place was polluted and the air did not feel very nice when it went into my lungs through my nostrils. Emissions were clearly not a concern for this city. Another observation that I made was that people widely used French to communicate, possibly even more than their native Moroccan Arabic. If you speak French, you will have absolutely no problem navigating the city.
We had a meatball tajine for breakfast at a French-styled café with a modern appearance. It turned out that Marrakesh was not as cheap as I expected. A meal would set you back around 8€, slightly less than Spain but not far off. The city was a jungle of disarrayed streets and elegant boutique restaurants, all seamlessly blended up together. In Marrakesh, the visitor can find the typical Arabic bazaar and street vendors yet at the same time you can find a modern café with staff dressed in neat shirts. The vibrant colours, the mud buildings, the people, and the scents, although not always pleasant, send the visitor into a state of sensory overload. I can understand why some might love this city so much.
I would say that we covered most of the tourist spots on our first day. At night time, our motorbikes were delivered to us at our hotel. We booked a BMW GS 310 and a Royal Enfield Himalayan for 2 days for 60€ per day per bike.
Day 2
It is usually good practice to set off early on your bikes to avoid the heavy morning commute traffic, but it turns out that it was not the most optimal course of action for Marrakesh during the early months of the year. It was obvious that the mornings were chilly but once on the motorbike, the cool wind hitting your body intensifies the cold feeling. We rode for 5 minutes and I had to borrow Sven’s jacket to put on top of my 4 layers of clothes. We mistakenly left before sunset, in the dark and the cold. On top of that, 8 am turned out to be the rush hour of the city and we joined the road when traffic was the busiest.
On a positive note, traffic did not last for very long, but the cold lingered throughout the 7-hour trip. We both appreciated the warmth that the sun provided once it was high above our heads. Considering the lack of traffic and Morocco’s economy, the roads were surprisingly well maintained, almost as good as European roads. One can perfectly ride on Moroccan roads without having to worry about rocks or potholes ahead. This time, we came well prepared with our Sena intercoms which were very helpful in synchronising our understanding of what was happening on the road. These devices are expensive but certainly worth every penny for those who ride bikes with mates.
The ride was incredible. Rural Morocco has open landscapes and quality roads that give the rider a sense of freedom and adventure. During the first half of the journey, the countryside landscape was similar to Spain, but later on, the soil turned to a clay red colour, a very unusual sight for someone who is accustomed to the European countryside. The little towns scattered along the route were mostly run down and sleepy but you can occasionally find an energetic tourist resting spot. We rarely saw lush green vegetation. It was mostly brown desert or clay-red soil and the infrequent sad-looking tree. However, we found an “oasis” in the middle of nowhere. After leaving a small town, we were suddenly met with a deep canyon. Beneath the canyon, a stream flowed along the base and next to the stream, healthy-looking trees and greenery grew. It also appeared that the locals used this fertile land to grow crops of some sort. This sight was a stark contrast to the desert landscape that we had observed for the past few hours.
We found a picturesque spot to snap a few photos and took advantage of the opportunity to relieve ourselves. Unbeknownst to each other, we both took a picture of each other from behind while peeing. It comes to show that 20 years of friendship has instilled a similar sense of childish humour into us.
We arrived at our hotel at around 3, much earlier than we had anticipated. The hotel was a Moroccan traditional riad managed and hosted by a family. My first impressions of this place were magnificent. Although the hotel was situated in the middle of nowhere, the interior of the hotel was nicely decorated with a running fountain, tiled floors, vibrant carpets, comfortable common resting areas and so many more details that showed just how much thought was put into the place.
We were welcomed with some Moroccan mint tea and promptly taken to our cosy rooms. For lunch, we decided to eat at the riad. Whenever we stay at a hotel on our holidays, we often expect professional services. We expect a reception staff nicely dressed in a suit waiting for guests to arrive to welcome us and we also expect professional waiting staff with years of experience to serve us food. This was not the case here. This place was much better. Our lunch was served by a little girl in her early teens. She appeared to be the daughter of the riad´s owners and was most probably put up to the job as she seemed to be one of the few who could communicate with foreigners. The little girl served our food wearing a fluffy set of pyjamas and a pair of cushy slippers. It was quite interesting to see a girl at such a young age helping with the family business. Not only that, but she spoke with confidence and carried herself in a manner that appeared as if she had decades of practice time. The experience was heartwarming, it almost felt as if I was part of the family. Without any doubt, the meal was the best one I had during my trip to Morrocco. The place and the people were just so casual and relaxed that you feel right at home.
At night time, the riad turns into a magical place. The house is lit up with warm and dim lights that add a sense of mystery to the place. It gives the guest a sense of cosiness, warmth, and relaxation. The rooftop is open for visitors to go out and enjoy the views. At night time, once you have allowed sufficient time for your pupils to adapt to the dark, the starry sky is presented to you in all its splendour and might.
Day 3
On our second and last day of riding, we essentially took the same route back to Marrakesh, but this time, we had learned our lesson and left when the sun was up and the temperature was warmer. On the road, we almost witnessed a deadly crash between a scooter and an oncoming car that was overtaking inappropriately. The car should not have carried out the overtake while there was an oncoming scooter but the scooter rider was also distracted by his phone and dodged the car at the very last moment before disaster. Our Sena intercom devices also connected to another group of riders and we exchanged pleasantries with them without seeing them. Sven found this to be amusing.
We stopped at a roadside restaurant to have lunch and met an old man who served us food. Despite living in rural Morrocco, he was quite familiar with global geopolitics and was especially interested in talking about issues related to the US and China. His views on America as the number one global superpower were similar to the one that many Chinese people tend to hold, and that is that the American government purposefully causes global conflicts that benefit the US and still pretend to be a force for good. He seemed to support China but I confronted him arguing that China is no better than the US just to see his response. To be fair, he made a good point that although China has harmed the interests of some African “partners” through debt traps, China has never caused a large-scale war that has led to deaths.
We arrived at the outskirts of Marrakesh an hour before sunset. Before returning the bikes in the city centre, Sven wanted to show me a water-skiing park situated in an affluent area of Marrakesh. The park can be found inside a gated community with fancy residencies and uniform palm trees along the road. I saw many French people here who did not appear to be the typical tourist. I am guessing that these visitors frequently travel to Morrocco for holidays due to its historical links to the country and chose the lavish outskirts of Marrakesh instead of the chaotic Medina as their vacation spot.
Heading back into the city, I received a call from my mum asking me to return a day in advance as she and another staff fell ill. I reluctantly agreed and booked a single-way flight for 200€. My original return flight from Malaga to Marrakesh was only 30€. This is one of the major drawbacks of owning a business or working for the family business, you must always be on standby. But fortunately, there was nothing planned for the next day anyway.
We ate dinner at a fancy restaurant in the newer area of Marrakesh centre whilst we waited for the owners of the two motorbikes to come and collect their bikes. The waitress informed us that we were not allowed to park the bikes where we had initially parked and that we had to move them a few metres onto the pavement. However, we had already made ourselves comfortable at the dining table so I decided to move the bike without putting on a helmet. Sven did the same. We then found out that we had filmed each other on the motorbikes without helmets and even made practically identical commentaries on the recordings. Once again, it demonstrates the rapport that we have built over two decades of friendship.
The two bike owners eventually arrived. They were young, possibly in their late 20s, like Sven and I. We had a pleasant conversation about Marrakesh and motorbike riding and they had a lot to tell us. With regards to the city, they told us that quality of life was noticeably improving and that they are hopeful for the economy of the country and the direction it is taking. Indeed, the way they dressed, spoke and acted made it clear that the younger generations of Morrocco were completely different to the older generations. For better or worse, the younger generation has been internationalised and they are drastically changing the culture of Morrocco. They also told us that in general, people in the Marrakesh region respect riders on large bikes that wear protective gear and respect traffic rules. One of the concerns that I had was that we might get stopped by the police demanding a bribe, but according to the two locals, the police know that motorbiking is an important tourist activity and that if you follow the rules, you will be fine. This very much was our experience as well. We went past police checkpoints multiple times and they never stopped us. Even the locals in cars and on bikes treated us kindly by giving way to us in places that they did not have to.
For our 3rd night, we stayed at another riad in the centre of town. It was nice but miles away from the experience we had in the countryside.
Day 4
This day would be my last day in Marrakesh. Although unsure as to how, I had developed a shoulder ache, possibly because of prolonged riding, carrying the backpack on the bike, or riding in the cold. Regardless, I needed and was longing for a massage. We settled for a Thai massage place that was expensive but necessary. It was a deep tissue massage that relieved some pain from my shoulders but did not completely remove it.
During lunchtime, we explored the newer area of Marrakesh in search of a nice and cheap restaurant to eat in. We found the place that Sven had previously gone to and it did not disappoint. The place was much cleaner, the servings were more generous and the price was around a third cheaper than the medina, 8€ for a large serving of couscous with beef, some water, and a glass of yoghurt.
After exploring the old part of town further, I headed to the airport and flew home.
Conclusion
Despite the initial negative experience of Morrocco, I was confident that Marrakesh would be different. I was impressed by how international and tourist-friendly the city was. The centre was vibrant and the labyrinth of streets allowed the visitor to venture into them and explore the wonders that it has to offer.
Although Marrakesh was magnificent, I favour the countryside for its honest people, picturesque views, open roads, and the value that you get with your money. Without a shadow of a doubt, the countryside riad was my favourite experience throughout the whole Morrocco trip. It is a gem that you must experience yourself to understand Moroccan hospitality.
My only criticism would be that Morrocco was not as cheap as I expected it to be. Excluding the motorbike rental and flights, we spent an average of 100€ per day, which is similar to the cost of the Barcelona motorbike trip that I did last September.
Cost breakdown
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