Day 244: Chefchaouen
Date: 3 May 2009
Woke up early to take the morning bus to Chefchaouen. Grab a quick bite at the bus station. It read 5 dirham per baggage on my bus ticket but the guy demanded 20 dirham instead. It was really very frustrating to meet this kinda people as they keep raising the prices as and when they like. This is one thing I hate while traveling in developing countries. Tourist prices vs Local prices. You gotta bargain, beware and be aware. It can be quite tiring..... Early early morning.... don't wanna quarrel... Nah... just gave it to him la.... :(
Upon arrival, I checked into my hostel....
and went straight to the square for a Moroccan Mint Tea while people watching...
The square
Since I was traveling on a typical classic route around Morocco, I tend to bump into many others who were doing the same. As such, I kept seeing familiar faces wherever I went. For example, them.
One interesting thing about traveling is to see the locals.
Chefchaouen (شفشاون, also Chaouen, Chawen or Xaouen) is a gorgeous mountain city in northeastern Morocco. It's no wonder that tourists flock here — this humble town is the embodiment of almost every Moroccan cliché. The picturesque medina, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rif Mountains, is filled with white-washed homes with distinctive, powder-blue accents, and the call to prayer rings out of several mosques around the town in chorus. If you've got a few days to relax from the rigors of travel, this is a good place to do it.
Tourism in Chaouen is also driven by its reputation as centre of the marijuana plantations region in North Morocco. Drugs are widespread and somehow tolerated, but touts trying to sell to tourists are also very annoying.
Spanish is the foreign language mostly spoken by the population, while French is the language of higher education.
I call it, the city of blue and white.
How can you not find cactus in Africa?
This goat sure know how to look high and low for food.
Edge of the village,
I made my way up to a higher point to have an overview of the area.
The top
The view
I wasn't the only one enjoying the view, there were many others.
Making my way down, I passed by a waterfall which is the common gathering place for the local.
Back into the blue and white.
I saw a boy playing yoyo on the streets. He offered his yoyo to play with me. After a few tries (too long never play), I drop his yoyo and it cracked. Tears started flowing... oh shit......
Luckily I remembered that I brought along toys and gifts taken from the Singapore Day and I immediately gave him a toy in return. That claimed him down. Phew....
It was then back to the square for dinner where I saw more familiar faces.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
Woke up early to take the morning bus to Chefchaouen. Grab a quick bite at the bus station. It read 5 dirham per baggage on my bus ticket but the guy demanded 20 dirham instead. It was really very frustrating to meet this kinda people as they keep raising the prices as and when they like. This is one thing I hate while traveling in developing countries. Tourist prices vs Local prices. You gotta bargain, beware and be aware. It can be quite tiring..... Early early morning.... don't wanna quarrel... Nah... just gave it to him la.... :(
Upon arrival, I checked into my hostel....
and went straight to the square for a Moroccan Mint Tea while people watching...
The square
Since I was traveling on a typical classic route around Morocco, I tend to bump into many others who were doing the same. As such, I kept seeing familiar faces wherever I went. For example, them.
One interesting thing about traveling is to see the locals.
Chefchaouen (شفشاون, also Chaouen, Chawen or Xaouen) is a gorgeous mountain city in northeastern Morocco. It's no wonder that tourists flock here — this humble town is the embodiment of almost every Moroccan cliché. The picturesque medina, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rif Mountains, is filled with white-washed homes with distinctive, powder-blue accents, and the call to prayer rings out of several mosques around the town in chorus. If you've got a few days to relax from the rigors of travel, this is a good place to do it.
Tourism in Chaouen is also driven by its reputation as centre of the marijuana plantations region in North Morocco. Drugs are widespread and somehow tolerated, but touts trying to sell to tourists are also very annoying.
Spanish is the foreign language mostly spoken by the population, while French is the language of higher education.
I call it, the city of blue and white.
How can you not find cactus in Africa?
This goat sure know how to look high and low for food.
Edge of the village,
I made my way up to a higher point to have an overview of the area.
The top
The view
I wasn't the only one enjoying the view, there were many others.
Making my way down, I passed by a waterfall which is the common gathering place for the local.
Back into the blue and white.
I saw a boy playing yoyo on the streets. He offered his yoyo to play with me. After a few tries (too long never play), I drop his yoyo and it cracked. Tears started flowing... oh shit......
Luckily I remembered that I brought along toys and gifts taken from the Singapore Day and I immediately gave him a toy in return. That claimed him down. Phew....
It was then back to the square for dinner where I saw more familiar faces.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
posted by ZeeVinCeZ at 11:23 AM
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