Recently I travelled to Fes, Morocco. I was going solo from Belgium and I knew this place was going to be a completely different experience. My friend from Oxford said to me "You?! A little blondie, traveling around Morocco on your own? Probably not your best idea yet"... These words were on repeat in my head during the flight over.
Lucky for me, I made a friend on the plane who was a Moroccan, studying in France. He taught me some basic Arabic- Hello, please, thank you, help... etc. This relaxed me to know that I already made a connection with a local! We exchanged contact information and he reassured me that I could contact him and his family if there was anything I needed.
After my Moroccan friend helped me with money exchange and finding transport, I made it to my hostel and made some other travelling friends that night at the dinner table. So far everything was working out fine!
Before arriving in Morocco I contacted a guy on CouchSurfing.org to arrange a meetup. On my second day in Fes, I took a few friends from my hostel (for safety and fun) and we walked to the Merenid Tombs. There were people saying we needed to catch a taxi but our local friend said this was unnecessary and that we could walk. So we did... and he was right! Immediately, he saved us the cost of 2 cab fares!
Lucky for me, I made a friend on the plane who was a Moroccan, studying in France. He taught me some basic Arabic- Hello, please, thank you, help... etc. This relaxed me to know that I already made a connection with a local! We exchanged contact information and he reassured me that I could contact him and his family if there was anything I needed.
After my Moroccan friend helped me with money exchange and finding transport, I made it to my hostel and made some other travelling friends that night at the dinner table. So far everything was working out fine!
Before arriving in Morocco I contacted a guy on CouchSurfing.org to arrange a meetup. On my second day in Fes, I took a few friends from my hostel (for safety and fun) and we walked to the Merenid Tombs. There were people saying we needed to catch a taxi but our local friend said this was unnecessary and that we could walk. So we did... and he was right! Immediately, he saved us the cost of 2 cab fares!
After spending some time relaxing under some trees and exploring the ruins, he directed us to a place where we could try traditional Moroccan soup called Harira. This was his favourite dish in all of Fes for a mere 6 dirham (less than $1au). I highly doubt I would have found that place if it weren't for him! It was one of the tastiest and cheapest meals I had during my whole 3 week experience in Morocco.
After lunch he sent us in the right direction for our hostel- we got lost anyway- Fes is one of the most confusing and difficult places to navigate! A real labyrinth... but while we were lost we got followed by some kids trying to show us their tricks and spent about half an hour sitting and cooling down with a local shopkeeper- unable to converse, we just sat in fascination of each other.
My prearranged meetup in Fes was positive experience because I made sure I didn't put myself in a risky situation and kept people around me- being a 'little blondie travelling solo' this was important to keep in mind... The walk was great, saving money was great and the soup was incredible!
Thanks Mounir!
After lunch he sent us in the right direction for our hostel- we got lost anyway- Fes is one of the most confusing and difficult places to navigate! A real labyrinth... but while we were lost we got followed by some kids trying to show us their tricks and spent about half an hour sitting and cooling down with a local shopkeeper- unable to converse, we just sat in fascination of each other.
My prearranged meetup in Fes was positive experience because I made sure I didn't put myself in a risky situation and kept people around me- being a 'little blondie travelling solo' this was important to keep in mind... The walk was great, saving money was great and the soup was incredible!
Thanks Mounir!
The walk to Merenid Tombs.
View of Fes, the largest and oldest medina in Morocco.
Inside the medina.
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