Ten things that I love about Morocco

1) Food! Food! Food!

Tajine, couscous, tanjia, kafta, baklava and pastries - food are irresistible in Morocco, cost of living is low compared to most countries.  Despite getting bored with the similar list of menu after a while, they are finger-licking good!

2) Beauty Secret

Most Morocco women have beautiful soft skin. I asked a few of them and they said they don't use any skin care product! The only connection I can make is Hammam - the public bath and furious scrub that helps deep exfoliating and made their skin soft like baby. I can't resist going to hammam whenever possible.  Furthermore, I think, by covering their faces, with the hijab, iit helped to avoid UV, dust and oxidation. 

3) The unique beauty product

Although there are many places that produce acorn nuts and black olives, Morocco is the only producer of Acorn oil and black olive scrub in the world! Local women think acorn oil are too expensive for them, but they do use black olive scrub during Hammam.  If you are buying them from repackaged department stores or US online shop, they are much much much more expensive. American beauty websites say acorn oil works better than Botox, only more natural, while the black olive smooth your skin when you scrub. 

4) Welcome greetings all over us

We always receive all kinds of greetings, while we were walking down the street, especially in Fes and Merrakech, that make us feel special.  We got all kinds of Asian greetings, like 'ohaiyo' in the evening, singing gannam style, 'xie-xie' in saying hi, and sometimes more creative guess of 'Thai'? 'Vietnam'? Well, it's funny sometimes as I guess they don't really know where these places are! And I'm amazed that they have such talent in language, as some can really speak a few words in Mandarin, Korean and Japanese. (But we are from Hong Kong and they always got it wrong!)

5) Beautiful nature

Sunset at the Sahara is never to be missed and we hope to rock climb in Torda Gorges next time.

6) Morocco do have wine

Morocco wine brings us big surprise. They are actually not bad - though you could find better ones with the same price in any supermarket in Bordeaux. But we are surprised to try a few good ones.

8) Wonderful oranges and tomato of Morocco

Morocco oranges are in fact much sweeter and cheaper than Sunkise.  We always get a glass or more of the orange juice everyday to quiche our thirst in the medina of Merrakech. On the other hand, Morocco got really good tomatoes, juicy and cheap.  It also has increasing export of tomato to EU. For instance, in the period between the 1st and the 14th of April 2013, Morocco had exported a total of 20.05 million kilos, 6 percent more than in the same period last year to the EU.

9) Fun to get lost in the medina

The medina of Merrekesh, Fes, Tétouan and Essaouira are all in the UNESCO Heritage list, representing the unique historical art and architecture.  They are also the unique example of a living historic town with its tangle of lanes, its houses, souks, fondouks, artisanal activities and traditional trades.  Apart from local eateries, souvenirs, farmers products, there are old trades like tannery, wool weaving, blacksmith, carpentry, old bakery that people still go with their dough and pay some small money for baking their own bread. Its almost like time travel, experiencing life hundreds years ago. 

10) Amazing Islamic architecture

The white wooden carving in the mosque and palace in Merrakech is a wonder. The stunning architecture and carpentry is one of its kind. 

Mistakenly in Quito, too early ...

We took the overnight bus from Trujillo to Piura of Peru. At 6:30 in the morning we were in Piura. With tired bodies out of overnight bus (though we could still sleep in the comfortable Cama bus, six hour was too short) to Loja, we dragged along the street to another bus company to catch a bus crossing the Peru-Ecuador border. In the three hours of hanging-out we had our breakfast in the bus station, cleaning ourselves up briefly. Maria had a good time shopping for food and fruit in the nearby market for our coming daytime bus journey. We later went to the same market to pay a shoe-maker for repairing my nearly-falling-apart hiking shoes.

9:30 we were on the bus crossing the border to Ecuador. When we arrived Loja in the early evening and we were greeted by a rainbow. What a good welcoming from a country less known to us. Loja was a small nice town with a European feel. Before the bus in the direction of Quito (but we supposed to take off in Riobamba and then Bano for the hotspring and the Volcano there) starting at 10pm, we had some time for dinner. Here like Ecuador and Peru, most restaurants served fried chicken or salty steak (asado as they said) and it was getting too boring for us. As we were a bit hungry and we just went to one family restaurant for a chicken menu (costing USD 2, here in Ecuador people spend US dollar, which was a problem fror us due to the high rate). The soup and the chicken rice were less salty as expected and tasted soothing.


We walked a little of the downtown at night. There was a European city gate which was also a gallery and restaurant. Then we went to the bus station for the bus.


Too bad, when we woke up, we were in Quito. The bus ticket that we paid (USD 13) actually was enough for Quito and we would be losing the value if we took off at middle. However, we missed the mountain and volcano; and went into a big city that we always want to avoid.

Too early in Quito, also too early in the morning. We took some time to find a less-expensive hostel. The first one was USD25 for two of us with private toilet, it was a little expensive and the next one we found was USD20 for two of us with shared toilet, wifi and shared kitchen. Then we started finding a couchsurfing host, or else we shall leave next morning due to the high cost of living.

Afterward we went to the downtown for some museum and church visits. At first we went to the central food market, where we bought shrimps and vegetables for our dinner, then for lunch we had roasted pork and juice. We also bought some cookies in a nearby bakery; they were so crispy. We kept eating by trying a maze cake with coffee. Then we went to the center of culture where there was some contemporary art exhibition and photo exhibition about events happened in Colombia. That took us a whole afternoon.


Before dark we went back to our hostel, where we made fried eggs with shrimp and zucchini with chocolate mousse for dessert. That ended a comfortable day in Quito

A trip to Tigre - we want a house like that!!!

After 2 hours of long bus trip on 60 (actually train only takes 1 hour), we came to Tigre. A town on a delta at the north of Buenos Aires. It was Tuesday when we got there, finding out that most museums open from Wednesday to Sunday. We just walked and tried some luck. The only good thing of taking a bus was to see the street on the way, then I found many sailing gear shops along the way. We walked to the quiet Puerto de Frutos, a market which should be more noisy on weekends, there we did the tourist thing by taking the sight-seeing boat around the delta to see how the locals live. They have houses near the river and a world of themselves. The river has road name that boats can go amongst different houses. There are also hostels and boutique hotels around costing a few hundred peso a night at least, but give a quiet island-like place for vacation.

A museum showing local house

We got a little hassle when reading the notice board near the ferry pier, a rugged guy speaking English with us claimed that he was from Africa and was robbed, now owing a few peso to take a ferry out. In my opinion, if he could live in the delta house he was not that poor indeed. A desperate way is to swim there, I saw kids swimming in the murky water. Certainly he asked for money after asking for a lighter for his cigarette, a typical way of street nuisance. We just moved away.


Then we went into the casino and see how it was in latin america. We were like zoo animals as only locals were playing there and were not used to see Asian like us walking in. We took some time watching how they played roulette, got sweat when seeing them putting chips (minimal 5 peso, mostly 10) to buy all the numbers like they were not money at all. A bet would have been our use for a week. What a good way to see their pathological gambling behavior. They were so used to the stiff faces on themselves, a way to show no emotion to mask themselves up. I believe that such habit could be internalized, masking their emotion within, so as to suppress others.


Getting out of the casino, we passed a local electric train station with a booth named "Delta Safari". A day trip costs 350peso per person to have powerboat getting to far inside the delta for nature. Attractive but it was not our budget, although a pair of tango sneakers from Farbio would have cost that...It is all about what you value more.


Then we passed an amusement park with an all-you-can-play pass costing 120 peso (in great discount because of non-peak day). It was nearly 5pm so we passed again.

There are many local rowing clubs, but like Hong Kong they are clubs for those who can pay for club service more than the sport club itself.

We shall come back again, not because of the amusement park, nor the casino, but the beautiful Muse de Arte Tigre.and sail gear shops.

如何慳家？

這幾天外出也是步行為主，巿中心、商店區20分鐘即達，San Telmo Sunday Market行幾個街口就到，賣很遊客的古董、Mate茶杯、樂器、布袋...對於還在外地跑兩年的我們來說，不大感興趣。


這邊巴士一程1.1-1.2pesoa（大約HK$2-2.2)要上車買票，提供24小時服務，甚是方便抵坐。


上館子吃飯、在cafe飲咖啡卻與香港價錢相約，除了一些只賣mozzarella pizza的現造pizza店賣18peseo (大約HK$35)一個大批外，其他餐廳要近HK$100一餐。

吃好的其實不用多少錢-只要自己做的話。


我們找到1月1日仍開門的中國人超市，加上自攜的白牡丹、金桂花、參片、普洱，仍能保持良好的生活素質！

我們的家居菜單包括：紅酒香煎鮮味的亞根廷牛排、新鮮出爐的homemade pizza, 芝士火腿三明治，配上本地紅酒（8.90 pesoa / HK$16.3 已有交易）或本地啤酒 （6.8-10.2 pesoa/ HK$12.5-$18.8) 1000ml，yummy!

路過法蘭克福的一天

  
慳家的電波夫婦捱了12小時的下等艙，骨頭打鼓，清早終於到了法蘭克福（Frankfurt)。出關後立即跑到Terminal 1, 到Lufthansa 櫃台看看能否confirm,那知全機只剩3個位，還有其他員工standby,情況不甚樂觀。行李可先checkin但要20分鐘前到閘口等叫名，起飛時間為22:15，那還有一整天。


買了一張最多5人共用的一天車票（車票價值14.9Euro - 對，我們窮但窮得老實，其實火車沒有閘口、電車亦沒有人查票，起碼，我們沒有遇上），出城去。


 
才早上9時許，在最大的車站Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof下車，天氣甚冷，亂上了一架電車，再找吃的，車往住宅區走，見到一個小商區便跳了下車，其實只是一家中東便利店、一家電池雜貨和一家麵包店；點了兩個飽和一杯cafe creme。


 那區的電車大約10分鐘一班，吃飽我們再往反方向走，經過銀行區，看著佔據法蘭克福的勇士們行了個禮，再走到充滿遊客和歷史的Romer，那邊有多家建築 華麗的教堂。Dom St. Bartholomaus,是較大的一家； Alte Nikolaikiche下午5pm有管風琴演奏。

在小市場外服裝店的櫥窗狗 (not for sale !)

為食天線帶領我倆到了一個小巿場Kleinmarkthalle，一家又一家的肉腸店，橄㰖、橄㰖油、麵包醬試食、再吃上幾條Weißwurst, Fleischwurst, Bockwürste及Landjäger，實在飽到不行，但手提行李愈提愈重，天寒地凍，找了附近一家beergarden喝了杯 Schofferhofer Weizen, 捷克的Krusovice Dark，再加上一杯溫暖的Gluhwein（mulled wine),頓時暖上心。走回 chapel 聽organ recital，再坐列車回機場去。

  

又回到Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof站，上了架沒有飛機公仔的列車，然後問電波公，「這真的對嗎？為何那些拿行李的人沒上車？」「噢！看錯了！」幸好時間充裕，下站下車重新再來。肚子有點餓，嚷著要吃豬手，居然找到food court 內只賣3.9Euro,加上一杯draft beer,真是完美！





到了機口，等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等等... 終於在一批upgrade/standby 客、兩位疑似LH crew及一家四口登機之後，我們終於得到boarding pass!


Buenos Aires，我們來了！

Frankfurt, wurst und bier

7am in the morning we are in Frankfurt airport. Getting on to an airport train we went to a huge Frankfurt train station where we took LRT (line 11) to a suburb of nowhere. We took the opposite direction then we expected because it was 4 degree Celsius out there and we desperately wanted to get indoor. After 15 minutes of trip we found a bakery then we took off. There we had our first meal overseas, bread covered generously with sunflower seeds and another bread with cheese, then coffee. Maria was impressed by the former bread a lot.

Then we took the same line back to downtown. We passed a grassed plaza with tents surrounded by modern commercial building (occupied Frankfurt ?). 



We took off when we saw a plaza surrounded by churches and Germanic styled building. There we come to Domplaz with a Gothic church. There is a relic site of another part of the church destroyed by war. The site is also used for theater school. 




We walked and found an indoor market (Kleinmarkthall). How come Maria and I always went into something we wanted ? This time it was food and we paid 6 euro for a dish of mixed sausages, got full at noon already.

By the way, so as not to disappoint you, Maria mentioned about having Eisbein in Germany. We had that in the Frankfurt train station before setting off for the flight to Argentina