We almost did not make it to Morocco. Not for the usual reasons, mind you, like no tickets or no leave or some such wishy-washy stuff. And when we did finally make it there, it was via a whole other country, thousands of miles away. How did we manage this particular bit of sleight of hand, you might ask. Well read on.
After zeroing in Morocco as a likely destination, and putting in a fair bit of time for research, we discovered that there was no visa issuing office in Hong Kong, and we would have to go either to India or Beijing to get our visas. Things pretty much fell through at this point, and we started scouting around for other destinations, but somehow, nothing stirred the fancies as much as the thought of sinking our feet in Saharan sand. A conversation with the embassy in Beijing rekindled our hopes as they promised to truncate the usual 2 week procedure for issuing visas into a same day visa issuance provided we applied in person.
So, armed with both passports, I was off to Beijing, and true to their word, I had my visa the very same evening. A big thank you to Mr. Bakkeri of the Moroccan Embassy in Beijing for making this possible.
Our trip of Morocco via China suddenly gained momentum. Our reincarnated plans came with a flurry of decision making, itinerary tweaking and much swearing, as we tried to put together a month's work in a week. A huge amount of help came by way of Liz Williams at Authentic Morocco, who put together all the logistics on the ground for us, and she is absolutely the best resource you can have if you are planning to visit this part of the world.
Worth all the trouble? You be the judge. Endless cups of mint tea, labyrinthine turns in ancient medinas, luxurious riads, the brusque friendliness of the Tuareg, beautiful zellij work on intricately carved walls, souks filled with the exotic and the bizarre, and the sands, always the sands....
There is an iconic sign in a border town of Zagora in Southern Morocco announcing that it takes 52 days to cross the Sahara by camel. It certainly did not take us anywhere that long to get to Morocco, but having been there and experienced all of the wonders it has to offer, it certainly feels no less than having been on one of those great journeys of yore.
Itinerary
Journal
Accommodation
Meals
Itinerary
Journal
Accommodation
Meals
