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Baguio City: A Pause in the City of Pines
The morning air in Baguio carries a kind of stillness I haven’t felt in weeks. The scent of pine wafts through the faint fog that drifts between the mountains. The heat of March is settling in, but the air still carries hints of the chill. There’s a kind of peace that should be comforting, but…
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Casablanca: Here’s Looking at You, Morocco
I finally come full circle and return to Casablanca a day before my flight out of Morocco. Many travelers say there’s nothing to see in Casablanca, probably owing to the city’s status as the economic capital: it prioritizes luring investors rather than tourists. But I figure it’s still worth exploring, so I set aside a…
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Marrakesh: Maghrebi Magic in the Medina (and Beyond)
We arrive in Marrakesh at just after sunset. The van drops me at the southern gate of the medina, which turns out to be a bit farther from my hostel than expected. But it does require me walking through the Jemaa el-Fnaa, the main square in the medina and the star attraction of Marrakesh. The…
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The Trip to Marrakesh: Zipping through Central Morocco
The journey from Merzouga to Marrakesh follows a relatively straightforward route, albeit with a few notable interruptions. We make a brief stopover in Kalaat M’Gouna for lunch of traditional Moroccan dishes before continuing our drive. Along the way, we take a couple of pit stops, one at a roadside restaurant and another at a hotel…
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Erg Chebbi: Sunset and Sunrise at the Desert
We arrive in Merzouga at just past 5 in the afternoon, more than enough time to trek by camel to the campsite to view the sunset (scheduled at around 6:30 pm). Merzouga is the nearest village to Erg Chebbi, the most accessible of Morocco’s ergs (an erg being a large sea of dunes formed by…
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Fes to Merzouga: A Scenic Journey Through Ifrane, Midelt & the Ziz Valley
My original itinerary didn’t include a trip to the Sahara Desert. I initially planned to take the train directly from Fes to Marrakesh, thinking I didn’t have the time or budget for a desert excursion. But the owners of the riads I stayed at in Chefchaouen and Fes both suggested an alternative: a Fes-Merzouga-Marrakesh route.…
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Dine In: The Ruined Garden
Fes is the culinary capital of Morocco, so it’s well worth centering a trip here revolving around food. The medina has countless stalls serving cheap Moroccan street food, and it takes a significant amount of willpower not to keep on stopping to have a taste. Some say, though, that the best Fassi dishes are those…
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Fes: Cultural Powerhouse
A mistake in booking my bus ticket results in me getting a day earlier than planned in Fes. This gives me an additional day in the city, which cuts short my stay in Chefchaouen. Still, this is in itself not bad, since Fes (or Fez) is one of Morocco’s most popular cities both for locals…
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Chefchaouen: Weekend Blues at the Rif
From Tangier, I take a bus to Chefchaouen, the famed “Blue Pearl” of Morocco, spending about two hours on the road with a short stop at Tetouan—a city I wish I had time to explore. The journey offers breathtaking views of the Rif Mountains, a striking contrast to the coastal scenery of my previous stops.…
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Tangier: Gateway to the Mediterranean (or Africa, Whichever You’re Going To)
I leave Rabat by bus at 8 the next morning, arriving in Tangier just after lunch. Tangier is a port city in northern Morocco, located at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 14 kilometers from Spain, making it a historical gateway between Africa…
The Tourist Gaze
A Traveling Outsider Looking In
The Tourist Gaze 