Morocco - Assault on the Senses

Our overland trip from Marrakesh to Lisbon started with an explosion on our senses the moment we arrived in Casablanca and made our way to Marrakech. The smells, the sounds, the sights were all different, chaotic and overstimulating. Morocco was the first country truly outside my cultural bubble and the culture shock I felt was as claustrophobic as the narrow covered streets within the Medina walls.  

After working our way overland into Spain we were exhausted, exhausted from all the scams, all the hassles, all the garbage and all the foul smells, but at the same time strangely fulfilled - we finally stepped outside our comfort zone and got a taste of adventure again.

Morocco is a country of contrasts - it is ugly yet beautiful, chaotic yet peaceful.   

Morocco is ugly. One of the first things I noticed on arrival was the sheer amount of garbage floating around, it is everywhere and I mean everywhere, so much so that halfway through our journey we realised although great for sharing with our friends and family and for displaying on our walls, our photographs weren't really capturing all the truth and if we looked back on them in 30 years they wouldn't be a real representation of our Morocco adventure, so we decided to also start capturing the ugly truth and our photos suddenly got much more interesting. 

Shepherd among the garbage in the Rif Mountains

Chaotic rooftop in Essaouira

Marrakech Medina

Morocco is beautiful. There are details and colors carved within the Medina walls that just leave you stunned and architecture that leaves you breathless. The call to prayer is eerily beautiful and a constant reminder that you're in an exotic destination. Outside the cities there is nature that is simply wild and beautiful.   

Details in the Medina of Fez

Details in Rabat

Intense color on Riad walls

Cat takes refuge under lush bougainvillaea

Another cat takes refuge in a broken pot

Beautiful Azrou from afar

Beauty. The Rif Mountains

Beauty. Shepherd in the mountains

Pink walls of Marrakech

Morocco is Chaotic. Don't stop! Don't stop! It seems as though every time we stopped for any reason we were surrounded and hassled by beggars and absolutely everyone who had something to sell. Medina's and souq's are especially overwhelmingly chaotic on all levels: they are cramped, loud, smelly and colorful, they are never ending and winding. Shop owners yell at you, shop owners hassle you, people beg, loud music beats from Berber drums, colors stimulate you, stray cats everywhere, the smell of piss and shit overwhelms you, the smell of fresh leather, the smell of meat sizzling. The smell of all of these together. 

Marrakech Souq

Cramped and chaotic Essaouira.

Windblown streets Essaouira

Windblown in Essaouira

Morocco is peaceful. There is nothing more peaceful than seeking refuge from all the chaos of the Medina within the walls of a riad. Quiet, seclusion and a warm welcome with mint tea is the norm. Some of the friendliest hotel hosts we have ever encountered on our travels around the world were in Morocco, many who went out of their way to make sure we were relaxed and well fed.

Riad in Essaouira

Savoring mint tea

Rugs air out on a small quiet street that leads on a secluded nature walk

Stray cat in Azrou

Morocco is truly an adventure but you will need a thick skin, street smarts and a good sense of humor. Be warned and be prepared because every day is overwhelming in so many ways.

A Box of Sweets in Morocco

The little white boxes of sweets are very recognisable in Morocco and they stir quite a lot of emotions, our little white box caused a commotion, was ogled, begged for and almost stolen.

We bought our sweets in Djemaa El-Fna, which was probably not unlike most nights buzzing with music, snake charmers, henna ladies and hundreds of tourists. Restaurant waiters continuously tried to lure us in to eat and we retreated into one of many, pleased to have a moment to savor the peace of no one approaching us, of no one trying to sell us something, of no one trying to beg us for money, where we could take our time to observe the chaos around us. It was there, after filling our bellies with delicious grilled meat that a cart full of sweets rolled by, we (and the French couple next to us) couldn’t resist the opportunity for something sweet and carby after our protein fest. Noticing this the waiters began to yell at the cake man and shooed him away from their customers.

After some mint tea with a couple of our sweets, we took our time heading home through the souq, browsing the rich coloured spices and fabrics, and politely declining offers from shop keepers, all passing eyes locked on our box of sweets. Soon we realised we were lost, and that one second of stalling is all it took for us to be approached,

”It’s closed it’s closed” the boy lied as he pointed in the direction we were heading.
”It’s OK” we say, we wanted to continue our lazy walk home without a guide.

But he persistently continued to follow and we continued to walk, suddenly he surprised us as he jumped and grabbed at the box, I held on and we were locked in a battle for the sweets that seemed to go on forever, but I won and he scurried off. Stunned I looked at the box in my hands now broken, the sweets a mess but salvageable, and although I no longer wanted them I held onto the box tightly anyway. We hurried on trying to find our way back to our hotel, but we were lost and we were getting deeper and deeper into parts of the souq we didn't recognise. And as shop owners began packing down for the evening I began to feel panic. But it wasn't long before we realised we had been going in circles, and on round three of circling the same streets we found our way back to Djemaa El-Fna where we could breathe a sigh of relief.

Back in the square we allowed a stall owner to pull us in for some spicy tea and cake. Relaxed we walked home via a route that worked for us the night before, a little girl approached us to sell a fluorescent wand, we declined and she raised her fingers to her mouth gesturing for a sweet ”you want a sweet?” I asked, she nodded and was left stunned as I handed her the entire box.

Our Bleh Airbnb Experience

Last month we packed all our things and made the big move, as travel lovers (and insiders) we were excited to try Airbnb for the first time and so we booked ourselves into an apartment for a month while we looked for a more permanent place live. We were so inspired by the honest, cheap and friendly vibe the whole thing seemed to have, and what better than living it up like a local?

We arrived on the weekend and things were looking fantastic, the apartment was spacious and so beautifully decorated, I was in bliss and I swore this was a new, cool way travel. But come Monday morning we were awoken by loud drilling and banging resonating in our bones. Yep, The host neglected to tell us the apartment downstairs was undergoing heavy construction.

After contacting the host we were assured this only had a couple days to go and the rest of the work would only be painting, we were satisfied. But as the days continued the noise also continued. From here on the host was unhelpful and almost impossible to connect with, Airbnb offered no solution so we decided we would live with this, the beach just a couple blocks down would be our quiet retreat when the noise, dust and smells got too much for us.

But 3 weeks in the power company turned off all power to the flat, again the host was difficult to reach, a few hours later after Airbnb managed to get in touch with them the host explained to us that it was due to them not having paid their electricity bill the last few months (seriously?!) they then proceeded to rig us up with electricity by stealing it from the neighboring apartment.

I decided with one week left that it wasn't the end of the world, after all I could warn other travelers by writing an honest review of our experience. But that was not the case, because regardless of the evidence in videos, texts and pictures we sent to Airbnb (by their request) it now seems like they have taken the hosts side and removed our negative review. 

I understand that this is a delicate issue for Airbnb, after all who is telling the truth? But if Airbnb want to succeed they need to understand that their stakeholder is the customer and not the host.  By all means don't banish the host from doing business after one negative experience, but what is the purpose of a trust based service when you can't leave a negative review?

Before the review was removed we received an apology and a coupon to use for our next booking and we may have given it another shot if our review was not removed, but if this is how Airbnb works then how can we trust that the next booking we make hasn't had a negative review that was simply removed?

Finding Social Mecca - And Then Moving On

This week we packed all our favorite things in a handful of boxes, and a little moving company came to take it all away. That's right folks, we're moving on from Amsterdam. 

As a Sydneysider targeted by the cities social incompetence I’d daydream about moving and living around the world, always finding a new exciting place to explore and if I was lucky enough, to call home. In the most exasperating times I swore I would never go back as I imagined myself in some rural part of Hawaii living it up with the locals (that turns out only existed in my mind, but that’s another story).

But as it did turn out, it was Amsterdam with its socially forward thinking, beautiful in its old town charm and lively yet relaxed in its atmosphere that gave me everything I was looking for. Amsterdam revolves around pleasant social gatherings. The Dutch have a word for this; “Gezellig” and there is no direct translation for it, the closest I could come to describing it is “cozy” but even that doesn’t really capture the feeling of Gezellig. Gezellig is enjoying the company of good friends over food and wine, it is sitting by a lake in the sunshine with your partner chit chatting as you watch the boats go by, it is sitting on the back of your partner’s or friends’ bike with your arms around their waist as you ride back home from the theatre. When you experience it you’ve essentially hit social Mecca.

And in the last few months, it was exactly this that had me asking the questions; is moving away the right choice? Will I find this in my next home? Why am I leaving the friends I love so much? Why am I leaving this amazing community I built for myself? Am I crazy? Spoilt? or just stupid?

But, there is one solid reason why I’m leaving Amsterdam, the lack of being close to nature and beaches that are so fundamental to my happiness, without them I feel lost and find it difficult to picture myself living a fulfilled, happy life in any place.

So our adventure in Amsterdam may be over, but the adventure itself continues. Lisboa let’s see what you have to offer!

Fitting In and Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

When I moved here almost 3 years ago I felt I slipped into Amsterdam so effortlessly that at times I wondered if I had lived here my entire life. I found the locals easy to understand and easy to deal with, I loved the sense of community that I felt all around me and I loved that women were completely liberated, independent and confident. 

And recently this all made sense when I learnt a little about Hofstede and his Cultural Dimension Theory, Hofstede identified several values (dimensions) that differentiate a country's culture and society form another; Masculinity, Power Distance, Individualism, and Uncertainty Avoidance.

So I ranked my home culture(s) using a really cool cultural differentiation tool I found online, and this is what happened:

Masculinity MA - The degree to which a country’s society supports the traditional male/female roles. 
Power Distance PDI - the extent of equality and inequality between people in a country’s society, low PDI scores point toward more social equality while a high PDI indicates inequalities of wealth and power. 
Individualism IDV - the degree to which a country’s culture values and supports the value of the individual over the group.  
Uncertainty Avoidance UAI - the degree of which a country’s culture accepts uncertainly and ambiguity. A low VAI indicates a societies willingness to accept change and consider new ideas whereas high VAI cultures try to minimize the amount of unknown situations, high VAI cultures also tend to be more emotional.    

All the things I hated and loved about growing up as a Greek in Australia were either toned down or toned up in the Netherlands; annoying, stifling gender stereotypes and crazy emotional reactions, gone, replaced by a better sense of community.

In fact the only thing I really struggled with in the Netherlands compared to Australia was power distance differences that I picked up on here in the work force, kudos to my fellow Aussies on that one!

Rollende Keukens - Rolling Kitchens

The delicious Rollende Keukens or Rolling Kitchens was in town again this long weekend for the 4th year in a row. Dozens of mobile kitchens head to the park at Westergasfabriek turning it into a delicious open air restaurant with live music and theatre, and the atmosphere is nothing like what you would expect in Amsterdam: big trucks, carnival rides for kids, horses, music and smoking BBQ's all give the feel of a small American county fair.  

Although our group missed Korean Taco Party the Korean Mexican fusion stall from last year there was plenty of deliciousness to enjoy, smoked pork, BBQ ribs, pulled pork and coleslaw burgers, spit pork, fresh seafood and shellfish, delicious sweet crepes and gourmet savory galettes were just some of what was on offer and perfectly accompanied by sangria, fresh homemade lemon and mint iced tea's, cocktails, ciders and wines. 

Crossing the Street in Rome

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, you will have to if you want to cross the street.

During my 9 day vacation in Rome it was day 3 when I was finally fed up waiting for traffic to stop for me at zebra crossings and so with no Italians in sight to follow I decided that I would be assertive and cool and just like the Romans I would start walking across the street and not wait by the sidewalk, I even turned to my husband said “you know what? I’m just going to walk, I’m walking… I’m walking… I’m not going to stop”  As the cars approached my husband hurried across (what not to do no.2) and I caught myself acting like a deer struck by the bright headlights of a car in the middle of the street, not knowing if I should run backwards or forwards, went forwards turned and went backwards then turned and ran forwards again (what not to do no.1), by then my husband was standing on the other side of the street looking at me with a huge grin on his face.

When in Rome, you will quickly realize that the endless stream of smarts, scooters, buses and cars don’t stop for pedestrians not even at zebra crossings and so the task of crossing the street is probably the scariest thing that will happen to you there. But it turns out there is a trick to it and although cars wont stop for you they will slow down and adjust their route for you.

Step 1: confidently step onto the street but watch out for scooters weaving between cars that might not see you.

Step 2: keep walking and keep calm, because cars adjust their route to it is important that you don’t stop or run.

Once you’ve mastered steps 1 and 2 you can do like the Romans and stride across the street cool and composed as cars and scooters buzz around you.