I’m not in the best of moods this evening. Actually, I’m pretty upset and pissed. And the worst part is that I don’t even know who to be angry at.
I’m missing some cash, and I locked it up properly and everything, and didn’t notice a problem until a day later, because the lock was on the locker. I’m really upset because I had like a FEELING…so I locked my shit up instead of leaving it hidden in my bag as usual. And that’s the time it goes missing. Nothing else was touched, passport and credit cards all there, so I guess I should be grateful, and I am. But like. I’m angry at myself for not doing what I normally do. I’m also partially wondering if I’m CRAZY and just misplaced it…except that I’m missing two hundred dollar bills and a ten euro note, while my remaining shekels, pesos, and singles all remain. I’m just CONFUSED. Like, how did they break in, if that’s what they did? Whatever.
And this all just happened, after a lovely full day, and I have a horrible twelve hour bus ride to look forward to tomorrow but then I get to go into the desert for a few nights…but this is just upsetting. I know, I know, I’m not supposed to let outside circumstances control my emotions; but like, then am I NEVER allowed to feel upset? Too bad: I’m upset and frustrated and annoyed and angry and confused and mad at myself and that’s just how I feel right now. I’m not going to let it ruin my time here. But I can’t change how I feel.
Otherwise, Marrakech has been a little overwhelming. I was expecting this: for one, I’m back to traveling alone after having had a partner for a few weeks. And I’m in a country that’s totally different from Europe and everywhere else I’ve ever been.
Let’s start at the beginning. Getting here was not a pleasant experience. From Venice, I had to get to the bus stop, take an hour-long bus to the airport, wait in line for a year at the Ryanair desk just to get my boarding pass stamped, wait at the gate standing in line for an extra half hour, wait another extra half hour on the plane while people kept changing seats, took off an hour late with way too many crying babies, finally arrived in Marrakech four hours later, waited in line for another year for passport control, exited the airport to find all the buses had stopped running, eventually got a cab who tried to not give me my change, and finally got to my hostel. It wasn’t the best night of my life.
The next day I spent almost entirely in the Medina and the Shouks. I walked around, got lost, shopped, haggled, and had a lovely time, for the most part. But there are also some really hard things about being here. EVERYONE wants your money. (I GUESS SOMEONE GOT IT THOUGH! HA. HA. HA.) And not only is nearly every single shop owner yelling at you to look at their stuff, but also men are constantly trying to “give you directions” or “just talk to you” or “help you,” all of it code for “let me scam you!”
Even haggling is frustrating. I get quoted such a high price that even halving it is often ridiculously expensive. So it’s hard to know where to start. Things I’ve learned: they will ALWAYS tell you you have nice tastes when you ask why it’s so expensive; they will ALWAYS explain why x product is better than his other product and therefore more expensive. They will ALWAYS tell you that you are a strong woman who puts up a hard bargain. Although I did get a necklace for a third of the asking price, so I was pretty proud of myself for that. Definitely overpaid for some other stuff…but like whatever.
And then I got back to my hostel at like, 6pm. My hostel is lovely, by the way, other than the fact that people apparently steal your stuff here. We have an incredible free breakfast, all the workers are so nice (minus this one useless English guy, but the rest are Moroccan and my favorite, unless one of them stole my money in which case I hate him), and it’s super authentic and they give you green tea whenever you want. It’s a little dirty and always cold, but it’s like 6 bucks a night.
So yeah. Got back here, and didn’t feel like talking to ANYONE. So I hung out in bed for the rest of the night, tried to get some website shit built. It was liberating. And then I binge-watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine because it’s my new favorite thing in the world.
Today after my delicious free breakfast, I headed out to see all the Official Sights of Marrakech. Which are not official at all, but I marked them on my map on my phone, so they felt official. I went to some palace things which were pretty sweet- one had a terrace that looked out over a lot of the city. There was this tomb thing, which was so not worth the at least forty-five minutes I waited in line for it: you just look in this cool room for like 20 seconds. I don’t get the hype.
I walked about an hour out of the old city into the new city for lunch at this cool place run all by women, where all the proceeds go to helping underprivileged women. It was delicious, the service was incredible, and it was for a good cause. Plus, there were some adorable cats there that loved me.
Twenty or so minutes from this place was this famous garden thing. It was…fine. Didn’t really get it. Lots of plants from all over the world, but I’m not SUPER INTO PLANTS. So it was kinda whatever.
And then I walked the hour back home. My feet were dying, but I had no choice. For example, here was an interaction I had:
(Beautiful girl is walking along the road, minding her own business, when suddenly…)
CAB DRIVER: Taxi? Taxi?
BEAUTIFUL GIRL: Sure, if you turn on the meter!
CAB DRIVER: (laughs, walks away.)
Ugh.
I got back here and made some friends – a guy from Norway, a couple Aussies, a couple Germans, and an Irish guy. We hung out for a bit, I FINALLY showered, and then we got dinner down the road, which took forever, don’t get me STARTED. And then I had my money drama. And here I am.
I probably could have gone into a lot more detail in a lot of this stuff, but I’m completely exhausted and I don’t feel like thinking right now. But it’s my blog and I can do whatever I want!