Travelogue: A Trip to Sahara Desert

We prepared to leave Fes early morning, so early we didn’t even manage to have breakfast and we were on our way. I was a little sad as a nice breakfast to start the day would be fantastic. So anyway we began our hour-drive journey to Ifran, also known as little Switzerland, just as a pitstop to continue our trip southwards

What greeted us at the front door – Good morning! Well, donkeys and mules are still used to transport goods in the old city of Fes as the narrow alleyways prevent vehicles to pass through. And in this, it was collecting rubbish

1 hour later, it really looks different from what you would expect from Morocco. Like we were transported somewhere else. It was a nice change

And then we found this yummy croissant for breakfast at a random cafe there. The croissant was really legit good. I decided to buy another one to munch on the way. The guide was surprised we didn’t have breakfast, and we were like that’s cos we had no time for it…? #halfannoyed

So after we were done, we headed to Azrou, that is home to the Barbary monkeys. There was really this clearing that you find monkeys roaming freely everywhere. I was afraid of them so I took a few shots and ran back to the car, while the friends seemed to be very entertained by them. They found the monkeys very cute. And I’m like okay, I think that’s subjective

Nope, I don’t think you are cute

So the friends had a good time feeding them with help from the locals and before they returned to the car, the locals asked them for tips. I watched the entire exchange from the car half amused cos the friends looked damn sian. Well, nothing is free in this world guys. Nothing is free

Then it was a 2-hours drive to Midelt, a town that is known for apples. Unfortunately we were not there for apples cos not the season yet. We were just passing by for lunch, which I could already anticipate what was going to come

Mixed Skewers w Fries Dh75

Sighs.

Pizza Dh80

While the friends also got a pizza to share. I took a slice of it and it was alright

Orange Juice Dh20

This was probably the best

And then cos we still had time before the pickup to our desert camp, the driver said he would bring us somewhere special and he kept emphasizing it was somewhere special. So first, he brought us to this lookout which he said there was a view

US: …

Then he went down this rocky road and stopped in the middle of nowhere

I was confused. But shortly after, people started running out of their shelter and it turned out..

We were introduced to fossils and minerals

So. Random

The local was showing us the fossils that were in the ground. It took us some time to try to match what he was saying and where he was pointing at

There. Sotong. Lol

After taking a short tour which we were done in no time, the driver decided to take us to his friend’s hotel nearby. And we were like there’s a hotel nearby?!

Wah. There really was a hotel nearby. We were surprised

With swimming pool even. And there were guests! We were surprised x2. lol. Cos it was really in the middle of nowhere. According to the driver; they serve pretty good food here. Hmm, I shall give him the benefit of the doubt

The said restaurant that serves pretty good food. That aside, we enjoyed the short respite from the heat, with coke and iced cubes so it was pretty nice to stone out for awhile

And then we continued on our journey to the pickup point. And the driver took us on a curvy ride on sandy roads. I think he was more entertained himself, laughing as he drove. … okay can, whatever works

We got lost for abit trying to find the pickup point and to my surprise, the pickup point was quite interesting. Like here. lol

How did we identify we were at the right place? We saw 3 camels waiting for us in sight! To be honest, I thought the camels were quite well-maintained and they don’t really have flies hovering around them. We asked if they have a name. The cameleer said yes! And is camel 1, camel 2 and camel 3!

Okay, conversation ended.. moving on

First up, hat, sunglasses and mask to protect the hair and face. lol

I was really excited to ride the camel for the first time and the camels were rather well-behaved. They were moving steadily even at the edge of the sand and didn’t try to be naughty. So I was quite impressed

One for the memory

The cameleer kindly offered to stop in the middle of nowhere to help us take a photo

It was an hour long slow walk to the camp and we passed by groups of tourists that were on their way to their camps too. I found it even more interesting to know how the locals knew exactly where to go since everywhere looked the same to me. I don’t think I would be able to get out of the desert if I got lost in here

It’s just like nowhere in sight. We also secretly agreed our camels looked more well-fed and maintained as compared to others

45 minutes into our ride, our cameleer turned to us and said, oh a sandstorm is coming behind you ever so casually. I was like okay, should we be worried? Then he added – we are reaching the camp soon (even though he didn’t mention how soon)

The skies soon turned from blue to grey, the wind picked up in pace and you could feel the sand around you. And as soon as we saw our desert camp in sight, the wind got even stronger: I felt like, I was in a movie #experienceofalifetime

But first, the masked woman with her camel 2

We managed to disembark from our camel and made our way towards our tents quickly and here’s our accommodation for the night at Luxurious Merzouga desert camp (which we had found ourselves)

In the grey silhouette

So we just hid in our tents until dinner commenced. The tents were basic. There’s a good bed to sleep, a place to shower (though water pressure was low). There’s a usb outlet but no PowerPoint. You can use the power point at the dining area. No aircon nor fan obviously. You can try sleeping with the doors opened so there’s natural wind but for security reasons we didn’t. We were glad we brought a hand-held fan with us so we plugged it in into the usb and there we had, a fan for the whole night!

And the bathroom area which was rather compact

Glad the storm had calmed down for abit and we could see the beautiful blue sky for abit before they bade us goodbye

And soon, dinner commenced shortly cos there was nothing much everyone can do. We started with some Moroccan tea and snacks as welcome hospitality before they started serving us proper

Bread (a lot of it) and olives

I thought the soup tasted somewhat better here

I was craving for instant noodles so I had my comfort food while the rest ate what was provided. My tummy was clearly very happy that night

Which was rice and salad

And of course, tagine again. lol #shakeshead

The sky cleared up and the wind settled down so the staffs began the campfire, singing songs with the bonfire in place. We had already showered so we didn’t wanna shower a second time. So all we did was take some photos, hid in our tents and listen to them sing. And at some point, we knocked out. Lol

The next morning, the friend and I woke up early enough to catch the sunrise even though the sky was still cloudy

One for the memories. It’s not often you get to watch a sunrise from the Sahara desert: I don’t think I will do this again #signsofaging

And a wide shot of our desert camp

Then we proceeded for breakfast and we were hearing this group of fresh graduates complained non stop about their camp experience and we were legit judging them. Anyways..

I would say breakfast was a simple affair

Then it was time to meet our driver so we checked out and sat in a car this time round, so we could enjoy the sand dune ride in a 4×4. And all it took was just 15 minutes. Lol. But it was good fun

And that marks the end of our Sahara adventure

The driver brought us to try on some traditional clothings (random I know) and for a moment I was rather excited

Cos I thought we would be trying on these beautiful clothings..

But when I saw the friends’ outfits, I was like okay. clearly did not reach expectations. lol

I legit think I looked weird. Ha. And the staffs were dressing us up like dumplings. Anyway we took a few shots and ended our fashion show. Cos the background wasn’t the most appealing either

That’s it folks

I think the friends spent more time deciding which camel to get as souvenir. lol

Then it was lunch again. Lunch was slightly different this time

I get an omelette for starters

roast chicken for mains which was actually not bad!

The friends got the tagine for mains, which they were clearly not sick of. lol. I hand it to them

and we ended with pastries for desserts. All for Dh100!

We began our long drive yet again onwards to Ouarzazate but first, stopping by at some pitstops along the way. The weather was becoming too unbearable and it didn’t help the car didn’t have sunshades and there were no cover along the way. We were literally exposed to sunlight, full-blown. It was so warm we were just sweating in the car with the mild or non- existent aircon

So by the time we reached Todra Gorge, we were honestly too lazy to get down from the car. But we plucked ourselves up and got down to walk a little. And by a little, we literally just walked 5 mins, took some photos and got back onto the car. lol

Because I really can’t tell what’s so pretty about this place. I guess beauty is subjective

We drove through the Boumalne Dades valley but cos it was so sunny, we found it hard to concentrate on the view. So in the end, the driver decided to get us a rose garland instead and he entertained himself by calling us the rose princesses

I was feeling so uncomfortable I took it out once I was in the car and the driver asked I was not going to wear it anymore? lol. No. I had 5 mins of make-believe princess and that’s enough

We headed to Kasbah Amridil which was the attraction for the day before heading to the hotel for the night. Kasbah Amridil is a historic fortified residence and is considered among the most impressive kasbahs of its kind in Morocco

It has been converted into a museum showcasing the traditional architecture of the building and local traditional artifacts, including tools, an olive press, a bread oven, and an old well

And also how the locals used this small windows to detect enemies

I was feeling pretty tired from the sun but the driver asked if there was anything we wanted to do and the friend suggested massage so the driver decided to bring us to a local Hammam before heading to the hotel. Half of me was like.. can I just head straight to the hotel? Lol

So this local Hammam was supposedly quite a popular place and not considered a public Hammam. The friend was all excited to try cos she had a fantastic experience in Turkey and it was my first for me

The reception area

At any point of time, the place could only have one booking per group cos the changing room is a shared space. They do not have a separate room for women and men

Lets just say it wasn’t what I was expecting and I came out traumatised. Lol. The friend came out whining non stop cos it was so oily and I was like woman, you wanted this?!

So since I had to wait for the other 2 who were not done yet, I was looking at the products they were using and safe to say, we didn’t buy anything cos none of us enjoyed our experience. The driver asked how was it and clearly, the response wasn’t very positive. I felt like, I probably won’t try this a second time. Lol #scarredforlife

I was really glad we finally reached our accommodation for the night at Riad Tama & Spa. Our original accommodation at Dar Chamaa was messed up so the tour company replaced it with Riad Tama, claiming it was a pretty nice place too

Well, the hotel was average at best but given the location we were in, I guess beggars cannot be choosers

At least the room was huge

There was a small little table area

The bathroom and toilet

We headed up for dinner shortly since we just wanted to have our dinner quickly and rest up for the night

I thought the dining area was pretty nice

We were given a basket of bread to start. To be honest, one look at the bread and I felt full already. Lol

Then came a huge pot of soup. I really liked the soup. It tasted somewhat like quash so it was creamy and tasty

Then came this plate of starters or so I thought. But when I realised desserts was next, I was like oh you mean that’s our mains?! Lol. Okay, thankfully I had 2 bowls of soup cos the mains were.. a little sad in my opinion