If another person says Konichiwa to me again, I may have to scream. Everywhere we go, people think its hilarious/tey are so clever that they think they know where we are from. Even the police at the checkpoint last night said Chinatown? Koree? before laughing uproariously.
They think they can hustle us when we have our backpacks on, not realizing yes we will walk further carrying our packs rather than get *cheated* of a couple of dollars. On some level its ridiculous perhaps, maybe we should just accept it and move on, but on principle we would rather not be charged 500 percent. You feel besieged, always suspicious and hating that you cant take people at face value.
Yesterday was a case in point. We arrived at Chefchouen train station, and got into a cab. Told the cabbie our destination and started trying to get our bearings as he drove. He stops in a plaza nowhere near our hotel and tells us its not far. Katharine points out to him that we are nowhere near where we need to be and he asks why we dont believe him. Meanwhile, some other guy is opening my door, showing me his official guide card and offering to show us to our hotel. The driver opens the trunk and tells us to hurry up because its hot. Katharine stands her ground, we get back in the car and the whole time he berates us for not trusting him, saying that in this small town, no one steals or lies, and that our insistence to go by another route will only result in more walking. We will see him around town and be forced to concede that he was right.
LIES all LIES! The worst part was that I wanted to believe him but knew he was just angry that he had not handled the hand off to his friend the *official* guide well! I worry that the whole cynical attitude thing is making it harder for me to appreciate the people we encounter when we travel, but more often than not, the cynicism has been proved out :(
It has been an eventful week traipsing from Egypt through Morocco.
5 cities, 6 hotels, 2 overnight trains and countless bottles of mineral water as temperatures routinely exceed 40C/104F. I do like Morocco more than Egypt I think - probably because its easier to get around since most people speak French and because it seems a little less rigid and aggressive than Egypt. The scenery is beautiful and the old ,edinas do have a char, of their own once you get away from the endless curio shops. My favorite part of Marrakesh was actually the cooking class we took ( I have somehow procured a tagine that we clutch like a baby on buses - ask me to cook you a meal when I see you!) as well as wandering around the nouvelle ville where they had a couple of neat galleries showing contemporary moroccan art. There is a limit to artisanal stuff!
I must admit that I am quite looking forward to Spain and being able to wear shorts and have a glass of wine with dinner again!
We are headed to Fez tonight and will finally be staying put for a few days before Katharine leaves for the US and Alicia flies in for a little Morocco and some Spain! Travel is hard work!
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