June 30th, 2019
BA 2668
06:40 AM LGW>RAK 10:20 AM
Having slept several hours on Shabbos afternoon combined with Shabbos ending at 11:00 PM meant I wasn’t going to get any sleep before my early morning flight to Marrakech. That night I ate Malave Malka at my friend’s and packed for my trip. My research for Marrakech came from American Express Platinum Concierge, Dansdeals Forums, and Trip Advisor. On DDF, I gathered that kosher food in Marrakech was complicated. Supposedly there is a woman that can cook for you if you preorder. I don’t know what her kosher standards are and therefore did not feel comfortable ordering food from her. I brought food with me, mostly junk food, for my 2 day trip. I planned
At some ungodly hour in the morning I made my way to Seven Sisters underground station to catch the Victoria Line to London Victoria Station in order to connect with the Southern Railway train to Gatwick. I got off at London Victoria. Instead of going directly from the underground station to the train station, I accidently exited to the street. This cost me an extra 3 minutes which I didn’t have. Luckily, I did not need to buy a ticket as I had purchased a round trip ticket when I first arrived from the U.S. I made it to the platform and noticed the car was full and with 40 seconds left to board I decided to move forward to the next car. Unbeknownst to me, the train doors closes 30 seconds prior to departure and did so in my face. I wasn’t the only one that it happened to though and things got a little interesting. A train is not allowed to pull out of the station if a person is not standing behind the line on the platform. While I stepped back, there were two proper English guys that were kicking off. They were refusing to move and violently protesting by banging on the windows and shouting profanities. Security came but these guys refused to move saying that the train is still in the station and hasn’t moved and we should therefore be allowed to board. Security then called the police who came twenty minutes later. In the meantime I went to the front of the platform to speak with the train conductor. I explained that I am not with those guys and I wasn’t seeking any trouble. I asked if he could let us onto the train. The train was already delayed and would be delayed further until the police arrived. I said that the passengers on the train have already been inconvenienced and don’t need to wait any longer. I therefore reasoned that at this point it would be in everyone’s best interest to open the doors and just allow us to board so we can all be on our merry way. Makes sense to me. But he gave a a classic english response: “Once the doors close, they cannot be opened” Eventually the individuals moved away and the train pulled out of the station without me on it. The next train was 30 minutes later on first the Gatwick Express of the day. I was concerned because time was short but had no other option. I used the waiting time to start davening Shachris and continued onboard the train in an empty car. Considering that my purchased did not cover Gatwick Express, I thought that I would need to pay to upgrade for that service. However no one came around for tickets. The train pulled in early and the duration of the Journey was a blazing 22 minutes. When I exited the train station at Gatwick Airport the exit gates were open and did not need to scan/swipe my ticket to exit the station. I basically rode the train for free. I then got a notification that my flight was delayed until. I checked in at the British Airways counter and proceeded through security to first stock up on snacks from a Priority PAss restaurant and then to the Lounge courtesy of priority pass. The lounge was nice but nothing to exciting. I gave myself enough time and arrived at the gate 15 prior to departure. It felt good to fly with a legacy a carrier. There is less stress that comes along with when flying them. I took my seat and waited to depart and then a delay way announced. The flight attendants started to move about the cabin handing out water. I was concerned about the delay because I had may day planned and I was relying on everything to go smoothly. Finally we pushed back from the gate. The flight experience was just as any other intra-europe flight on British Airways. The seats were 3-3 configuration with no legroom. At one point I asked a flight attendant from a cup of water and he told me that it would be for purchase. I was thinking to myself, “Dude, we just encountered over an hour delay and you want to charge me for water?” I understand that BA is trying to make some money by selling snacks and beverages, but isn’t this part of the reason why people pay extra to fly legacy carriers?
I read about the immigraition mess Marrekech online before the trip. I was advised to ask for a customs and immigration form from the flight attendant and fill it out inflight as it would save a significant amount of time. When I asked for a form towards the end of the flight, the flight attendants did not know any form.
We landed at around 4:00 PM. Already late for my planned itinerary, I was still hopeful that immigration would go smoothly. I hustled my way to the immgration area and what seemed to be no lines quickly turned into a mess. There is a form on a small peice of paper that everyone needs to fill out. The problem is that there aren't always enough forms and people don’t necessarily come equipped with pens. After I finally got a form and then had to wait in line to use a pen to fill out the form. I then waited in line with what felt like an eternity until I got through passport control into the baggage claim area. Wherever you go in Marrakech you will find someone trying to aggressively sell you something. This is seen immediately when you pass through immigration control. As soon as you get to baggage claim there are mobile phone providers giving out free sim cards hoping that you will sign up for service with them. However they only accept cash and there are no ATM's in the baggage claim area. I figured that I'd be able to get a SIM in the arrivals hall so I declined the offer thinking that if I take the SIM, I must top up. To leave the baggage claim area, you need to put your bags through a bag scanner which I did and then proceeded to the ATM in the Arrivals Hall. I was surprised that there weren't any shops in the arrivals hall. I then figured out Marrakech airport isn't particularly large and a short walk down the hall led me to the departures area. There was only one shop in that area selling one mobile provider SIM and they wanted an absurd amount of thirty Euros that didn't even include much data or airtime. This was insane considering that service bundles are super cheap and SIM cards are free in Morocco. I refused to pay that price. But now I was stuck. I had no service, didn't speak Arabic or French and I didn't know how to get to my riad. A few moments later, a foreigner asked me if I needed a SIM card. He said that the Maroc Telecom rep gave it to him for free in the baggage claim area and that he didn't need it. It was like Hashem sent this guy from nowhere just for me. I felt rescued. I thanked him and went to the newsstand in the terminal to top up with service. My phone issues were now resolved, or so I thought. In fact it only started. I typically don't use a Smartphone. For this trip I borrowed my dad's old iPhone 6. The phone was way past its time and had an extremely short battery life even when using a battery pack and at times it wouldn't even charge. For some reason the phone service did not immediately work after activation. I was kind of screwed at that point. I decided that I would take the bus from the airport to Jemma El-Fna hoping to find a Maroc Telecom office there and get some help. As soon as I stepped out of the terminal I was hit by the upper 90 degree Marrakech summer weather. It was hot! I waited for the bus, paid my fare (40 Dirham return ticket). Shortly after, I arrived in Jemma El-Fna. I took a few moments to take it all in. The chaos was nuts! This was the first time I've seen something like this. I asked a police officer where I could find Maroc Telecom. They said that they were closed on sunday and none existed in the square. I then asked him for directions to my riad and he was vaguely familiar with that Street and pointed in the general direction. Now for those of you that haven't been to Jemma El-Fina, I will tell you that the market is huge. Imagine a public square that has like 6 markets leading into it from 6 directions. Each market has side streets intersecting and then the side streets have other streets with little to no signage. To make it even more difficult to navigate, these streets aren't a grid, rather they can snake around and suddenly end. Google maps isn't so reliable in the Medina either and often won't have your proper location. But for me google maps was anyways not an option because I couldn't get my friggin phone to work. Something else to note if you visit Marrakech take the advice from this upthread and bloggers online. Marrakech is a very aggressive city. Everyone is hustling. Preparing yourself will keep you safe. This is why when a middle aged guy started leading me to my riad I followed him but didn't fall for the "Good Samaritan" trick. I of course kept a safe distance from him in case I needed to retreat. I started growing a bit concerned when he started to lead me through the windy streets but then noticed a group of Austrailians who told me they were also looking for the same riad. Together as a group we followed the guy and he brought us to the Riad on "Derb Snane". He obviously then demanded that we all pay him for showing us the way and I obviously refused. He started shouting at me and I pretty much told him to bug off. Once he realized that he wasn't getting anywhere, he gave up and walked away. For this trip I stayed at the Airbnb listing "Riad Friends' '. I booked an entire room that had 4 bunks but they gave me a room on the rooftop with one double bed. The bathroom was outside my room and was shared. Right outside my door was a covered public couch area. Once I settled in I enlisted my host's help with my phone. But miraculously it started to work just as I asked for assistance. Considering that I was tired from my journey, or adventure I wasn't just yet ready to see some sights in the blistering heat. I therefore waited a bit and cooled off in my air conditioned room. As it was late, I adjusted my itinerary. I decided that I would visit the El Bahia Palace, synagogue, and Jemma El Fina a bit. You know they say that it's not a matter of getting lost in Marrakech because you undoubtedly will. Rather it is a matter of how many times you will get lost. So I set out to Bahia Palace and got lost somewhere along the way. This actually helped me get to know the area a bit but at the same time, I needed to find my destination and my phone was dying again. I really wanted to take photos with it but I had to conserve battery. When I finally found Bahia Palace I tried to open my phone but it said "Sim Locked". This was really frustrating. I didn't really know how to get back to my Riad and couldn't use google maps as a guide as my service was barred until I entered the SIM pin which was in my riad (it was actually in my pocket and I didn't realize until I got back to my room later on). I also didn't know how to get to the shul, though I knew the street name and that it was close by. I decided to try to make due without my phone. I paid the entrance fee to Bahia Palace and entered. This place was beautiful. It was really magnificent. The architecture was amazing. Unfortunately I did not have a tour guide and did not understand the meanings and the significance of the dome designs, the paintings, inscriptions, and architecture. My advice to you would be, get a guide. From Bahia Palace I went to look for the synagogue. This walk led me outside of the bustle and I saw what the houses of the locals look like. I saw the poverty that exists and the relaxed nature of the locals. I was invited by some teens on the street to hang with them and watch some board games but I declined in an act of vigilance. Back then I was less experienced and did not feel safe. But today, I would definitely take up the offer. After asking some people for directions I finally found the synagogue. While the synagogue wasn't grand it had some sort of exhibition that you needed to pay a nominal fee. It was very interesting to see how vibrant Jewish life used to be in Marrakech and tried to imagine people filling up the Shul back in the day. At the shul I davened Mincha and said some tehillim. Once I was done, I headed back to my Riad checking out Jemma El Fina along the way. I don't know how I made it, but somehow, I made it back to my riad and called it a night. The next day would be my first full day in Marrakech. I was excited to see what would be next.