A memorable visit of Laos

Twelve months of trips around the world - April 2012

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:52:41 GMT

I have neglected this blog for many months now, and I am just catching up...

Between February 2011 and now (April 2012), we have visited Israel, France, Malta, Vietnam and Cambodia, Ecuador and the Galapagod, France again, and South Africa (plus Zambia where we admired Victoria Falls and the Zambezi river. As if that were not enough, with our planning a return to France, for a wedding, but also to explore Brittany where we have never been... India is on our 2013 travel agenda. I almost forgot... I took a French lycee friend to Washington, Brooklyn (NYC) and Boston, for that's traveling too! I have not seen enough of the United States recently!

Looking at all the photographs I took, I happily relive some priviledged moments, from the colorful Galapagos iguana who "posed' for me -- suddenly flipping itself around as if to say: "This is my better profile!", to a special wedding in Paris, and Odila, our wonderful Israeli guide, the glass factory in Mdina (Malta) and the gorgeous children of a traditional African village, also the lions, rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes... Descriptions are not enough, so here are some of my photographs.

Visiting the Arab World and the Middle East -- 15 May 2008

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:12:15 GMT

The welcoming face of Jordan - Ph. by D. Santal

In the past two years, we have traveled to the Arab world and the Middle East. Our motive was merely curiosity: it is a world we knew nothing about. When we mentioned our project to family and friends, they were horrified: aren’t you afraid, aren’t you taking dangerous risks, don’t you think you’ll be unwelcome? The answer was “Of course not, why"?

So off we went: Morocco in 2006, Turkey in 2007, Jordan and Egypt in 2008. And how interesting, gratifying and informative our excursions were! Each one was very different from the others; and all were very different from our trips in Europe of course, in Asia and in South America. They puzzled and enriched us culturally, historically, and of course linguistically; most of all, we will never forget the warm welcome we experienced everywhere.

We prepared these trips with the help of several different tour operators: Gate 1, Isram, Sunny Land Tours… Our guides were extraordinary: learned, intelligent, well-prepared, curious about us; most of all, it was obvious that they loved their respective country and were eager to share their history and their culture. They went out of their way to provide what we needed: in Egypt for instance, when we came back to Cairo for a couple of days at the end of our visit, Esslam, the man in charge, met us at the airport and announced that our hotel had been changed; surprised, we asked him why: “Your guide told me that you wished for a downtown hotel in order to explore our capital on your own.” So he had arranged a room at the Sofitel El Gezirah, a luxurious hotel overlooking the Nile, five minutes from the Egyptian Museum and next door to the Opera House. In Morocco also: we had decided to spend two extra days exploring on our own, so we were by ourselves at our downtown hotel: as we were enjoying a lazy breakfast, Nourédine, our guide for the previous week, showed up and told us he would take us to the two museums we had mentioned before but were not included in the itinerary! We were deeply touched by such thoughtfulness and generosity, and we will never forget.

On the practical side of our visits, it was obvious that Jordan and Egypt were prepared for foreign visitors; security is tight everywhere, and the Tourism Police is obvious and active. They are also very friendly and ready to help all the time; we enjoyed their presence not just because they made us feel better protected, but also because their ready smiles and friendliness made us forget that we live in a dangerous world.

In all frankness, it is probably as dangerous to visit London as it is the Middle East and the Arab world. Terrorists are everywhere, a hidden threat to everyone. But I want to enjoy the whole world, I want to see beautiful countries and know, if only very briefly, and very superficially, the people who live in them.

I will still look both ways when I cross the street, in my home town, in Paris, in Bangkok or Cusco, but I will go there unafraid. So there !

Egypt & Jordan

The Joy of Morocco - April 20, 2007

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:11:56 GMT

Arriving in Meknes

Last Thanksgiving, we explored Morocco for the first time: the beauty of its land, the warm hospitality of its people, and the richness of its culture took our breaths away.

When we arrived at the Casablanca airport, our taxi driver immediately made us feel welcome: he informed us about the many different peoples who inhabit Morocco today, and he railed against the way all teenagers dress and behave! In the late afternoon, as we walked around the city center, with the setting sun lighting up everything, the streets became crowded with thousands of people, young, old, families, groups of young men or young women, some in modern dress, and some in traditional Arab garb. In many ways, it was a typical downtown, with banks, cafés, stores, small tables displaying all kinds of gadgets, candies, peanuts, fresh fruit… There was even a McDonald’s!

On our main itinerary were Volubilis (the city the Romans built in the 3rd century B.C.), Meknès, Fès and Marrakech: in ten days or so, we moved from ancient Morocco to the most modern. Our group was very small and we were able to take full advantage of our multilingual guide: Nourédine Alami is a knowledgeable and cultured man, he is also friendly and loves his native land. Through his eyes, we learned to appreciate everything we saw: he taught us some basic Arabic so we could greet and thank people, he took us to private homes he knew, he recommended good restaurants, and led us to beautiful antique stores, rug merchants, ceramics and mosaics factories... He even taught us how to bargain hard!

Typical Moroccan medieval cities go back to the 8th and 9th centuries; even today, life revolves around the medina, usually walled in. Commerce takes place in the souqs, a veritable labyrinth of market stalls, shops and craft venues: in medieval style, each commerce or craft has its section: here the potters and ceramicists, there the coppersmiths, further the leather tanners and dyers, the antique dealers and the rug merchants around the corner... We saw Fès and Marrakech over several days, and it was obvious, except for the mobylettes, that life had not changed too much since the Middle Ages: it is intense among its meandering streets, its donkeys overloaded with merchandise of all kinds, its thousands of adorable little cats (their job is to keep rodents at bay!), its friendly crowds; we were also able to appreciate the simple but elegant artwork of highly skilled Arab craftsmen …

Morocco is considering the possibility of turning Fès into a museum, much like Williamsburg in the United States. We were invited into a beautiful home, completely restored by its owner, and transformed into a ryad, not unlike our own B & B's: what elegance! We had a glass of wine and we were taken for a tour: every twist and turn led to a different treasure: a fountain in the middle of the reception room, wall to wall mosaics, paintings illustrating Moroccan life. In typical medieval fashion, one would never have noticed the house from the street, we would even have gotten lost, had the owner not met us at the entrance of the medina!

We also explored Marrakech on foot. One Sunday, we joined local families into the medina, on a huge square with hundreds of food vendors; others sold dates, dried apricots and nuts of every kind; there were snake charmers, musicians, dancers… So much to see and enjoy! In the modern part of the city, called "Ville Nouvelle" since the French occupation (1912-1951), there is a very beautiful museum of Islamic Art, and the gardens of a once famous resident (the painter Jacques Majorelle). We also wandered on our own in the souqs: what a feast for the eyes! As we bought red babouches from one young merchant, bargaining hard in French, he invited us to visit a colorful leather tanning and dyeing factory, no pressure to buy anything, he just wanted to show us what he loves about his home: all the work is done as it was in the Middle Ages. We also observed coppersmiths banging away as they shaped their bowls and buckets, jewelers twisting silver threads into wonderful pieces.

While exploring the Ourika Valley, in a field by the road, we saw a herd of dromadaries, the one-hump camels of Morocco. We had to stop for photos: the animals are very friendly, they let us pet them, some of us rode them a little... They looked at us from the top of their long necks, obviously wandering what the fuss was about! We also stopped at a roadside private home where the ladies of the house were making butter and had just taken the bread out of the oven. They invited us for breakfast and we enjoyed mint tea, with Moroccan bread, Moroccan olive oil and very dark honey: what a treat! Such hospitality! Even the house dog, a little dachsund, and its cat companion made us feel welcome!

The climate in Morocco is so pleasant and mild all year round, that most Moroccans spend their leisure time at café terraces, sipping coffee, tea and nibbling on pastries. They love to strike up a conversation and to hear about you, and to talk about themselves. What a joy to be there!

A memorable visit of Laos

Twelve months of trips around the world - April 2012

Visiting the Arab World and the Middle East -- 15 May 2008

The Joy of Morocco - April 20, 2007

Morocco Photo Gallery