Six Months of Freedom

We are going travelling for six months! We will visit Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Morocco. Come with us by following this blog.

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Cityscapes

My final project for the trip- highlights from Dubai, Istanbul, Seville & Granada. Film career over!

Amie.

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More Marrakech

Some more images of Marrakech.

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Marrakech

Marrakech is where it all happens in Morocco. It is the country’s major destination and its old medina is full of different markets (souks), snake charmers, people with monkeys on chains, henna artists, fruit stalls and all shapes and sizes of tourist souvenirs.

That said, I can’t say that we found the city to be all that interesting. Perhaps it is just because we have been traveling for quite a while now and need to go home in order to get back a feeling of excitement, but we found the tourist markets to be much of the same. The city is again full of touts trying to get money from you whatever way that they can and the ancient sites are nothing (in my opinion) to what we saw in Cappadocia, Turkey.

I’m not saying that we didn't enjoy our time here. We did. Playing scrabble in the sunshine on the rooftop terrace of our beautiful little Riad (where we were again the only guests) was very relaxing and we found some excellent well priced restaurants for lunch and dinner. But if there is anywhere in Morocco where the touts get genuinely tiring - it is Marrakech.

I think two of our most enjoyable days for Marrakech were the train rides there from Fez and today to Casablanca. Trains in Morocco seem to be very efficient, very comfortable, and offer great views of the countryside. On both train journeys we met lots of friendly people, from a 20 year old economics student who hoped to travel to France, to a lawyer who impressed us with his knowledge of Australian history and Captain James Cook, or a young mother and her baby who both couldn't stop smiling at us for the whole 4 hour journey!

Tomorrow we leave Morocco and begin a sow journey home, via Turkey and Thailand. It is sad that we did not get time to visit the coast, hike in the Atlas mountains or spend a night camping in the desert. I feel like we have just seen such a small part of what this country has to offer. However, at this point in time, I must also say that Amie and I are both feeling very excited to be returning home to our family and friends.

See you all soon!

Kearrin

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A few more images of Fez

As mentioned in my previous post, Fes is home to a variety of handicraft workers. Below are a few more images of these craftsmen and their work.

The guys working in the pits filled with coloured liquid are the leather tanners.

Kearrin.

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Your Fez Looks Familiar

Amie and I have been lucky enough to see quite a few different countries in the years since we left high-school. There is still so much of the world that we haven’t seen, but there are still times when travelling takes on a feeling of familiarity. 

Such familiarity was far from our minds in Fes. The city is one of the most unique urban landscapes that we have visited. Perhaps there are many other similar looked Medina’s in the Middle East, but this was our first experience with an ancient Arabic walled city and it was truly fascinating.

Winding through the narrow walled streets can be a daunting experience. It is simply impossible, or at least it was for us, to keep track of where you are in the city. Fes is most famous for its leather tanneries. We visited the tanneries, a ceramics factory and several small handicraft workshops. It was nice to see so many people still working with their hands - ceramic workers, leather workers, brass workers, timber carvers and cooks of local delicacies. In particular, to see the time and effort that goes into making mosaic tile fountains and tables was astonishing.

One frustrating aspect of the city is that people constantly try and direct you places and then demand money for showing you the way’. Luckily for us, such annoyances were well compensated for by the hospitality of the staff at the small ‘Riad’ (local home turned hotel) that we stayed in. Amie and I were their only guests and in addition to cooking us huge breakfasts they booked our train tickets, walked us to our restaurants of choice in the evening and discussed Moroccan society and history with us.

Oh and last but not least, we were also able to visit a small islamic school that was very ornately decorated and full of cute children practicing French.

Kearrin.

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Chefchaouen 2

A few more images from the blue city...

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Morocco - Chefchaouen

Morocco is the last country of our 6 month adventure.

To get to Morocco we travelled by boat from Tarifa in Spain to Tangier in Morocco.It was the first time that either of us have entered a new country by boat and it was quite an interesting experience.

A port town with not that much to offer in the way of tourism, Tangier was only a stopping point for us on our journey to the Blue city of Chefchaouen.

Chefchaouen is a popular weekend destination for European tourists and is the hashish capital of Morocco. You can’t step outside your hotel without someone offering you the drug. Still, Chefchaouen is a very pretty, cat-filled, little city that offered us a nice easy introduction to the ways of Morocco.

Before coming to Morocco we had heard from several other travellers that the people are not very friendly and only want your money. Thankfully though, we haven’t found this to be the case. Their are certainly lots of touts here and plenty of people do hassle you for money - but so far we have definitely managed to met enough genuinely friendly people to maintain good spirits. 

At a bus-stop one many even pretended to throw his midget friend that he was carrying onto Amie! 

Kearrin.

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Hiking in the Sierra Nevada

Granada is the closest town to the Sierra Nevada mountains, putting in range of some great hiking trails. With some detailed (yet not entirely straightforward) directions in hand, we set off for some fresh air and sunshine in the hills. The track passed by olive groves, autumn trees, a tiny church and farmhouses. Apart from one other hiker, a mountain biker and a few locals, we had the whole area to ourselves. After 16km in sneakers with hardly any grip remaining, we were rewarded with stunning views of the snow-capped mountains. On our second walk we had to make up our own route after the instructions failed us, however we stumbled upon an enormous dam and perfect vistas so it ended up a success.

Amie.

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Hola Granada

After much deliberation, we decided to rent an apartment in Granada for five days to allow for a bit of relaxation before Morocco. It is another charming Spanish town with historic buildings and narrow cobbled streets (I have no idea how people manage to manoeuvre their cars around the hairpin bends). Our house was perched halfway up the hill in Albaicin and we were lucky enough to have fantastic views of the Alhambra from our rooftop terrace. The famous 13th Century palace and fort is the main reason that tourists come to Granada, however the complex ticketing system (you need to pre-book up to a month in advance) and the crowds (a quiet December day sees only 2200 people through the door) made us less than keen, so we were content to just see the exterior.

This left us with plenty of time to explore the town, from the gypsy quarter of Sacromonte and the riverside Carrera del Darro, to couples waltzing in the square and hippies walking their dogs. It also meant we could spend our money on food instead! We have stuffed ourselves silly in Spain with tapas, paella, hot chocolate, fancy ham, red wine, sangria and too much more. On more than one occasion we have been blown away by the generosity of Spaniards. The first restaurant we visited in Madrid had a hilarious, enthusiastic waiter. When we asked him about a very raunchy yet antique-looking artwork on the wall, he was shocked to discover the full frontal nudity (apparently he’d never noticed it before). He then gave us a round of free drinks to apologize for us having to sit next to it! As we were finishing our lunch at a tapas bar in Seville, an extra meal was presented to us. Before I could explain to our non-English speaking waiter that we hadn’t ordered anything else, he showed us a page in his notebook with a smile- ‘FREE.’ I can’t imagine any restaurant in Australia giving away free steak to foreigners!

Amie.

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Seville

Seville is the perfect city to explore on foot and we spent hours strolling through the streets. The touristy areas by the Cathedral and Royal Alcazar were very picturesque, with white washed buildings, orange trees, horse drawn carriages and cobblestone alleyways that begged to have their photo taken. We spent much of the day wandering through Maria Luisa Park and Spain Square, which were built for Expo 1929. Each alcove of the plaza was decorated with elaborate tiled artworks to represent different areas of Spain.We continued on to Tarina, a lovely neighbourhood with a huge fresh market and checked out the colourful street art beside the canal.

In the afternoon we visited the Centre for Andalusia Contemporary Art - which is housed in a stunning 15th Century monastery. The gallery is worth a visit just to see this amazing building and at times we spent more time admiring the architecture than the artworks. We were lucky enough to visit the museum during the weekly flamenco night. It was just one female dancer, a guitarist and a male singer, accompanied by the resonating acoustics of the chapel. We were blown away by the emotion, skill and beauty of the unforgettable performance (unfortunately we only got some blurry iPhone photos to record the event).

Amie.

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I’m Sorry I Don’t Speak Spanish

When we landed on Spanish soil I realized that we have found the beginnings of the European winter, and it was freezing! Our first night was in a hostel in Madrid and the following day we enjoyed a free walking tour around the city. I  learned a lot about the history of Spain, which I was quite clueless about beforehand.

The Puerta del Sol was a very busy plaza, full of people hustling for a few Euro. There were lots of people dressed as cartoon characters, human statues posing for photos and African migrants selling knock-off handbags laid out on bed sheets for a quick getaway. We passed by the Royal Palace, Almudena Cathedral and Plaza Mayor. Our guide even gave us a quick flamenco lesson, which I’m so glad that Kearrin caught on camera. I was most impressed with the intricately painted ceramic tiles on every corner, which have got be the most beautiful street signs in the world. Our favourite place to eat was Museo del Jamon (the Museum of Ham- what an awesome name for a deli!). Fresh bread rolls with the tastiest ham for just $2.50 was a godsend for us in such an expensive city.

We initially planned to spend just a very short time in Spain - en route to Morocco. After just two days in the country, however, we have extended our time here by a week. Olé!

Amie.

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Shopping & Eating in Istanbul

The Grand Bazaar was something I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, however, it actually just felt like another of the sort of touristy market that you see all over the world... albeit in a stunning heritage building. Most of the 2000 stores were just selling the same thing over and over and the touts were quite pushy. That being said, the stacks of spices, Turkish delight, baklava and pottery make for vibrant photos. It was actually more entertaining wandering through the bustling streets outside the bazaar, where locals were shopping for trinkets and fashion. Selfie sticks were a bargain at just $2.50! We considered buying the whole shop full and throwing them in a river...

Istanbul is foodie heaven with a wide variety of sweet and savoury treats on offer. For us this meant an extremely indulgent five days. Our favourite spot was Namli Gurme, a gourmet deli/restaurant, where you can pile your plate high with fresh cheese, meats, olives, salads, stuffed peppers, dolmades, kofte, fritters, dips and much, much more. Often our eyes were bigger than our bellies but it was so delicious it took great willpower to stop eating! We were lucky to have some excellent recommendations from our Turkish friend Oznur, as well as a free personal tour through modern Istanbul with the owner of our hotel, Mert. He took us to Taksim Square via the underground tram and across to the Asian side of Istanbul by ferry. There were heaps of trendy cafes, bars and shops in the modern part of the city, which were a world away from the overpriced touristy restaurants where we were staying.

We have had a fantastic two weeks in Turkey and are ready for our Spanish adventure! 

Amie.

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Istanbul

Devoting five days to explore Istanbul allowed us to see both the historic sights of the city and further flung neighborhoods. We covered all the major landmarks in one day, which was quite exhausting - but also quite achievable. The mosaic religious artworks in the Hagia Sophia were incredible, but the wall of scaffolding inside the chapel was less so. It was interesting to see images of Mary & Jesus alongside Islamic calligraphy, which was added much later during the Ottoman era. The intricately painted ceiling of the Blue Mosque was also very beautiful, although we felt that Topkapi Palace wasn’t worth its $15 entry fee, as the displays of royal jewellery and a ‘gold painted rain gutter’ didn’t really capture our attention. By this point we realized that we are not really into old buildings or big crowds.

Covering a lot of the city on foot, we walked alongside the Black Sea where fishermen had built windbreak walls on the rocks. The Galata Bridge was also heaving with people fishing all through the day and night. Next to the bridge are rows of restaurants selling infamous $4 fish sandwiches, which Kearrin happily sampled.

We experienced first hand a very clever scam from a shoe shiner walking past us, who ‘accidently’ dropped his brush and then offered Kearrin a shoeshine in thanks for it being returned. I was skeptical straight away but Kearrin is less cynical than I am so he took up the opportunity. During the polish, the man told us a long story about how he is visiting his family in another city tomorrow, and it is so far away and so expensive…. When we tried to leave he clearly wasn’t happy with the $1 tip, saying the shine was worth $10 (we refused to pay up). The second time a brush happened to fall in front of us we knew that it was indeed a con, and by the third and fourth times we were warning other tourists that were about to get caught!

My friend Helen came from London to meet us for the weekend, and together I think we ate our body weight in Turkish delight when trying to find the perfect flavor combination at many different stores. I wanted to experience a traditional Turkish bath house, and having her as moral support certainly made it less daunting. We went to Cemberlitas Hamami and I have to say it was actually quite enjoyable. First we lay on a huge heated marble slab, then an attendant motioned me over, threw a bucket of water on me, added soap and scrubbed away at my skin. After a quick massage it was time to move to the sink area, where she doused me with more buckets of water (I admit that it doesn’t sound too pleasant once described that way). I was then free to lounge on the marble slab, soaking up the warmth and staring at the decorative ceiling. The hamam was built in 1584 and Kearrin pointed out that a lot of boobs & bums have shared the same tiles, but it felt very clean and my skin was super soft afterwards. I’m glad I worked up the courage to try it.

Amie.

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Turkey Travels

Such a picturesque country, here is a quick movie I made from our days in Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Olympos.

Amie.

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Olympos II

On most mornings in Olympos we began the day by exploring the 4th century ruins that are scattered between the cliffs and the sea. Some sections are relatively intact, while others are moss-covered and overgrown with trees. Being so quiet, we largely had the ruins to ourselves, which added to the mystical feeling. The ocean was warm enough to swim (just) so we spent as much time as we could at the beach before the sun ducked behind the huge cliffs. One evening we also hiked up to the Eternal Flames of Chimera, a series of self-ignited fires on Mount Olympos supplied by a continual release of natural gas. They have been burning for thousands of years, and can toast a marshmallow perfectly in seconds!

Amie.

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Olympos

Turkey is such a large and diverse country, which made it difficult for us to narrow down the options for our two-week itinerary. After much discussion we decided to travel all the way south to the tiny village of Olympos on the Mediterranean coast. The deep blue ocean, pebbly beach and stunning sheer cliffs make it an ideal summer getaway, with hordes of backpackers descending on the small town in the warmer months. Visiting in autumn, we shared Olympos with just a handful of other tourists and at times it felt almost deserted. Orange and pomegranate trees surrounded our wooden cabin at Saban Guesthouse. All the pensiones in Olympos are ‘half board’, meaning breakfast and dinner are included, and the huge buffet meals were some of the best we ate in the country.

Amie.

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Terraces and Ruins

The ancient Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis was built sometime in the 3rd century atop the Pamukkale travertines. People used to visit the thermal baths for their healing properties, and the ruins of the baths, temples and an amphitheatre still stand alongside the terraces today. Huge marble columns toppled into the pools after an earthquake in the 7th century, and we could swim around them in the warm, mineral-rich water.

Amie.