Mystical Marrakech

The sun baked walls, gardens, covered markets and magical main square have become worldwide icons of exotic elegance for the grand Moroccan city of Marrakech. Fringed with palm trees, olive and orange groves, it is sheltered from the fierce Saharan winds by the snow-capped peaks of the Atlas Mountains. It’s a vast storehouse of architecture, culture, history, cuisine and craftsmanship built from mud, stone, wood and tile. It wears its Muslim heart on its sleeve with pride and shouts about its colourful influences including; Berber, Roman, Arab, French and even Andalucian.

Marrakech is well connected to its surroundings. Team up your stay with other Moroccan cities for a multi-centre holiday with a difference. Travel first class inexpensively by train to Casablanca, Rabat & Fez in the North or have a few days relaxing on the east coast beaches at Agadir. Trek up in to the High Atlas Mountains for the experience of a life-time visiting the Berber tribes or lay low in a Gite in the foothills or even try out the ski slopes if you’re there between November & March.

The old medina is the vibrant heart of the city of Marrakech. It is contained by the 12 mile long & red in colour wall and is a labyrinth of narrow alley-ways which are home to over a million people and reportedly over 60,000 individual market stalls. You can spend hours bartering over the eclectic collection of local hand-crafted wares and the further in to the Aladdin’s Cave you venture the more interesting the Souks become. Every section has its own speciality: carpets and textiles; ceramics and woodwork; spices and magic creams; slippers and kaftans; jewellery and lanterns; and most importantly raffia bags and baskets which you'll need to carry all of your purchases in.

For those who aren’t confident at haggling visit the Ensemble Artisanal where you can see all of the products being made and then sold with visible & fixed prices. The prices are similar to those you’ll eventually haggle to in the souk but without hassle. For those looking for more luxurious and designer items head outside of the walls and across to the Ville Nouvelle, (New Town) known as Gueliz, where you’ll find up-market boutiques including Louis Vuitton.

Dine in one of the many roof-top cafés & restaurants overlooking the main square, Jemaa el Fna, whilst soaking up the atmosphere of the entertainment below; drummers, snake charmers playing their pipes, monkeys jumping around and even acrobats cart-wheeling, spinning and somersaulting in the midst of it all. As dusk draws closer lots of tented eateries pop up from nowhere and fill with locals cooking and serving their delicacies of lambs brains and cooked snails; smoke and steam rising into the warm night air from the bubbling pots and barbecues.

Walk through the luscious gardens around the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech’s most famous symbol. The minaret, built in a traditional Almohad style and topped with four copper globes is visible from near and far as local ordinance forbids any other building in the Medina to be higher than a palm tree, it towers majestically over its surroundings. Listen out for the regular call to prayer, which can be heard for miles around and use the tower as a ‘compass’ and focal point when scurrying through the mystical Medina maze.

Stay for a night or two in a traditional Riad within the Medina walls; with their open courtyards rising through the centre, mosaic walls, carved archways, plunge pools and roof-top restaurants; a truly special and authentic experience not to be missed. For more of a luxury holiday why not stay at La Mamounia with its art-deco splendour; the choice hotel of the rich and famous or just outside of the city wall in the trendy garden suburb, Hivernage, is the Es Saadi Gardens & Resort for a quieter, sanctuary spa. 

The sun is always shining in Marrakech and from March to October it’s pretty difficult to avoid. There are lots of fabulous places to relax & unwind and watch the world go by. There’s so much to see & do with the famous gardens, tombs & palaces, so many more places to explore and so much more to write about…you’ll wonder why you didn’t stay for longer.

Vietnam - A Destination In the Spotlight

A destination that is growing in popularity is Vietnam, mainly because of what the country has to offer. From the Vibrant Colonial Cities to some of the most wonderful beaches in Asia. Recently Vietnam airlines started offering direct flights from London Gatwick to both Hanoi and Saigon making travelling there much easier. Due to the size of the country and in order to see as much as possible many people opt to do a Vietnam Tour spending a few days in each place. It is however easy to get from place to place with various daily flights so a Vietnam Multi Centre Holiday is also a great option to explore the country at your own pace.

Northern Vietnam where you will find the capital city of Hanoi, the pace of life is a lot slower compared to the hustle and bustle of many other cities in Asia. You can spend your day wandering the Colonial streets and visit the Old Quarter which houses many merchant shops such a Jewellers, silk traders, shoe shops, tailors etc. You can also experience the magnificent cuisine from the various restaurants in the area. Hanoi is also home to the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh the former leader of Vietnam, visit this in the morning between 9am and Noon. Around 3 hours from the city take a trip to the magnificent Halong Bay where you can board a private junk boat and take a day cruise or even spend a couple of days cruising amongst the thousands of limestone islands. Northern Vietnam can be quite cool between December and February with the rest of the year being great weather.
From Hanoi you can fly down to Central Vietnam where there are some stunning beach resorts. The most popular being Hoi An which is a large resort there, very popular for all travellers whether you want to stay in a small b&b or a luxury 5 star resort. The old town of Hoi An is a UNESCO heritage site and is a very popular place to visit either In the day or of an evening to enjoy the local cuisine and culture. You can also visit the coastal resorts of Danag and Hue. Hue is the old imperial capital which has many historical attractions from the Tomb of the Emperors and the Imperial Citadel.

If you are looking for something more fast paced visit Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) from here you can take a river cruise down the Mekong Delta and visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels, a network of tunnels where the Viet Cong Guerillas lived during combat for months on end. If you are brave enough you can go down into the tunnels to get a true feel of what it was like to stay there. Ho Chi Minh City is the perfect place to learn about the compelling military history of Vietnam, take a visit to the War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace and the Ho Chi Minh Museum. Southern Vietnam is also home to some wonderful beach resorts. You can take a short flight from Saigon or take drive which takes a few hours. One of the most popular beach resorts is Nha Trang, an old fishing village with some fantastic beach front hotels suitable for all and an ideal retreat from the Cities. The best time to travel to the South would be between November and April.