This blog is dedicated to my good friend and college room-mate PT Lam who turned 40 today. Her list of achievements are legendary. (1) Beating Paul at skulling beer (2) Beating Tseung at golf (3) Having the smelliest feet on the planet. Mmm, anyone for salt and vinegar chips? (4) Having the most seductive smile that had all the guys running. Many have tried to imitate it and failed miserably. My woeful attempt is below. Here's to PT, a toast (and roast) to you all the way from Marrakech Morocco. Nothing prepares you for the sights, sounds and smells (phew) of [View Full Entry]

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This blog is dedicated to my good friend and workmate Terry Cronan who retired today from the NAB. Best wishes TC, you lucky bugger, and I will catch with you for a round of golf when I return to Sydney. Straight off the High Atlas Mountains and onto Essaouira (pronounced "Essawira") on the coast. Spent my time going from the outdoor seafood grills (the sardines were by far the best I have ever tasted), to the beach, to the shopping alleys, and finally to the bars and cafes. Pigged out on scrummy crepes, pastries and ice-cream. Fantastic town to chill out [View Full Entry]

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When someone says that the highest mountain in North Africa is literally on your doorstep but it's not on the itinerary as it's a really hard trek, what is one to do but take up the challenge? With 3 other intrepid souls, and dubbing ourselves "Team Extreme", we set off to scale Mount Toubkhal which reaches 4167 metres. First day we set off late in the afternoon after a tortuous 5 hour bus journey to Imlil. Got to our camp after 4.5 hours (last half hour in the dark as the sun had already gone behind the mountains). Went up around [View Full Entry]

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It was time to get away from the noisy medinas and head into the countryside to experience the real Morocco. Next few days were spent driving through some spectacular scenery in the Middle Atlas mountains. First stop was Midelt with a lovely auberge and refreshing spring water pool. Took a wander through the nearby village and chatted with some local women. Next stop was Todra Gorge. It's an amazingly lush valley with kasbahs surrounded by various crops such as pomegranates, peaches, apples, maize, alfafa, beans, cabbage, etc. Along the walk, we gorged on fresh figs straight off the tr [View Full Entry]

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Next stop was Fes. I was really looking forward to experiencing Fes el Bali (Old Fes) which is still a residential and working neighbourhood comprising a labyrinth of over 9400 narrow and twisting lanes and alleyways. You can still imagine what it was like back in the Middle Ages. It's so easy to get disoriented and lost; it really helped to have a guide. Have to pay attention too or you'll get squashed by a rampaging and heavily laden mule. When you hear "Balak, Balak" or "Attention", you have to quickly hug the nearest wall. There are separate areas for the [View Full Entry]

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In my haste to get off the last blog, I forgot to add some photos of Volubilis (best preserved Roman ruins in Morocco), and Moulay Idriss (the founder of Islam in Morocco; and the country's most important pilgrimage site, after Mecca). So here they are. We travelled there by grand taxi, which is an old Merc sedan with 2 people plus driver in the front, and 4 people in the back. They don't go until they are full or unless you pay for the whole taxi. So you could be waiting ages. This is the only means of transport in Morocco [View Full Entry]

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After a long travel day from Algeciras Spain (2.5 hrs ferry and 6 hrs train) I finally arrived in Casablanca. They still play the Bogart movie in the old cinemas. Since arriving in Morocco, I've tried to eject the Spanish language tape that has been endlessly playing in my head, and pull out my very rusty French. Quelle horreur! My cousin said I would be better off travelling with a guy in this country or I would be hassled everywhere. No volunteers, so I instead booked a 15 day tour with Imaginative Traveller. Surprisingly I have not been hassled much at [View Full Entry]

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Left South America behind (boo hoo!!) and flew to Barcelona Spain. Temperature has gone up a degree for every hour I've travelled from Argentina with temps of 35++ degrees. Steaming! The last time I was in Spain was 22 years ago, which really shows my age. What I didn´t expect was that every 2nd person I would meet would be Australian and that everyone is here to party, get drunk, lie on the beach, and maybe hit a tourist site after they´ve dragged themselves out of bed in the afternoon. Thought I was beyond the pub crawl and clubbing scene, but [View Full Entry]

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After travelling about 9 hours including 2 bus rides and the requisite border crossing into Argentina (very smooth), we finally arrived in Tilcara totally knackered and starving. Can´t think of too many countries where you can show up at 11.30pm and get a full meal with no hassles. Found this quaint (ie. tiny) family-run hotel situated next to a fabulous restaurant called "Pucara". Basically stuffed ourselves stupid over the next 2 nights, and then rolled into bed afterwards. I have got to bore everyone with what I ate there - llama carpaccio with a delicious sun-dried tomato and olive oil [View Full Entry]

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Bolivia is a country of unsurpassed beauty, and such a visual feast for scenery buffs. This place has so much going for it from the jungle, pampas, lush cloud-forest, beautiful lakes, huge salt pans, snow-capped peaks, and red rock canyons. It was really easy to organise a tour from Uyuni to Tupiza on the morning of departure. Being 4 of us everyone wanted our business so they could fill their jeeps. Much of a muchness in terms of price and itinerary, so picked an agency (Empreza) that seemed to have a half-decent ranking according to the tourism info feedback. There were [View Full Entry]

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