Wake up early for Sahara desert. Actually, the girls woke us up. Apparently, they forget that their mobile phone time is an hour behind Marrakesh. Hence, they woke up and got all excited an hour earlier than expected. Wow.
Badir came to fetch us. Set off for the mountains, and passed through Mount Atlas and the ridges. Seriously, the view is just unspeakable. Check out my Facebook album if you want a look. And the most embarrassing thing was when I went to pee in the dry terrain. Weihan was sick enough in the brain to take a picture of me pissing. WTF
Terrain was initially full of trees and greenery, but it slowly changed into dry, and inhabitable landscape. Everywhere was the unmistakable yellow, and greenery are just bits and patches, here and there. It’s hard to believe there’s people surviving in this sort of environment, and for thousands of years no less. Gorges are simply gorgeous, if you don’t mind the pun. It’s amazing to see how the river cuts up the different layers of rock, only to dry up and leave its scars in the earth. Kinda make me grateful for taking geography for GCE ‘O’ levels.
We arrived at a town, where Badir dropped us for lunch at a restaurant, and we had a couple of minutes to spare for a visit to a castle in the town. In fact, I do not even classify it as a castle, it’s just a big big empty house. Empty and nothing much to see. The most significant benefit that we’ve gotten out of it is probably getting out of the sun into the cool shade.
Reached Zagora at approximately 6 pm. And we stopped right outside a herd of camels. Ha. Kinda cute. They gave us sashes to use as Arabian turbans. And we were split up into 2 groups. This kick-starts the camel riding for 2 hours to reach campsite. Along the way, kids simply ran up to us asking for money. There was a kid who passed a straw camel to one of us, then ask for something in return. They are even willing to negotiate for a return gift the next day. It’s saddening to see how kids are begging for money. I think it boils down more to greed, when foreigners come into the country to tour and act like they are super rich, throwing coins and such to these kids and hence giving them the wrong impression that outsiders = money. Haiz, is this poverty?
Arrival at the campsite includes a walk through the sand dunes. I must say, they are so soft they gave me a scare. The nomads began our stay with a little chat and mint tea of course. Taught us some Arabic dialect, which was kinda fun. At least for me. Dinner was a super big pot of chicken tagine, and bread too. The most significant event should be the darkening of the sky, when we could finally see the stars. There are so many, we didn’t bother counting them. Cool to look at, dreamy to marvel in. But the night was largely spoilt by moon-rising, where it’s brightness dimmed the surrounding starshine. It’s kinda late though, I’ve never experience such a late moon-rise before. And the most surprising thing was how yellow it is initially, then slowly turned whitish as it rises.
After dinner, the nomads gathered around for some sing-along entertainment, and invited us. Eventually, none of us were really interested, with exception of some Australian ang mohs also staying at the campsite.
The tents are essentially canvas built, but warm enough for us, me at least even though I was in a t-shirt and Bermudas. And they had beds for us, which was kinda surprising. Well, perhaps we had expected less in the desert. And we were told that sunrise is at 5.20, which most of us woke up for. And I must say, this sunrise is different from the others. I mean, it’s different from the sunrise I saw along Straits of Malacca while on a cruise some time ago. Again, it’s a sensation that lasts in your memories, not in words.
Breakfast started in the midst of a sandstorm. And it’s a mild one, supposedly. We had lamb’s milk, tea, crepes and bread for breakfast. But the most memorable was the camel ride through the sandstorm. Everyone made full use of the turban given, and it sure was quite useful, except for the fact that our back was facing the storm. Hence, it wasn’t too unbearable for us.
The camel rides ended with some ushering into a carpet shop, and everyone was wondering what to do. Everyone was discussing strategies in Mandarin, and it all sounded pretty cute. Ha. In the end, Tristan’s brilliant idea of hot and damp climate in Singapore and Malaysia, a weather not suitable for carpets, saved us all. The coach ride back in Badir’s vehicle was essentially a insomnia cure, everyone slept. Hee.
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