Bonus episode: Live Q&A, Nov. 15: Staying Safe While Traveling in Morocco

All right.

We wanted to focus this one today, this month's Life Q&A, on safety and security. It's a common question. People want to know, of course, what to expect, and is there anything different about Morocco maybe, in particular, and just how to prepare, especially if it's a new destination, if people never been there and also really if you're not used to kind of being in the sooks and the busy markets in the narrow laneways and they're common to a lot of different countries and we were there. It certainly reminded me of places like India and so on, but it's very distinct for sure in Morocco, I said how do you stay safe? Because you want to enjoy it at the end of the day, that's the point. You're there to have fun and explore and just kind of get caught up in that energy, but be safe as well. So that's what we'll focus on for most of today and see if any other questions of course come into on any other topics. We open anything.

Definitely Morocco, for me, is really safe. My perspective is different than Sam, so I definitely want to hear what Sam has to say, but for me you know sometime we were there for 50 days and I remember a lot of interviews that we did in the podcast, especially with women solo travelers they're always concerned about safety. So safety is a major, major concern for travelers going to Morocco and they all kind of surprised how safe Morocco was for them. And for me it's pretty safe because the way that I see it from a traveler's point of view versus a local is totally different. This time, because of those questions that I was asked, I was looking specifically into safety when I was in Morocco and one thing that really caught my eye is the presence of we call police or Lijon Da'am. It's a different category of police in Morocco. So within less, you know, just a few hundred yards from each other, there's always police presence, always police vehicles. It's different than the US. As compared to the US, it's different. They just stationed. You know they have like spots where they at. This is number one. These are the ones that you see wearing the uniform. Then there are police officers and security within the government that we do not see wearing uniforms. They're just dressed up like you and me, and we've seen this and some members very vividly, very well, in Marrakesh, in Fass, in McKinnells, in a lot of the cities, because we were filming. People will show up and different entities from the government will come to you, will flood you because they want to know what you're doing. You know we have our equipment, even though some tourists have better equipment than we did and they were filming, but nobody bothered them. But for us they came straight to us. This is what we witnessed in Marrakesh, because it's a major tourist city, and also in Fass, when we were doing the visit for the food class. We were in the market and obviously we had a camera gear. We had. It was me, then the lady who was doing the conducting the class. Then somebody tapped in my shoulder, just very quickly. He's like hey, do you have permit, yes or no? And we just kept moving. This happens in less than 15 seconds and I said no, I said okay, thank you. He kept moving, but he did not stop us from filming. So in terms of safety, in terms of security, morocco is very safe, compared to the US. We don't have drunk drivers, or at least not as many, no guns. But for me I felt very safe, for me and my family as well. So this is my perspective as a trouble of Morocco. But also I want to hear as a local what Sam has to say, and he knows a little bit more obviously because he lives there.

So, sam, yeah, sure, sure. So about safety in Morocco compared to the other countries in North Africa, for example the neighbors, morocco is very safe. So travelers can just travel alone sort of travelers couples, families, family with smart kids they can travel safely, they can stroll through the markets, the soaps, as you talked about markets and vests, because there is in every city. There is a tourist policy, tourist policy in Morocco, as they called it. So we find them everywhere, without uniform, by the way, and sometimes they ride in motorcycles and sometimes they just walk in. So we find them in the soaps. You find, for example, if we talk about Marrakech, on the Chamathna Square, the Melek Jewish Quarter, close to the historical monuments of Bahia Paras, and first, for example, when you go to Badham, yosia and more you know, go to the terrorists, for example, you find them everywhere, walking just to keep the tourists safe. Yeah, as I said, morocco is safe. When you travel, for example, I can say to all Africa I can say Morocco is very safe because it's a kingdom, so the king is leading everybody here. So the safety of tourists is the safety of Moroccan citizens as well, and the safety of the king's family as well, so it's like a combine of all. So this is why it's very secure than the 100%. Yeah, there is no distinction between rules and big cities, so it's safe. You can travel to the mountains, for example. You can, as I said, visit Marrakech, visit Sawera, kazabwanca, anywhere you want to visit in Morocco. You will feel safe.

For the tourist police, for example? Like so they're not in any kind of uniform. Are they people that, as a tourist, we can seek out and ask for help or assistance if we need it?

Yeah, there is a number. The number is 19. So, just when a major, for example, when you have like, as an example, when you are working through the soaps, through the markets, and you have an issue with the shop, the guys working in the shop or something within 10 minutes they appeared somewhere. I don't know where they were before, but they will appear suddenly to solve your problem. Sometimes you don't need even to call them to come, but if you want to call them, just use 19 to call the police and they will get. Especially if it's related to the tourists, to the tourism in Morocco, they will come immediately. This is the most important.

Do the police ever get aggressive, though, with tourists maybe, or just people in general? Like when you guys were there filming, were there ever moments when they were kind of aggressive and saying you really shouldn't be doing this type of thing, or were they kind of, you know, at least polite about it, more calm?

Well, in Marrakech they were very polite because when we stopped, our first stop was the Jewish Corridor and obviously there's a brigade, there's a sprinter for police, and we talked to them and said, hey, this is what we're going to do, this is what we're here for, and so forth. We explained to them what we're doing and they said we appreciate it, but we still have to report you to everybody else because they'll get in trouble. So what they did is they announced in the radio that there's somebody filming and this is the purpose of the film that they are trying to make. So you know, like Sam said, within two to five minutes, different agencies, government agencies stopped by. They were kind enough. They just asked us for if we have an authorization, which we actually did, but the journalist actually was, you know, doing Friday prayers. So it took them some time to come back to us. But in the meantime, between the wait time, they were very friendly. They were very nice to us. We were laughing, having a good time taking pictures, but that was it. This was in Marrakech. And then, when we went to MacNess, because we had a local guide and we had, you know, literally everything that we needed, they did not bother us. They did not speak to us, they just watched from a distance like three meters and they were listening, obviously, to the conversation with us and the guide and him explaining everything to us, but they just left us alone. They didn't say anything. Then in fast, it was very discreet, the gentleman, just you know, he just passed by me and he said do you have or you don't? I said I don't, he said okay and he just kept moving.

Hmm, yeah, I think it was real too. Like I was thinking that, like is it possible someone could fake being a police for whatever reason, but like can you verify that they're legitimate?

Yes, you can verify the legitimate, but that's something you do not want to fake for sure, because the consequences of it you know we. It would be gone for a long time.

Yeah, yeah. Well, at least the tourists can take pictures. I mean, I never even thought about that when we were there. Of course, take pictures. You're walking around and I would be concerned, if anything sure, about just my camera. I wasn't holding it around as too obvious. We can get into that a bit just kind of the day to day thing. You're walking through the squares and especially maybe some of those narrow places, and there's lots of people, they're all buzzing around and lots of noise and all that stuff Like how safe, what precautions do you need? And just kind of keeping your wits about you, what kind of practical tips do you recommend just to be able to kind of function in that environment?

Yeah, Is it safe to go out at night in Morocco? Right yeah, it's safe in most parts of Morocco, but we advise highly to, especially in the big cities like Marrakech and Fes, kazablanca, tangier, rabat. It's better to go if you don't have what you do outside, for example, if you are not in a restaurant. It's better to get like by 10 pm to go to your accommodation, to your hotel, like that you are very safe. For example, it's safe, but to avoid some I don't know some unwanted gestures from some kids or something like that, because they just you hear some bad words or something like that from boys in the streets and some stuff. It's very better to come back before midnight and it's better by 10 pm when you finish, just for example, when you are in Marrakech and you are working on the square. So it's better to come like 10pm. You come back to your accommodation. When you are in a restaurant, it's okay, so you can stay at midnight because your driver will bring you back. For example, or if you are with a tour reader, you are safe, but you are on your driver, for example, it's very difficult to come back. It will bring you to the nearest point for your rigad. We're not talking about the old Medina to the nearest point to your rigad, then it's safe to walk through Through the small alleys. If you are in your hotel outside the Medina, it will bring you to the front gate of the hotel.

And again, this is the benefit of booking something with us. You know it's the safety, it's the security, it's the peace of mind. It's really an investment, if you look at it, more than anything else, Because you don't have to worry about none of that. And I remember when we went to Morocco. Casablanca has some spots that are better than others. It's the biggest city and we did a little bit of walking at night time and it was very safe. It was a bunch of us and going in a group helps, absolutely helps, makes a big difference. But even if I walk by myself, I'll still be a little bit concerned Going the same route that we did as a group, Because it was somewhat past 10 pm and I think we came back to the hotel around midnight. So safety is always going to be concerned, but just be aware of your surroundings. If something does not match, something does not add up. You just need to be really, really aware and have the emergency contacts ready or have the police number ready to call or anything for help. So just to get something that comes up.

That's a good question. So I was wondering this if you're in Morocco and let's say you have a cell phone, but is it worth, or is it even possible, to get a SIM card so that you can make an emergency call? Because there's a fair bit of Wi-Fi, but you can't expect it to be out in the middle of the street or something. So if you need to make a call, what should you do? That's a really good question.

Personally, I definitely want to know what Sam has to say, but personally I will highlight the local SIM card. The reason is because it gives you the opportunity to make regular phone calls versus WhatsApp phone calls. The reason is because in the US it's different. You make a WhatsApp call or a regular call. It's the same. You don't know the difference. But in Morocco, regular calls you can only make with a Moroccan local SIM card. And this package is when you go to Morocco and you get a SIM card, they, you know, you get a package that has internet and that has local calls than international calls. I mean, it costs maybe $10 or so for a week. You may want to just ask if you have a tour leader and they'll tell you what the best plan for you at that moment, because it changes from carrier to carrier. So that's what I would recommend, because you'll be able to call locally either your driver, your tour leader and all kind of stuff there, because a lot of those guys sometimes they don't have, they don't have internet. So you call them on WhatsApp. They can answer you because they have no internet connection or Wi-Fi connection. So I highly recommend getting the SIM card and when you do get a SIM card in Morocco, again, just because I have a US phone number, I still have my WhatsApp US phone number active as well. So that's what I definitely would recommend, sam.

Yeah, that's right. We have three operators, telecom operators in Morocco. So it's better, if your phone supports, to SIM cards, so you can keep your SIM and add another SIM. Same thing for eSIM. We have eSIM in Morocco as well. You can add an eSIM, buy it and it just takes like five minutes to configure it and you will have internet so you can charge the internet. You can charge like 100 TIRHOMS, which is like $10. And it gives you like 10 gigabytes of internet. So, which is good, and you have both phone calls and internet. You can mix for, yeah, you can have like 10 gigabytes and you have like five hours of calling available for like 15 days. So when you finish it, you can add another one. So it's better to do like that. As I've been saying, you can't many people. When you call on WhatsApp they will not answer you, but if you have like call them, you have an emergency you want to call, you want to call your family, you have like your embassy or consulate, you have to have like calls on your phone.

Yeah, I guess it comes down to the type of phone you have. You know cell phone, smartphone, and I don't know about the very latest technologies, but hopefully people can get either physical SIM or an e-SIM If you can't is it feasible to buy a temporary mobile phone while you're there, sure.

Yes, you can have mobile anyway, is it?

expensive. For those it's not expensive.

The mobile smartphone starting from $80 or $50.

Yeah.

For example, if you want to use it for your tour, it's better to buy like one for $80. And you will have a SIM card with it. You can use it. When you finish, you can just put it on the trash and continue your play back home. Yes, yeah, we have like phones everywhere. We have phone shops everywhere you go in Morocco, even in the villages sometimes. For example, when we go to Tliwet, for example, when we go to Eid al-Bahaddu, when we go towards Azad, to Todra, shifshawen, everywhere you find phone shops where you can buy a phone with the SIM card as well.

What's reception like if you're out in the countryside, if you're hiking, if you're in a small village? Do you still get a lot of cellular reception, mobile phones?

Not for all operators, but with the main operator, which is called Marok Telekom. You have network everywhere you go, in Morocco, even in the mountains. But, for example, for the other two operators in we, for example, or orange no, in some places it's they are uncovered by the, by the network of the yeah internet and calls as well well, it's good to cover that, because Safety, a lot of it, does come back to being able to, you know, keep in touch with people, and I can just imagine that.

Say, you're in Fez and you've done a city tour, you've had the local guide and now you have some free time, it's the afternoon and you're wandering around. This is really what the essence of what we're talking about is you know, if you are in, if you're stuck, if you're lost or, yeah, if you get in a sticky situation, how are you gonna get out of it? Who can you talk to? Who can you trust? How can you contact your tour leader, or maybe the read for sure, to obviously get out of it? So we've talked about cell phones, mobile phones. If you really need to find someone to get you help. I mean, how do you identify then, I guess, police or anyone else and know that you can trust them, that they'll maybe Get you out of? Like you're with some tout who's dragged you off to some tour that you didn't want to go on right and you just Want to like go away. You want to get out of that situation. How can you find someone to help you get out of that?

That's a really good question. You know, we've seen those cases many, many times. The best way, or one of the ways to handle it when you, when you have your, if you're traveling by yourself, this is that you definitely need to do this. If you're traveling with us, then we, everything, will take care of you. You don't worry about anything. So, from A to Z, so when you're staying out of yard, you always want to communicate with the manager, the owner, whoever is in. You know at least two people, somebody that works the day shift and the night shift, just in case, if you're out and about and something happens, you want to call them, communicate to them, because they speak the language and they can get you help. What comes towards. The second thing that I would do is what Sam has talked about earlier the tourism police, because Morocco was as a country, as a kingdom, they take tourism extremely serious. You know, just like, like he said, they were leaning to tourists in terms of equipment, in terms of cameras and gear, but they had better equipment than us. Everything is bigger, but they did not bother to ask or interfere, but within five minutes they they showed up For us. So they take tourism extremely serious and tourists, to protect them at all costs a hundred percent. So you always want to let somebody else know. What do you? You know, today you don't, for example, fast. You need to let them know hey, I mean fast and also what we do. Basically, when you travel with us, we have your emergency contact back in the US. Let's say, you're texting your family every day and one day they did not hear from you. Then we will hear from your family. You see what I'm saying, which is really, really important step to do. So always have somebody to check with you on a daily basics from the US, whatever you're traveling from, then you're reality. If you're staying, or a hotel, because of Lanka, marrakech, anywhere You're staying, you want to communicate to them. Hey, today I'm going, for example, to a shore which is in the outskirts of Shevchev, which is a beautiful to waterfall site, the reef mountains, it's gorgeous. But then you know things can happen. You know it's, it's very rocky, you can fall, you can get hurt and if they don't hear from you, then it's, it's a major, major concern. So these are the two points that I wanted to really make clear that everybody understands and hopefully they can follow. But at the same time, I'm gonna hear what Sam has to say in terms of the same question, but also a Point of view of a local In Marrakech and beating the tourism industry for almost two decades.

Sam that's right. Thank you for the good question. So I talk a little bit about my experience. I was a guy in, in, in in Marrakech in the market so far for a while. So what's happened? For example, if these are new measures, so if you don't have a phone to call the police, there is people. Just ask someone, call the police. He will call the police for you. Make sure the Moroccans will do that for you, even to case you don't have phone, we don't have a calls just ask anyone there when an emergency happened, please call the police, he will call the police immediately. Man, woman, anybody has a phone. We will call the police immediately to come. And when you mention to the police that there is a terrorist Injured or something happened, all the authorities in, not only the police, all the authorities came immediately to the site to see what's happened, what's going on. Yeah, also, I was a driver in Morocco for like six years, so I and the whole cities in Morocco. It's same thing. And many cases happened when there is like a conflict between, as I mentioned before, between, for example, a taxi driver, for example, somebody with the tourists, you can call the police, or just even sometimes you don't, you don't just ask somebody to call the police. He will call the police for you. This is, yeah, what make it easy for you and met its very safe for for tourists in Morocco.

It's amazing, yeah good, yeah, let's talk a bit about some precautions. Then, if you're wandering around, you're going through the square and the in the sooks, like I Remember it. I you know, I don't want to make it obvious that I have a fancy phone or anything else like that, but just stuff like that, do you? How do you recommend just kind of navigating through that scene and not drawing attention to yourself? Maybe it's the best way to put it.

That's a really good question, ted, because this is something we don't think about in our own countries. Then, when we go to Morocco, just the simple things can cost you your phone. It's very common for thieves to snatch your phone from your hands. You just taken picture, taking a selfie. They pass by you, you know, on a motorcycle. They just Grab it from your hand and they keep moving and they're gonna stop. For those things it's more than, sometimes more than one person involved, so they may trick you or ask you something and you get kind of busy with something else and then boom, your cell phone is gone. Cell phones are one of the most common things that gets stolen, sometimes even for the locals, for Sam, for you know, friends and family.

When you are in Marrakech, there is some places the the, the thieves, the pickpockets make this crowded, especially to pick the bags and especially small handbags and phones from, from from the others, even from your wallet. So what I highly recommend when you are working in a crowded alleys, especially in the old Medina's, it's better to stop, to stop. Don't go through the crowded areas. Just stop and take a while, for example, five minutes, even ten minutes, until the road is safe. The street is safe, then you can continue. If you get in inside, to grow the area. Make sure that they will take something from you if you're wallet, your bag, your, your phone, I don't know, I don't know what, but make sure to avoid this, because they created this as, as they say, the diffs create this crowd. Yeah, in some places there is like a place and they are like Three, five or six, even six. They want just push, push his friend and he said oh sorry, sorry, sorry for this, and the other one comes. Oh no, no, you may push him and just trying to create a crowded audience like this, just to make problems. So people didn't pay attention and they go, they keep walking and the others just keep in. Just week, pickpockets and the diffs exists in the world, not in Morocco.

Wait, wait.

You're traveling where you will find them everywhere you go. So just to be careful if you have Back back, just put it in front of you if you have your phones, put it inside everything you have. And I highly recommend, if you have your passport and you will not you will stay in the same city for three days Keep it in your safe in the, in your, in your yard, on your accommodations. If you don't have a safe in your room, just give it to the reception and they will keep it you until the day you will go. Same for the jewellery is fine, same for the money. Take to cash you want to spend for that evening and keep the rest of the money in your rear.

Yeah, I Remember a really distinct difference when we had a guide versus not having a guide, and whether it was our tour leader, who was dressed, or local guide who was giving us to a right of the city, fez, america, sure ever, especially the busier places. But like you really really notice when you're walking through the Medina in Fez and is narrow and, yeah, in twisty and so on, is kind of dark, it was during the day but you know it's like for one thing, it's easy to get lost. But you can see Other people, the shopkeepers and just people you know kind of watching and they see where, with a guide and she's leading us through and like telling us where to go. There's me and my wife with two young kids and I don't know what they would have done Otherwise, but I mean they could see us coming through. We had a guide and they backed off. They didn't try any funny stuff and they gave us space because she we knew I don't know there might have been a couple moments when people maybe didn't notice her tried to tell, and they're not aggressive, they're just very direct like sir, come with me, I want to show you something, come see my shop. You know she was stepped right in. No, they're with me. You know, say something and you carry on. So I can't underestimate, you can't like Exaggerate the importance of safety, of having a guide who knows what they're doing and projects that authority.

I completely agree that Really really good point. You know this time, you know summertime, when we traveled, we were in a group. So there's, we were 10 people throughout Morocco. And Last time when I did, you know, four years ago, it was by myself and I did fast and and I remember the exact same experience. When they see the, the, the local guide with me, nobody costs me, nobody bothers me, nobody say, hey, come to my shop or this, because they see the tour guide, the local guide, and they know him, so they just back off. So we cannot stress enough the importance of local guides. It's a protection. He makes the experience even better because you didn't join yourself with your, you know family and friends and nobody bothers you. Versus, you know, every two mirrors or three mirrors, somebody's gonna say something to you, some, some, but it's gonna, you know, touch in your hand and pull you to their shop and then, hey, you know One dollar, one dollar, two dollar, and you know it, just it's. It changes the experience completely yeah, here's an interesting question.

Someone says is there any particular clothing we should consider Wearing while we're there, and not just for comfort but for safety? It reminds me like when, when we were in India many years ago and we try to not stand out as white westerners basically walking down the street. Should you have the same attitude, though, in Morocco? What for a jala bar, something like that, that was more local, with that would you fit in more, or that be seen as kind of, I don't know, disrespectful or okay, trying to co-op the local culture. You know how would you?

go about answer that. But I also want to hear what Sam has to say, because, um, when you wear a local dress or a local jala bar, or first of all, we we've had people wear them and they're bottom in Morocco, they all in Morocco, they love them, and this is one of the best ways to basically to fit in, to blend in with with the crowd, with the people, because Nobody pays attention when they see they see the whole you, from top to bottom. They see the jala, but they see the local, you know, outfit. They cannot tell whether you're local or not local. So they, you know, subconsciously, they'll just leave you alone just for that, and I highly recommend it because a lot of those they're. You know, if it's summertime, there's a lot of trendy stuff that you can get. If it's the winter time, the same thing. But the jala bar is it's really, really important to to have it. In my personal experience, especially in the winter time, I remember back in 98 when I went, and I went in February and it was very cold. Obviously we have, you know, western clothes. I had layers and layers of clothes, but they could not do what the jala bar did for me. It's your warm, you know, from Shoulders to your feet and it's really comfortable. And then you have the hood, the hoodie, whenever you call it in this time I need it. I mean I'm missing a lot of hair, so it's very useful for me. You know, I'm going back in January, so definitely when I wear jala bansha, god willing. So that's for me, as you know, a local or a traveler that went back to Morocco, I would highly recommend the local clothes. So, but also when I hear what Sam has to say in terms of a local perspective, when you know a local person sees somebody Western or a traveler or tourist wearing them the Moroccan clothes For me, I feel very proud. But I want to hear what Sam has to say.

Yeah, by the way, just many people that maybe don't know about Morocco. Morocco is a modern country. It's not like, for example, the other countries in the Middle East where you have to wear the scarf from the airport to get out To see the country. Morocco is unlike the other countries, so it's very open Because of the interaction with the Western culture. You can dress as you, as you want, as you like, by the way, so no one will notice you. But, as I said, just for for respect, there's a local culture and traditions of the country. It's very. Don't wear like short clothes when you are visiting the high Atlas Mountains, where there is, for example, the Berbers especially they are conservative people it's very to wear like casual clothes that you have in the modern cities. When you come during summertime in Morocco, you will see that you can't distinguish between tourists and Moroccans as well. They wear like same thing as we still, so you will not notice where is the Moroccan and where is the tourist. But it's a fear to avoid all these kind of words between brackets, people that say, especially the kids in the streets, saying this and this and this it's very to wear. There is other Moroccan dress besides Jillabah there is for women. There is like a dress. It's not kaftan, but it looks like kaftan, so you can wear it like this. It's very good. It's called gandora in Moroccan slang language. So, yeah, gandora for women and the Jillabah, for example. There is two kinds of Jillabah One for winter time and one for for, for, like, summertime or even for spring. We have like what's called. It's not a Jillabah, it's foqia, what is called foqia? Yeah, so you can wear it during spring or autumn, between yeah, it's not so when it's not cold, it's not, it's not, it's not hot yeah.

Yeah, cool when it comes to clothes, the Moroccan fashion, Moroccan clothes are extremely diverse and getting more and more popular, especially in Europe and in the US. The US has not caught up yet, but I mean, you've seen opera wear, you've seen Hillary Clinton, you've seen a lot of celebrities. It's really really popular and very comfortable, as well and expensive.

I'm sure your guide will tell you a good place to go to find it.

Oh for sure yes, and, by the way, by the way, just to the Jillabah that you got, ted, it's different. You got it from Chef Sherwin. Chef Sherwin is different than the rest of Morocco. They use different styles, different fashion, different everything, Different materials. Yes, the fabric is actually better.

It's more organic.

So yeah, and it's handmade mostly.

Yeah.

This is like the difference it's handmade and the material is the fabric.

Yeah. Yeah, it's very thick, yeah, and all the parts are natural. They're natural.

So it's getting colder and colder here in Canada. I'll be taking it out again soon.

Sure, when it comes, when it comes to engineering, I can bring you like one from Bzoo, in the middle Atlas Mountains. It's called between Benimilal and Marrakech, which scenario called Bzoo, one of the best Jillabahs as well in Morocco, beside the ones of Chef Sherwin, Because there is two. There is Jillabah of Bzoo, which is specifically to the middle Atlas Mountains, and the other one which is for the reef, the north of Morocco, reef mountains, Right so you have a collection.

We should do an episode about that. Yeah, because you know for sure people are interested in fashion and material and stuff like that. It'd be very interesting. But it also shows you some of the cultural differences, the regional differences. Right, you might think Jillabah is. Jillabah and you know, but obviously they're much different north and south and the reasons behind that. So, yeah, that'd be a good episode, oh for sure. Yes, well, maybe you do a few more minutes. I got a couple more questions. Let's just try to envision again. You know, you're there on site, you're in again, fas or Marrakesh, usually the particular places. If someone comes up to you and now I know you might probably with a guide, but let's say that you're out now wandering around in the afternoon, you know, for a couple hours and you want to explore, right, you want to feel some independence and see what you can find, Okay, but someone comes up to you and they're like come with me, come with me, I'm going to show you where the tanneries are. I'm going to take you to this shop. Do you want to buy a rug, et cetera. How do you just tell people know firmly to make sure that they'll leave you alone? Do you have any tricks for that? Because it's going to happen, but you don't have to be intimidated by it, you just need to know what to do. That's a really good question.

Absolutely. You know I'm going to let Sam take this one please, because I we've been here before, but I want to hear Sam first.

Yes, that's right. Yeah, the most common things you have to say, for example, when someone asks, for example, do you need a guide? Especially when you are in the soaps, for example, you have like a local guide in the morning and you won't like to do it on your own in the afternoon. So when someone asks for a guide, no Say, please, thank you very much, I have my guide. Okay, my guide is waiting for me. For example, I have to join my guide, just to say it politely, and he will go. When people come to you, especially kids and the Fugit, which is not local, certified, certified guides when they come to you, they say, okay, I want just to show you a place or show you a tunnel. Don't pay anything, it's just for free, nothing for free don't go over there. Yes nothing for free. Just don't go, because he will take you, for example, show you the road to the tenories, and then he will ask you for money and the problem is you have to give him the money. If you don't give him the money, just start shouting and screaming in front of the people. Now you told me I will give you, even if you say it's free in the beginning, but at the end they will ask you for money. This is the first point. Second thing when you go to, for example, someone asked you do you want to visit shop? For example, the people standing in front of the shops. He said okay, just come for a visit. Okay, if you are interested to go to buy something, just go. But when you are inside, don't ask him to see this and this and this. As I gave you an example, when you go to the rags shop or carpet shop, he maybe asked for like 10 or 20 carpets to show you and the end. You are not intended to buy, you just want to see. He will get mad because he showed you 20 carpets. You waste like an hour of his time and he feels like you are joking, you don't want to buy. So if you don't want to buy, just don't go. It's better to say no, thank you, I already have one, that's it, you're done, okay, okay. Second thing when you go to shops, when people ask you, I just come, I just have like a minty just say thank you, you have a minty and you will buy. If you are interested to buy, just go. You don't want to buy? Say no, I don't buy, I just hang it out and they just I want to have just some time working around, that's it. And you say just shokran in arabic, or say thank you, yeah, or even if you, if you, if you are american or canadian, it's very if you know some few words in french because when you speak french, you will let you go. I'm not interested in you like. I know that french french they will not buy. So just if you speak french they will let you go. If you are american, you say oh, american, canadian, come, come just a bit, just easy, you're bad so I still want to give you more information about this no, because because they know the americans, they buy that.

They know that's the thing um the shops in morocco. They are extremely expert. They know americans buy, they know canadians are very nice and they can stretch your money. So the best way to do it, you know, just like sarah said, I will make eye contact and I firmly said no, shokran. It's very helpful to to know a little bit of words so that way they can leave you alone, because sometimes this happens indirectly. You're asking for directions. Do them as much as you can to know where you're going before you go. That way you don't need to ask for directions, because that asking for directions can cost you money and time for sure, and we've had this happened. We've heard about it many, many, many times. So, uh, just to to clarify a few things on what sam has said. When they take you to to see the tanneries in marocasian, they take you through a route that you're absolutely not familiar with and you're not gonna remember, because the road to those tanneries is like a maze. You cannot figure it out on your own. And then, when they take you in and we talked about this in episode four with the scams they're gonna gang up against you. They're gonna gather against you and it's gonna be you. Maybe the two of you will get six or seven people. So they, you go to the shop, and they're gonna, they're gonna lock it. You know it looks like it's a warehouse more than a shop and then they'll start laying rugs and rugs and rugs for you to choose from. But you're not buying anything and they're not gonna accept that, they're not gonna take it. At some points you're gonna feel scared, intimidated and just get your wallet and grab for your hand the box or whatever. If they let you go at that point with that much money so they may ask you for more. So it's you really, really have to be very careful. So now, when you book with us, I don't want to sell too salesy. Again, this is part of the protection when you have a local guide. Even if you're going by yourself, it is worth the investment to have a local guide with you because nobody's gonna bother you. If you want to shop, just let them know hey, I want to shop. Then they'll take you to to to buy whatever you need to buy, but at the same time with a lot of question marks in the back of your hand. Even that local guy should I trust him? Does he have a hand with those shops? Chances are yes. He has a hand with those shops and he gets a kickback out of it. But you do your work, you know window shop for a little bit, know exactly what you want and if they throw price at you, don't be, don't, don't be afraid, just cut it in half. Or say, hey, I'll cut it. You know, give him 20 percent of what they're asking. They're asking for a thousand dollars. Say, hey, two hundred bucks. Just have a good poker face, you know, because it's just a game. They'll get as much as they can get out of you. So that's, that's, you know, one of the things that I would definitely do. And just have that stare face when somebody comes to you. You're friendly still, but you don't want them to have that look of you can be taking advantage of easily.

So yeah, yeah, you really have to be firm, that's right.

I want to add just two things very important in this side. So I, when you are with a local guide, it take you to the shops. Just to be clear and and honest, we have commissions everywhere in the world. I buy this, you buy a house, you buy this, really, state agent, you will take you to buy a house. It is commission which is common worldwide. It's not only in Morocco and the shops in everywhere. So what is the point of having a local guide with you and we take you to a shop and to buy this stuff. You will get the good price, the best quality. Okay, and if you want to change it the next day? You want to change this rags. You want to buy a rag of like three meters over four and when you check your house with your parents there or with your cousin or something, you want to offer it to someone and they say they're eight five over two. You want to change it for sure. You just call us or text us and they will call local guide to go with you the next day to change it. So it's, it's easy. It's easy like same thing in in first in Marrakech, in everywhere you go in Morocco, you have to have a local guide with you. Like that, you are safe and everything's you buy you get the best, best price and the best quality. Yeah, other things. For example, when you are traveling alone in Morocco, without a tour company, without a travel agency, when you go to the old Medina, you won't ask for riyadh. There is always when the taxi or your driver drop you, we would. People say oh you, are you looking for riyadh? Yes, oh, I wish you were with riyadh, it's just, it's near here. It will take you through the puzzle. The riyadh, for example, is only two minutes. It will take you through a red route. It's like take 20 minutes to get there and we will ask you for money. The point is, you wouldn't ask for your rags for two bucks or more, three bucks. It would ask you for two dollars, thirty dollars. This is the point so to be careful when someone asks you is an no, no, no, sorry, thank you very much. I know my riyadh and I know my accommodation yeah same for the restaurants, five for everything you are looking for especially. This happened in the old Medina in Morocco this is good.

I'm really glad we've touched on this because it kind of gets to the essence of the experience. When you're there, you know you can be in these situations or at least as possible, and I mean the lesson is to be prepared. I remember when we were there that I felt I would have needed a lot more time to feel comfortable and confident to go out and really wander on my own. I would have wanted to do that eventually, just for the sake of exploring. But you have to build up to that point. It takes some time and the being to be guided, really essentially protected at those first, at least a couple days or more. You know it really is really important in so you avoid those sticky situations. And then it's just kind of the, it's the culture change. You know, as westerners I guess North Americans we like the idea. You go into a shop, you browse around, you don't necessarily want to buy something, maybe you want to learn, you just want to know well, what are rugs like or what kind of pottery should I be looking for? It's really hard to do that, going into a shop without someone expecting you're going to be buying something. You know it depends on the situation, I guess. But you just have to know that going in. I think maybe it's a question of finding other ways to kind of learn how to shop or learn what to look for, because if I go into a ruck shop thinking I want to learn about rugs and what to do, they think they have a customer right. I wouldn't necessarily want to buy something today, maybe I don't want to buy here, maybe I want to buy in a few days from now. But if you go in that shop and ask those questions, they're gonna think you're interested. So I'm assuming you can ask your guide, you can ask maybe the real owners for advice or even text you guys. Actually, why not? I mean, what should I look for?

that's why you guys are there. The other thing is you just have to be honest with the shop. I mean, I did fast. I went to one of the shops. I've never seen anything like it in my life. I loved it. I loved it. So the owner gave me a tour. He really educated me when it came to the difference between the prices, the regions where it's like is made and so forth. So it was An educational session for me and you that was not buying. From the moment that I got into his shop and he didn't mind, he created me with tea, with you know, bottle water. So at the end I tip them and he said no and I said look, the guys have been working. It's not fair, this is not for you, but it's for the staff, and he appreciated it and the staff appreciated it as well. So if you're not buying, just maybe doing a little bit of homework and compare and stuff, it's okay. Just say, hey, you know, I'm just looking today. I have some questions. If you can help me answer them, maybe take me 20 minutes and at the end I'll tip you. They'll be more than happy to do that, because they know you're not buying anyways and they know that you're not just gonna waste his time. So at the end he know he's gonna be compensated for his time. That's one of the best ways to do it. It just takes that friction away from the whole transaction, from the whole experience. So he was like, okay, he's gonna keep me, at least I'm making some money.

Yeah, or just even from the beginning, you can just tell him that I don't buy right now but I wouldn't just get some informations. If you are busy, give me some information and they will get back tomorrow, for example, but don't waste his time a lot. Show you like, as I said, beginning between the rags and the end you said I'm sorry, I don't want to buy now. What are you just to check about the quality, the prices, different sizes of the rags, of the stuff you are buying right now? Just want to have an idea. Okay, if he is willing, he will let you, let you enter his shop. If he is not, it's okay. No, just keep going.

That's true. That's great. That's really good advice. I hate that feeling of being in a situation you don't know how you're gonna get out of it. So if you clear the beginning right and you know we'll tip you for this, that's cool, but at least you know you know how you're gonna get out of it. This great, this really good advice brings back a lot of memories. Well, I think we'll leave it there and I see guys, anything else you want to bring up, but course will be back again next month, so next month is gonna be the regular schedule.

The second ones they have the month. I do apologize. It's because of me that we had to postpone last week q&a because I was in London, but then I, at that day, specifically on the eighth, I went to Morocco for a few hours. So my voice right now is is is the side effect of that trip. So it was, it was long, so I'm, I'm I'm I'm glad that I got a chance to see. You know salmon the office team, so it's a lot of fun. Also, what I would like to talk about is we're gonna start doing group tours, small group tours, starting in April twenty twenty four, so people can book. It's gonna be set itinerary. We're gonna have one for north side of Morocco and then we're gonna have one for south side of Morocco, and the groups that we're gonna have between eight to twelve, no more than twelve travelers, and the minimum age for travelers if somebody has a family they want to have with the family, is twelve years old, that they can get into those small group tours. On a private tour it's different, the age is different. I would say ten. I mean last time when we went and I was eight so and he had a really good time. This is number one. Number two I will create in some really good private tours as well and they should be up in the website within next ten days. But if anybody reaches us to us they want to book. Between now and I can look at the date, the twenty seventh of November, everybody gets thirty percent off. That's the black Friday. We're gonna start it from today all the way to November twenty seventh, which is cyber Monday. Thirty percent of all bookings with. It's a private tour or it's a group tour, it's it's gonna be amazing. I mean, normally we don't discount our tours, but this, this, has been a special year for us and we're very grateful for the listeners, for the viewers, for everybody that traveled with us, even for those who are not traveling with us and they've seen or listened to the podcast and they find it really, really helpful. I would go is for you to go to Morocco, but I will go. When you go with us is to give you the best experience there is. You experience more local, better actually, than a local, because if you go into places that local person will not be able to go to. So my point is don't damp that experience for your family. If you're, you know, four of you, six of you have kids, you have teenagers, you have girls it's not worth it. You think you're gonna save money. It's not worth it. With one scam, it costs a lot more than what the two cost you with us. So when you traveling yes, we all have a budget, we'll have expenses, we'll have all that kind of stuff, but when you're traveling and trying to save money, you doing something wrong. Maybe it's just not the right time to travel. Save more Post on that trip, but when you travel, you want to definitely experience Morocco with the meant to be experienced. Morocco is a bucket list country. It's not a country that you go to every now and you know a couple years and, fortunately for us, we've had some amazing guests and we know they've told us this is this is a one time trip, but I want to do it the right way. We have some say, hey, this is my last international trip, but I want to do it the right way so you leave with some Life lasting memories and that's what we're here for. You know, when we build your itinerary, our intention is not to to scary with the price of just Tell me hey, we don't want to help you because of you know we're expensive with this. We're not expensive, we're right in the middle. We are the best value there is in the market. There's nobody that does what we do better. We are the best there is. We are the best kept secret. We take really, really, really good care of.

We have seven days, ten days, twelve days, every fifteen days. We will prepare a tour that will suit your time, your budget as well, and the situation for you come from. We are a couple, so a traveler, family or military, generational family, for example. Everybody is most welcoming Morocco and we will be very glad to show you the country and to experience the country as locals yeah, it's a special experience.

So there's the website destinations moroccocom. And Remember the code thirty percent. I may have missed it now, just if they're booking a tour is there. That's for any, any tour next year.

So they can book now, let's say. Let's say somebody wants to travel in May of twenty four, they can get the discount, they will. They will not travel in twenty twenty five. They still get the discount, they don't have to go with this period, but they just have to book it between today and the twenty seventh and it can be twenty twenty four, it can be twenty twenty five, it can be twenty twenty six.

Okay, good, that makes sense. Great, so we'll be back. Another episode regular episode in a few days and another live Q&A. Let me just double check the date that should be Wednesday 13th of December. Absolutely, we'll be back with another time. Thank you so much, thank you thank you all right, thanks guys everybody.

Thank you very much.