They're taking me to Marrakesh...

Traveling the train through clear Moroccan skies... all board the train.
Well it sounds good but for me it was a day after a heavy rain storm, traveling in damp clothes and waiting for the waters to recede so the train can leave from Fez. After an 11 hour train ride, "discussing" religion and western ways with a passenager in the seat next to me for over an hour, we arrived in Kech, exhaust, hungry and needing to pee badly. After getting into a taxi and finding our hotel in the maze within the medina, it was time to get some food. Marrakech is unlike any place in Morocco that I have seen so far, it is a little Rabat, mix in some Fez and throw in lots of tourists... and of course snake charmers, men with monkeys, street eurchins...Bzzef and the smell of urine everywhere.

We stayed in the Place Jemaa El Fina near the mosque, it was packed from the minute we got up until the evening, coming home one night around 2 was the only time I was able to get through without a "fight".

This week was the Marrakech International Film Festival and between see Kneanu Reeves introduce Speed... yeah thats right I said Speed...Whooh!! (Did that for you Steve... had to be there for his speech... speech I give better speeches in Arabic) my friend Jeff yells out during it "San Dimas High School Football Rules... maybe we should youtube the video. A few of us also got passes into the festival to catch some movies. I saw the first showing of Animal Kingdom... a good yet very dark and depressing movie... well at least John Malkovich was in the threater and he liked it... of course he would he is Malkovich, goddamit!

Found a nice hooka bar and sat back with a few friends and smoked some hooka... it was just something you have to do if you are in Marrakech. The room was filledwith men smoking water pipes and playing cards.

I would travel to Kech often if possible but the train ride is much too long an it cost more than a PCV can offer more than once a year. But the vibe is cool, the city is clean and it is Marrakech.