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Sandy in the souks

Marrakech has one of the world’s largest markets or souks.  The souks are a bewildering labyrinth of thousands of craftsmen and shop keepers selling their wares in narrow passage ways.

A trip to the souks is part history lesson and part an overwhelming experience for your senses with vibrant colors, exotic smells, chaos, and many things you probably will see for the first time.  Everything is sold here – vegetables, spices, olives, meats, medicines, perfumes, bags, clothes, baskets, shawls, carpets, shoes, lanterns, antiques – but not in a traditional American or European way.

Historically the souks of Marrakesh were divided into retail areas for particular goods such as leather, carpets, metalwork and pottery. We found these divisions still roughly exist but with significant overlap.

Take your camera as this is the place for unique photos. Begin with photos of the olive souk jam-packed with different kinds of olives, and the potters’ souk crammed full of brightly-coloured pots, pans, and tagines. There are “Kodak Moment” photo surprises at every turn –bright spices piled high, medicine shops with hundreds of concoctions, brightly-coloured glassware, brightly color woven kaftans, handcrafted bags and shoes.

This is not America or Europe, so feast your eyes of the dazzling array of colors, goods and shops below.

Colorful spices pilled high.  This is not the rack of 1 – 2 ounce glass jar spice found at your neighborhood supermarket.

Spices in tin cans

Sprices in baskets

Spices, soaps, olives, and more displayed out front of a souk “supermarket”

Souk medicine shops and pharmacies compounding and selling their cures.  No FDA here.

Souk medicine shop with a close up of a Moroccan “toothpick”

Pharmacy and spice store

How does this compare to the olive selection you have at your grocery store?

Sandy at olive shop

Olives at souk

An amazing choice of fresh vegetables.

Carrots, onions, and cucumbers

Leafy vegetables

Man selling greens

Here are a few of the fruit stands in the souk.

Grapes for sell

Onto the meat section in the souks

Souk butcher shop

Preparing meat lunch dish at souk using a tagine pot

Preparing lunch meals at souk

Mussels in the souk

After all the food stalls, it is time for Sandy to try her hand at hand making Moroccan bread in a wood buring oven.

Sandy forming bread

Sandy’s formed bread ready for the wood burning oven

Sandy’s wood burning oven for bread

Sandy’s freshly baked hot bread ready to eat

Next up.

A pictorial display of the souks selling shoes, jewelry, lamps and lanterns, rugs, belts, antiques, carved doors, and more!

Palais Khum Lobby

Sandy had friends from her international book club who had recently stayed at Palais Klum and recommended it highly.

We agree!!!

Palais Khum is a riad with eleven guest rooms.  A riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or  courtyard.  The word riad comes from the Arabian term for garden, “ryad”.  The outside mud walls have no windows so the entrance to these houses is a major transitional experience because the interior consists of courtyards, fountains, pools, trees, and lush vegetation around central atriums.  Many riads have been recently restored as small hotels.

We were greeted by the gracious staff and offered cool mint tea to refresh ourselves from our journey.

The owner Stefano Scaleri came to give us a personal welcome.  He is a charming Italian man and the ultimate host.

He personally designed and rebuilt this taking over four years.  He proudly points out that this a “Palais”, not a traditional riad, because is considerably over 10,000 square feet.  Every detail has been done with great style.

Sandy in Palais Khum Lobby

The eleven rooms are individually decorated using different themes.   Each room is tastefully furnished with an exotic Moroccan flair of carved doors, lattice windows, antique wall hangings, and unique architectural decorations.

Enjoy a few of the rooms below.

El Basha Suite

Hamra Suite

Arabia Suite

Visir Suite

The indoor pool featured an elaborately tin sculpted chandelier that emitted thousands of points of light, a large wall mosaic, and full length glass doors that opened onto two gardens.

Sandy at Indoor Pool

We relaxed in the patio gardens after a dip in the pool.

Sandy in one of the garden patios

John by pool

Breakfast was served at the Kremm Cafe which opened to one of the courtyards to allow indoor or outdoor seating.

Kremm Cafe

Kremm Cafe outdoor lunch

Lunch at Kremm Cafe

On top of Palais Khum is a massive terrace overlooking Marrakech’s medina, the old city within the 12th century fortress walls.  There is plenty of room for sun bathing, receptions, parties, lunch, dinner, and great evening vistas.

Lunch on rooftop terrace

Rooftop Terrace at dusk

Food photos have been popular because they are so different from our usual cuisine.  We have had a lot of fun learning about the traditional foods, the way they are cooked, and how they are served in these countries.  It has been a great adventure.

The Ristorante at Palais Khum serves a variety of Moroccan, Mediterranean, and Italian dishes.

That evening we sat outside in the courtyard with subdued lighting and the stars above.

John & Sandy courtyard dinner under the stars

Sandy chose the Mediterranean course of a salad of tomato and mozzarella cheese, and entree of vegetable and chicken kabobs.

Sandy’s mozzarella and tomato salad with olive oil, pesto, and other and fresh herbs

Sandy’s Mediterranean kabobs

John chose the Moroccan course of an appetizer of a variety of puffed pastries containing vegetable, chicken and beef, and a Tagine prepared slow cooked lamb, olives, and vegetables.

John’s puffed pastry appetizer and Sandy’s mozzarella and tomato salad

John’s Tagine prepared lamb, onions, and vegetables

Tagine Pot

A Tagine is a pot is formed of natural clay which is sometimes painted or glazed. It consists of a base unit that is flat and circular with low sides and a large dome-shaped cover that sits on the base during cooking. The cover is designed to promote the return of all moisture to the bottom base. Tagine is traditionally slow cooked over hot charcoal.

Think of it as a 12th century Moroccan pottery version of the cast iron Le Creuset French oven.

All our tagine prepared meals were savory, tender, and delicious. The only problem we had is we could not stop eating when full because they were SO GOOD!

It was a great evening capped off by a dessert made from four types of chocolate.

For Chocoholics Only

For us, the Palais Khum was better in many respects than 4 and 5 star hotels.  Since it is a boutique hotel with only eleven rooms, there were no crowds.  All the hotel staff from the maids to the front desk to the waiters all seemed to know your name and were always very gracious.  Many times we felt as if we were in our own mansion or palace with our own staff serving us like royalty.

In addition to the facilities we have shown you above, the Palais Khum also has a Deco Bar, a bakery, and retro coffee bar, a library relaxation area, a spa, two Hammans (a deluxe Moroccan bath), an art gallery, and a gift shop.

It is ideally located in Dar El Bacha, considered in many prestigious touring guides, as the most fascinating street of the old town centre of the Marrakech medina.

As with Sandy’s international book club friends, we now recommend Palais Khum highly!

Sunset in Kurumba, Maldives

Maldives has deep blue seas, turquoise reefs, white sandy beaches and palm trees. It is the perfect place to sit on a beach and watch a sunset with a cocktail balanced on your hand. The more adventurous can see thousands of fish swimming around the vivid corals just a few feet away.

We chose to stay at Kurumba Resort and here is a view of the resort from the air.

Kurumba Resort by air

Maldives consists of 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean. Maldives are the lowest country in the world. More than 80 per cent of the country’s land is composed of coral islands less than three feet above sea level. The Maldives remained largely unknown to tourists until the early 1970s. The emergence of tourism in 1972 transformed the economy, moving rapidly from dependence on fisheries to tourism. Now there are over 105 resort islands and over 170 resort hotels.

Most visitors arrive at Malé International Airport on Hulhulé Island. It is its own island reclaimed from the sea and a boat ride away from the capital Malé. Most guests are greeted at the airport by their resort and then transported to their resort island by boat or seaplane.

Sandy at airport resort reception counter for Kurumba Resort.

Getting ready to dock at Kurumba Resort

Dock entrance to Kurumba Resort

We were greeted with cold coconut flavored face towels to refresh ourselves and a welcome drink.

The reception area was beautiful.

Kurumba Reception

Since we arrived early in the morning our room was not ready for check we were treated to a complimentary breakfast buffet.

Breakfast buffet

We followed by relaxing and swimming at the pool.

Sandy relaxing at the pool

About noon Sandy ordered our pool and beach side lunch.

Beach side beer and pizza

Later we were able to check into our room.  We did not know what to expect since this was the oldest resort and had extensive renovation.  Our expecations were exceeded!!!  Enjoy the views of and from our room.

Right view of room

Our bath and outdoor shower

Even better than the room were the beach views.

View of beach from our room

Our patio tropical vegetation

Our beach

Next was snorkeling off the beach.

John on our patio before snorkeling

Sandy getting ready to dive in

Sandy – Apres snorkeling

John returning from snorkeling

Late afternoon we went to the pool beach side bar for our Happy Hour drinks.

Beach side bar

Drinks were made to order

And served in the beach side cafe

Later we had to make a choice of where to have dinner amoung their five fine dining restaurants.

As you can see this would be a difficult choice.

Mahal Indian Restaurant

La Cucina restaurant

Al Qasr Arabian restaurant

Hamakaze Japanese Restaurant with over the water dining

East – the Asian restaurant

Since we had been travelling since 3 am that morning we had a plenty of food already,

we chose a light evening appetizers at  meal at the beach side bar and cafe.

Evening Appetizers

The next morning we walked through the resort taking picures of the grounds.

Walk way from our room

Beautiful palms and foliage.

Orchid Garden

Hanging chairs for relaxing along the way

Beach lounging options

Beach private dining options

We had a Thai breakfast after our walk around the resort.

Thai breakfast

Our conclusion.  There are more luxury hotels in the Maldives than one can imagine.  They range from small resorts to many hundreds of rooms suited for large conventions, from budget to luxury, from beach villas to over the water bungalows, and from close by the airport to hundreds of miles distance and time away, from boat transfer, to seaplane, or small airplane transfer.

We chose the Kurumba Resort because it was only 10 minutes away by boat and had won the 2013 Traveller’s Choice Award.  It was convenient and as well as having a remote feeling.  Currently the Kurumba Resort is ranked #11 of luxury hotels by Trip Advisor which shows its commitment to renovation to keep it a 5 Star resort over the last 40 years.  The 450 staff members were all very friendly and always provided excellent service.

Take us back to Kurumba!

Bottle feeding baby elephants

We had a lot of fun see the elephants at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.  The Elephant Orphanage was first established by the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1975 for feeding and providing care and sanctuary to orphaned baby elephants that were found in the wild.  Today Pinnawala is notable for having the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. In 2011, there were 88 elephants, including 37 males and 51 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala taken care of by 48 mahouts, or elephant handlers.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures.

Babies playing

Babies playing in water

Baby getting out of water

Sandy & enjoyed a typical Indonesian meal overlooking the elephant orphanage.

Lunch overlook elephant orphanage

Lunch view at Elephant Orphanage

Indonesian Lunch

Our day ended at the Galle Face Hotel now celebrating its 150th year in ooperation and it the oldest hotel east of the Suez.  This hotel brings you back to the British Colonial Empire times.  It is listed in one of the 1000 Thing To See Before You Die.  It has a gallery of over 60 guests from royalty, movie stars, world leaders, writers, and now, Sandy & I.  We enjoyed many sunsets, drinks and dinners watching the Indian Ocena waves come in.

Sandy at Galle Face Hotel beachside

Dinner at Galle Face Hotel beach

Waves at night at Galle Face Hotel

Galle Face Sunset

Temple of the Tooth

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy.  It houses the relic of the tooth of Buddha. The relic has played an important role in local politics since ancient because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Monks conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings. On Wednesdays there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with an herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers.  This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present.  Sandy & I were able to see the evening celebration and the opening of the golden shrine doors to see the Golden Shrine containing Budbha’s tooth relic.

We learned that Buddhism predates Christianity about 600 years. There were thousands in the shrine area, most were dressed in their best clothes, had offerings, their hands together in prayer,  and observably devout.  We gained greater understanding and respect for these people and one of the world’s great religions.

Tooth of Buddah Ceremony Hall

Tooth of the Buddah Shrine

The Tooth of the Buddah Shrine is actually six golden and jeweled shrines within one another.  Our picture was very blurred due to all the mass pushing of the crowds trying to get just a glimpse of it during the five minute viewing.  However, you can see and excellent picture on Google by clicking “Buddha’s Tooth Shrine“.

The Esala Perahera is a grand festival with elegant costumes held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha.  The 15 day festival has processions  consists of many traditional local dances such as fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandyan cultural dances and elephants who are brighly painted or in lavish garments. The highlight is large tusker elephant carrying the Casket of Buddah’s Tooth Relic which the masses see and venerate.

Ceremonial Elephant Tusker carrying Sacred Casket of Buddah’s Tooth

Vishnu relic

Elephant in Perahara parade

Dancers of Esala Perahera

Earlier that day we started our day with breakfast on the terrace oevrlooking the lake at the Lake Hotel in Polonnaruwa.  We felt like royality when the staff set up a cooking counter next to us on the terrace and prepared our breakfast to order.

Breakfast on Lake Hotel Terrace

Sandy with breakfast chef

Many of you have asked us to show more about the food we had on our journey.

Breakfast fruit plate

Scrambled Eggs on Terrace

Breakfast fruit plate

After breakfast we visited several sites of the Polonnaruwa ruins, a Unesco World Heritage Site.  There are a lot of ruin sites in a small area.  They show the advanced architecture and irriagation systems from ancient times.

Polonnaruwa ruins

Ruins at Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa Sleeping Buddha

Polonnaruwa Vatadage

Polonnaruwa

Sigiriya, The Lion Rock in Sri Lanka

Sirigiriya has been a UNESCO World Heritiage Site since 1982.  Originally a hermitage for Buddhist monks from the 5th century B.C.  Sigiriya became an important part of Sri Lanka history books when the King Kashyapa claimed it as his own.

The top terrace is 200 meters above the base city and fortress and consists of about 3 acres of of cascading terraces with the ruins of the King’s palace, landscaped gardens, water features and royal baths.

Top Terraces of Sigiriya

The entrance to the top fortress is through two giant lion’s paws.

Lion Paws entrance at Sigiriya

Although the 200 meter asscent is tough, the descent is tougher for those with verigo.

Sigiriya descent

The base is early example of city and urban planning with symmetrical rectangular moats, ramparts, water gardens, fountains, and serpentine streams specially constructed for slow movement of water. This is an early example of water resource management and technology with earthenware aqueducts, underground stone conduits that use gravity and the force of pressure from the top terraces to the water gardens and ponds below.

Sigiriya’s Water Gardens

Our afternoon was spent on a Jeep Safari at the Kandulla wildlife preserve.  Originally we planned to go to the Minneriya preserve but the jeep guide said he did not see any elephants there the day before.  We were glad we did because the herd or “The Gathering” had moved to this preserve’s reservoir with more water.  There were just a few elephants in the afternoon, but 6 p.m.  Friday evening must have been the elephants “Happy Hour” because suddenly over 90 emerged from the forest and gathered for a drink.

Jeep Safari

Mom and baby

Elephants gathering

Elephant gathering at reservoir

Elephants drinking at “Happy Hour”.

Later that evening we checking into the Lake House overlooking Polonnaruwa Lake, and next to the ruins.  The Lake House is a member of the Galle Face Hotel Group.  Queen Elizabeth spent the night here in 1954 just two years after her coronation.  The original hotel was torn down and rebuilt in a very modern, minimalist style with just 14 rooms.  Our room was #9, next to the Queen’s #10.  We were shown the Queen’s room complete with pictures of her stay.  That evening we had another wonderful dinner.

Dinner at Lake House Hotel

The presentation of the meal looked like a minimalist’s modern art painting.  Never the less, we dug in and enjoyed another unique and delicious dinner.

Lake House Hotel Dinner Presentation

Mt. Everest

Everest Twin or M Peaks

Everest with Clouds

View of Everest

Yeti Airline’s Everest Express Flight

Seeing Mt. Everest was the primary purpose of our trip to Nepal.  The flight was a once in a lifetime experience and exceeded our expectations.

We caution you about Nepal being a 3rd world country with problems with transporation, poverty, traffic congestion, monsoons, smog, and dirt.  The Dwarika Hotel and guided tours overcame these issues for us.

The name of Kathmandu always had a magical and mysterious intrigue for us.

We are glad we went to learn more about their ancient heritage, architecture, and religious history.

Enjoy the exotic people photos below.

Holy Man in Red

Holy Man in Yellow

Holy Man in White

Kumari
Hindu Living Goddess

Girl in Dubar Square

Traditional food and feasts of Nepal

Festival for Rain God

Golden Temple in Patan, Nepal

This 12th century temple is hidden away off the Dubar Square in Patan, Nepal.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site that has been restored by a family in Nepal during the last two years.  Spectacular!!!

King’s Bath in Patan, Nepal

Patan is known as the “City of Fine Arts” in Nepal.  The King’s Palace is being restored and is becoming a museum of architectural and cultural heritage.  This is the King’s bath in the center of a courtyard with beautiful stone work.

Sandy at Boudha Stupa, Bhaktapur, Nepal

Bhaktapur, also called the “City of of Devotees”, is where you meander down narrow streets past centuries old homes and temples.  It seems as if you are really in the Middle Ages.  Above is the Boudha Stupa.  The Tibetians came here centuries ago to make this Hindu temple in Nepal.

Bouddha Stupa lies about 6 km east of downtown Kathmandu and is the largest stupa in the Valley and one of the largest in the world. It looms 36 meters high and presents one of the most fascinating specimens of stupa design with hundreds of prayer wheels and 108 small images of Buddha. This stupa has four sides with the watchful eye of Buddha. Buddhists throng to this stupa to take part in the sacred rituals during their festivals.

Bhaktapur is one of the three cities found in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal not far from the capital city of Kathmandu. Today this ancient medieval city, from the 15th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Nyatpola Temple is a the largest 5-story pagoda located in Bhaktapur, Nepal. The temple was erected by Nepali King Bhupatindra Malla during a 5-month period from late 1701 into 1702. It is the temple of Siddha Laxmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity.

Nyatpola Temple in Bhaktapur

The Peacock Window, which is also called the “Mona Lisa of Nepal”, is a rare masterpiece in wood. Dating back to the early 15th century, the unique latticed window has an intricately carved peacock in its center. Its an excellent example of wood carving that you see all over the Kathmandu valley.  This window design is the most famous and copied in Nepal, as you might expect with Mona Lisa replicas.  It is truly an amazing example of skilled wood carving found in Nepal.

Peacock Window in Bhaktapur

At the Pottery Square you can see the ancient traditional artwork of pottery making being practiced in front of your eyes.  It is an amazing place to see! You will be taken back 600 years.  We saw the spinning wheel, using hand sculpting, and then firing in ancient primative straw and wood fueled ovens.  Below are the pottery pieces drying in the sun.

Pottery Center in Bhaktapur

A spice market in Bhaktapur looks like this.  It is quite exotic.  The smell and sensation is beyond words. Yummy!!!

Spices in Bhaktapur

Fresh vegetables are the same.  They are better tasting and more flavorable! We think the reason is there are no genetically modified fruits or vegetables in Nepal.  Compared to the US which may offer more disease resistant, bigger, and pulpier fruit, these have an incredible burst of flavor.

Vegetables at Bhaktaper