You are not really on vacation until you live like the locals. Every time I travel somewhere new I want to go places the locals go, and eat what the locals eat, and shop where the locals shop until I feel like I have really experienced their culture. It was no different when we were in good old Morocco.
After seeing the hustle bustle of the square, I felt it was time to get out and see where the locals went for a night out. Now, I am not sure what was going through my head since 1. Women are not exactly free to do as they please, 2. I was in the dirtiest place on earth, and 3. My book warned that behind the religious facade drugs were quite prevalent. But being the ditz I am, I was ready to experience the REAL Marrakech! This is when Andy and I made the catastrophic mistake of asking the hotel owner, born and raised in Marrakech, where we could go to smoke the sheesha or hookah with the locals. He knew just the place… He said it was the same one he has been going to for years! This is exactly what I was after. A place where there wasn’t a tourist in sight! And did we get just that!
After a beautiful, tourist packed, candle lit dinner on a roof top terrace in new town Marrakech, Andy and I were ready for that hookah! We left the restaurant and Andy began leading the way to this local joint. 20 minutes later, after walking down sketchy streets, which seemed to get darker and creepier the further we went, Andy decided if it didn’t pop up in the next block we would start heading back. I was ready to turn around 15 minutes ago when I began to see more and more creepy men standing on the street corners and all I could hear in my head was the sound of my parents voices saying, “Elyse, you need to be more aware of your surroundings! You are going to end up somewhere you shouldn’t! People will take advantage of you! Stay some place safe or you will get hurt!!” And right as I was really starting to freak myself out, we were suddenly facing the little run down local’s café.
Walking in I could feel about 100 men’s eyes all staring at me and judging my scandalous provocative choice of dress because, heaven forbid,I showed a little elbows and cleavage! But even with these glares and even though I was the only woman in the entire place, I just couldn’t stop laughing and being super excited to have a real Moroccan sheesha experience! When we got to the counter to order, the looks from the staff didn’t get much better than those of the customers. We ordered our grape flavored hookah, sat down at an open table, and anxiously waited. They brought us the enormous sheesha and set it on the floor in between the two of us. Andy took the first hit then passed it to me. As soon as I put the pipe up to my mouth and inhaled, I knew this was no normal flavored tobacco. My head started spinning, my eyes got droopy, and the giggles started pouring out of my mouth! There was no other explanation…This had to be wacky tobacky! Laughing and swaying I passed the pipe back to Andy and said, “Is this making you feel funny? I feel really funny! I think there in something in our hookah!” To which he laughs and responds, “Yeah. My head is a bit fuzzy!” And not being the brightest crayon in the box, I took that pipe right back and inhaled again saying, “ I think we have been drugged!” I then tried my hardest to be smooth and blow smoke rings as the room spun around me. We did this for about a whopping 5 minutes, while all the locals curiously stared at us, until my face abruptly when bright white and I broke out into a cold sweat. Uh-Oh!! Right as I thought I might Ralph right then and there all over the table, I instead managed to get out, “I need a bathroom! Now!!” I somehow got myself up the stairs and into what they called a bathroom, I didn’t think it deserved such a dignified title, and was very very sick! After my moment passed and I was feeling little bit better, Andy had to just about carry my butt out of the hookah bar, still high on god knows what, as we decided it was probably best to leave the rest of the burning sheesha for the locals and get back to the hotel. Needless to say the rest of the trip we stuck with the tourist activities and, more importantly, the tourist sheesha bars!
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