I left my home in Meknes around 10am, heading towards the Abdelkader train station. I didn't know when the next train to Fes was leaving, but I ended up only having to wait one hour. The train ride to Fes was beautiful and I had a whole compartment to myself. I was free to eat my nutella and peanut butter sandwich without any judgement from the passengers fasting. We reached Fes after only 40 minutes. It's easy to sense how massive this city is as soon as you pull into the train station. While riding in the red taxis, I was able to look across much of the old city. The density and complexity of the buildings is overwhelming and navigating the tiny alleys seems impossible. I gathered this just from looking out over the city. I can't imagine how complicated it will be from within the medina.
My driver was unfamiliar with the hotel (or riad) that I wanted to go to. I asked a man at a teleboutique and he kindly walked me to the riad. I was standing at the foot of a giant wooden and iron door, ringing the bell until finally a pudgy, red-eyed man opened it. I had obviously woken him up from his all-day Ramadan nap that's so typical of Moroccans trying to avoid the pains of fasting. He said they were full and he pointed me in the direction of another riad. I blindly wandered through the alleys, planning on asking someone for help when I happened to look down the alley and see a sign with 'riad' on it. Again, it was a massive, fortified wooden door with a bell that I repeatedly rang until another sleepy Moroccan man answered. They had a room available. I followed him inside a beautiful riad that turned out to be his home. Before I saw the room I asked him how much it costs. "It's no problem." He said.
"No problem?" I said. "You mean it's free?"
He laughed and showed me the room. My heart sunk because I knew I wouldn't be able to afford anything like it. Twenty-some foot ceilings, gorgeous tile mosaics, in room bathroom and a king-size bed. I inquired again about the price.
"About 700 dirhams."
Now I was the one laughing. I told him about the riad down the street with a price of 135 and I offered him 150. He said 500. I told him I didn't see any other guests looking for a room. I was his only hope. I pushed for 200 and told him I really didnt want to go back out in the heat looking for yet another riad. He said 350. After another minute or so we settled on 250.
One of the most popular rules about haggling in the Middle East is that you should take whatever price is offered to you and cut it in half, then offer that. This situation is proof as to why that's a bad tactic. If I had offered 350 there would have been no hope of getting anything cheaper than that and we would've likely, after going back and forth, settled on a price somewhere around 500, or twice what I paid. It's also not about paying a price that you think is fair, it's about paying significantly less than whatever they're demanding because nine times out of ten their price is way more than what the product/service is worth.
I'll post pictures of the room tomorrow and write more about Fes. Hopefully I can get around to leaving my precious riad and actually exploring the city.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/ma/riad-terre-de-fes.html?label=social_footershare
My driver was unfamiliar with the hotel (or riad) that I wanted to go to. I asked a man at a teleboutique and he kindly walked me to the riad. I was standing at the foot of a giant wooden and iron door, ringing the bell until finally a pudgy, red-eyed man opened it. I had obviously woken him up from his all-day Ramadan nap that's so typical of Moroccans trying to avoid the pains of fasting. He said they were full and he pointed me in the direction of another riad. I blindly wandered through the alleys, planning on asking someone for help when I happened to look down the alley and see a sign with 'riad' on it. Again, it was a massive, fortified wooden door with a bell that I repeatedly rang until another sleepy Moroccan man answered. They had a room available. I followed him inside a beautiful riad that turned out to be his home. Before I saw the room I asked him how much it costs. "It's no problem." He said.
"No problem?" I said. "You mean it's free?"
He laughed and showed me the room. My heart sunk because I knew I wouldn't be able to afford anything like it. Twenty-some foot ceilings, gorgeous tile mosaics, in room bathroom and a king-size bed. I inquired again about the price.
"About 700 dirhams."
Now I was the one laughing. I told him about the riad down the street with a price of 135 and I offered him 150. He said 500. I told him I didn't see any other guests looking for a room. I was his only hope. I pushed for 200 and told him I really didnt want to go back out in the heat looking for yet another riad. He said 350. After another minute or so we settled on 250.
One of the most popular rules about haggling in the Middle East is that you should take whatever price is offered to you and cut it in half, then offer that. This situation is proof as to why that's a bad tactic. If I had offered 350 there would have been no hope of getting anything cheaper than that and we would've likely, after going back and forth, settled on a price somewhere around 500, or twice what I paid. It's also not about paying a price that you think is fair, it's about paying significantly less than whatever they're demanding because nine times out of ten their price is way more than what the product/service is worth.
I'll post pictures of the room tomorrow and write more about Fes. Hopefully I can get around to leaving my precious riad and actually exploring the city.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/ma/riad-terre-de-fes.html?label=social_footershare
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