Season's Greetings from Joanna (2010)

Dear Family and Friends,

As day breaks over the last day of 2010, I pause to reflect and count the many blessings that have taken place this year. More than any year, this has been a year filled with new beginnings, in body, mind, heart and spirit.

You must have many memories to share as well and I thank you for the honour of sharing some of my highlights with you...

• Starting my own business, Five Talents Consulting, in Singapore is a long-cherished dream come true. HR consulting and leadership development programs are the focus and I'm delighted to report that we signed our first deal yesterday! Hip, hip, hooray!
• Celebrating my 40th birthday in style with a champagne brunch at the Ritz Carlton in the embrace of some of my dearest friends and ending the day watching my first ever Formula 1 race live
• Riding a camel into the Sahara desert to spend a magical night under the stars
  
• Wandering around the ancient souks of Marrakech and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of mysterious Morocco. The men were pretty hot too! ;-)
• Falling in love with my Saviour all over again while attending New Creation Church, believing and enjoying unmerited favour and restful increase
• Spending a week at Date with Destiny with Anthony Robbins in Bali learning about moving towards love and contribution, and channeling abundance into places of scarcity
• Starting a fitness regime by eating properly, joining a gym and exercising with a personal trainer has resulted in a 3-inch loss all round and I'm fitting back into clothes I wore ten years ago! :-)
• Visiting Perth and Melbourne in August and it was wonderful to re-connect with old friends while making new ones
• Showing off sparkling Singapore to a host of visitors who dropped by throughout the year: Rene from Switzerland, Corrine from US, Grace from Australia, my parents from Penang, and the Lums from KL
  
• Spending quality time with all my godkids: Justin and Jared in Singapore, Kiersten and Katelynn in KL and Alyssa in Melbourne

Wow...even as I'm writing this, my heart is so filled with joy and gratefulness, and I'm excited to think that a fresh new year awaits with still more blessings and abundance to enjoy!

So here's wishing you and your family the highest favour, deepest love and greatest blessing for 2011.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Night of a thousand stars

"I sat under a canopy of stars in the Sahara desert and listened to a young Berber man tell me his dreams."

What a magical night it was! Who is this man of mystery? Would you like to know more? Read on...

His name is Muhammad, a Berber guide with beautiful olive green eyes set against a dusky complexion tanned by the desert sun. After dinner and songs by the campfire, he watched quietly as I stood staring at the starry sky for almost an hour before he approached me. We struck up a long conversation that lasted till midnight.

What did I learn that night?

• Muhammad is 25 years old, third in a family of eight children, whose parents live 56 kms away from our camp. They are farmers.
  
• He's never been to school but learnt English, French, Spanish and German from daily conversations with tourists who visit the camps, where he's worked for the last 3 years
• He dreams of getting married before 30 and visiting Switzerland
• "There's no time in the desert!" he said playfully as he pushed my watch away when I tried to see how late it was getting
  
• There are desert Berbers, mountain Berbers and Marrakech Berbers - all of whom have very different customs and languages
  
• There are thousands of stars in the desert sky and the brightest one is called "Taghir" in the Berber language. Muhammad taught me to patiently scout the sky for shooting stars and we were rewarded with two sightings!
  
• It is very quiet in the desert at night. Very quiet. And very beautiful

It's gets very cold at night in the desert but a warm campfire, woollen blanket and gracious companionship is a wonderful antidote.

Shukran Muhammad.

Shadows in the Sand

Reporting Live from onboard Patsy the Camel

Tales from Western Sahara

On Wednesday 1 December 2010, we drove for nine hours out of Marrakech, over the High Atlas mountain ranges, across hot arid valleys before arriving at the oasis town of Zagora. It's situated on the southernmost tip of Morocco and served as our gateway to the Western Sahara desert. And so began our desert adventures...

We arrived at dusk at a small field where a caravan of four camels sat waiting. I've always imagined camels to be white so I headed straight for the largest white camel there and called her "Patsy" (her Berber name is actually Behir but never mind!). I strapped on my large red travel bag, loaded with toiletries and make-up (whatever for!) and climbed up onto Patsy's saddle as elegantly as I could. Screams (mine!) pierced the cool air when the camels rose up on their hind legs. But I recovered quickly enough and settled in for the 6 mile ride to the camp.

It was an exhilarating ride into the desert as night fell. The sights and sounds of the town began to fade as stars came up overhead. We rode in pitch darkness for about an hour and I couldn't see anything! Still, I wasn't at all worried as the guide was leading our camels with gentle clicking sounds to show them the way. Finally, the halt order was given and we clambered down from our camels and made our way to the waiting tents using lights from our cellphones, to the amusement of the Berber guides.

The tents were a sight straight out of my Arabian Nights picture books, laid out with carpets, mattresses and blankets of red, green and gold! Our hosts, Hassan and Muhammad, entered to welcome and serve us black tea before disappearing into the darkness to bring us a dinner of chicken and vegetable tagine.

A magical night followed...which you can read about here - no PG rating required ;-)

The next morning, as we peeked out from our tents, we were greeted by the most beautiful sight. Skies of lilac pink sat above sand dunes, with black and white Berber tents dotting the landscape.

It was very cold that morning and seeing that breakfast had been laid out atop one of the dunes, we quickly made our way to the tables and helped ourselves to the hot coffee and tea (trust the Malaysians to be the first ones to spot food even in the desert!)

We waited for the sunrise and here it is in pictures...

You're so beautiful...

...is a phrase I don't hear very often when I'm travelling in a foreign country. However, Moroccan men must have a fondness for the well-rounded female form because I received a lot more attention than I'm used to (much to my travel companion Li Ki's amusement!)


Scenario 1 (shopping for a mirror and tagine)

AJJ: How much is this mirror?
M: Oh it is a beautiful camel bone mirror with unusual teardrop shape! Choose something else and we will make good price for you
AJJ: How much is this tagine?
M: Oh madam, together it is only 800 dirhams but (drawing closer and nuzzling my cheek while whispering into my ear) for you, I can make special price. How much you offer?
AJJ: Gulp! Err...200 dirhams
M: Oh madam, it is impossible! Listen...(wraps his arm around my waist)..., I will give it to you only 600 dirhams. By the way, my name is Mustafa. You should stay in Marrakech!
AJJ: And will you give me 25 camels to stay?
M: (responds with a languid knowing smile-quite sexy actually :-)
Li Ki: How much for two tagines?
M: Special price for both of you (he kisses Li Ki's hand then mine!)
AJJ: So how much is the final price?
M: Not 600, not 200. (staring into my eyes - he did have very nice hazel eyes - he pulls out a piece of paper) You are so beautiful...can you please give me your phone number?
AJJ: Double Gulp! OK 350...last price...wrap it up!!


Scenario 2 (strolling along Djemaa el Fnaa after dinner)

Man: Hello beautiful...where are you from?
AJJ: You guess?
Man: Japan?
AJJ: No...
Man: Korea
AJJ: No...
Man: China, China Taipei, Thailand, England (huh?), America (double huh?) and continues naming at least another ten countries (all the while following me down the square)
AJJ: No...no...no.. (all the while walking away)
Man: MALAYSIA!
AJJ: YES! (Walks back and shakes his hand)

Being a Muslim country, I was a little surprised at the amount of touching and groping that was going on. Most travel guide books explain that with 70% of Moroccan men under the age of 30 who have little exposure to local females apart from family members, tourists are fair game. As they usually have more access to Caucasians, I suppose an Asian naturally attracts more attention.

In conclusion, I'd say the experiences were harmless and flattering to some extent...in a creepy sort of way ;-)

Film Sets

When Li Ki and I first heard that Sex & the City 2 was filmed in Morocco, our interest was piqued. Little did we know that Morocco has been THE film set of major epics for the last 50 years! Gladiator, The Passion, Prince of Persia, Troy, Alexander, Lawrence of Arabia and Cleopatra are just some of the names that were dropped when we visited High Atlas Film Studios at Ouarzazate, about 5 hours drive from Marrakech.

The "Made in Morocco" plane from Jewel in the Nile starring Michael Douglas that's crafted entirely out of styrofoam!

The only Buddhist temple in Morocco used in the filming of Kundun by Martin Scorcese

Aunty Jo Jo trying to fit into the film sets for Jesus of Nazareth and The Passion - and failing miserably :-)

Looking glam on the Cleopatra film set, which was also used for Alexander and Asterix

The Aid Benhaddou kasbah used in the filming of Gladiator and Jesus of Nazareth

The discovery of all the different film sets was a pleasant surprise and makes for a highly entertaining detour between the souks of Marrakech and the sands of the Sahara. The affable tour guides offer up a good laugh, as they struggle to keep tour groups together since visitors tend to scatter the moment they encounter a scene they recognize! I was the guilty party on a number of occasions (smiling sheepishly).

How to make Moroccan mint tea

While out on an excursion to the Ourika Valley west of Marrakech, we stopped by a Berber home and were invited in to sample mint tea, fondly referred to as "Berber Whisky" in this land of Muslim teetotalers. The friendly matriarch of the family demonstrated how mint tea is made.

Step 1. Ensure all the ingredients and utensils are properly laid out: tea, sugar mint, sage, teapot, tiny cups and stove

Step 2. Take a handful of green tea and put it into the teapot. Fill it up with boiling water.

Step 3. Rinse out the green tea twice or thrice until the liquid runs clear. Note the first rinse is always clear so save it (strange but true!).

Step 4. Sort out a bunch of mint leaves and sage and put it into the pot of hot tea. Note that the sage should first be scalded with some hot water.

Step 5. Pretend to add 2 kgs of sugar into the tea to entertain tourists as this lady is doing :-), or simply add enough sugar to taste

Step 6. Once the tea has steeped sufficiently, pour out the tea into tiny glasses and serve.

How to tie a Berber turban

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Voila! Got it?

Don't worry. Neither did I. Although I've never looked sexier or more alluring :-)

Moroccan food

If you ever travel to Morocco, be ready for the tagine -lots of it! The tagine is a unique conical earthenware vessel used for Moroccan cooking. I was most eager try it having watched Jamie Oliver, Anthony Bourdain and countless other food journalists singing its praises. It was delicious and I really didn't mind that every other meal consisted of some form of tagine ranging from chicken, beef, lamb, fish to liver...err.. maybe you should skip the liver version.

The Tagine

Beef tagine with almonds and prunes at Residence Amina - it was the best one we tasted on the trip!

Beef kofta curry tagine topped with egg (bottom) and Liver tagine with prunes (above)


Homecooked Couscous with seven vegetables and chicken served by Zahara (Ismail's mother)

A Berber omelette made from eggs, onions and tomatoes - it was super yummy!

O yes..and not forgetting khoobz (flatbread) that is served with every meal. It was a handy tool to mop up all the delicious gravy!

Marrakech the Red City

As a child, I was hopelessly enamoured by stories of Aladdin, Sinbad, Ali Baba and magic flying carpets. That's what I imagined Marrakech to be and everything I'd ever dreamed about this red city- ancient, exotic, mysterious - came true the moment I stepped within the walls of the medina (old city)

Bab Agnou - the most imposing gate at the southern entrance to the medina

The 12th century Koutoubia mosque stands as a proud compass in the heart of the medina

Marrakech is one of the most important imperial cities in the kingdom of Morocco. It started as a humble trading post for the caravanserais that snaked their way overland carrying goods from China to Europe. It served as the imperial capital in the 11th, 12th and 16th centuries before becoming the tourist capital of modern Morocco.

Colourful dancers and snakecharmers delighting tourists and locals at the Djemaa el Fnaa

The Djemaa el Fnaa or public square is the heartbeat of the city of Marrakech. It used to be a place of public execution which has now been designated a UNESCO world heritage site that's featured on countless episodes on the Travel & Living Channel. Dancers, snakecharmers, acrobats and monkeys rule the stage by day while the food stalls and spice tea sellers rule the night. The frantic bustle is addictive and it's truly a sight to behold!

Market stalls piled high with fruits, vegetables and Moroccan pastries

Aunty Jo Jo posing with a Marrakech water seller

Needless to say - AUNTY JO JO LOVES MARRAKECH!

Shukran (Thank You)

I've just spent 8 days in Mysterious Morocco and it's time to blog about it. When I write, I usually like to start at the beginning, build up the story and end with a bang - for maximum effect. This time however, I'm going to start at the end. That's because the best experience I've ever had on holiday took place on the last evening.

Firstly, allow me to introduce you to Ismail Hamzaoui, a fine young gentleman who works at the Residence Amina, where Li Ki and I stayed. His was the first smiley face to greet us when we checked in all forlon, without our luggage. Ismail assured us that all was well and that our bags would arrive the next day. Sure enough, they did and he arranged the airport transfer without even being asked! From that moment on, we became firm friends and Ismail was our "go to" person for everything from broken lightbulbs to camel rides in the desert. On our last day, he invited us home to dinner with his family and we delightfully accepted.

(L-R) Joanna, Rasheed (youngest brother), Zahara (mum), Ahmed (dad), Li Ki

Latifah with the basin for washing of hands before dinner

Zahara showing us how to roll couscous balls before popping them into our mouths!

There is nothing more heartwarming than sharing of food with family and friends. Zahara, Ismail's mum, served up an enormous platter of delicious couscous with vegetables and chicken. While eating from the same platter, Ismail said "Whatever we have, we share. This is our custom." Those words touched me very deeply. Especially when a family like the Hamzaouis invite total strangers into their home to share with them a dose of Moroccan hospitality.

Their generosity and warmth continued after dinner when Zahara presented me with an ethnic scarf from southeast Morocco, where the family originted from. Li Ki received a more modern scarf which matched her outfit beautifully. I was touched beyond words. The gesture of genuine friendship required no translation nor interpretation - it simply said "We're friends."

So here's a big SHUKRAN to the Hamzaoui family and may we meet again, insya allah.