Enigma

We are so caught up in wanting to feed our starving souls that we never stop to think what we would do if it finally became content. Between finding a balance and striving to free ourselves - if my soul was to ever stop searching, I fear I would grow complacent.

Glasgow is host to a huge variety of Indian restaurants. Yet there is still not many I would frequent. A strong favourite used to be Akbars of Glasgow, but ever since they went under new management a couple of years ago, I can't say I visit it as often now as their service and quality of food has since went downhill. My friends and I are regulars of Kebabish on Victoria road, however as we were celebrating a special occasion we opted for Balbir's, located on Church Street in Glasgow's west end.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by friendly staff who showed us to our table amidst a very vibrant atmosphere in the restaurant. It was really busy for a Thursday night, which is always a good sign. With modern decor and spacious dining, the restaurant looks stylish with gorgeous chandeliers for lighting creating a relaxed and fun ambience. 

Balbir's offer two different menus, one for street food which is for the walk in restaurant near the front, and the other is an a la carte menu for table bookings at the back. They were very kind to allow two of us to order from the street food menu (on until 9pm). I instantly knew what I wanted for starters after one skim of the menu, which is a long time favourite of mine called Chicken Dosa. My friend chose Pani Poori (or Gol Guppe) which a few of us shared. 

All of our starters were quick to arrive, service was 10/10. My dosa, (a south indian pancake made from lentils and rice) was light, soft and wrapped around delicious cubes of chicken in a medium spicy and creamy sauce. Served with coconut chutney, tomato chutney and sambar daal (lentil curry). A bonus is that it wasn't too heavy which meant I wasn't stuffed for the main meal, it was delectable. 

For my main dish I ordered the Chicken Tikka Karahi, with naan bread. As a group we ordered a fair amount, and as always portions of masala chips to share. The chips were finger licking good!

My friend and I stayed in Marrakech for a week, so here is a breakdown of the main things to do.

Day 1 - LE JARDIN MAJORELLE - YSL GARDENS

We stayed at Almas Hotel upon recommendation. The rooftop pool with the sun beating scorchingly down, was used every morning, I loved it. The hotel was situated in the most ideal location, smack bang central Marrakech in a place called Guilez. It meant being 10/20 minutes walking distance from just about everything from Menara Mall, YSL Gardens to Jamaa El Fna.

We headed to Le Jardin Majorelle, also known as YSL Gardens and decided to walk as it was only 15 minutes from our hotel. This was a stunning highlight of our trip. In the 1960s Marrakech had a sudden influx of creatives ranging from photographers, artists and writers. Amongst the many creatives was the late Yves Saint Laurent. The garden itself was designed and created by Jacques Majorelle, and Yves Saint Laurent bought over and owned the property until he died. His ashes have now been scattered at his memorial within the gardens.










As you walk in the cobalt blue bounces beautifully against the backdrop of magnificent cacti plants, palms and vibrant flowers. Everything just strikes out at you with an almost surreal feel to it, inviting you in to drink the detail from every angle.

We headed to Menara Mall that evening, which was a ten minute walk from the hotel. The games arcade had us feeling like big kids, we ate from the mall (chicken shawarma) but I felt like the mall itself didn't offer much shopping wise. Plenty of boutique eatery and moroccan ice cream places, and the kids area is an absolute dream for them. Otherwise I personally prefer the choice and chaos of the medina souks for shopping.

Day 2

ATLAS MOUNTAINS - this was BY FAR my favourite excursion of the trip. As soon as your plane enters Morocco you are able to see the brilliant white, snow topped Atlas Mountains. From just about anywhere in Marrakech you can look into the distance and be sure to see them. You can opt for different parts of the mountains to visit, we went for the Cascade D'Ouzoud Waterfalls hike. I fell in love with Morocco on this day, the views and scenery were outstanding.




We headed to Le Comptoir for our evening dinner and entertainment. The food was delicious, as well as offering french cuisine they had traditional moroccan tagine on the menu. I devoured the Harissa chicken breast, made spicy - cooked with a beautiful zingy sauce (reminded me of lentil curry) on the side. Aside from that  as the night went on we sat back after an eventful day and enjoyed the extravagant belly dancers, the Comptoir Orchestra, The Gnawa Experience dancers and even more live music into the early hours of the morning.

Day 3

QUAD BIKING & CAMEL RIDING - it has to be done. These were easily booked the night before but be sure to compare prices and haggle. A little warning which my friend decided not to alert me of (as a surprise) is to ensure you don't dress in anything expensive or new when you go quad biking, you will be biking out in the dessert and be engulfed in sand by the end of it. That means sand entering every orifice of your body possible, so be prepared!

Day 4

KOUTOUBIA MOSQUE & MEDINA/SOUKS - the gorgeous historical minaret of Koutoubia Mosque has a calming effect on you as you enter its grounds. It is extremely well kept and maintained. The surprise of our visit was that we were allowed inside the minaret building itself, we walked up a man made ramp (it took around 10 minutes!) all the way to the top, which not a lot of people are allowed to do. I think we just got lucky when the Imam saw us and ushered us in! It is the largest mosque in Marrakech, and was peaceful to get away from the hustle and bustle for a little while.

After we left the mosque, we explored the surrounding old town Medina and what I would say is the real Marrakech. Noisy traffic, chaotic markets and natives trying to haggle with you over argan oil and other paraphernalia.

HAMAM - you can't visit this country without going for an infamous Moroccan Hamam at a luxurious spa. We opted for 'Le Bains De Marrakech' situated in the heart of old town Medina. What can I even say? I felt like a newborn baby afterwards, my skin was deliciously smooth, the massage got rid of every single knot I ever had and I felt so relaxed I could have slept for days. I also smelt like heaven- overall 10/10!

We enjoyed dinner and shisha that evening at the Sofitel, probably one of the best hotels/lounge areas in Marrakech. Highly recommend visiting it, it's so pretty!

BAHIA PALACE / JAMAA EL FNA - Bahia palace is located in medina, old town Marrakech. The palace lives up to its name, which means 'brilliance.' I don't think pictures even do the exquisite architecture any justice. With vast courtyards, a beautiful two acre garden and high rise ceilings the palace captures the essence of Moroccan style with ease.


For the evening we finally headed to the long awaited Jamaa El Fna markets, and my what a place! Think Aladdin and every magical disney film to exist - twist it all into one and you get Jamaa El Fna. You enter past a line of horse drawn carriages all awaiting to whisk you away at the end of the night, to magicians, snake charmers, monkeys and stalls upon stalls of local food cooked fresh in front of you. It's huge, and I would always recommend going in groups if you are going in the night time.

From live fire acts to being called Miss India everywhere we turned ("NO, we are from SCOTLAND!") this was a brilliant way to immerse yourself into the city's culture. We bought all our souvenirs from Jamaa, the markets are really cheap and you can haggle to your hearts content and walk away with many bargains.


Say hi to my little friend, my heart broke knowing I couldn't take that wretched leash off him and bring him home!

NOTE: If you want pictures with monkeys or snake charmers, or any of the shows/actors/performers within the markets ALWAYS set a price first then proceed to take the picture. If not, you will likely be stuck haggling a higher price than normal and you cannot walk away without paying either!

We had a late dinner that night at a restaurant called Jad Mahal, super fine dining with entertainment all night. If you love Thai food, this is the place for you. The restaurant itself was very luxurious. Portions are small (predictably for a pricey restaurant) but my Thai green curry was cooked to perfection.

Day 6

CHEZ ALI -

During the day, we decided to return to Jamaa El Fna to buy our souvenirs as we had a better idea of what was there and prices etc. We were able to relax and walk around at ease in comparison to night time when it was hectic and swarming with people. We also took a picture with a snake!


For our last evening we decided to book up with our hotel to go to Chez Ali Fantasia. This is a dinner and horse riding show which was worth every penny. You are seated in beautiful tent areas for a full moroccan dinner which includes: Hariri soup, Mechoui (Lamb tagine/on spit), Couscous, Moroccan Patisserie, fresh fruit platters and mint tea. The servings are extremely generous.


Whilst you eat, different Berber singers and entertainment make the rounds in all the tents. You then head outside into the seating arena with another 250/300 people and watch a spectacular horse-riding show, belly dancing, charging horsemen firing traditional guns, acrobatics, flying carpet and to conclude with a magnificent fireworks display. It was a perfect ending to our last night in Kech. You can see more in the video below!

Day 7

Our flight was in the evening and so we lounged in our hotel, had a few mocktails, stayed poolside and became sad upon leaving such a beautiful and friendly city! I will definitely be back, until next time Kech, you were so good to me.
S.K.

Happy Birthday Zunainah!