Get revved and souk it up
Typically, travellers arrive in Marrakech after having traversed the mountainous terrain of Ait Ben Haddou. On arrival in the city, they spend three – or more, or fewer – nights at the enchanting Villa des Orangers, depending on their schedule and tastes. The sidecar experience itself is the perfect way to get to grips with the labyrinthine streets of this characterful city. Your guide doesn’t – however – have to follow a predetermined route. If you see, or smell, something interesting, they’ll steer you in the right direction.
Low to the ground; engine purring like a cat. Our Moroccan sidecar experience starts off in the souks of Marrakech, where you’ll swerve and bob between the busy throngs of stalls and shoppers: smelling the aromas of ancient tanneries and spice markets, the air laced with felfla (cayenne), karfa (cinnamon), quekoum (turmeric) and the all-important zafrane (saffron). Take a pit-stop at the Moorish opulence of Riad Farnatchi. Or shop for beautiful beni ourain rugs; their sheep-skin faces laced with dazzling geometries of black.
Your vehicle of choice will be the Chang Jiang 750; one of the first mass-produced vehicles in China, which themselves were copies of an earlier Russian design. To put it another way, they’re bold, brash, and stylish as hell.
Picking up speed – as the traffic melts away – you’ll race first through the Old Town and on toward powerful La Palmeraie; a lush oasis of palm trees located on the verdant outskirts of the ancient city.