Unexpected pleasures...
Discussion
Or "Places that turned out a lot better than anticipated".
The Morocco thread got me thinking about markets, and one in particular in Tunisia. It's turned out a bit more waffly than I intended, sorry
We'd booked a 10 day break in a hotel in Tunisia as we'd both had a stressful time at work and we really couldn't be bothered planning anything complicated. When we arrived I realised I'd actually been there before with my mum about 15 years previously, and it looked like they hadn't decorated since. One of the pools was closed, the diving board was fenced off as it appeared to be on the brink of collapsing into the water, tiles were falling off the walls in the bathroom and all the furniture in the bar had been replaced with cheap white plastic garden chairs.
Suffice to say it was awful. The food was terrible, the other guests either chavs or retirees eking out their pensions in the sun. It was not our idea of a good time, but as the flight and accommodation had worked out cheaper than a flight alone we weren't too unhappy.
After a couple of days we found the rep and asked her to sort out a hire car for the remaining time we had, and, grateful for our foresight in buying a Lonely Planet guide in the airport, we set off.
We had a great week making our plans up as we went along, staying longer if places took our fancy and moving on if they didn't. On the way back to the coast and our hotel we decided to have a quick look at Tunisia's main industrial city of Sfax, as it split our journey up neatly. The guidebook mentioned the medina briefly, but from the sounds of it there wasn't much worth seeing.
We arrived around lunchtime, so we went out for a walk to look for something to eat. We walked through the huge imposing gateway into the cool of the medina, and found a bustling market which was unlike any other I've visited.
It was utterly untouristy. No one tried to sell us carpets or hookahs, no one told us their shop was "Cheap as Asda", the kids didn't beg and it was clear that we were the novelty. People invited us in for tea and expected nothing but conversation in return. We spent the rest of the day there, eating in a cafe high up on the outer wall before finding a hotel late on.
Of course our unanticipated stop meant the drive back to catch our flight wasn't quite as leisurely as we'd hoped
The Morocco thread got me thinking about markets, and one in particular in Tunisia. It's turned out a bit more waffly than I intended, sorry
We'd booked a 10 day break in a hotel in Tunisia as we'd both had a stressful time at work and we really couldn't be bothered planning anything complicated. When we arrived I realised I'd actually been there before with my mum about 15 years previously, and it looked like they hadn't decorated since. One of the pools was closed, the diving board was fenced off as it appeared to be on the brink of collapsing into the water, tiles were falling off the walls in the bathroom and all the furniture in the bar had been replaced with cheap white plastic garden chairs.
Suffice to say it was awful. The food was terrible, the other guests either chavs or retirees eking out their pensions in the sun. It was not our idea of a good time, but as the flight and accommodation had worked out cheaper than a flight alone we weren't too unhappy.
After a couple of days we found the rep and asked her to sort out a hire car for the remaining time we had, and, grateful for our foresight in buying a Lonely Planet guide in the airport, we set off.
We had a great week making our plans up as we went along, staying longer if places took our fancy and moving on if they didn't. On the way back to the coast and our hotel we decided to have a quick look at Tunisia's main industrial city of Sfax, as it split our journey up neatly. The guidebook mentioned the medina briefly, but from the sounds of it there wasn't much worth seeing.
We arrived around lunchtime, so we went out for a walk to look for something to eat. We walked through the huge imposing gateway into the cool of the medina, and found a bustling market which was unlike any other I've visited.
It was utterly untouristy. No one tried to sell us carpets or hookahs, no one told us their shop was "Cheap as Asda", the kids didn't beg and it was clear that we were the novelty. People invited us in for tea and expected nothing but conversation in return. We spent the rest of the day there, eating in a cafe high up on the outer wall before finding a hotel late on.
Of course our unanticipated stop meant the drive back to catch our flight wasn't quite as leisurely as we'd hoped
I went to tunisia couple of yrs ago 4star my arse
utter, utter dump. food was disgusting - ventured out into town one night to find decent restraunt & feared for our lives.. I remember passing a small town called bhagdadi on the way - it felt like bhagdad
sorry, didnt turn out any better!
maldvies was nice though
utter, utter dump. food was disgusting - ventured out into town one night to find decent restraunt & feared for our lives.. I remember passing a small town called bhagdadi on the way - it felt like bhagdad
sorry, didnt turn out any better!
maldvies was nice though
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