On booking my flight to Marrakech there was one thing I was certain of, I was going to have a hammam massage. Having never had a proper massage before and knowing I was going to need to get at least semi naked there was only one other holiday goer eager to join me, my best friend Teen.

After spending a long day touring the souks we decided to take the plunge. Having moved riads half way through the holiday we headed back to our original riad within which the hammam spa was located. Our lovely female masseuse got the steam going and told us we could just go topless if that would make us more comfortable. A perfect compromise, or so we thought. After chilling in the steam for some 15 minutes and having our hair washed with henna, we took it in turns to lie face down for the scrub to commence. It started well, using a wet glove with a texture similar to sandpaper and an array of herbal concoctions I was scrubbed from head to lower back, being shown every few minutes the dead skin that was being erased from my body. Upon reaching my lower back the masseuse whipped off my bikini bottoms and began to scrub in places I dare not speak of. Turning me onto my back she continued with the same vigour, travelling from head to toe making sure every part of my body was clean. That’s right, EVERY part of my body, whilst Teen sat at my feet, staring straight ahead, quietly chuckling to herself, as I had done to her.

After both going through this slightly traumatic yet strangely enjoyable experience Teen and I stood in the steam, naked as the day we were born to be jet washed down with freezing cold water.

We said our thank you's, left a generous tip (she had of course seen things I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy) and left passing awkward looks across to each other, unable to deny how gloriously soft our skin felt. Walking back to the second riad through a sea of Moroccan men, clutching our underwear in our hands wasn’t the most comfortable of moments, however making everyone feel my skin when I got back certainly was!

SURVIVAL TIP:
Go all out. Thinking back if Teen and I had got naked from the very start, the hammam experience probably wouldn’t have seemed so weird. However the comedy element was certainly worthwhile!

Whilst in Morocco my dear friend Anne celebrated her birthday. Perusing Vogue whilst back in the UK she had seen a review of a fantastic (albeit expensive - come on kids, it is Vogue) Desert Oasis called La Pause wherein you could play desert golf, ride camels and have mint tea brought to you in your monad tent. We were sold.

After arranging a minibus we headed off from the Riad in sight of a luxurious day. Several of the group had been weary about attending due to the added costs we were sure to be met with on arrival, however due to the birthday ties everybody decided to get involved. Thank God!

Driving through the desert, away from the hustle and bustle of the city we were soon hurtling across a vast empty desert. Out in the arid abyss there was nothing to be seen, no matter how hard we tried to spot it on the horizon. After passing our fourth or fifth abandoned fortress we mounted a sand dune and got our first glimpse of the oasis. A small trickling stream ran through the baron desert with lush gardens either side and up on top of a sand dune on the other side of the valley sat our very own nomad tent. Leaving our driver out in the desert (the guilt soon wore off) we were met by a lovely gentleman in a cream kaftan with chocolate brown trimming. As he led the group up the dunes, a couple of us stayed back to drop off the secret birthday cake we’d hidden on our journey there.

Anne and Chad chose to partake in a spot of desert golf, a brilliantly humorous affair wherein one caddy followed them round the ‘course’ and lay a small square of carpet on the sand for them to put from, while the other ran into the distance for them to aim at! The rest of the group took a stroll through the orchards and stroked the camels that had been arranged to come and say hello to us until we all met back up for mint tea, birthday cake and shisha. On return from golf Anne and Chad relayed stories of the fabulous people who had flown in from various places across the globe, however for today, the camp was our own.

As the sun set over the desert and the candles were lit in the valley ready for our evening meal I felt a sense of calm and serenity that I cannot explain. It had been such a surreal day, most of which had been spent with little conversation other than the general consensus of how amazing our lives were and how we all wanted to some day get married in the desert.

The wind picked up and we were taken back down to the valley to another tent for dinner. Over another shisha, olives, nuts and wine we discussed our friendship. The holiday group had been an odd selection of friends, some who had never met before but who had over a few days become a tight nit group who all wanted to be in the same place at the same time. The calm and beauty of the desert cemented this bond. After a three course candle lit meal including the most tender lamp and apricot tagine I have ever eaten, Chad called us out of the tent for a spot of stargazing. 

‘Come and look at Jupiter guys.’

OH. MY. GOD! Are you kidding me? Morocco is giving me Jupiter right now?! SOB!

SURVIVAL TIP
Sometimes you’ve just got to splash out. In this instance it was my friends birthday so we all had to take part. Under any other circumstances this might have been something I’d have passed up due to the price, yet this experience wasn’t just a favourite of the holiday, but a good top 5 in the best life moments ever list. I have never appreciated a group of people more, and I will remember that feeling, and those people for the rest of my life.