Little did Siu Ha know that a trip to Morocco would bring her the love of her life, Said, and they would start a hotel business together in the Medina of Fez, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Siu Ha told The Epoch Times how she first met Said in Morocco a decade ago.
“It was just a thought that ‘I’m interested in going to Morocco for their mosques’ in 2012,” she said. “And at our first Morocco hotel, this porter was helping us with the luggage; his name was Said.”
At the time, Said’s English was limited, but “that did not become a barrier for us to communicate,” Siu Ha said. “Simple words, gestures, body language, that’s how he expressed his affections. He was very unpretentious.”
But the language barrier wasn’t the only obstacle. Living thousands of miles apart, the couple maintained a long-distance relationship.
“The rates were like $30 Hong Kong dollars [about $3.80] per minute for each caller, and I was just very touched because it was not cheap for him,” Siu Ha said.
Nevertheless, their chemistry was catalyzed quickly following Said’s decision to move to Chefchaouen, known as the “Blue Pearl of Morocco,” for better income. Consequently, it also motivated Siu Ha to step out of her comfort zone, as she had always been resistant to change.
“In 2015, I decided to start a hotel with him in Morocco,” she said, recalling how Dar Borj came to be one of the best hotels in the city.
“That’s also one of our dreams—to help people in developing countries attain a better livelihood.”
The couple used their savings to buy a century-old house in an old medina of the city, then renovated it into a luxurious, palace-like hotel.
“The wealthiest tourists, surprisingly, actually prefer cozy, luxurious hotels like this instead of the five-star hotels,” said Siu Ha in astonishment. “Perhaps they feel more ‘local’ in hotels like ours.”
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 devastated local tourism and, subsequently, hotel businesses. Following the shutdown of international flights, Dar Borj struggled to stay in business.
“I went back to Hong Kong in April 2020 so that I could work and send money to keep the hotel alive,” Siu Ha said. “Said expanded the hotel and built a rooftop glasshouse as well.”
The couple reunited two years later after Morocco reopened in March. Dar Borj was fully booked in April, indicating a strong bounce back in tourism in the region.
“Perhaps, I learned to have a positive outlook on life,” Siu Ha laughed.
“Turning negative events into positive outcomes, I think that’s what entrepreneurs do.”
