Mauritius is the Miss World of holiday destinations. Think – blue skies, palm fringed white soft sandy beaches, unending days of warm sunshine, crystal clear waters and warm friendly people. Because Mauritius is keen to prevent over development, it retains a lot of it’s natural beauty. It was originally uninhabited and the home of the dodo which is now extinct thanks to the arrival of mankind on the island a few hundred years ago.
And it’s not just the dodo that we will never see again. There are lots of animal and plant species that have been wiped out by the intentional and accidental introduction of foreign creatures and plants. A trip to one of the nature reserves will give insight into the flora and fauna which are such a critical part of the character of Mauritius. Read more here – Mauritian Wildlife Foundation.
Hindu shrine next to the beach
Tourism – brings in a third of the Mauritian foreign income so they also want to ensure it remains a premium holiday destination. It’s a favourite port of call for passenger liners. Development occurs in resorts that are geared to cater to your every whim.
You can expect a room next to the beach with views of the Indian Ocean from your balcony. A week break will typically include airport transfers, breakfast, and in-house activities such as use of a gym and pool and beach games such as volleyball. Extras such as fishing safaris, cycle trips, spa treatments and day trips around the island can be booked at the reception desk.
Greenie at a beach bar
Because Mauritius is almost a year round destination we decided to use up some of our accumulated air miles and pop across. I often think the point of air miles is to make sure – you never actually get a free flight – as they limit the number of seats, time of year, amount of time you have to book ahead . . . you know the story.
I once got a free fight from SAA using air miles. Got my confirmation by text and an e-mail which I printed. As you do. When I arrived at the airport, my ticket had been cancelled. Just like that. No warning, no explanation, no apology, no alternate flight, no nothing.
Indoor market
Since the only time to avoid Mauritius is January to March when there is a possibility of cyclones, we had a fair chance of redeeming our air miles. Best time to go? April to October. The temperature is fairly constant year round, averaging between 25’C and 30’C. They don’t seem to have a winter or a summer.
Hand made boat – one of the local crafts
Mauritius is popular for French tourists who make up 25% of the visitors. English is the official language but not everyone can speak it. Newspapers, schools, notices and legislature are all in French. But the language everyone actually speaks is Creole, which is not taught in their schools. There are 22 different languages spoken on the island including Hindi, Tamil and Arabic. The people are a mix of French and British colonialists who settled, and slaves who arrived from India, Africa and China. This mix of cultures has created a unique hybrid cuisine. Mauritian food is to die for. Have a look at these foodie sites – Madeline, Dima and Runweb. Plenty fresh food and vegetables. Lots of yummy curries and a great place for vegetarians – except when on excursions when they cater for tourists – read about that next week.
We stayed at – Le Méridien Ile Maurice – which is near Turtle Bay. It’s on the north east of the island which was a fairly newly developed area, away from the busy tourist places. We had to take a taxi to go exploring. Our room was spacious and we could see and hear the ocean rolling outside.
Pool Le Méridien Hotel
Breakfast was an eat-all-you-want buffet. The choice and variety was so vast that it defied belief. You can start your day with champagne and oysters, a bowl of Bircher muesli, a full on English fry up or delicate pastries. It’s all there. We had our evening meal in-house and the evening meal was yet another almighty buffet. They have a different theme for each night of the week such as Italian or Creole. And if that wasn’t enough choice they had more restaurants where you could have seafood or a curry perhaps. You will not go hungry at these resorts.
See – Part 2 – next week for what to see and do in Mauritius.
Beach Le Méridien Hotel
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
This blog is written in 3 parts. Last week in – Part 1 – I talked about north vs south India, the climate and the people.
I want to talk about the things I loved about India. Firstly the food. There are apparently more vegetarians in India alone than the rest of the world combined. Forty percent of the population is vegetarian. You saw the population figures in the last post. That’s a lot of vegetarians. India is heaven for vegetarians.
Raj Ghat for Ghandi
As it happens I love curry and I got to eat curry for breakfast, lunch and supper. As you do in India. Most Indian menus have a tiny section with ‘non-vegetarian’ food. It’s normally the other way round in Western countries. I’ve never had it so good. One word of warning. Do not under any circumstances eat street food. Our tour guide told us exactly where we could and couldn’t eat. After three weeks, I got brave and tried a place he hadn’t suggested and I got – Delhi Belly. I won’t elaborate but you do NOT want this to happen to you.
The face says it all – Greenie about to tuck into a curry
The same applies to bottled water that the locals sell on the streets. We were told it’s not always clean pure water so don’t even think about buying it. Indian curries come with lots of accompaniments and trying out various vegetables and masala (spice) combinations was great fun. Not to missed either is Masala Chai (spiced tea), Lassi (smoothie) and Indian. They have so many sweets to choose from and are unlike anything in the west.
One little piece of advice. Indians eat their curries fire hot. If you get asked how you like your curry, there is a big difference between an English hot curry and an Indian hot curry. Start with a mild curry and work up to your preferred heat from there.
Heritage accommodation
India is a shoppers paradise. Pack light because you are sure to do quite a bit of shopping. You can’t help it. Prices are good and you find things unlike anything anywhere else. I bought embroidered pashminas, Kerela towels (great for traveling), hand-made leather shoes, gorgeous fabrics, jewelery made with silver and semi precious stones, books and cotton bohemian style clothing. There are also table cloths, bed linen, teas, hand carved wooden items, cloth bags and much, much more. If I could have, I would have bought more.
Visiting a local villager to taste chickpea dumplings
The best prices are to be found on the streets at the markets. Locals will try and push their prices up on seeing you are a foreigner so first walk around going from stall to stall. Check prices between vendors. It won’t take long before sellers run after you dropping their prices and hustling, trying to score a sale. If it all gets too much, and it can, it’s easier to shop at the tourist shops. Prices are higher but you still get good deals and you will be safe from over pushy traders. One thing I can promise, if the street traders spot a buyer, they will hound and harass you, even after you have bought bags of goods, they will go on and on trying to sell to you. If you can tough it out you will get excellent bargains.
I visited – The Golden Triangle – which is where most new visitors to India go and India’s most popular destination. The triangle is between Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Our tour took in lots of temples and historical places. Key attractions in the big cities such as the Taj Mahal and Raj Ghat are included but we also got to stay in places like the Venice of the east – Udaipur.
Venice of the East – Udaipur
Our accommodation at night was mostly in old palaces, castles and forts. India has an affirmative action policy whereby people from lower castes are being given opportunities to move up the ladder. Royal and land owning families are exempt from these programmes. As a result many are turning their land, palaces and castles into tourist accommodation to make a living. We took turns to sleep in the royal quarters which are historical rooms decorated in heritage style. Accommodation on the tour was interesting and varied. Our tour guide told us he was a prince. His father was apparently a Maharajah and his mum a Maharani.
Local ladies washing clothes in the lake
Breakfast was included. Sometimes our evening meal plus entertainment by local musicians and dancers was in-house. Or we went out to a restaurant for our evening meal. I like a glass of wine with my supper but in India I took to drinking one of their local beers – Kingfisher with our meals.
Next week in the final – Part 3 – I will be discussing temples, holy animals, castes
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
