Beautiful Mauritius!

 In August I had the opportunity to visit Mauritius for the first time. It has taken me a long time to finally do this write-up. Thank God i kept my notes. I had only ever read about Mauritius as a splendid holiday destination and never imagined I would go there anytime soon. How breathtaking the place is I can never really put in words.

I will definitely remember the country for the serenity that I found at the beach, all alone, and its companionable taxi drivers, the most awesome of them being Mendra Moonsamy. He took us around the island and was full of entertaining stories, like the history of the now extinct Dodo. He was very well-informed about the places of interest and had the warmest heart I’ve ever seen in a stranger, let alone a taxi driver.

The shops at Bagatelle Shopping mall disappointed me because they are mostly the same as the South African ones,  talk of Spur, Woolworths, Foschini, Bata, Panarottis, MacDonald’s, Food Lovers Market, and the like.  I was hoping to find more shops with exotic clothing and food I wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world, but alas…

Tea-tasting at Bois Cheri

There as stiff competition among restaurants at Bagatelle. On my first evening there we ate at Sitar, an Indian restaurant. I had seen the name before at Cresta shopping Mall in South Africa, but had never eaten there. The service was really good. The waiters waited hand on foot and kept our water glasses filled. We also got free tapas, which was something I’m not used to where I come from. I had a chicken dish and buttered naan bread and a bit of rice. Afterwards we went to the Flying Dodo for drinks. I had cappuccino and cake. The waiter brought eclairs that looked delectable but didn’t really taste good at all. The cream tasted extremely alcoholic, rummy.

The next morning found us having breakfast at Café Moka’z in Allez d’Helvetia. Hygiene was really wanting here. My friends got used water glasses with lipstick stains, and when they made the discovery, I was prompted to check my cup and discovered it had drippings of tea around it. it had evidently been used without being washed. The café was almost empty and it perplexed me that they didn’t take time to clean their utensils.  

Troux aux Cerfs

At Ah Yuan, at Flic au Flac, we were just ignored and left without eatingL. I enjoyed the meal we had at Philly Steaks. The sandwiches were absolutely fantastic, but the noodle box was not really spectacular in comparison. It was, however, a simple recipe that I would love to try at home. I will be a little generous with the chicken while I’m at it. I swear I could count the bits of chicken in the box on my fingers (on one palm).After our meal at Philly Steaks, we headed to Flying Dodo again and I had vanilla tea and chicken wings, which were really scrumptious.

Shiva's Statue at Grand Bassin

I was thrilled to hear French all around me and realise that the little French I knew hadn’t completely died out. Mendra took us to see the Troux aux Cerfs right in the middle of the island. I couldn’t believe that a volcano, which is usually a bad thing, could leave such an incredibly beautiful crater as a legacy. Here there were a few locals selling mementos. Being the cheapskate that I am, I decided not to buy cute little tortoises I saw there, hoping I would find them at a cheaper place, which I never didL. When you are on vacation or a place where time is a scarce commodity, just buy whatever you like without procrastinating.

We also passed by the Grand Bassin, an extinct volcano, now a lake high up in the mountains. It is, reportedly, the most sacred Hindu place on the island of Mauritius. It is also a well-known place of interest and has a temple dedicated to Shiva. Unfortunately for us, on the only day that we could go sight-seeing, it was pouring and we could not really get out of the car to look around, especially at The Grand Bassin. I was really keen to see the place. Owing to the downpour, it was rather difficult to take the best pictures, but I’m sure the ones we took have their own aesthetic quality.

The only time I appreciated the wet weather was when we visited the tea estate, Bois Cheri. There is a museum with all the information you can get regarding how the estate started. We were able to drink gallons upon gallons of flavoured tea. I am a tea lover, so I had a ball.

Click here, here and here to see some of the pictures I took.