Sun.. Sand.. Sea.. Bliss !

We decided to go tropical this time and were trying to choose among Mauritius, Maldives and Seychelles. Finally decided on Mauritius because :

Bigger island. Lot of things to do. Since we planned for an entire week, Maldives/Seychelles had less to offer. More activities Much easier on the pockets! Ha ha ????

We reached Mauritius on 22nd Dec'15. On arrival, we were greeted by a travel guide who briefed us on our itinerary. Most of the agencies through which we book Mauritius packages, usually deal with local travel agencies who arrange a sort of group tour. In our group, we had people who had booked through MakeMyTrip, Hammock Holidays, Itraveller etc..

There were lot of other Indian couples along with us, so we were all huddled up in a cab. Our resort "Tropical Attitude" was about an hour's drive from the airport. The airport is on the South of the island while our resort was in the East. On the way, we could see a loooot of sugarcane fields. Not surprising, since sugar is their major source of revenue. Our guide told us that the sugar extracted in Mauritius is called "brown sugar" (not the drug :P) because of its colour and most of it is exported to European countries where there is a huge demand. Mauritians in-turn import white sugar from South Africa ???? Also, there are very few places where sugarcane juice is sold.

When I came across a temple there and some ladies dressed in Sarees, I was shocked ! Though, if I had done any background study, I should not have been ???? Hinduism is the major religion in Mauritius(around 50%) ! Initially when our guide spoke to us in Hindi, I thought he might have learnt it to communicate well with tourists. But, reality is a large portion of the population can speak Hindi as it is taught in schools. The native language is Creole, which sounds like broken French.

Few random shots of the beach on the way from airport :

As soon as I saw the resort, my first thought was "Wow ! It really does look like I how I imagined it would !".

You know, more often than not, when you book a hotel/resort, you have set some expectations based on the reviews you read or the description on their site. The site naturally paints a very pretty picture and only the best images are posted. I booked "Tropical Attitude" because I really liked what I saw in the pictures. The site also said the property overlooked a private lagoon. Though I dint believe it completely, I thought its worth a try since the reviews were very good.

But after being there, I realised the site is very honest ????

The backdrop of the crystal clear blue lagoon, a swimming pool right in the middle of the lounge, the rooms which are hardly 30 steps away from the lagoon, the jetty, the coconut trees, the hammocks... Oh my ! It was just Puuurrrrfeeccttt !

The view from our balcony *hearts in eyes*

*Trying to be creative* ????

After we checked-in, we were given a very fancy notebook to jot down our experiences in Mauritius ! Ain't that sweet ! ???? ????

We reached our hotel by evening, so we spent the rest of the day checking out the property.

The jetty (Thats me there ???? )

The next day we took a day trip to Ile Aux Cerfs(pronounced Eel Oh Sair) island which is famous for its water sports. We were taken by speed boat to the platform where the activities were arranged. Now, I have been on speed boats before, but this one was AMAZING to say the least !! Me and my hubby were sitting near the tip of the boat and the driver(?) warned us that it was going to be a bumpy ride and it was !!! It was awesome ! ????

We had opted for a combo of Parasailing, Undersea walking and speed boat ride to a waterfalls. As soon as we got to the platform, the helper asked us to wear the life jackets and before we realised, we were in the air !! ???? The lift to the air is the most thrilling part. Once in air, the view is stunning ! 400ft above the ground/sea, me and hubby were shouting to the operator to not bring us down ???? ????

From there we were off to do our undersea walk. After putting on our helmets, we were taken to the sea bed. We saw quite a few varieties of fish and it was a surreal experience to have the fish float around us ???? The guide made us hold hands and the guide was holding my hand. Since he was holding bread crumbs in that hand, most of the fish were eating off my hand ???? ???? It was incredible !! It was a 10 minute walk and we were the first ones to go and last ones to come back ???? Even here we were refusing to come back up ???? ????

Nothing much to say regarding the waterfalls. Coming from the land of the Jog Falls, we were not very impressed ???? ????

The next day was North Mauritius tour which is the tour of the capital city Port Louis (pronounced Por Loo-wee). First point was the Red Church :

Many Bollywood movies have been shot here.

Then the Open Church which was built for the slaves

Next was the Citadel Fort which is a view point from where we can see the entire city. The city is very well planned. On one side of the Fort, all you see is official/commercial buildings and on the other side, all residential.

A random pic of the city:

Next stop was the Caudan Waterfront mall which is the largest mall in Mauritius and then, the Riche Terre mall which has the Jumbo Hypermarket. All we shopped here was water ???? (See the "Tips" in the bottom of the page to know why ???? )

Nothing planned for the third day. So we took the glass bottom boat ride offered by the hotel. We saw many varieties of fish- zebra fish, trumpet fish, some coloured fishes, star fish, also turtles, snakes, sea urchins and coral. On the way back, Michael(the guy who took us on the boat) offered to take us on a speed boat closer to the reef. Who would say no to that ?? So, off we went ???? Its easy to see where the reef is, even from a distance. As the coral reef curtails the waves, the impact can be seen as a white line.

The next day was South Mauritius tour. Had lot of expectations on this particular tour as I thought we would be going to Chamarel which has the 7 colour sand. But, the guide told us that they will be taking us to La Couleurs Park which has the 23-coloured earth. Still ok ! The first point was the volcano, which has been dormant since some 7 million years or so. All we could see was a pond - in a valley kind of thing ???? ???? Who would expect that ??

The volcano ????

Then we saw some temples - Grand Basin, Ganga Talao(It is said that Ganga and this body of water come from the same source) and Shiv Mandir. After this, we were taken to a ship model factory. After all, model ships and dodos are the most popular souvenirs in Mauritius. Here, we saw how ship models are made. There were models of all sizes and the detailing was amazing ! But too expensive, sorry !

We also visited the Adamas Diamond Jewellery store. I already told you ship models were expensive, so don't have to say what I bought here ???? ????

Finally, we got to the La Couleurs Park. The guide told us we will have to take quad bikes for rent as the walk would be too long and the walking trail does not cover many interesting spots. But, we all insisted that we wanted to walk as the prices were too high. He then offered to take us in a jeep for a lesser price. We agreed. Too bad, later we found out we could have easily walked and the trail is the same ???? ???? Anyway, nothing much in this park. We saw a few giant tortoises. The 23-coloured earth was not as appealing as we thought. Heard Chamarel is much better but guides don't take tourists there as the entry fare is high and there are no activities.

Back to the resort, got a rejuvenating Mauritian massage done and hit the sack.

Sunday. No planned activities. We wanted to get out of the touristy mode and check out some local places and markets. After speaking to some hotel staff and local people, we decided to go to Flacq for some local shopping. Decided to take the public transport ???? Took a bus from Trou D'Eau Douce and got off at Flacq market. Did some shopping there. Also, went to SuperU hypermarket. Overall, a good day ! ????

Monday ! Day to leave. Took another trip to Flacq by bus to have the famous Dholl Puri again ???? It's basically freshly prepared Rumali roti rolled with curry stuffing. Was super yummy ????

Even after a week in Mauritius, I did not get enough of the blue sea, the more I saw, the more I wanted to. I don't really understand why the colour blue is associated with sadness ??!!

Few tips for those travelling to Mauritius :

- For Forex, plan ahead and get the amount converted to MUR in the SSR airport itself. You will get the best rates. Nowhere else on the island you will get this rate. And if you wish to convert any MUR back to INR/USD on your way back, Shibani Finance in the airport gives a good rate. 

 - Water is pretty expensive here. Especially for Indians. The prices are different for tourists and locals. Resorts charge anything from 90-100MUR for 1ltr bottle and most of the local shops charge 30MUR. Restaurants do not provide water for free. You will have to buy. Check out hypermarkets near you and buy from there. A one and half litre bottle will typically cost around 14-15MUR. Always carry enough water bottles wherever you go. 

- If you book through any travel agency, they will in-turn book through a local Mauritian operator like Seaside Holidays, Island Hoppers etc. Check these out when planning and book directly through them.