Travel Blog 2: Honeymoon @ Mauritius

Well before I start telling you about our trip to Mauritius, I should tell you that I got married (or you may have some bad ideas!). Briefly - I got married to a Software Engineer, Vinayak Murthy. I was going around with this guy for 5 years and some months (before marriage), plus currently 10 months (after marriage). Of course, it will hopefully continue for some more time ;)

Anyways, coming to the more interesting part; after marriage Vinay and I went on a Honeymoon trip to Mauritius. And what follows is an account of this trip.

Mauritius is a small but beautiful country. The roads are clean, traffic is well controlled and, to top it all, the people are real nice! We booked our trip through a travel agent but it would be worth to explore it by oneself. So when we arrived at the Mauritius airport, we were picked up in a nice big car by our escort, who dropped us at our resort - Hotel Klondike. The resort was fabulous! Our room was facing the beach; awesome breeze and a beautiful view. The food, however, was not very good (maybe we just didn't fancy African food).

Day 1: First evening, we took it light with a walk on the beach and a romantic dinner (no details about what happened in the night).

Day 2: Second day on, we went out to explore the country. The first place we visited was the Casela zoological park. We got to see peacocks, tortoises, different kinds of birds and fishes and even monkeys. It was like any ordinary zoo and we thought there is nothing much to expect. Then we heard that there was a special tour that we could take if we could part with a few more Mauritian dollars. We took it just for fun, not knowing what was in store. There was this long bus journey through some green forest-like areas and finally we arrived at our destination. And what do you think we found there? Lions! Living and breathing and right in front of us! We were in a group and were given a stick for protection (would you ever have guessed a lion could be frightened of a teeny-weeny stick?). We were then taken one after the other to pose near the lions. It was fascinating to show off later but I was damn scared sitting next to a lion!! We got to see cheetahs as well.

Day 3: The third day, we visited a bottle making company where we had a chance to observe how bottles are made from glass. We also posed before the 'magic mirrors' that made us look fatter and shorter than we actually are. Quite funny! After that, we went to a ship making company and saw very small to titanic-size ships on display. Then we went on a long drive and stopped to take pictures of beautiful views on the way. We visited the drinking water reservoir of Mauritius. Amazing to see how that small reservoir could quench the thirst of all the Mauritians put together! Afterwards, we went to a shiva temple where there was a huge Shiva Statue right in front. Magnificent structure. Then we went to the Black River park with a mountain view, followed by a visit to the water fall (I was very scared of the height!). Finally we went to see the seven colour sand (volcanic area). After a long and exciting day we went back to the resort to relax on the beach

Day 4: We met with some relatives living in Mauritius who were very nice and took us out to visit more places. We went with them to Port Louis which is the capital of Mauritius. We saw the ships in the harbour. Then we went to Le Caudan Waterfront; a mall in Port Louis. It was like the city centre and had many people walking around. We went to a casino there and I won two Mauritian dollars! Afterwards, we went to a racing course and watched an exciting horse race. At the end of the day, we went to our relatives place and together with their family, went out for dinner. During dinner, our relatives surprised us with a cake with lighted crackers and a Mauritian traditional dance by the waiters! It was very nice.

Day 5: On the fifth day of our visit, we went to another island near Mauritius. We took a motor boat ride to that island. On the way we did adventure sports like para sailing, undersea walk and tube ride. Para sailing was very exciting and it helped bring down my fear of heights. Undersea walk was a walk with nature. We got to touch the fishes! The gear was too heavy for our tiny heads but we didn't feel the weight at all under the water. Finally, the tube ride was exhilarating!

Day 6: On the final day of our Honeymoon trip, we went to meet our relative who took us for a tour of the Pepsi company. We saw how Pepsi produced and marketed its various drinks. After that, there were more family visits. Finally the trip came to a sad end at the airport and we took our return flight back to our homeland.

So folks, that is how our honeymoon trip went by. You may be wondering whether we had time to do the real stuff but believe me we did! It was fun unlimited!!! :)