Not quite like an Australian (yet) but I do get around...
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Mauritius, November 2007
What can I say about Mauritius except that it is quite obviously a beautiful holiday destination and it goes without saying that we experienced 7 days and nights of pure island paradise (we stayed in the North Eastern village of Grand Gaube). However, I should point out that "tourist" Mauritius is a parallel universe to the "real" Mauritius which is a small developing country and when you step outside of your 5-star resort, expect to see a lot of run-down, derelict buildings and small sundry shops. I liked the "real" Mauritius because it reminded me very much of my beloved Melaka. Anyway, there's really no point in me going into all of the minute details of the trip (well, mainly because I've left it so long to blog on that I really cannot be arsed at this point), so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
P.S. I will say that doing yoga on the beach will take you to a surreal level of serenity.
P.P.S I will so spare you and myself shots of any swimsuit pictures.
We stayed at Legends Hotel and I cannot fault it one bit. The service was impeccable, the surroundings divine and the food absolutely mouthwatering. Highly recommended
The view from our balcony
Self-indulgent shot of myself on said balcony
The hotel beach
One of the many nauseating "romantic" weddings that took place on the beach. Excuse me while I vomit and be cynical
Grand Baie was the nearest town. Very chilled out place, inexpensive, like I said, kinda reminded me of Melaka. I kept looking out for a Jaya Jusco
We really indulged in a spa in Grand Baie (the name escapes me) as the prices were just so damn cheap - Balinese massages, facials... and that was just Matt! And of course the sign above ensured we behaved ourselves amongst the staff
Matt taking advantage of the hotel's free water skiing lessons....
...alas, he did not take like a duck to water on those skis
We ventured out of the hotel on bicycles to explore the surrounding area so here's a random shot of the ocean taken during the excursion
I was chuffed to find a Made in Melaka Rota Potato Snack! Manufactured in Ayer Keroh baby, a stone's throw away from home!
Glass water boat trip. I am afraid I don't have any pictures of our Open Water style snorkelling expedition where I seriously thought that was the end of me. I was struggling to save my life so taking pictures really didn't top the list of priorities. Here's a tip - if you're a beginner, don't go snorkelling in the middle of the Indian Ocean during high tide
Swansea and Mumbles weren't that great. But the Gower Peninsula is something else. So, great looking beaches do exist in the UK after all! Shame it's too cold most of the time but I can imagine how fantastic it would be on a good summer's day. We were quite lucky to have good weather on the day we went to visit Rhossili. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Oh, by the way, I have never eaten so much fish and chips during one weekend!
According to Matt this is part of a shipwreck. When pressed for more details, Matt replied "How the hell do I know?!"
I really enjoyed Brussels despite hearing mixed reviews about it. I think that if you go to Brussels expecting great food, chocolate and beers, you will not be disappointed! A short weekend is more than enough and whatever you do, don't waste your time going to the Atomium. Yes, it is impressive from the outside but once inside, there's nothing in those damn atoms and you have to queue up for ages to get to the top and even then, the skyline isn't that great.
Brussels is a bit run down, which is a shame because you can tell it is a beautiful city.
Matt and I met up with my friend Clara who was there with her friend Diana on a day trip. A friend of Clara's, Ben, a frenchman living in Brussels, met up with her and was kind enough to show us around and even told me and Matt where to go for proper food away from the tourist track. As you can see, I was delighted with my moules et frites (latter not pictured)....
A few of the must-see sites are:
Manneken Pis (you know that small boy taking a leak...)
Istanbul ROCKS! It's cheap, fun and you're bound to bump into a few mad Turks! Yes, we saw all the usual sights (Blue Mosque, Ayia Sophia, the Bosphorus etc) so I won't bore you with them as they're self-explanatory really. Istanbul is alive and kicking 24-7 and they really love their guitar rock music, football, tea and kebabs! Speaking of kebabs, we definitely overdosed on them but they were the real deal and not the pikey ones you get on every high street in England. It's a shame that I did not get the chance to sample the seafood as they have the freshest selection of every sea-life you can think of (I lie, I did eat some steamed mussels stuffed with rice and pine nuts which is sold on the street and I died and went to heaven. A mad Turk even fed it to me).
And yes, we did experience the Turkish baths ("Hamam")! I am undecided as to whether or not it's the most natural thing in the world or the most violating. For those expecting a Thailand style massage with "extras" and a "happy ending" (thanks Sathish), forget it. Men and women are strictly segregated. So there I was having to experience a rather violating experience on my own while Matt and Sathish were shuffled off to the men's section (you will need to ask them about their own experiences). I didn't really know what to expect; I brought a one-piece swimsuit with me but upon entering the women's bath, all the women were topless (not my ideal fantasy unfortunately) so I had to can my one-piece swimsuit idea. I figured I would go completely nude so I stripped off, wrapped myself with the sarong provided and trudged off to the hot sauna but came across a big sign saying that women were forbidden from taking a bath bottomless. Dammit. So I went back to the dressing room and put on my knickers, bearing in mind I did not have a spare pair. I told myself I'd worry about it later.
A Turkish bath entails you relaxing as long as you want in the sauna on a big slab of marble in the middle of the room (No time limit! London needs to catch on) and when you're ready, you signal to any one of the "bathers" that you are ready for your bath. And boys, to feed your fantasy, ALL the women were topless, it was wall to wall tits!
After about 15 minutes, I decided I had had enough relaxation time and signalled to one of the bathers who hand gestured for me to lie down face up. She proceeded to dry scrub me with a loofah and Jesus Christ, the amount of dry skin that came off was absolutely disgusting. I then lay face down and she did the same. By the way, this woman spoke no English, but knew enough to tell me that I needed a bikini wax. Thanks. Then she foamed me up and proceeded to bathe me. It felt exhilarating I have to admit, and really relaxing. I can't say the same for the shampooing where she more or less blinded and suffocated me with the suds. After that, you can either go for a massage if you opted for one or just lay some more in the sauna. At that point, I had had more than enough Turkish bathing to last me a lifetime so I buggered back to the changing room, fretting about what I was going to do about not having any knickers. There were hairdryers and I had a brainstorm! I proceeded to dry my knickers with one of the hairdryer for the next half an hour, ignoring the odd looks I was getting from the other women.
So there you have it. Below are a selection of pictures (and no, I have none from the bath) (including a hilarious clip of Matt smoking a shisha pipe) and a complete set can be viewed on My Flickr Photo Album:
The Grand Bazaar where haggling is essential
Sathish and me before the smoking began
Insert obvious fellatio joke here
The Bosphorus - looking towards the Asian part of Turkey
Ayia Sophia
Glorious colourful carpets
Turkish coffee is VERY BITTER - taste with care, we didn't like it. Turkish tea on the other hand is awesome
Ali Baba and his magic carpets (one of the mad Turks we encountered)
Ze Blue Mosque
The Hippodrome (no, not the London club)
Wash your feet before praying!
FRESH FISH!! MMMMM
The best dressed fish monger we ever met
He was another mad Turk
We became addicted to this great chilli spice while we were out there (and brought loads back)
Matt smoking the shisha pipe with hilarious results
