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-   -   A quick trip to Mauritius (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/94148-quick-trip-mauritius-2.html)

Congratulations AG, all the best!! Pictures look great. Hope to see more of them!!

Congrats @AG and all the best. Greats snaps.

PS: Now that explains all the solo drives in the last few months! :)

Congrats.
Good pics. Waiting for more pics and also package info.

Thank you all for your wishes and comments. I'll look to answer all the questions in the coming posts.

Post my wedding, I really planned to drive around the Western Ghats again showing around the places that I have enjoyed thoroughly these years to wife. The initial plan looked like this : 4 days at The Serai ( and a quick sneak to nearby places ) Chikkamagalur followed by a coastal Karnataka drive culminating in a stay at the O.County, Kabini. But it dawned on us that these places could be done any time ( it needs no reason, given that I drive around every weekend nearly ) : So Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives or Madagascar got into the folds. Reached out to my agent, 5 days before the actual travel date. Was very fortunate to get the Mauritius package through Thomas Cook given that it was Christmas/New year vacation time for all. The flip side was the price : got no good deals, ended up paying a hefty sum ( please PM for the price if you'd like to know ).

Brief package summary :

> 5 days, 5 nights. 4 start accomodation at La Plantation. Emirates economy flights.

> 3 days of sight seeing included
a. The Ile Aux Cerf Island tour ( additional charges for activities like parasailing, tube scooters, undersea walk etc )
b. The North Mauritius Tour ( nothing noteworthy here )
c. The South Mauritius Tour ( the Trou Aux Cerf dormant volcano, the shiva temples, the black river gorges national park, the coloured earth volcano influenced soil , Chamaral waterfalls, the glassfactory and the ship model crafthouse )

a. and c. are the highlights of the tour. Outside this, we had 2 spare days.

Other places worth visiting were the Casela park ( offers activities like quadbiking through the park and lion interactions etc ) and the Ile Aux Aigrettes ( not included in most tourist packages ). I was disappointed that I got to know of the Ile Aux Aigrettes a bit too late to accommodate. It doesn't seem to be a well publicised place for tourists, so if you plan to go to Mauritius, pl spend some time planning a visit to this beforehand.

Some more photos : I'll post the daywise TL with details on roads, hotels, dos and donts, expense tips, other activities and yes, more photos.

Photo summary ( I still haven't figured out how to add inline photo comments :( someone please help )

Set B.

1. View from the Ganga Talao. There are 2 Shiva temples here : Kashi Vishwanath temple and "Mauritiuseshwarnath" temple. This place is a hotspot for Hindus during the Maha shivaratri. The temples are present on the border of the Black Gorges National Park.

2. and 3. The La Plantation Hotel beach.

4. Jetty start point for Ile Aux Cerf Island.

5. Peaks inside the Casela park, taken during Quadbiking.

6. Sunset on the way from Airport to Hotel.

7. Parasailing near Ile Aux Cerf.

8. Le Caudan waterfront Mall near Port Louis. Not to be missed. You could stand hours gazing into the river ( if you've stayed in downtown NY and used to the endless views of the Hudson, you'd know what I mean ). This place is where movies like No Entry were shot ( I think; someone pl clarify ). Houses a good Indian Restaurant : Namaste. Expensive, but the best Indian food you'd here perhaps.

@ar,
Check this link for inline photo text.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...-team-bhp.html

Thank you rk_sans. very helpful : I'll use it for subsequent posts.

@ampere : yes, that explains all the solo trips. That also explains why there has been no travelogue from me for a while ( my long drive license was revoked until after the marriage :D )

Regret my brief hiatus on this thread.

Day 1

We took the flights to Mauritius via Dubai. I don't really like flights : the wait times, the inconvenience, the ear pain, the experience is not something I like irrespective of the airline. I hate it as much as I hate watching a film director inflict his naive ideas on you by bringing you to a Cinema.

The guy who picked us up at the airport on behalf of T. Cook was a friendly chap ( like all other who we met or we meet :) ). He was proud to be a Mauritian ( I heard this many time from the locals there "I'm a Mauritian" , with pride). Spent the first evening at the hotel La Plantation looking around, and on the beaches ( the hotel beach looked a tad artificial for whatever reason ). Lots of Indian couples, as one would expect : customary hi s and hellos. Some band was playing, some belly dancing on as well at the Restaurant. Quite a few indian options when it comes to Indian food, but the taste is a bit off sometimes what with the spices toned down typically.

Lots of Mynahs and Barbets around the hotel not to mention the Red coloured Fody : which is unusually daring and unafraid of people.