My friends, let’s get the most important question out of the way: Mauritius is most definitely a true vacation destination. You could absolutely find everything that you need here in order to have an enjoyable, relaxing holiday. Whether your with friends, family, or even alone, this country should definitely be at the top of your travel list and I recommend a visit here at least once in your lifetime.
I don’t want to sound so sure of myself, but after traveling as long as I have, you start to pick up on these things. Many times, my travels feel like a day to day routine and I often forget to take time to enjoy the places that I visit. But once in awhile, a place will amaze me, and Mauritius is one of them.
I have visited over 100 countries now in my lifetime and have had the opportunity to experience many different people, places, environments, etc. I hope that you all know by now that I am a big fan of nature and that the tropical climate is my favorite. I also enjoy learning about new people and cultures, food, traditions, the friendliness of local people, etc. However, many times I am so stubborn and determined to get our work done. I get so distracted by making sure that there is always progress being made and I often find myself busier than I’d like to be. I forget sometimes to enjoy life a little more and relax a little so that I can try to enjoy some of the places that I’m visiting. When I don’t take a second to stop and breathe in the experience, I just keep going and these once in a lifetime moments become unappreciated. I become so focused on getting things done and moving on to the next place, that I often don’t realize that I am missing so much that is happening around me. But, it’s hard to change a hyper and stubborn personality like mine.
Due to both Madagascar and Mauritius being islands, this part of my travel will have to be done on commercial airliners. Mostly because it’s cheaper that way, but partly because it’s more efficient to leave my plane on a previous island and just island hopped from there, over this big blue Indian Ocean. Mauritius is a tiny island in the middle of that ocean, over 500 miles East of Madagascar (even farther away from the mainland).
The airline out here is called Air Madagascar and we are scheduled to make a stop on the island of Reunion. As it turns out, Reunion is a French-controlled island. Without going into too many details, bigger countries like France, England, Spain, Portugal, USA, etc., still try to keep their conquered territories from time to time. Particular islands are often still territories of these nations and are used for political purposes and/or to keep up the monopoly game that they all have going on. Never mind if people might have inhibited that place beforehand, it’s business as usual out here as bigger governments try to force their rules and governance onto the smaller, less equipped civilizations.
You would think that island hopping down here would be as cheap as it is in places like the Caribbean, but it’s much more expensive. Even though you are forced to stop in another country/territory on the way to Mauritius, the prices do not reflect any discounts for such detours. There is a large group of people on this flight from France who did not expect this situation. It reminds me of my recent trip back to the States on Ethiopian Air, when I was disappointed at all of the stops we had to make. At least on this airline they offer food, which is quite different from all of those cheaper, lower-cost airlines in the US and Europe.
After arrival into Mauritius, I was quite pleased to see that this airport was very nice and clean. I can already tell that this is tourist hot spot because they are playing island music over the speaker system and you can see tourism advertisements all over the place. Even the border agents looked friendly and seemed ready to assist and welcome you to their country. For once, a country that is welcoming and not intimidating.
One thing that I never remember to be prepared for is the customs question about which hotel I will be staying. Since I never know beforehand, I always forget to prepare a good answer for them. This proved to be a little bit of a hangup here in Mauritius. The border agents were very insistent that I name a place. So I made up some nonsense name to give him. Because he hadn’t heard of it and didn’t know it’s location (it didn’t exist), he assumed more information than I gave him and I ended up just saying yes to it so that I could get the heck out of there. Otherwise, he was ready to send me over to a reservation agency to find a place so that it could be placed in my formal documents. This is the part of traveling that I hate, all of these nonsense rules, etc. On the other hand, the agent was very nice about things and did remind me that this regulation was based on my safety, so that they could find me easily if anything were to happen while here in the island. I guess that this might be helpful at some point, like in places where all of those tsunamis have torn through.
Shortly after this exchange, I was ready to find a taxi. What I was absolutely not expecting, my friends, was to hear the astronomical prices that they charge to take a taxi into town. Apparently, we are about an hour away from there and a typical fare is between $50 and $70 USD, even though the island itself is only about 90km from North to South. I’m guessing that they don’t serve champagne on those taxi rides, though for prices like that they should.
Luckily, and again, thanks to our common humanity, I was offered a ride into town from my new American friend Mike. We had started chatting before clearing customs and mentioned that he had arranged for someone to pick him up, so he offered for me to ride along. Friends, you all know me by now, I never say no to such warm generosity.
Once in town, I soon realized that my friend Mike was accustomed to the more comfortable things in life. He was here to work for the US Embassy (unlike myself) and, therefore, had access to a much fancier hotel for the night. I, on the other hand, disappeared from there quite quickly after learning that the hotel was nearly ten times by daily budget. So out of here I go, searching for a dirty, nasty, old hotel that fits my nearly broke budget.
My friends, I have to admit that I would will never in my life miss this part of our mission. I can’t even share with you some of the ‘hotels’ that I have been in because they have been so horrible. Rest assured that hotel charges are not where most of your money goes that gets donated to Flying for Kosovo. If I didn’t always look for the cheapest bed in town, I would never have been able to afford to travel this far. Trust me, if I were allowed to sleep in my tiny airplane I would (both to save costs AND because it would be much safer and more comfortable than some of these ‘hotels’). But, bureaucratic nonsense wins out again and what can I do but hope and pray that I don’t catch a disease like malaria from somewhere.
It was very late when I got to my old, rundown hotel, but a small enjoyment was waiting when I was able to deal with the terrific elder gentleman working at the front desk. He was a great character. I hit my head on the pillow and woke up a few hours later ready to face the day. Ladies and gentlemen: sometimes the universe deals you a good hand of cards.
I awoke to Mauritius on a Sunday morning. Since there would be no media houses and/or government offices open today, I was actually able to take a day off from the mission and enjoy this beautiful island. Normally, if I were on the mainland, I would have used a weekend day like this to fly to another country so that I wouldn’t waste useful weekday ‘business’ time to do so.
The other reason that I would use the weekend time to fly is because some of the places that I have visited are quite a rough place to be. Some of them have been quite difficult and they aren’t always the safest places either. But that is not the case here in Mauritius and I have to tell you that I am going crazy with enjoyment to be able to explore this island today.
It is a beautiful day out and there is lots of sunshine to soak up. Right outside of my hotel there is a street market and across the street is the bus terminal. It feels like all of Mauritius is just steps away from my hotel door. I am excited to see what types of things await me.
The first thing that I notice is that the majority of people here look like they are of Indian descent, followed by Europeans, then African natives. I later learn that this mix is partly because people from India and China were initially brought here by the as slaves by the French. What a pleasant surprise that to find out that the dominant culture is Indian, as that is another culture that I enjoy very much. Aside from the awesome tasting food that they make, I have a lot of respect for their culture.
One reason in particular for this is because of Mr. Vikrant Brar. Mr. Brar was one of my early aviation mentors back when I was learning to fly jets. In addition to being a great aviation teacher, he became a wonderful friend and I will cherish our experience together always. We flew together for over a year to places like Mexico, US and Canada and during that time he fed me his great Indian cuisine hundreds of times. Not to mention the fact that he was also an excellent cook.
I met Mr. Brar when he was assigned to be the chaperon on my first experience of flying a jet. I am positive that, were it not for all of the things that he taught me, I would not have near the amount of confidence of flying that I have today. Though he had quite a tough character (as do I sometimes), we always managed to work through our differences. Though our opinions didn’t always match, it was a very valuable experience for me to have a type of working relationship where you can be professional, even though you don’t always agree. To this day, his words and teachings follow me where ever I go. It is his voice that I hear when I’m flying all of those hours in the sky.
So there you have it friends: the main reason why I am fond of the Indian culture. The other is that I have great memories from meeting an Indian couple back in Guyana. It was there that I met my new friends, Champ and Seeta, who were kind enough to invite me to an Indian religious ceremony. What a beautiful experience, and of course, there was lots of tasty food there to enjoy as well.
Because of my experience with the people mentioned above, I am feeling quite comfortable here in Mauritius. At least I know a few things about the culture (and enough to know that it is one that I enjoy). I have found that the people of India are excellent people, with lots of great family values, traditions, food, etc.
After filling my stomach full of great Indian cuisine, I decide to take a bus to the Northern point of the island. It turns out that this country is very small and it only takes about an hour to get to the North side from my location here in the South. This country is about 1/5 of the size of our Kosovo and has less land than 1000sq. miles total.
As we traveled north, there was a lot to see. I ended up taking a lot of pictures to remember this place. The weather was excellent today and I enjoyed viewing the beautiful countryside on our bus ride. The rest of the people on the bus were very friendly and I am learning that everyone here is very welcoming to tourists. What a relief compared to some of the countries I’ve been in. Mauritius is the second largest financial center in Africa (aside from Johannesburg in South Africa), so I guess that they are used to having lots of outsiders here that bring them lots of money and investments. Many times it pays to treat outsiders with a little bit of respect.
Aside from that, they do a very good job marketing themselves as a tourist destination. I can see why. I am in paradise today. After I arrived at the north side, I was able to take a much-needed walk along their magnificent beaches. There were lots of people out and about, so I was able to enjoy seeing things like family gatherings, religious services, etc. Not to mention the fact that I’m absolutely in love with the soft ocean breeze here. Again, I highly recommend this tiny country as a very enjoyable tourist destination.
In fact, Mauritius reminds me a lot of the islands in the Caribbean, especially Nassau and Paradise Island (where Atlantis hotel and casino is located). It is very touristy here and tropical. The only difference is that there are not as many casinos here as there are in the Caribbean, which of course is fine with me. The only gambling that I need to be doing is the gamble that I take when I enter into a new country and into the unknown.
After a few hours of soaking up the sun and getting a tan, it is time to board the bus back to Port Louis in the South, where my hotel is located. A day like this goes by at the speed of sound and I sort of dread going back into a downtown area. At least I was able to enjoy a refreshing walk on the beach, have a few inexpensive, delicious snacks and observe the local customs.
One of my favorite things to do in the tropical countries is to buy food and drinks from the side of the road. I am absolutely in love with fresh fruits and juices and I really enjoy interacting with the local street vendors. Usually, the food is much cheaper at these locations, not to mention how tasty it can be. One of my favorite things to buy this way is fresh coconut milk. It is so delicious when it is freshly made.
So back on the bus I go, headed for my hotel. But it is still pretty early in the evening when I arrive back to town. Lucky for me I notice a boardwalk here, not far from the hotel. The longer I can stay away from my crummy accommodations the better. What a contrast I find, as the boardwalk seems to be quite an elegant and upper class shopping area – very clean, nice shops and restaurants, parks, benches, etc. It is here that I notice all of the effort that this country goes through to keep things clean. The locals tell me that that there is a whole government department that focuses on the environment and making sure that things stay presentable.
After a short walk, it was time to go rest and prepare for the battles of tomorrow. I hand wash my shirt before going to bed so that it is dry in the morning and ready to be ironed. Now that I’ve spent a day recharging my battery, I’m ready to work full force today and make some progress on our mission objectives. The only thing that I need to do first is to catch something to eat from one of those street vendors, since this hotel doesn’t offer a breakfast service. By 9:00am, by driver (Mr. Imran Deedor – a great gentleman) and I are ready to conquer the town. All I have to do is to be the decision-maker.
When you are dealing with the media, often times they keep bouncing you around. Sometimes, its because they don’t necessarily have a journalist assigned to world political affairs. But other times it is because the writers are in the field and trying to cover other, more local stories. Sometimes they are late to your appointment and some times they don’t show up at all. It is not uncommon for me to go to a particular media house 3-4 times during the day, trying to get our story covered.
I do this running around because it is very important that we get our mission covered by the local media. That is one of the primary objectives of our mission and for each visit to a new country. The goal is to get as much publicity as we can for Kosovo. Remember, aside from the travel costs, this is all free publicity. We don’t have to spend a dime on advertising if we can get our story published in the local media. This coverage would be worth millions of dollars in the US.
If it were not for all of the wonderful teams that I have worked with, the wonderful editors and journalists around the world, our mission would have been impossible. We would have accomplished nothing and the local people of each country would not know about our beloved Kosovo. These talented people, with their broad array of experiences and vast knowledge of the world, all share the same compassion for other human beings.
Generally, my experience with all of them has been nothing short of superb and it has been one of my biggest joys to have met so many great intellectuals. We owe so many thanks to them because of their dedicated amount of attention to our mission. Their coverage and willingness to cover our story has been priceless.
Here in Mauritius, Mr. Gilles Ribouet, with L’Express newspaper was a great person. Very detailed, patient and clever journalist. He knew about all of the trouble in the Balkans and had lived in France before, so he was very attached to Europe in general. Thanks also to my friends at Le Matinal, who interviewed me and shared with me valuable information about their country.
Thank you to Mr. Michael Jourdan, with Le Mauricien. He is originally from Belgium and is a wonderful human being – very detail oriented and cares a lot about Kosovo’s well-being. He would very much like to see our country gain momentum in the world. Mr. Jourdan gave our mission and Kosovo an entire page of valuable space in his newspaper in the hopes that our information will reach many people and increase their support for our recognition.
Mr. Noor Adam Essack, with Le Defi Media Group was also very helpful. Since he had previously lived in England, he was quite familiar with our concerns. He even worked with many Kosovars in his past, which must have made an impact on him because he could still remember their names after all of this time. Mr. Essack is a man with great personality, book smart, and very specific and focused in his questions. It really helped our interview that he had such a tremendous amount of knowledge about Kosovo already.
Thanks to the Director at the national television station, Mauritius Broadcasting Company, Mr. Datta Raymond. He was able to organize an interview at his station, which is the only television station representing this great nation of over one million people. Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Neil Linley Appadoo, is also a news editor.
In the realm of radio, thank you to Radio Plus (Centre 97.7FM, Nord 88.6GM, and SUD 98.9FM). Mr. Newaz Noorbux organized my interview there and Mr. Leevy Frivet was my interviewer.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs they were very professional. Their protocol was not too difficult to navigate and they were also cooperative (which always helps). They made it possible for me to meet the second in command underneath the Minister. He was an experienced official who was well versed in global affairs. This was due to the fact that he had been the Ambassador for Mauritius with many different countries. Our meeting was very cordial and professional, though I sensed that he might have been relying on some earlier, outdated facts and figures.
He did, however, admit that Serbia did not treat us right and that this fact should be addressed. He also discussed with me the fact that his nation is one of the many within the African Union. According to that organization, all members have agreed to oppose any separation of nations and territories. He gave the example of Kashmira in order to make the point that this issue is a very sensitive topic.
When I offered debate and asked him how he would be able to live with a group of people that killed his father, killed 10,000 people of his ethnicity, limited free speech, religion, ability to practice and study in their own language, etc., or how he would feel if his people were ruled by 2-3 % of a population who are different from him. He was unable to give me a direct answer and chose to go back to discussing diplomacy, etc. Since he has had a career in politics, I guess that it is hard to change those mindsets. But then I remember that there are many types of people within one government and that each one of them has different opinions on the subject, which could eventually work in our favor.
In this respect, I am glad that the media houses have been friendly towards us during our mission. They have been a tremendous help in exposing our side of the story to the rest to the people of the rest of the world. Because of them, opinions and decisions can be made by a much larger group of people and not just those officials at the top.
Ms. Citaku’s letter was hand-delivered, which is part of what we came here to do. We can’t force nations to change their decisions. We must keep doing our job, speaking up, raising awareness and showing the world that we can be successful. By doing these things we will begin to convince them of our permanence. We must not rely solely on our fairy tales and high hopes, but send a message with our actions. Creating a stable government, showing economic progress, reducing rumors of organized crime and corruption and respecting human rights – these are all actions that we can take to show the world that we are serious about becoming a country.
I have nothing but good memories of this nation. Its beauty and its great people created a calm and relaxed atmosphere in which to work for a few days. To me, the wealth of a nation is based on its people and not necessarily the material and/or economic wealth. You could be the richest person in the world, but if you don’t have the magic or charisma to go along with it, you don’t have any wealth in my eyes.
It is the last night here and I will be sad to see this country go. I am able to enjoy one last walk this evening around the boardwalk and enjoy the scenery. Though our mission has to keep going, I am convinced that I will have to come back and explore this nation further in the future. Enjoy their beautiful beaches, get to know more of the local people, relax and enjoy some of the nice rum that they are known for, try to spot one of those dodo birds that I have heard about here, etc.
One thing is for sure: this country could definitely provide a relaxing vacation for anyone, whether with a family or alone. If you time it right, you could even catch a reasonable deal on the travel arrangements. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful island to all of you. May all of the local people here in Mauritius be blessed and continue to prosper.
Le Mauricien PDF
L’express
L’express PDF
People
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