Tuesday, June 06, 2006
...Mauritius Part II...
finally.. i'm back with Part 2.. haha.. pls dun blame me.. there have been so much stuff to do ever since i got back! heehee... K, i've got complaints that I ain't putting enough photos on the blog. my sincere apologies for that but i've got 200 over photos on my comp!! hard lar to put a lot of photos.... so i'm trying my best =)
anywho.... *drum rolls*
Day 3
On our 3rd day, we woke up exceptionally early coz it was the day of our scenic tour.. Wondering what was in store for us, we managed to finish out breakfast in a record speed of 20 mins so as to meet the bus timing at 750 (breakfast only starts at 730)!
As we were situated on the East Coast, we had to travel for about 1 plus hour to get to the central area, where we would then change bus to go on our scenic tour. To be absolutely frank, the bus ride was horrendous coz as I've mentioned in my previous entry, the roads are really bumpy and all.. But anywho, we all survived the ride... haha.. my threshold for bumpy car rides has increased!!! heehee
So our first stop was to Trou aux Cerf. This is actually an extinct volcano of about 700,000 years old. As it is so old, by now, the crater is filled with rain water. But, it was still a breathtaking sight. Btw, we were so many miles on top of a hill that it was really chilly!! So that's us trying to act all brave in the cold.. hahaha
Our second stop of the scenic tour was to this town called Curepipe. This was the ONLY place where we could get some serious shopping done. However, much to my disappointment, not a lot of shops were opened as it was still early. In any case, I still managed to get some shopping done somehow.. haha.. sorry, i'm a shopaholic.. it's a habit that I can't kick.. haha.. There was this really beautiful cathedral in the town too:
The third stop was to a ship modelling factory. Apparently, Mauritius is well known for its ship models. This factory actually buys the blueprints for the various famous ships - like the one Napolean travelled on (sorry, i can't recall the name!) etc. Everything on the ship model is hand crafted and done to perfection.. I'm really amazed by the excellent workmanship. In fact, I bought a small ship model home! heehee..
After everyone got their shipmodels, we left for Ganga Talao, better known as 'The Grand Bassin'. This is a sacred lake for the Hindu Pilgrims. The water that you see below, is regarded as the holy water to the Hindus.
Most of us got this red bindhi-like thing drawn on our foreheads while we were at the Hindu temple. It symbolises the end of a blessing ritual (if i recalled correctly). =) So next, we headed for the Black River Gorges! It's a mountaineous area with a really scenic view of a waterfall. It is believed that if you managed to spot a white bird amidst the dense forestation, you could make a wish! Well, i spotted 2 white birds!!! YAY!!!! hahahahaha....
Yup yup, so that's us.. all trigger happy... haha.. so much so that we forgot the time and the whole bus was waiting for us to go for lunch! heehee...
Lunch was at this beautiful place on a hill top. It's a pity, I can't recall the name of the restaurant. The view from the restaurant was superb!! Very romantic too... While we were there, there were 2 models on a photoshoot. The choice of place for the photoshoot just serves as a testimony of how beautiful and picturesque the place is...
It's kinda dark but you can just see how beautiful the background is..... *dreams*
After a sumptuous lunch, we trudged on to the last destination of the day - Chamarel. There, we were going to witness a majestic natural waterfall and one of the geographical wonders - 7 coloured earth.
A little bit of geography lesson: The different colours of the soil are actually caused by sunlight reflecting off the soil which contains oxides. It's a natural phenomenon! Unbelievable...
So our activity-packed Day 3 ended after the 7-coloured earth. By the time we got back to our hotel in the East coast, we were dead beat...
Day 4
So fast and we were already at Day 4. This is effectively our last day as the 5th day would be spent on the plane. We got up pretty early as well coz we were going on a catamaran!!! Paid good money for it, man! hahaha... So off we went on a Green Dolphin Catamaran cruise!!! =) Fabulous, I tell you!! It was really the sun and the sea... The weather was good, the sea breeze was blowing at our faces, we got a nice tan on deck, the lunch served onboard was good... wow, it was really very relaxing and enjoyable... Now I know why those actors who play rich kids on TV like to go out to sea on their private yatchs for leisure/relaxation. It's darn shiok.
Pre-departure photos (look at how clear the water is from the 3rd pic):
Onboard the catamaran/Scenic shots:
Once everyone was onboard, we set sail for Grande Riviere Sud-East. It is a smaller waterfall compared to the one at Chamarel but it looks much more "forceful" - as in, the waters seemed to carry more energy as they were all coming down in big gushes.
Grande Riviere Sud-East:
After the Grande Riviere Sud-East, we headed for the main attraction/highlight of the day - Ile aux Cerf!!!! Man, I LOVE the place!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's an island off Mauritius and the beach is just stunning... actually the word 'stunning' doesn't do it justice. It just can't be described! *dreams* and yes, LOADS of photos were taken here... hahahahaha... hey, we're girls!!! heeheehee
Ile aux Cerf:
And yes.. *bites lips* the photo whores (hahaha...):
Well well, we had so much fun on the island and were really reluctant to leave... Gosh, good times fly by so fast! Cliched but so true... But anywho, it was really time to leave and we took the catamaran back to Mauritius where we would wash up, pack our stuff and leave Mauritius...
Oh, how I hate to say Goodbye.... =( Miss the place so so so so much... wanna go back again!!!
Parting shots at the hotel:
Kel ♥
12:08 AM
leave ur mark
0 comments
Yup yup, so that's us.. all trigger happy... haha.. so much so that we forgot the time and the whole bus was waiting for us to go for lunch! heehee...
It's kinda dark but you can just see how beautiful the background is..... *dreams*
