Sunday, October 15, 2006

Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take you

I am not sure what word rhymes with Mauritius - I guess that is why the beach boys never used it in their song "Kokomo".

After a busy week in South Africa I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend in the flower of the Indian Ocean prior to a business conference. The hotel that was chosen for the event was Le Meridien - and very nice it is too. I had a chat with a holidaying couple who said that in the UK it was rated a four star plus - and I would have to agree that it is an accurate assessment.

The beach was clean and water clear and warm. There was a wide variety of activities on offer - but I went for the "lying on the beach" one.




There was a nice pool area to relax in as well - though over the five days there was quite a strong breeze making it feel fresh:



On the drive from the airport to the hotel - the scenery reminded me a lot of the Philippines - verdent green and lush with rugged mountains punctuating the horizon. Similar to that country there is a lot of garment manufacturing. In search of some cheap clothing we headed into the capital Port Louis. The center shopping district was very nice:



and the shopping area itself is situated along a very scenic port setting:



However despite its attractiveness we found no garment bargains. Even on the way back we stopped at a number of "outlet" stores and were disappointed to find expensive copies of brand clothes. After a discussion with the Taxi driver, he claimed that while they have the manufacturing rights local retailers had to pay for the right to sell these brands within Mauritius, hence a lack of bargains.

I think I will wait for the various sales and summer surprises shopping events in Duabi for purchase of such items where I can guarantee a low price, tax-free genuine article.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You should be buying Karl Kani suits. They are Hugo Boss suits with a different label.

And if you go to the factories, you can even buy the Boss labels.

nzm said...

We were there in April this year and absolutely loved it. One of our friends is General Manager of the Oberoi so that's where we stayed.

I'm from Fiji, and it really reminded me of home - so very similar in so many ways.

Like you, we found the shopping not so good, but the weather and the beach more than made up from it.

Anonymous said...

Did you go to the Dodo Museum?
Possibly the lamest museum ever, though it was free.

Aaron said...

Thanks for the tip on the Karl Kani suits - I have some free time tomoorrow so will check them out.

Gomez - no dodo museum for me. I will save that treat for my next visit

Nz, - nice to hear from you. I saw the Oberoi and it looked night. I also spent the evening at the Victoria Hotel which has recently been refurbished. It looked excellent and somehow took the shine off staying at Le Meridien.

secretdubai said...

officious
vicious
suspicious
superstitious

???

Aaron said...

Thanks SD - as always the wordsmith :D