Hopefully through the powers of SEO this post will help some beguilered couple plan their honeymoon in Mauritius, and answer some of the Burning Questions Jim and I just couldn’t find on Google.

We’ve been back from our honeymoon about a month now, and were married over six weeks ago – and while I’ve got a lot of blog posts in my head, sadly other things are taking precedence right now. Like unpacking. And writing thank-you cards. And researching a drycleaner who I can trust with my grass-stained wedding dress (srsly, got a recommendation? Please tell!)

Below, some tips/personal accounts from our time in Mauritius…

Length of time/How to get there

We booked 11 nights there, which was long enough. I wanted to go away for a full two weeks, but Mauritius is such a small island (you can drive from North to South in two hours, cleverly following the motorway signs labelled THE SOUTH) that you really don’t need much longer.

We booked our direct flights with BA, and while they were pricier than Air Mauritius, we didn’t fancy having a stopover in Paris each way. We sprung for premium economy for the first time on the way back, and it was definitely worth the extra £150 or so. Much larger seats, more legroom, and better quality wine. Of which we took full advantage of. Until the kid in front of us vommed and we had to slink off to the back of the plane for an hour’s fresh air.

Our Luxury Pavilion room at The Oberoi, Mauritius

Where to stay

Accommodation was arranged through the excellent online-based Turquoise Holidays luxury travel company. I don’t know how they do it, but they got such a great deal for us. We paid half-price for 11 nights at The Oberoi (a honeymoon offer, where the bride goes free), and even got some free nights thrown in – as well as the free breakfasts. It was still the priciest accommodation we’ve ever paid for, but my god the resort was worth it. Quiet, intimate, exclusive–it was exactly what we were after.

Mauritius has many hotels and resorts, but if you’re wanting an all-out honeymoon experience, there are a few resorts I’d recommend (based on many hours of online  research, or visiting them for dinner/drinks). The important thing however is to choose the area you want to stay in.

We stayed in Turtle Bay, which is near Balaclava, in the North-East side. It’s the quieter side, with fewer resorts and unspoilt compared to other areas. The close proximity of nearby villages, and the country’s capital of Port Louis, is what attracted us, but it’s also the most sheltered bay on the island – which is welcome when you visit during their winter.

Other areas of the island may have more beautiful beaches (though the ones we saw near us, including The Oberoi’s beach, were stunning), but during winter the wind can be unwelcome.

Ile aux Cerfs

On the West side, there’s the small island of Ile aux Cerfs. It’s the most breathtaking of all the beaches, however is quite remote and would require a 15-min boat ride to the mainland if you fancied any shopping or cultural activities. The island hasn’t got much on it, apart from two restaurants and a couple of souvenir shops, but it’s well worth a visit. To stay there, look at Le Touessrok, which is on a small island nearby. It’s only a short boat ride, and is apparently the favourite resort for famous people and young royals.

If we were visiting again, I think we’d stay at The Oberoi for the majority of our trip, but spend two nights at 20 Degrees Sud, which is on the Point aux Cannoniers, further north from where we were staying. We drove there one night for dinner (it took 30mins), and loved it. It’s the only boutique hotel on Mauritius apparently, and was one of the first-settled spots, by the grandfather of the current French owners. It was trés fancy, and I desperately wished we were staying there the night. It’s very much where the Soho House brigade would holiday – and if you think you can get away wearing frayed denim cut-offs and Havaianas around there, think again.

View of the outer restaurant tables from the bar, at 20 Degrees Sud

We arrived about 8pm for dinner (we didn’t booked ahead), and the owner Michel met us at the heavy-oak doors, and introduced himself. We had a cocktail and beer at the bar first, and enjoyed the French singer playing to the diners across the little pool-dressed-up-as-a-stream from us (the whole hotel is like The Venetian hotel in Vegas, with the foot-wide pool separating the bar from the restaurant, which is all open-roofed and under the stars. You feel like you’re indoors though, it’s a really magical place and hard to explain). The drinks were great, and came with heaps of little snacks – something that’s very common there. If you get a drink before dinner, you almost don’t need a full meal afterwards, as the free snacks are incredible and so generous.

Dinner in the restaurant was superb though. Pricey, but superb. I think it cost us about £100 for two mains, a shared dessert, a glass of wine and the cocktail and beer. TIPPING IS NOT EXPECTED IN MAURITIUS, HOWEVER. In fact, they’re quite embarrassed by it. Which is nice.

I’d recommend a night or two at 20 Degrees Sud, but no more. The whole place was very fancy, but not really ideal for honeymooners who want to relax. Plus, the privacy isn’t as good as at The Oberoi, where you get a thatched-roof chalet to yourself.

Weather

We visited mid to late July, which is smack-bang in the middle of their winter. It was 28 degrees on average each day, with low humidity (virtually none), and only the occasional smattering of rain in mornings (usually before we got out of bed). In fact, the only time it rained during the day was when we chose to cycle the 40km round-trip (going the island, motorway way up there, foolishly, rather than the glorious coastal route which we found on the way back), which saw us drenched. But at least we had an excuse to stop off in a bakery to take shelter (and eat banana cake).

Beaches worth visiting

We visited Ile aux Cerfs on a day-trip, paying about £140 for the two of us. This included a private car (a Mercedes) picking us up at 8am and taking us to the other side of the island, to a harbour town. From there, we boarded a catamaran, the Green Dolphin, with 20 other people (mostly European honeymooners), and sailed out near Ile aux Cerfs. We visited some gorgeous waterfalls on the way, and stopped off at coral to go snorkeling for an hour, while we had lunch. The included lunch was fantastic – freshly caught tuna steaks on skewers, and chicken skewers, all done on the BBQ right there and then. Heaps of salad, garlic bread (the Mauritians are nuts for garlic bread, due to their prior French occupancy), and beer and cocktails. We then sailed to Ile Aux Cerfs, and had two hours to explore the 2km-long island. Jim and I were worried we wouldn’t have enough time on the island, and weren’t sure we were bothered about snorkeling, but actually the whole day was brilliant. Really meandering and lazy, exactly what we thought we didn’t want, but actually did. We got back to the harbour town at 4pm, and were home by 5pm.

Trou aux Biches was about a 20min bike ride from where we stayed at The Oberoi, with the town called Mont Choisy. The beach was stunning – very long, with crystal clear waters, and very quiet and private.

On the west coast, Flic en Flac is meant to offer very beautiful beaches.

Food

Due to the French/Indian/African (“Creole”) community, Mauritian food is extremely varied. And nice! There’s a reason why I put on 6lbs in two weeks! We ate plenty of fresh seafood (lobster, crabs, prawns, and fish – seabass, snapper, and so on), curries (Mauritian seafood curry is definitely worth a shot, as is more traditional thali) and beef fricassee (similar to a stew). I attempted to document most of our restaurant meals, of which you can see on Flickr, but unfortunately not everything got snapped.

One of our favourite forms of food was from stalls and vans on streetsides, as we whizzed through neighboring villages on our bikes. Indian goodies such as samosas, sure–but also dholl puri, roti, gateaux piments, and for dessert, ladoo.

Most streetfoods cost under 10 rupees each (a pittance, about 20p), and we usually bought a selection. Dholl puri and roti are vegetarian curries in pancake-like flatbreads and are delicious, gateaux piments are deep-fried vegetable balls, and ladoo is a sweet dumpling-like ball made from yam. Worth trying all of them, but I’d stay away from the curried roll–a baguette with warm curry inside, it just tasted odd.

I was stoked that there were so many Australian imports in Mauritius, such as Twisties, Milo and Shapes biscuits (chicken Shapes! I actually ate chicken Shapes! That’s how pleased I was to see something Aussie!)

One of the best restaurants we ate at was also the cheapest. Bois Cheri, a tea plantation factory in Bois Cheri, near Chameral, had the most amazing restaurant overlooking the valley–and the most beautiful menu, which was incredibly cheap. I think we spent about £20 on a shared starter, main each, and shared dessert–plus drinks. It was traditional Mauritian fare, and it was so good I almost cried.

Worth picking up a few boxes of their fancy tea as well, which is one of Mauritius’ famous exports and makes for a lovely gift.

Money

Mauritius uses Mauritian rupees–which you can’t actually buy or sell outside of the country, so make sure you don’t take any home with you. I won’t lie, Mauritius is a very pricey place to stay if you want the full honeymoon experience (I’m talking a five star resort for over a week, cocktails by the pool, nice meals and excursions). It’s well worth racking up the credit card bills for.

Tourist things to do

It’s not just lying on the beach or poolside. For such a small island, Mauritius has a lot to offer. Try and get into capital Port Louis for a day-trip (or even half a day is enough), and make sure you check out the Central Markets–a few roads in a block crowded with stalls selling all manner of tat. Move inside, and it’s every vegetable, fruit and food delicacy you can imagine. On the outside streets, it’s fresh food you can eat there and then (the aforementioned street food–go for a dholl puri or two, and eat them in the park by the museum).

I attempted visiting the museum on a day out, while Jim lounged poolside at the resort (what? Honeymooners can have time apart!), but unfortunately I didn’t realise it closes at 12 on Saturdays. I got there at 12.30. The museum houses one of the world’s few dodos, found where the airport is situated by an Englishman.

Don’t bother with the capital’s fancy shopping Caudan Waterfront area, it’s aimed at tourists (and not tourists with taste, let me assure you.) Shops like Guess and Armani Exchange litter the malls, and over-priced souvenir shops hawk the same dodo bird magnets you would’ve seen a dozen times by then.

Try and hire a car for a day, and visit the aforementioned Bois Cheri, Chameral (we didn’t visit it, but heard the seven colours of the earth is worth seeing), Black Gorges River (amazing views), Grand Bassin (a lake in a volcano crater, where thousands of Hindus flock each year), and even Curepipe for the Trou aux Cerfs dormant volcano crater and a look at impoverished Mauritian life. It’s quite a difference from the five star luxury you’ll see at the resorts.

Pamplemousse is Mauritius’ botanical gardens, and the oldest in the southern hemisphere. It’s got an astonishing array of plants and lily ponds, but the 30 or so giant tortoises are worth the trip alone.

Try and go on a catamaran trip, either to Ile aux Cerfs like we did (above), or the Northern islands Gabriel and Flat Island which are accessible from Grand Baie. We wanted to visit but were told the day we planned to go would have high tides and would make casting ashore difficult, so chose Ile aux Cerfs instead.

Near where we stayed, the Balaclava Ruins allowed Jim to live out his Lara Croft fantasies (well, running around and jumping in old battle ruins, anyway), and as they’re located inside Maritim hotel’s grounds, you should check out their French colonial restaurant/bar too.

Grand Baie, located in the North, is worth a visit even if it’s regarded as being quite touristy. It’s almost been my belief that places are touristy for a reason (because they’re worth checking out), so do jump in your hire car/on your bike/on the local bus (so cheap! So much fun!) and scope the markets and the gorgeous beach. Seriously, that harbour had the most turquoise water we saw in Mauritius.

That about winds up my Mauritian honeymoon tips, but if you have any great burning questions, do comment or email and put them to me.

Needless to say, we had an absolutely amazing honeymoon, and I would not have changed a bit. Well, I wouldn’t have eaten quite so much perhaps, and would’ve bought a few more dodo bird magnets for friends (who knew they loved tack so much!?) but other than that, it was the best way to celebrate the beginnings of a marriage.

Link: Daily Mail

Turns out Martha Stewart can’t get enough of the 19-year-old American student’s blog either. Kaitlin was recently asked to present the recipe of the rainbow layered cake on Stewart’s colour-themed show, and I was bowled over by how smart and confident she was. For her first media appearance, she really impressed. If she doesn’t get her own baking segment on a cookery or lifestyle programme, I’ll be very disappointed.

I can’t embed the video of Kaitlin on Martha Stewart’s show, but you can watch it here. Otherwise, read Whisk Kid’s beautifully-written blog here, which combines lovingly-photographed delicacies along with small memoirs of her life.

Christina’s Domestic Sluttery recipe for smoked garlic and mushroom risotto looked very decent and easy to make, however as we’re a strict no-white-wine household, I had to use some merlot we had lying about. I usually only use red wine in mushroom or beetroot risottos, as it makes it a more cloying, winter-suitable risotto. While it’s late-May, I could sense some bad weather coming last night, so it made us feel pretty snug.

Instead of using parmesan cheese like Christina’s recipe called for, I used goat’s cheese. I also roasted up some portobello mushrooms for the side, and boiled some English asparagus. Over the top of the asparagus I drizzled some Australian truffle oil. It’s expensive stuff, and we’re down to our last bottle (I’ve already request Mum bring over a bulk lot when they arrive in a few weeks), but it really suits asparagus well.

Quick (for risotto), and very easy. Certainly made watching the last episode of Lost a heck of a lot better. (And the leftover risotto was excellent the next day, shaped into fritters, rolled in plain flour, and fried in oil. I even put a fried egg on top of Jim’s cakes).

Link: Christina’s Domestic Sluttery risotto recipe.

The last several months it’s like I’ve had the weight of Atlas on my shoulders, tossing and turning every night in bed fretting about getting a Certificate of Approval to get married in the UK.

As an Aussie, I can’t get married here legally unless I obtain one. This involves sending off both yours and your fiance’s passports, along with answers to a series of convoluted questions about yourselves and your citizen statuses, no earlier than five months before you’re due to get married.

The catch is, it can take up to three months to get approval. Meaning if they deny you the first time – for not supplying enough information, for example – you could potentially not get approval before your big day.

Not to mention the problems with the Home Office having your passports for such a great length of time – as we both travel a lot for work, this really wasn’t ideal. Jim had to actually stand outside their Croydon offices last week, the day before he was due to fly to Milan, and wait there until they became so exasperated with him they gave it back.

This followed three weeks of daily phonecalls, demanding it back. To an 0845 number. With a 20 – 30 minute wait per call just to speak to someone. Someone who is more used to speaking to non-English speakers, and is so fed up with their job, and life, that they make you want to just move back to Australia instead of spending another minute on the phone with them.

Regardless, we finally got approval! No thanks to Royal Mail, who mishandled the envelope so badly that our certificate – with official hologram! – is all creased.

I’m off for a celebratory lie-down and a little cry now. Just 62 days until the wedding *hyperventilates*

Three women out of 20 (four, if you count my black MacBook in front) in a random slice of CES isn’t necessarily a bad thing

I’ve got a million things to do tonight (still haven’t changed out of my sweaty gym clothes, come to think of it), but I just wanted to write a brief something on a blog post by Vikki Chowney, which I saw RTed on Twitter.

I’ve always been hesitant to wade into the debate about women in technology – not least because I think it’s a non-issue. There are also some pretty disgusting, vocal women constantly harping on about it, turning it into an issue, which makes actual women working in technology even less inclined to get involved in the discussion. And further distances tech-hopefuls from entering the industry, for fear of them.

Anyway, to get back to Vikki’s post – I’ve never met her, but what she wrote about the topic is exactly what I’ve been thinking for some time now. To paraphrase:

“Well, it’s taken me a long time to work that out (for most of which I felt guilty for not being more supportive). First and foremost, I never liked the idea of separating the sexes – one rule for one, another for the other. When you’re trying to promote the notion of equality, dividing people into two groups only enhances the notion that they should be treated differently. If you take men out of the picture, you could be taking the best talent out of the equation. You might be at the top of your game, but only in part.”

Sure, I can see more women may be needed in the tech industry. But that’s the way the buttered toast falls. The issue of more men needed in teaching is far greater in need of addressing, I think. There’s no point ensuring every tech company has 50 per cent women, if more knowledgeable and experienced men are missing out on employment. That’s not fair on either side.

“Looking at women in tech here, there’s a distinct split. There are those who play on what’s perceived to be typically female traits – giggly, happy-go-lucky excitement – and those who strive to rebel against this, sometimes to the point of being sensationalist. I don’t disagree with either approach; I just don’t fit into either group.”

I’ve met both sides, which is one reason why I don’t frequent press events as much as I used to. The latter group of women exist in every industry I’m sure, but when some of them are banging on about women needing to support each other more, then actually doing the exact opposite themselves, actually makes them look like right fools. I don’t think they realise how damaging they’re being to themselves, and others.

The former group is perhaps the less dangerous – indeed, they’re far less acidic – but still manage to damage the reputation of women within the industry.

I’d prefer to just stay out of it, and like Vikki, get on with what I’m doing. If you take your eyes off the game and glance around at what everyone else is doing, then you’re just going to get more burnt out and exasperated, sooner.

Next month marks five years of me writing online professionally, with about four of those years within the tech industry. I’d like to think that the above notion has put me on good stead for the years ahead, but after this last paragraph I’m going to go back to putting my head in the sand when it comes to women within the tech industry. Especially before I venture into the whole “working online or running a website doesn’t mean you work in technology” pit of frustration.

Now, to change out of these gym clothes and get back to addressing these bloody wedding invitations that have been blocking out every evening of the past week.

…this DJ might just be my kindred spirit.

To wit:

Who’s your favourite band/artist at the moment?
I’m totally loving the new album of covers from Seal which is due to be released soon.

Favourite song from the 1990s?
Again, I’m gonna have to go for a top five as of today, as I constantly change my mind!

1. Ace Of Bass – Life is a Flower

2. All Saints – Under The Bridge

3. Wet Wet Wet – Goodnight Girl

4. Take That – Pray

5. Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity

Anything else you would like to tell us?
Any ideas how I can get rid of this rash??

UPDATE: Crikey, he’s on Twitter. Here’s a sample of the real-life DJ Smashie:

Okay, so its not even 7 and I’m ready for bed! I’m turning into an old man! Pretty lame ehh?! lol

As I said, kindred spirits.

Salmon is one of my favourite fish, and when it’s sold at Sainsbury’s for £6 per two packs, we eat it pretty often too. The best way to cook it is wrapped in a sheet of aluminum foil, with a bit of olive oil drizzled over the top, in the oven for about 15 minutes. Served while still pink in the middle, it’s absolute bliss.

However, I do love pan-frying it with a bit of olive oil, then pouring a generous drizzle of ketjap manis (caramelised-tasting soy sauce from Indonesia – got mine in Brixy market, but it’s quite common, just got to know what the bottle looks like!) and some honey. Fry until still a bit pink and tender inside, and serve. As you can see from the photo, the ketjap manis turns the salmon almost black, and gives it a chicory/caramel taste. Beautiful served with a stir fry.