[Titus]

Dietmar, first time I came to Mauritius was on a business trip (arriving from,... Zimbabwe).

I think I arrived on a Saturday , and was scheduled to leave on Sunday evening, 8 days later.
I was quite young (mid-twenties), so => hotel and night club

But damn, no "real" taxi system. Had to make an appointment with my "assigned hotel driver" to pick me up. Shit, if it's boring there, you're stuck => if it's just fun, you got that driver waiting for you outside.

Well, I don't enjoy really making party under those circumstances.
But anyhow, "l'ambiance" was quite frosty. So it didn't really matter.
Was somewhere in the north, don't remember the name.

Another time I was in a night club somewhere in the center/South, Curepipe or Rosehill (don't remember too). But was almost the same.

well, what else to do in Mauritius? Beach: not really my stuff (except if there's at least half a dozen of lovely girls wearing string Tangas around me - and me in the middle of them, of course !)
Beach is ok for a day or two but in daytime I was working anyway (at Port Louis).

I also had the bad luck, that my hotel was almost empty (staff told me a group had cancelled the reservation) There where only 2 more couples in the hotel - and me. every evening the cook was waiting for me - to close the kitchen
So I was a little stuck in the hotel, having a drink after another, talking a bit to the barman and the receptionist....

That's OK for a day or two but a whole week is too long for me.

Mauritius is ok for mid-age tourists, couples, 50 and up but was so boring to me.

Well, but Friday was coming, ... I called the airline and scheduled quickly on the last flight to Reunion. Had a great weekend (same taxi problem there - but I got a rental car anyhow) and I didn't regret.

Have you not been in Mauritius at all since then ?

I've come some more 15 or twenty times to Mauritius since but I still have the same problem: I don't feel really relaxed.
I've been twice this year, but only for 2x 1 night in transit in Mahébourg. damn, I had the bad luck, first time was a holiday, and the other time a Sunday.
I was walking around the whole day in Mahébourg, just one restaurant was open... no bars, no beer ( ) no shops, nothing to do for a whole day.
Yes, an ice cream van passed along, I bought some coconut too, I watched a little bit the fishermen, but that's all I could do.

But I also avoid to go to Mauritius for some other problems:
I hate being spoiled ! And that's what Air Mauritius and Air Austral (and Coraline) are doing.
We pay almost 70-80% more expensive our tickets on our end - and already those bought at your end are very expensive for that short distance (compared to other routes of the same distance).
There are some politicians (on your and our end) that are earning a lot on our back. I avoid throwing my money after them (I hope they'll read it here, you'd say in German: "in den Rachen stopfen" it's a much more appropriated term)

By the way, it's not really infrastructure that's missing. Mauritius is good for quite beach holidays, somewhere hidden in a hotel, all-in.
But that's not my stuff, I'm looking for something else.
The infrastructure is OK.

What's mainly missing are human relations. Mauritians are always very polite, very friendly (nothing to complain about) but somehow relationship's kept cool, kind of client/employee relation.
And with relations to the people I have it much easier here in Reunion, and also in most places in Africa where I had been, including Madagascar (where infrastructures, as you mentioned, are almost inexisting).

Some 2 years ago I drove around a business partner from Mauritius here in Reunion for some 3 days. He had been here for the first time (a Chineseman).
He noticed (and mentioned) something to me that made me think:
-he was astonished that unknown people greeted him.

Yes, that made me think too (I didn't realize this anymore), and it's true, wherever you go, at Boutique Chinoise, or snackbar's, it's very common to salute everybody, to go around and shake hands. Somehow there's another kind of approach to strangers.

but also the people, mixed culture, open minded people.

YES, exactly that's what I like most here. I can get stuck in a chat with strangers in the supermarket, have a nice talk to anybody, of all races or mixes, almost everywhere. That's what I'm missing a bit in Mauritius.
You're a little stuck in Indians/Muslims/General Populations (what horribly term).

By the way, I would like to have more LINKS between Reunion and Mauritius.
It's a pity that such a few Mauritians come over here (or can effort the travel).
Would be good for you too to get out and see something else more frequently.

But this could only be changed with some more good will from the politicians
(that I don't see to come so soon)

I think in the next 10 years, standards will be the same, or at one point Mauritius will surpass Reunion. What do you think about this ?

No, I don't think so. You are complicating yourselves lifes. But this is also a speciality here, so nobody knows.

By the way, infrastruce isn't always keeping up here too. If I only think about the road problems that came up last 15 years...... (and are far from beeing resolved).

Like in Grand Baie where I stay, it was a chaotic development

Last time I was in Grand Baie was maybe (?) around 2001-2003 (was about a year after the "bombing", pardon, "accidental explosion" of that supermarket.
It was still in ruins.
I think it had improved compared to 10 years ago. Are sidewalks still missing along the main road ?

We only had 2 or 3 TV channels and the Reunion TV Channel

Same shit here ! We got 2 public channels ( RFO....) and 1 private (Antenne Reunion ). That's it for the next 50 years.....
Except you open your purse.... CanalSat or Parabole (but you got both too)

And many Mauritian artists in that time used to go to Reunion to get their stuff recorded.

I think for recording there are today more Reunion artists that go to Mauritius nowadays (it's cheaper).
But the Mauritian still like to come here for concerts, there's public and (mainly!) they get paid. Seems to be a problem at your end, some hotels give you some pennies to play every evening the same stuff for the tourists. But that's it already.
(I had some discussions on this with the band of one hotel "near Grand Baie" )

But I love Mada, hope to go there again next year. You been there ???

For work: yes, for tourism: never (unfortunately)
I'd been 10-15 times in Madagascar, mostly for one month. But that's a long time ago (last time maybe some 10 years ago). I wonder if it's changed, and I wonder if I won't be disappointed.
I'm thinking about going in February 09 for a week or two (first holidays there but still in combination with a short business of maybe 2 days)
But looks like I got some connection problems. I ' am about to go to a city somewhere in the "bush" that was heavily destroyed b y a cyclon last season - and I'd have to stay a whole week there due to flight schedules. I riks getting mad for such a long time without anything to do there. And I'm worried that they ain't got enough THB in stock in that town for me spending a whole week there.

I would like to see some friends from Tana again, but I hate that city. So I will avoid it if I can. I prefer the cities at the coast. I would love to got to Nosy Bé and Diego one day (never been to those places).

Greetz