Thursday, November 26, 2015

Mahe

This was going to be our first trip from Kenya and we were going for a holiday after a year. It was just a 5 day trip and Aakaash and I were celebrating 15 years of knowing each other, so we decided to go to one of the most tranquil places with powder like white sand beaches and deep blue sea – Seychelles.

A little more than 3 hours of flying over the Indian Ocean and we touched down in Mahe which is the largest island among 115 islands of Seychelles. I have been to 30 different countries and till date no airstrip is as beautiful as Seychelles. The airstrip was literally next to the ocean. The view was breathtaking as we were taxing right next to the turquoise blue ocean and were ready to breath in the fresh air plus the weather was just perfectly romantic. After going through immigration and security we withdrew local currency and took a cab versus hiring a car since we were uncertain about the location of our bungalow and the connectivity of local transportation.There was a viewpoint of the entire Mahe from a hillock which was gorgeous.


Our hotel was almost 45 mins from the airport. On the way to our Hotel we drove up a mountain which forms a part of the Morne National Park that also covers 20% of Mahe and descended onto the west side of the island towards the beautiful beaches of Beau Vallon. We also drove past a big Indian temple. Initially we thought of booking a hotel but later decided to experience the creole hospitality by staying in a bungalow. Well truth be told - most of the good hotels were fully booked and exorbitantly expensive. However we settled in this duplex self-catering bungalow right across the beach with the sea view and indeed it was the best decision we made.

This beach was perfect as few of the other beaches were not very safe coz either they were very rough or were full of sharp rocks which can really cut through your skin. However, Beau Vallon beach is considered as one of the best beaches in Mahe as it is usually very calm, shallow and we could walk in for quite a distance with kids. The kids had a blast dipping, soaking and splashing in the sea. Further away we could see a lot of hotel properties and restaurants alongside the beaches. Our Romance bungalow was perched on a small hillock with a sea view (I am not kidding! That was the name of the bungalow). The top of the duplex had a king size bed and single bed for Aananya and the lower segment had one bed with TV which was occupied by Aan. The kids had a blast running up and down. It was like a single house with terrace and we were staying in the terrace so when you look down from the railing you can see the kitchenette and the bed below.

After leaving our luggage in the room we spoke to the owners and understood the way around the island. Although the transportation is good and some of our friends had used the buses we decided to hire a car since we had a short trip and it is more convenient. So Aakaash went and hired a cute Nissan March for 2 days. We just went to the beach and by evening we were tired and did a take away from an Indian restaurant nearby, came home gobbled our food and slept like babies.

The next morning we were woken up by the housekeeper who had our breakfast and fresh juices ready at our veranda. It was a real treat and amazing experience smelling and seeing the sea early in the morning with hot breakfast being served. After the breakfast we got ready and drove all around the island stopping wherever we wished, hopping from one beach to the other, from one resort to the next. It was pure bliss since we were spending quality time with family, taking pleasure in little things. Playing games with nature, when the water would recede Aan, Aananya and I would run after it and as soon as the waves would hit the shore we would try to out run it.. Had a great time with the inner child in me as well. We stopped at a small departmental store filled up the car with knick knacks for kids. I enjoyed driving up and down the mountains, next to the sea and all around Mahe Island. At night when we reached back  to the bungalow, to our surprise we got to know that there was a night market with a local food fair right on the road next to the beach across our Bungalow. We all had a great time mixing with the locals and tasting food from stall to stall. Over all it was an amazing experience.

After a late breakfast we were better prepared and decided to sit in the car with our swimsuits so as to avoid changing our clothes every 15 mins. We stuffed our car with goodies and were out on the run. Seychelles is a place to go and chill, there is not much that one can do. So we spent the whole day driving through Mahe seeing all the most famous beaches of the world. Stopped at a local restaurant with a gorgeous view for lunch and then moved on. We also visited the Baie Ternay Marine National Park and Eden Island – the Marina at the Eden Island is one of the most wonderful properties I have seen.  At night we decided to dine at the same Indian Restaurant since kids were not willing to eat anything else and then called it a night. Tomorrow we were leaving for Praslin – a must see island of Seychelles.






Monday, November 2, 2015

The Big Apple- New York


This was our final day in NYC and one place that was in my checklist was Hoboken – Carlos Bakery. Yes from the show Cake Boss. I am not ashamed to say I am a fan of his cakes, so wanted to visit and taste the cake in person. I usually don’t get star struck; but I can’t deny the excitement that had filled my face. As far as cakes and pastries are concerned I think I was short of buying the whole shop. Buddy – the cake boss was not there but did meet his sister Maddalena. After buying loads of goodies we chilled out in a park and saw the beautiful skyline of New York.

Later returned to Times Square for our final goodbye. The NYPD was also there to say bye to us so we kindly graced them with a pic of ours - basically Aakaash and Aan. Later we had an awesome dinner at Hard Rock CafĂ© and it was time to bid adieu to US. This was one of my favourite vacations and a big tick mark on my bucket list. Little did I know that when I get back to Lagos I was to get ready for a new adventure of moving to Nairobi, Kenya.