HARARE - Before landing on the resort island of Mauritius, popularly referred to as the “African Paradise” the view from the sky is out of this world.
Upon landing, you are greeted by a warm humid air and suddenly you realise that you have reached a different part of the world.
The overall reception from the local people is amazing — it is like they are taught politeness every morning before they leave their houses.
Many of us are used to being treated with hostility in foreign lands, especially by those with economies that are stronger than ours.
But the Mauritians are a different crop of people as they welcomed us with smiles and all.
The occasional jibe when you visit other countries; “how is Mugabe?” is not something that I was asked, but “how are you finding Mauritius, is it your first time here?”
Apart from the beautiful people, the country is just lovely and I realised that all the pictures I see on the internet are not photoshopped but of actual beaches and streets that are always clean.
Of interest was how much subsidised their education system is.
All students from primary to high school receive free education in a bid to have a well-educated and literate nation, making the country number eight on the African literacy rate list. Students also benefit as part of their university is paid for.
At least 67 percent of the population is Hindi, while the rest is made up of Caucasians, Chinese as well as other black Africans.
Majority of the dishes here are highly seasoned, which can be attributed to the high Hindi populace.
The Mauritian trip was organised by Multichoice Africa for its “Africa Rising Content Showcase” where they were engaging the media on their services as well as campaigning for various media products.
Several celebrities from Africa as well as content builders who included Rita Dominic, IK, Uti, MiCasa graced the content showcase. In place of the usual conferences, the gathering was interactive, even including kids’ activities bringing out the inner children in all the attendees.
What really made my week was solving the “murder” of Shirley Cook, which was put together by the Crime and Investigation channel.
We conducted real forensic tests on bite marks, hair, finger prints, and these were real materials which are used by the world’s top investigators to solve the crime.
To round off the week, there was entertainment from Ugandan comedian, Salvador whose jokes on women’s weaves left the whole crowd asking for more.
To close off was the MTV Base party; the crew knows how to throw a good party and the party animals had a night to remember.
What more could have one asked for, a party on the white beaches of Mauritius on a beautiful June night!