A Mauritian Market
Hattie Broadhead, Destination Expert
Driving into Port Louis, I had a slight sense of déjà vu, as the Waterfront is almost exactly like that in Cape Town! The capital of Mauritius is undergoing some pretty major development, and swanky shops and cafes are opening left, right and centre. My guide Dinesh led me through this maze of materialism, and as we entered a somewhat dingy underpass, he warned me to hang onto my bag.
Emerging on the otherside, was a little like Alice stepping through the looking glass - gone were the towering industrial buildings, and instead I found myself in the heart of the local market - a bustling throng of Mauritians going about their daily business shopping and trading. In this part of the city, the multi-cultural vibe of the island embraces you - kitsch statues of Hindu deities jostle with African baskets, the smell of delicious curry fills the air, mounds of glossy fruit and vegetables are stacked several feet high and the catch of the day is laid out on ice alongside cheap Chinese electrical goods. If you like markets, then you cannot fail to be captivated by this lesser-known side of Port Louis.
Dinesh took me through the winding alleys to a little tea counter run by a friend where we drank sweet Indian chai tinged with cinammon, and nibbled on pineapple whilst he told me about the history of the capital. Afterwards, he led me proudly to a rather forbidding statue of Queen Victoria and insisted on snapping my photo with the former Empress!
