Travel # Seychelles

Due to my job, I travelled to some really exotic places. This is just one of the many. It will take 8 hours by plane. Not a place to visit if you have a tight budget. It is an expensive place. Good place for smokers though. They will stop smoking because a packet of cigarette is US$12.00.

Garden of Eden - Seychelles! This is a Catholic country. If you read its history, actually the People's Republic of China helps to build it. That is why you will see Chinese people here and some are married to the locals. Their language is Creole (a mixed of local and French). There is a local Creole cuisine - a must try - Octopus Curry! The people - are like black. It is an island and a rocky one too. The roads are along coasters and across hills. There are lots of big boulders (big rocks). Unfortunately the water is not so 'friendly' - it is dangerous to swim except for some spots.

So what is this place famous for? What does Garden of Eden reminds you? Of course Adam and Eve and the evil Snake. It is about temptations! Right? So the country icon is a kind of coconut named "Coco DeMer". So what? Well the unique thing about this coconut is it is bigger than the normal ones in Asia. It is pointed. If you take off the husk, the shell looks like the anatomy of a woman. To make it even more exciting, of course there is a 'male' Coco DeMer that looks like a male anatomy.I have pictures to prove..he.e.e.e.e.!Well, the Coco DeMer needs to reproduce so you need a male and a female to do so....

Story : The locals told me that there is a plantation that grows these coconuts. Every female tree, not far away is a male tree. So at night, they bend towards each other and 'mate'. Viola!... a new tree.... so more coconuts. If you want to see them 'mating', you have to sleep under the tree and keep your eyes wide open... don't blink! :) Up to you, whether you buy the story or not.

I find this place very unique because in one family you can have 5 children and they all have different fathers. A..Ha! You must be thinking I am 'bluffing' - it is true. Because the religion is Catholic and Catholic cannot divorce so people live together and 'mate' and change partner again if they cannot agree. No marriage vow, so no need all the trouble of legal issue. I can see the 'sparks' in man's eyes.

I visited the Coco DeMer plantation at Praline, another island. Oh My God, the leaves are so much larger than the normal coconut. Do you believe that it was raining cats and dogs while I am walking inside this plantation and not a drop of rain fell on me? Serious.... I am not joking. The leaves are that big! We only saw water coming down the tree trunk.... as in the picture.

I visited Ladiq, another island. All these while I travelled on catamaran. The sea during my visit was rough. So if you are the seasick type..avoid the period of September. On Ladiq...visitors rent bicycle and go around. I am not going to let my 'butt' suffers so I rented a car with a driver. Oh, yes the currency is in US$ of course. They take Euros too. And on this island, what do you think is the pet people keep????? Gues.s.s.s.s.... you will not believe it - I got pictures to prove ...Giant Tortoise. YES!...how do you like to keep a Giant Tortoise as house pet? No need to feed, it will walk along the coast and eat vegetation. It knows how to hunt for food and later come home as well - like your cats and dogs. It will not swim or ran away.. you know why? TOO heavy! It will drown! Smart right! :) The sea is really rough. Can you see the height of the sea and the beach? Scary! I went to the seaside and of course I cannot take a picture of myself so I took pictures pretending I am shooting scenery... I shot pictures of these girls. They are surely not local but visitors. NO, NO, NO... they are not Karaoke MTV girls.. ! I gave credit to my photography man! I also took picture of this handsome local man... see.e.e I did not lie...he really can advertise for 'Darkie' charming, charming, charming..hm.m.m.m.m.!

Because I travelled alone, I started to take pictures of scenery. I love the sky, the sea, clouds.. lonely highways. It gives me a sense of 'Solitude'. Nature is so beautiful and unpretentious. It speaks volume by itself. The way we take Nature for granted is unforgivable. We have been taking and taking but we never give back. We are exhausting the resources that Mother Nature provides for us and now...we are running short of oils, petrol prices went up. We ran out of rice..rice price went up. We fish from the sea, in no time we have no more seafood. We kill sharks for shark fins... delicacy? Did you see how the sharks are being disposed after they cut the fins? PLEASE, do not support shark fins anymore. It is a good to have and not a must have and we all can give it a miss! We must try to do what we can so that we leave something for our future generations - our children, grand children etc.