MAURITIUS

Capital:
Port Louis. Population: 150,000 (2006 estimate).

Time:
GMT + 4

Public Holidays:

1-2 Jan New Year.
26 Jan Chinese New Year.
1 Feb Abolition of Slavery Day.
8 Feb Thaipoosam Cavadee.
23 Feb Maha Shivaratri.
12 Mar National Day.
27 Mar Ougadi.
1 May Labour Day.
24 Aug Ganesh Chathurthi.
21 Sep Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan).
17 Oct Diwali (Festival of Lights).
1 Nov All Saints' Day.
2 Nov First Labourers' Day.
25 Dec Christmas Day.

National characteristics:

Handshaking is the customary form of greeting. Visitors should respect the traditions of their hosts, particularly when visiting a private house. The type of hospitality the visitor receives is determined by the religion and social customs of the host, which are closely related. It is appropriate to give a gift as a small token of appreciation if invited for a meal. Dress is normally informal although men will need to wear a suit for particularly formal occasions.

Geographic sketch:

Mauritius, a volcanic and mountainous island in the Indian Ocean, lies 2,000km (1,240 miles) off the southeastern coast of Africa, due east of Madagascar. The island state stands on what was once a land bridge between Asia and Africa called the Mascarene Archipelago. From the coast, the land rises to form a broad fertile plain on which sugar cane flourishes and beyond, crater edges form a mountainous backbone. Some 500km (310 miles) east is Rodrigues Island, while northeast are the Cargados Carajos Shoals and 900km (560 miles) to the north is Agalega.

Climate:

Mauritius has a tropical maritime climate, with relatively little seasonal variation in temperatures, and generally pleasant and sunny on the coast year round. Winter, from May to October is warm and dry. Summer from November to April is hot, humid and rainy. Cyclones occur between January and March. Sea breezes blow all year, especially on the east coast, and the inland central plateau around Curepipe is cooler and rainy year round.

Population:
The main ethnic groups are: hindus (52%), creoles and franco-mauritians(30%), muslims (15%) and sino-mauritians (3%).

Language:
The official languages are English and French (with French being the most dominant), the most commonly used are Creole (pidgin French with other languages added to the mix), Hindi and Bhojpuri. Urdu and Chinese are also spoken.

Religion:
48% Hindu, 32% Christian (mainly Roman Catholic), 17% Muslim, 2% Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism, 1% other.

Currency:

Mauritian Rupee (MUR; symbol Rp) = 100 cents. Notes are in denominations of Rp2,000, 1,000, 500, 200, 100, 50 and 25. Coins are in denominations of Rp10, 5 and 1, and 50, 20, 10, and 5 cents.

Currency Exchange:

Available in banks and at bureaux de change. A better rate of exchange can be obtained on traveller's cheques than on cash. Mauritius Commercial Bank is reputed to have the quickest service.
Transport:
The best way and the cheapest (compared to a car or the organised tours) is to hire a taxi for a day.
Day trips cost around 1200 roupies which is about 10 to 12 US a person to have the taxi available all day. On top the driver does not only takes you around, but also brings you to the interesting places.
Very important for a VTer: the driver can be stopped everywhere, in case you like to take a picture.
No risks, no rental contracts, no waiting for buses, no getting lost and also rather save.
BARGAINING is very important. Before you get into the cab ask for the price to your destination. If you feel it is too high (the locals can tell you what the price should be) start bargaining. They will come down and reduce the fee by about 20 to 30 %.

Shops:
This ranges from sophisticated shopping for designer clothing, jewellery and handicrafts in Port Louis' Caudan Waterfront to rooting around for T-shirts and souvenirs upstairs in the capital's bustling Central Market, while locals bargain hard over tea and other essentials while catching up on the gossip. Island crafts, found at the craft market at The Caudan include jewellery, Chinese and Indian jade, silks, basketry, glass and model ships. Cashmere is a particularly good buy.

Duty-free shopping is popular here with around a 40% saving on textiles, jewellery, perfume and electrical goods. Mauritius is to be turned into a tax-free shopping haven by 2010, with 80% tax taken off around 2,000 goods. Tourist shopping centres are located around the island, with a good selection of designer shops at Grand Baie, but the locals shop at Curepipe, Quatre-Bornes and Rose-Hill.

Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0930-1800. Some shops are open until 1200 on Sundays and public holidays. Markets usually close around 1600. Shops in Rose-Hill, Curepipe and Quatre-Bornes close on Thursday afternoons.

Food:
Standards of cuisine, whether French, Creole, Indian, Chinese or English, are generally very high, but fruit, meat, vegetables and even fresh seafood are often imported.

Things to know: Waiter service is normal in restaurants and bars.

National specialities:
* Venison (in season).
* Camarons (freshwater prawns) in hot sauces.
* Octopus.
* Dholl purri (a wheat pancake stuffed with ground peas and served with curry).
* Gateaux piments (chilli cakes).

National drinks:
* Rum.
* Beer.
* Alouda (almond-flavoured ice milk drink).
* Fresh coconut milk.

Legal drinking age: 18.

Transportation:
P

Communications:
Telephone
Country code: 230. There are no area codes. There are a limited number of public telephone booths, mainly at the airport and in major hotels. Mauritius Telecom (website: www.mauritiustelecom.com) offers a good, reliable service and payphones are found in their customer service centres in towns around the island.
Mobile Telephone
Roaming agreements with international mobile phone companies are available and coverage extends over the entire island. Local mobile calls are the same as the price of landline calls, so it may be worth renting one if doing business here.
Internet
There are Internet cafes in both main towns and tourist centres such as Grand Baie and Port Louis. Most hotels offer high-speed Internet access.

Tips:
10% is usual in most hotels and restaurants.

Credit Cards:

MasterCard and Visa are the most widely accepted by most banks, hotels, restaurants and tourist shops followed by American Express and Diners Club. ATMs are widespread.

Urgent numbers:
Tourist Police: 203-1212 and 208-1212
Police: 999 or 112
Fire Brigade: 995
Emergency Assistance and Ambulance (SAMU): 114
Emergency Coast guards: 212-2747
Private ambulance: 426-8888