Trying new beers in a new country or city is one of my favorite things. That’s even better when the beer is crafty. On day 1 in Mauritius, this country already surprised me with its rather thriving craft beer scene. I haven’t fully explored all options yet since I’ve only been here for a few weeks, so I’ll update this post if I encounter more gems of liquid gold. Mauritian Craft Beer Companies The first two companies I encountered were Flying Dodo Brewery Company and The Thirsty Fox. The former has a delightfully basic website that leaves you guessing whatContinue reading
Hitchhiking Bucket List: #6 Ice Road (Truckers?)
Places that are hard to reach fascinate me. You might know that I’ve already been to the largest city unreachable by road—Iquitos in Perú. That journey from Pucallpa to Iquitos and from Iquitos to El Coca in Ecuador takes several days by boat. But what about areas that freeze? Some locales I’ve been dreaming of for a long time are only accessible by seasonal ice road. And yes, I’m looking at you, Yakutsk. Yakutsk in the Sakha Republic of Russia is the second-biggest city that is not (yet) reachable by permanent road. In the summer, they have car ferries across theContinue reading
Île aux Fouquets (aka Île au Phare)—Snorkeling and Urban Exploring from Mahébourg
All this happened on December 9th, 2021. I passionately wanted to visit the abandoned lighthouse at Île aux Fouquets (also known as Île au Phare) from Mahébourg. We joined a boat trip organized by a snorkeling shop/tour operator in Mahébourg. This included three snorkel sessions. This post doesn’t contain underwater photos taken by me, so if you’re disappointed because I only took pictures of concrete, you’ve been forewarned. Arranging the Trip After some early day cocktails, we walked back home via the famous ‘Case Nautique‘. It’s a few blocks from our house, but so far we never managed to visitContinue reading
Taking Our First Rapid Antigen Self Test on our Fifth Day in Mauritius
According to the entry rules for Mauritius in 2021, we had to do a covid-19 rapid antigen self test on the fifth day. This was the first time we did a different test from the PCR test. Buying Our First Rapid Antigen Self Test December 6th, 2021 After making an appointment at a local dentist in Mahébourg and eating lunch, we walked past a pharmacy called Al-Shafa. “Tomorrow is our fifth day here, right? That means we have to do the covid test” I say to Jonas. “Already?” he replies, taking a moment to think. “No, the day after tomorrowContinue reading
How to Get a SIM Card in Mauritius
First, there’s a bit of story on the obstacles we faced when trying to buy a Mauritian SIM card. Click here to skip over that and go directly to the how-to for buying a Mauritian SIM card. FYI, the country code for Mauritius is +230 Our Experience Buying a SIM Card in Mauritius FAQ SIM Card in Mauritius + Internet Freedom Which provider should I choose? There are three providers: Chili/MTML, Emtel, and my.t. All of them are cheap, so there are no major savings to be gained. The only major difference between the providers is coverage. If you chooseContinue reading
Bonzur, Mahébourg?! Traveling from Istanbul to Mauritius (Semi-Live Blog)
On the 3rd of December 2021, we’re hopefully flying from Istanbul Airport (IST) in Turkey to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU aka Port Louis Airport) in Mauritius. I’m updating this post as we go. If you’re here for the documents checklist to enter Mauritius, click here. Booking Mauritius Before we even arrived in Turkey, I already knew I didn’t want to spend the full 90 days here. It would be too cold by the end of our visa. And Jonas wanted to spend at least one month in Istanbul, which would result in too little time toContinue reading
Selimiye Mosque, Edirne (Turkey)—Ottoman Wonder of the Turks
We visited the Selimiye Mosque on Thursday, the 25th of November as well as on the 1st of December, 2021. On the first visit we went inside and on the second visit, we wandered around the on-site museum. The Idea to Visit Edirne Once the idea of taking the ferry from Ukraine to Turkey across the Black Sea was on the table, I put forward Edirne as well. Though I’d hitchhiked across the Edirne border with Bulgaria twice – and had the passport stamps to prove it – I’d never made a stop in town. Why would this small TurkishContinue reading
The Great Synagogue of Edirne: My First Synagogue Visit (Turkey)
During our eight-day stay in Edirne, Turkey, I had a very long list of places to visit or check out. The city is really full of history. One site stood out on Google Maps: the Great Synagogue of Edirne. When I read that it’s actually open to visit for non-Jews, I thought it would be cool to go there. So on November 30th, 2021 we visited. Why Have I Never Been to a Synagogue? The Synagogue Exterior More rain was in the forecast for later. Jonas navigated to the synagogue because he really wanted to walk via Saraçlar Caddesi—the mainContinue reading
Ayasofya Mosque Visit in 2021: from Museum to Mosque—Foggy vs Sunny Day
These events happened on the 5th and 21st of November 2021. Jonas and I visited the Ayasofya (aka Hagia Sophia) on a rather spontaneous basis. This was my second visit to the Ayasofya and my first visit since it became a mosque in July 2020. Click here to read about my Istanbul and Hagia Sophia experiences from March/April 2013. There’s also a breakdown of Hagia Sophia as a ‘wonder’ in the videogame Age of Empires II down below. A Change of Plans We arrived at the İDO pier at the indicated time of 9:30. During the downhill walk from ourContinue reading