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Around the world in 2000,
via Asia and Madagascar.

Seychelles

Bec
2004-09-18 18:26:17

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Mahé
The capital, Victoria, on Mahé island is really just a big village of only 27 000. Big vacation cruise ships tie up just south of this Yacht Club in the center of Victoria harbour. The ferries to Praslin and Digne leave just north of here .

The Seychelles offer fewer underwater diving sites than the Maldives but they are said to be just as beautiful. I did not verify that because the cheapest rate I found was 60 $US per dive, more that twice what I paid in the Maldives and four times the rate in Sri Lanka.

The size of the Ministry of Tourism, the yellow building behind this modern sculpture at the eastern end of Independence Avenue, gives you an idea of the importance given to that industry by the Seychelles government.

This replica of the clock tower on London's Vauxhall Bridge was set up here, at the western end of Independence Avenue, when the Seychelles became a crown colony in 1903. This corner could be called the center of town.

Of course, colourful market street leads to the market.

The century and a half of British occupation did not eliminate the French heritage as the people speak Créole (kreol seselwa) and most are Catholic. Ethnically, the Seychellois are a complex mixture of European, African, Indian, Chinese and Arab genes.

Markets are always colourful and this one is no exception as you can see.

What impressed me the most about the Seychelles was how clean it was everywhere, even in the market where there were no bad odours at all! Perhaps the fact that I had just spent over a month in India explains why I was impressed.

Victoria's modern bus station is the central hub of a very efficient public transport system that covers all of Mahé island. Note how clean it is!

There's no denying it, the beaches are great, the water is crystal clear and the tourist infrastructures are perfectly adequate. ...