Mauritius - 15 Sep 2013 - Yiptongs Met Yiptongs

Second last day in Mauritius, and it was also the day we got to meet relatives from Mauritius, South Africa, and Canada! Quite a number of them planned for a trip back to Mauritius after learning that the Yiptongs from Singapore will be visiting Mauritius in September 2013.

Prior to the lunch meetup with the Yiptongs (of whom 90% I have NEVER met in my entire life), my relatives who hosted us since Day 1 brought us around for some sightseeing.

We went to a place of worship, where many Indians go there to pray and cleanse their souls with the holy water in the lake/river.




Spotted an old school ice cream and snacks van along the way, and the path that led to the Black River Gorges National Park had small stalls selling touristy items.








We then proceeded to the Chamarel Waterfall and Coloured Earths.

Chamarel Waterfall (as described on the board)
The waterfall is supplied by river St Denis and Viande Salée, and is more active from December to April with the summer heavy rainfalls and the cyclonic period. It is about 100m high and has 2 different lava flows.






Oops, K and I are standing on the wrong side of the family.
Coloured Earths (as described on the board)
This natural phenomenon is due to decomposed basalt gullies. The hot and humid climate helps in the decomposition of the basalt into clay. As a result of total hydrolysis, the soluble elements such as silicic acid and cations are washed, leaving a large composition of iron and aluminium which constitute a ferralitic soil.The iron sesquioxydes have a red and anthracite colour, whereas the aluminium sesquioxydes have a blue or purplish colour.

According to my Dad, the place was not blocked off many years ago, when he was a little boy. And he mentioned that my Grandmother told him that no matter how the sand is being mixed up, the colours will go back to the way it was originally. Such a pity they blocked the area, otherwise I would have wanted to try and see it for myself if the sand will really go back to its original state after being mixed.









After a whole morning of sightseeing, it was finally time for the lunch meeting with the other Yiptongs!

Lunch venue was arranged by our relatives, and I must say that the place was BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL!!! Basically, the place was just a single building with a large hall and a lot of outdoor seating, with a gorgeous view. Take a look at Andrea Les Lodges!!!!!










After a lot of ooh-ing and ahh-ing, and after self-introducing 1000 times to all the various relatives, lunch is finally served! Indian cuisine at its best!


We took a walk around the area post-lunch and it was a wonderful hike as the air was cold and fresh. And my eyes feasted on beautiful scenary.











This is my family, and it is not even 1/4 of all the Yiptongs. And yes, my family is of all sorts of race and different ethnic groups. Yiptongs are cool like that. =p

Mauritius - 14 Sep 2013 - Catamaran Cruise + Surprise Proposal

As the title says, I got proposed on that very day in Mauritius, on the beautiful St Gabriel Island.

Okay, so my entire family knew that K planned to propose to me in Mauritius, and I must say they were all superb actors and actresses and they did not let anything slip. K nearly foiled his own plan when he forgot to empty his trash can on his laptop. I was using his laptop a couple of days prior to the proposal, to upload pictures onto FB when I accidentally trashed some pictures,so I went to his trash can to restore my items. It was there I chanced upon a trashed video with D's face as the thumbnail and I questioned K about it and obviously he was very evasive about it which made me mad. We had a huge fight and I refused to talk to him for the rest of the day and even the following day. Anyway, only 2 days later then I found out what everything was about, in the sweetest manner ever, at the most unexpected place, unexpected time, and in full view of my entire family.

This day, the planned activity for the whole family was a catamaran cruise which was super shiok because the air was cold but the sun was hot enough to keep us slightly warm.












After about 45 minutes, we finally arrived at St Gabriel Island.



What a beauty with such clear waters!


Daddy's little girl.
After getting off the catamaran, we had some time to explore the island and just rest on the beach. So the then-boyfriend and I walked around and went for a dip in the clear cool water.


When it was nearly time, we decided to head back to where my Mom and aunt were seated on the beach, waiting for the rest of us. Coincidentally, every one else came back from their venture too, but I suspected nothing at all because it was nearly time to get back onboard the catamaran.

Somehow, with sea sports, I always seem to have a full bladder extremely quickly. So despite relieving myself in the sea (What? Don't judge me, I'm sure you all have done it too!) just half an hour earlier, I felt the sudden urge to go again, so I waddled into the sea and did my thing. When I returned, my Kor Kor suddenly said to me, "Mei Mei come, I show you something."

You know, it is VERY unusual for my elder brother to show us anything unless he finds it very interesting or good to share. So the unsuspecting me took the iPad from him and stuffed the earphones into my ears. (I cannot believe that I did not even recognize the iPad to be K's at that point in time!)

A video started playing, and when the first person came on screen, I exclaimed very loudy to K, "EH THIS IS T! WHY IS HE ON THIS VIDEO? HE BECAME FAMOUS FOR SOMETHING AH?!" At that point in time, I seriously thought it was some soccer spoof video that T made that went viral or something, that even my elder brother caught on and found it interesting enough to share. Reason why I thought it was a soccer spoof video was because the sound was "YES YES YES YES YES", like from those you would hear during a soccer match victory or something.


Please ignore my half amused, half WTF face.
Because EVERYONE knew about this plan, all the "actors" and "actresses" were getting ready their equipment to record the entire process, and K was digging for The Ring. And of course, my Dad already started doing so, hence the birth of this picture.


K and the little black box in his hand. =p


Touched by the words of some.


Can't remember what he said, but must have been damn hilarious.

AISEH! Down on 1 knee!

From another angle

The answer is obvious.

Sealed with a kiss. =)

Beautifully custom-made by Jann Paul.
Honestly, everything happened so fast that I didn't hear much of what K said as he proposed on a bended knee. I remembered hearing the loud thumping of my heart, and the blood crazily rushing in my head, causing a light buzz to be constantly in my ears and throat. LOL! Excited lah, never get proposed to before mah...

After the whole surprise proposal, we went back onto the catamaran and continued the cruise. There was a BBQ lunch onboard, followed by snorkeling.





On the way back to the main island, we spotted a pod of dolphins! The guide onboard told us that it is usually not a common sight for dolphins to be seen in that area. It was indeed our lucky day!






At dinner, my Mauritius relatives surprised us with a cake congratulating us on K's successful proposal. Although the words on the cake were not right, but still, so sweet of them!!!


And to end this post, here is the proposal video that the now-fiancé made for me.