The Seychelles are an island group in the Indian Ocean 1000 miles east of Kenya. Maje island is the biggest, and is the island that I visited on this trip. The Seychelles are truly an island paradise! Here, it's all about the layback island life.
The Seychelles is a great place for couples, but not necessarily for
singles. Don't expect to find much of a party scene here. As for me, I
was having a great time, just going to the beach, and eating the local
food everyday. The beach is AWESOME! If there isn't much to do, it's
because you really don't NEED anything else to do if you're at the
beach here. Just chill and relax. That's what the Seychelles is all
about.
While there is little to do on the islands besides
going to the beach and scuba diving, there are 3 nightclubs on the main
island of Mahé: Katiolo, 369, and The Barrel (high-class, mid-class,
ghetto style). Might I add that the Seychelles is blessed with a
surplus of beautiful women :-) Creole, European, South Asian, and
African heritage looks very nice indeed. However, you can't approach
them on the street, even to ask for directions! Local laws might
perceive your innocent request as a solicitation for prostitution. Save
your "rico suave" moves for the hotel bar or a club.
Besides the above paranoia, the Seychelles does have one major problem, which I can sum up in a single sentence: "I give you dollars, you give me Monopoly money."
The foreign exchange system here is rigged to keep hard currency in the country. Foreigners, by law, must pay for most items in hard currency ($, €), only to receive Seychelles rupees as change, which almost no one (either on the island, or anywhere else in the world) wants to exchange. That one fact alone, in my opinion, explains the apparent lack of foreign investment. If I can't take my money out after I bring it in, why would I invest here?
What the Seychelles ought to do is adopt either the dollar or euro as the official currency. This would eliminate the need to hoard hard currency, since the Seychellois would already have one. Allowing free movement of money would then create the right conditions for foreign investment. They could even take a page from Bermuda and set up offshore banking.
That would also mean giving up the ability to print worthless Monopoly money, which is probably why the Seychelles government will never do it. C'mon, everybody loves bad investments! Here, let me give you some more Monopoly money.
From a culinary
perspective, the food is great, so long as you're not
hungry upon arrival to Seychelles. There aren't many restaurants in
Victoria, the main town (also Seychelle's capital). The only big
restaurant in Victoria, Pirates Arms, is overpriced, and nothing
special. When I asked a taxi driver what restaurants do locals go to,
he replied "we cook our own food!" I did end up finding some more
restaurants around town, and near the hotels in Beau Vallon, the main
beach on the other side of Mahe island. The hotels have their own
restaurants, too, which may help explain the shortage of restaurants out
in town.
While I did spot a few takeaway places that cater to
locals, it appears that restaurant dining is too expensive for locals.
Heck, it's expensive for tourists! I paid $20 US at Boat House
Restaurant for a great Creole buffet, but that's about the same price
you'd expect to pay in the States. That might explain why the taxi
driver reacted in a defensive way.
By the way, the above-mentioned Boat House restaurant was DELICIOUS! I went back 3 nights in a row just to get my fill of spicy goodness before I had to go back to food on the ship! If I could live near Beau Vallon beach, scuba dive and swim all day, and eat at the Boat House buffet, I think that would be it for me. Besides, Monopoly money isn't so bad if you never want to leave! The Seychelles is so beautiful, you might as well stay.
