I always talk about how I want to go down in history as the girl with friends from around the world.
On this trip to Mauritius, I met a man with 1000 wives from different countries around the world. The first day we met, he gave me a bottle of water and a ring.
Meet Med. Med is the assistant food and beverage manager at @saltresorts – the prettiest boutique hotel I have ever stayed at to date. Apart from how absolutely stunning it is, it felt like a home away from home and embodied a lot of my values too. One of those values is eco-friendliness, and the other is service. Med was the first person who served us lunch at the hotel.
He brought us water in a glass bottle, and immediately he opened it, he gave me a silver ring.
I was shocked for the first few seconds, until he explained. “Every time I open a bottle of water, I get married”😅
He talked about how he had opened water for thousands of guests at the hotel and it was one of his favourite things to do.
His energy 😂😂
He later talked about how the hotel took a hit during the pandemic, just less than a year after they opened for business, yet they didn’t compromise on anything. Also said the competition is really stiff because of how much of a tourist hotspot Mauritius is. So service to him is a superpower and would always give you an edge. It’s that deep that he does his “marriage” ceremony to almost everyone who comes in for the first time. It’s so cute.
Of course, as you would guess, the service from every single person there was impeccable.
The general manager, Raj, is such an intelligent man who understands what hospitality really means – especially for tourists. They have a partnership with a local school for kids with disabilities. Guests can visit and teach the kids, interact with them and make donations. We visited the school with Swatee and I was so emotional throughout the visit.
Everybody loves a 5-star hotel with a stunning view from the 60th floor, no doubt. And when I started travelling, I thought I did too. Maybe because those are the pictures that get the “😍😍” and “Goals” comments.
It took me a while to acknowledge that I was wrong. I love a human brand with purpose and a story.
We visited the school, taught them how to play chess and set up a chess club with sets from The Gift of Chess. I had to step out from the classroom at intervals because my heart couldn’t handle it 😩
One of the kids, Manav, was the most eager to learn, and you only needed to say something once or twice for him to get it right. He later found Tunde on Facebook and left him a cute message. Another one, Rahul, gifted us his art at the end of the session.
The only thing some of us can paint is worst-case scenarios in our heads (including me 😩), but look at this Star Boy!
When we started, the girls were so shy and chose to hide at the back. We noticed that and made extra effort to make them more comfortable. By the end of the day, they were more expressive and very happy to come up and play 🥰
Easily my most fulfilling day on this trip ❤️
When you stay at Salt Resorts, feel free to talk to Raj about sharing your skills with the kids. You could teach them how to draw, or play an instrument or anything at all. These are the little things that make travel special – that you’re able to make beautiful impact with your skill even when you’re halfway across the world 🌎
Travel is a gift, and if you’re privileged to have it, don’t get too complacent that you forget to pay it forward.
I’m making it a point of duty to find more brands and establishments like this and put them together in one place for you to patronise whenever you travel. You can make a difference in the world by simply being intentional about where you spend your money💰
As with most of my travel stories, this one has no particular end. Med’s marriage shouldn’t end either. So, for the wild possibility that this post gets into Med’s (real) wife’s hands 😅