My first answer would always be: better road infrastructure in Mauritius. If you go to SVG, you’ll know what I’m talking about. But then, the last time I was in Mauritius was in 2004. The visual interpretation I have in my head of my beloved country is biased. It’s to be expected. One certainly loves one’s own country. No matter what. Living in the UK, your sense of proportion/dimension/size tends to double, if not triple up. When you’re from an island, everything looks big in the UK. Then you come back to your tiny, cute island and you say to yourself, “I need more space. My house is stifling! Oh my god, that driver is crazy..he nearly hit us!”
The road looks narrower. Your house looks smaller. Your neighbours are too close and in your face. Local shops resemble like tacky cardboards put together without any real thought given to sound structure. You see stray dogs and cats everywhere you go.
The things you see from a totally different perspective are countless.
However, I love the fact that I don’t have to dress up to go to the shops. I don’t feel scared during daytime because I can’t hear a living soul. My local shops still sell my favourite candies. And I don’t have to queue up just to buy a pastry. You’re home. And it feels like it.
Then, there are the street lights. They are there, at every corner, placed strategically (for a safer neighborhood, I believe?) but none of them work! At least, in Goodlands! It pains to say that when the sun sets, the streets become sinister-like.
On your way to Grand Bay from Goodlands, the only source of light, when you are driving at night-time , comes from your own car’s headlights! I remember praying like crazy every time we would drive to Grand Bay at night. And I would stare straight ahead of me until I reached home.
The byways from Grand Bay to Goodlands are surely a hazard?!
I’m sure not only byways, avenues and backroads in Mauritius need some proper attention. Even the highways are a poor sight!
So, the government or whoever is in charge for safer and better road infrastructures in Mauritius need to step up his game!