Since my early twenties, if anyone ever asked me where my dream vacation would be, Seychelles would always come to mind. I’m not really sure why—-I never met anyone from there, or any visitors for that matter. It sounded so exotic, because it’s located so far far away…and that’s what dreams are supposed to be, right?
Well, pinch me...because I just returned back from visiting Seychelles! If you recall my earlier introduction to Liz & Dex, Liz works at the Four Seasons, and wanted to use her employee benefits at their Seychelles resort. Seriously…on this trip…which meant I got to go to Seychelles! And my accommodations were taken care of…suh-weeeet!! So off we went, Liz, Dex, and I bought round-trip tickets from Johannesburg, South Africa to Seychelles, to experience four-nights on a slice of heaven.
It’s sad to say, we didn’t see much of the island besides the drive from the airport to Four Seasons resort, which was located on the Southern tip of the Mahe Island. I know, I know, I own an experiential and immersion travel company that focuses on humanitarian and cultural aspects of a destination…so how could I have stayed in one of the world’s finest hotels and not explore and embrace the natural beauties of the rest of the island?
Um, take a look at the photos attached, and you will see why I didn’t leave the resort... http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5549036&id=625928901#!/album.php?aid=225347&id=625928901
Need I say more? After four straight years of not going someplace or doing something that involves Cultural Embrace (in fact, come to think of it…it was another trip with Liz, when she invited me to a Four Season’s award trip to Hawaii…man, I have the greatest friend!) ‘shutting’ off for four days on a remote island in a luxury resort, without an agenda, meeting, or schedule, was justifiable, or more importantly, a necessity.
I have to admit, I fell short of my goal to not check my emails and reconnect with the ‘real world.’ But I proudly did not turn my netbook on, and discovered the library with two computers and internet access, I mean, c’mon, I had to try all of the facilities this resort had to offer, right? But my days consisted of hanging out at the beach, catching up on several books that had accumulated beyond piles back in Austin, snorkling, swimming, turning before I burn, ordering fresh mango coladas, and joking around with the resort staff. I think the hardest decision of our time there, was whether to wade in the resort pool, or return back to our private pool in our villa.
I often write and set goals for myself, sometimes a bit far-fetched that they should be defined as dreams. But for me, goals are essentially dreams with deadlines, and you never know, like my visit to Seychelles, dreams do become a reality!
--Emlyn Lee
Owner and President of CE
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