A tale of island getaways

Chinese tourists explore the wild nature in Sri Lanka. XU LIN/CHINA DAILY

As the airplane was coming in to land I could not help but say "wow" as I saw numerous different-sized islands of green in the blue Indian Ocean, and the white cloud mass above them looking like soft candyfloss.

I could see the ocean only a few meters away through the porthole because Seychelles International Airport is located on the island of Mahe.

The country's immigration stamp is shaped like its national treasure－the sea coconut, or coco de mer.

The government controls the trade in coco de mer and the palm tree is protected. Tourists can see the trees mainly in the Praslin and the Curieuse National Parks and botanic gardens on other islands.

Victoria, the capital of Seychelles is on the Mahe island. And my daylong tour of the city starts at the Botanical Garden to see the country's iconic plant and animal－the coco de mer and the Aldabra giant tortoise.

With a history of more than a century, the beautiful tropical garden also showcases many exotic plants such as spice trees.