And so the adventure begins, armed with my trusty devillish ipod as we boarded the KLIA Express together. Saturday the 18th October - 5 pm.
I skipped the bits about my flight being delayed 4 hours and changing planes and arriving in Male at 1 am and then taking the ferry from the airport to the capital (the airport is on a separate island!) and going to bed at 3 am and waking up at 6 am for a 4 hour speedboat ride. Instead, let us be amazed at how gorgeously blue the water is. Sunday the 19th October. Around 9 am.
Stopped by an island to pick up some documents. I couldn't resist snapping this boy on his bike.
And a fishing boat. Naturally.
I also skipped the bits about the island chief and co coming to welcome us at the jetty. And then sit around under the shade of a tree on foldout deck chairs to sip on tiny coconuts. (it was the thought really, seeing as we had a bit of a language problem)
After lunch we ventured out on speedboat headed towards an island when lo and behold (it's not very clear here) but we came across a school of dolphins! Like.. a SCHOOL. There must've been at least 30 swimming around us. Darn those critters are hard to photograph. But totally AMAZING.
I understand this is a terrible photo of me and it's impossible to look good when wind is slapping in your face. But as one of maybe 2 with me in it, i shall take it as proof that I WAS THERE.
I simply cannot stress how gorgeously blue the water is. Cannot be captured by my humble Canon.
Sorry. You have to put up with my so-called artistic shots.
This island was a shell-collecters haven! Although a once-in-a-lifetime chance, i kind of felt i rather leave the shells alone. Which i regret, mildly.
But i tried pestering some crabs instead (can you spot them?) They kept scuttling away the nearer i tried to get.
People. Blue seas. Shell collecting.
More artistic shots. The sky and the sea. Amazing! (this word may be repeated often)
Macro plant shot. But really, it sort of looks like a cabbage!
There was an abandoned house there which suggests someone once lived here. Or maybe it's a summer home?
Oooo... Tea time! From L-R top row: coconut kueh thing, tuna puff, bananas, tuna balls, more coconut kueh stuff (then it repeats)
From L-R bottom row: tuna patties, bananas, french toast thing, coconut kueh thing, more tuna balls! [do you see a trend? their food tends to revolve around tuna and coconuts]
And to defend the point that this was a work trip, here's a community meeting.
And the point of the trip is the greenhouse project that we are funding. I work for the orange hand....
Sweet melons which are grown in the greenhouses via a hydroponics system.
It's really interesting - the melons have the texture of apples but taste like honeydew. A definite winner in my books.
I was very taken by the leaves of this tree. ALL of them are heart-shaped!
[excuse the mushiness... for you, aaron!]
The farmers off to do their thang.
I was also very taken by these goalpost like seats. They are UBER comfortable. And so simple! So there, ikea!
Breakfast in the ONLY RESTAURANT on the island. It opens if and when you call in advance. So the blue bowl on the right is tuna curry, the top plate has chapatti, the closer plate has some sort of coconut bread, right behind it is flaked tuna and coconut and the yellow quarter on the saucer is egg! You didn't think i was serious about the tuna and coconut, right? This is Monday, the 20th October, by the way.
We did spend some time sitting outside our guesthouse (that's it, btw), 'cos it's cooler on the deck chairs outside than in. And were contemplating a quiet day in seeing as it was drizzling all morning.. but there were so damn many mosquitoes
And so we took to the seas once again. Motion sickness over annoying, hot, humid mozzies. (But actually the motion sickness pills worked a charm. I will swear by Novomin)
This is one of my favourite shots. And to me, the best island we stopped at in the Maldives. I fully appreciated how lucky I am to be able to be on an island practically all to myself. And nothing but blue seas and blue skies all around. Gosh, completely understand why rich people have private islands now.
Seriously. where in the world can you find a beach this gorgeous. Empty! There'd be at least an obnoxious surfer or sunbather spoiling the view. I failed to mention, the Maldivian government only allows tourists to go to the capital, Male, and to the resorts. So i am seeing something really precious!
Artsy shot. Sorry.
I think the children are adorable. And their mothers tend to walk them to their school. Even though it's just down the road. (literally)
Another community meeting. (i was working, honest!)
So this is right after night fishing which was the most... mm... nauseating experience. I did want to try my hand at it but was having a hard time doing anything other than stopping from puking. The rolling waves were not very kind. (but to my credit i DID keep all my lunch in) Sitting on the deck of the boat was an awesome experience though. The best (and neverending) roller coaster ride I'd ever sat on!
I can only describe to you the most amazing thing owing to a lack of camera at the time. There were green specks of light as the waves broke and they were the prettiest thing. Like stars in the sea! Upon further research (googling) it turns out they are tiny lifeforms that have some sort of chemical in them that makes them glow. So beautiful though.
Oh, there was scarcely space above to mention the fire is fuelled by coconut husks! (waste not, want not) They burnt it down into embers (like the purple glow above) and smoked our fish. It released this beautiful burnt coconut scent...
That is REALLY fresh fish. (And they also served it to us with a bit of coconut to enhance the chilli that they put on the fish)
I just loved this scene in the morning. Felt a bit of a voyeuristic paedophile but isn't it lovely how they ride to school in their full school uniforms? I just HAD to take this picture. On Tuesday, the 21st of October.
Which incidentally, was also the day we bid Kendikulhudhu goodbye.
And again, the lovely people sent us off and gave us presents! I got a little handmade boat (they local boat is called a dhoani) and a bag of sea almonds. They taste sort of like kuaci and are produced in the village itself. I was touched. Talk about souvenirs money can't buy!
Them at the jetty. Toodleoo Kendikulhudhu!
One stop on our bumpy 4 hour ride back. (Btw, really bumpy speedboats hurt your bum) This bay in Naifaru had the most ridiculously blue waters! It looks like a plastic boat in a bathtub!
Okay okay. This is where I have to admit to a degree of indulgence. Turns out our guy on the ground has an uncle that owns this resort. I would SO love to be able to enjoy the resort side of the Maldives. There are water bungalows and if you rent one of them you can pretty much do what you want in the little lagoon area that they form. The Maldives also has really great water sports - para sailing, sea kayaking/canoeing, brilliant scuba diving, night fishing, snorkelling, jet skiing, sailing (from what i can remember). And very yummy melons, of course.
I was just glad to be able to spend about half a day lying by the sea and realising that I'M IN THE MALDIVES.
And that leads us to the 22nd of October when we went to the UN office in Male and I got to brag about being there for a little bit. Followed by a walk around the capital (of which i took no pictures because it was obvious enough I was a tourist)
What i can remark on is that the streets are very narrow that they almost all feel like back alleys. And what struck me the most was that the street corners (which in effect means the building corners) are ROUNDED. What a very brilliant idea. Once you see how much space it saves and how the cars are able to make much tighter turns, you wonder why all street corners aren't rounded!
That, a seafood buffet dinner and the ride back to the airport where our plane took off just over the seas.
And this is where my adventure ends. There were other bits but either i failed to catch them on film, or you know, you can just ask me yourself. I would recommend the resort bit of Maldives for honeymooning couples and water sport buffs. But the price is also very nice.
Am i lucky to have been there?
Absolutely.
I don't mind all the mosquito bites, sea sickness, flight delays, and sore bums from bumpy speedboats because the trade off of private islands, a truly village existence, island hospitality, dolphin spotting and so so many great experiences are just something money can't buy.
And i do hope you can put aside your envy and still be my friend. =)
