Maldives Dive Trip 22 July to 30 July 2006 Part 1
Have been pondering how to go about starting this post since I came back. In between work and work again, I realised the best and fastest way is probably do on a day to day basis. So shall cover the first 3 days first!
22 July 2006 6pm- Arrival at Terminal 2 Changi Airport. Arrived and was probably the first few to reach. Excitment was the word of the day. Cant wait to get on the plane so that I can be on the way to one of the greatest dive escapades on the Blue Planet.

"Which Flight am I on?Hmm?"
Matter of minutes before everyone started to arrive at the airport. Soon the amount of dive gear that we were going to bring started to look like we were going to bring our lives to Maldives. Never fails to create a scene at the airport. From young children to elderly folks, they will always wonder who were these pple and with the big bags.
Check in was always the hassle part. From co-ordinating the group to actually move the bags to convincing the lady at the check in counter that we were still within the baggage limit was a worthy challenge.

"take your pick, humans or dive gear?"
Check in was probz the most troublesome part of the whole trip. After which, some idling around the cafe area for a quick dinner ( made the wise choice of a huge pizza and beer with Andy) and before we knew it, we were being called over the intercom to check in ( Ladies and Gentlemen, that meant the final call for us) Never knew that Gate 60 was that far away (haha...should have known better. Why did I opt for another beer??)
Plane ride was a breeze and before we knew it, we arrive at Male International Airport at Huhule. Tired but think the group was still of lively chatting and non stop bickering (as usual) Custom was a breeze and just a quick note for those that has never been to Maldives. Absolutely no alcohol is allowed to be brought in Maldives even though it is meant for personal consumption.
In Maldives, since there are like hundreds of isles around, you would have to use one of their water taxis to get around. So after hooking up with our guide from the hotel, we were directed to one of these taxis. Commonly known as a dhoni, it was pretty spacious and comfortable for everyone. We needed to cross the channel to reach the main town island of Male, the heartbeat of Maldives

"Eugene and James spacing out"
Night's accomodation was at this place called Central Hotel. Supposedly to be one of the better hotels around in Male, it had a pretty simple set up but dont think anyone would be complaining about it. Everyone was too busy trying to catch either a drink or a smoke to be bothered by anything. Last minute was done and everyone pretty much crashed for the night
23 July 2006 8am: Woke up to the following view. Pple often complain and say that we are living in a place where we are so close to each other. Look at the following picture and think twice. Thank you HDB for doing a good job!
The streets were very narrow and buildings were basically next to each other. You could say hi to your next block neighbour every morning!
"morning XXX, hows it going? Ohh..your brand of tooth paste is same as mine!"
Its that close..Not shit. But having said that, its really amazing how friendly these pple are. Not too sure how English is being taught (whether it is their first language or second language) but they are pretty conversant in English.
Breakfast was a simple affair and met up with Stefan who was from the Netherlands. Gang was still having their breakkie so took a brisk walk around to see the surrounding. Guess the population of Maldives are similar to me. Lazy to start the Sunday Morning and many of them were probably still at home, lazing in bed with a book or trying to get the mind to work after a week's work.
Once everything was loaded up onto the lorry, we were on our way! But for those who think that was an easy task, check out the amount of gear that we brought!
This is just HALF of the total amount of equipment. Astonished?Nah, its HARDCORE diving and not many pple can understand.
Why would anyone spend so much on diving?Why would anyone go the distance just to dive?
Its not easy to understand and only takes a person that is hooked onto diving to understand. It's like a long term drug, and it never ends. You can try to avoid it but it will eventually come back to haunt you.
Ride was a short and pleasant trip to the jetty where we were greeted with a posse of boats ranging from the simple dhoni to the Coast Guard cruisers. Given the backdrop of the mosque and boats, it does present a tranquil scenery to those that were there. (Not that they really cared, everyone were more concerned with the dive gears and taking pictures for memories)
On the dive boat (which is purely meant for diving. our living quarters were on a separate boat), we were all high from anticipation of the days ahead of us. Some of us were being on a liveaboard for the first time, some had never even gone past 20 dives and some of us were just dying to get back into breathing underwater. Managed to snatch a few moments of silence at the bow of the boat and just to stare at the blue of the ocean. Sometimes a person forgets that being alone with nature and being able to connect with it. How comforting and relaxing the deep blue ocean can be. Never realised how much I missed the sea and how tranquil it is. The confused soul needs such a environment to heal which at times we forget how important it is.
Before long, we arrived at the floating hotel that we will be calling home for 1 week.
A 100 foot boat, it has the full works ranging from fully air conditioned room with ensuite to a 4 person jaccuzi to a fully equipped lounge area. This is what I call a live on aboard to die for!
After spending a couple of hours to settle down and unpack the dive gear, we were finally ready to start diving. First of course was to get acquainted with our dive guides Husen and Stefan who will be our GPS in Maldives.
Checkout dive was a simple relaxing dive. More to let everyone get their diving habits back, to get familiar with the equipment, tuing the buoyancy and of course to start falling in love with Maldives. Corals aint that great after the El Nino and you can see the bleaching effect done onto the corals. But having said all that, the marine life was really fantastic and full of action. Even though it was just a calm and simple dive, we could see that the dives ahead of us were going to be awesome and action packed.
Evening was an easy evening. Some chose to laze in the jacuzzi with some beers, others opt to just kick back with a book to catch up on reading. Me?I opted to catch a few shots with my camera to just capture it all.
Thats life isnt it?To sit area with friends that can relate to each other and share life experiences' and learn from each other. Over the soft evening breeze and with all the troubles left behind. Miss those days especially now.
Look out for the next posting of my thoughts on Maldives. Might sound a bit depressing now. Probably in line with my mood.


















