Articles from this Category
14 April 2023
Delayed flight to Cebu Fearing that I would have trouble sleeping last night due to the early flight, I took an antihistamine that’s now being use as a sleeping aid. It was the first time I’ve tried this medication and it works reasonably well. I did wake to hear torrential rain through the night and […]
13 April 2023
Going to the Philippines Eagle Centre I appear to be adjusting to local time well coming from Maldives. I woke around 0500 and then dozed till 0630. With the aim of going to the Philippine Eagle Centre on the edge of the city, I wasted not time in having my oats and coffee. I set […]
12 April 2023
Exploring the city centre After a great night’s sleep, I woke around 0700. Not bad for a 3h time difference compared to Maldives. I was slow to get going though. I had breakfast of an oat porridge and a coffee, bought from the shop nearby. Just add boiling water. Leaving the hotel around 0915, I […]
11 April 2023
Flying to Singapore Seated overwing on the A350, it was an extremely quiet flight. It was very cold as well and I was glad I had changed into my long pants. I was able to get more than 2h sleep during the 4h15 airborne (4h40 on the schedule). Transit in Singapore We landed at Singapore’s […]
10 April 2023
Leaving Maafushi for the airport Today I say bye-bye to paradise. I’m very brown already so I decided to spend the morning indoors attending to things like tax, admin and video-calling a friend whom I may travel around Saudi with in December. Check-out was at 1200, which was perfect for the public ferry to Male […]
9 April 2023
Today is my first day on the Maldivian islands without any activity. No ferry rides, no diving, no snorkelling excursion. I went to swim at Bikini Beach late in the morning and again late in the afternoon. Eight years ago, it was an isolated beach for foreigners. Today, there were high-rise hotels right on the […]
8 April 2023
My options for the day Today, I move to Maafushi, an island I visited 8 years ago. The public ferry leaves at 1615 and I had three options for killing the day: Spend the morning at the beach then the afternoon in the café, Go diving in the morning and then the afternoon in the […]
7 April 2023
Today is my third and last full day in Gulhi. Due to the dive times and opportunities, I had fallen into a routine on all my days here, meaning the last two days and today. The day would begin with an early wake-up around 0630 to 0700, followed by the hotel breakfast which began at […]
4 April 2023
Background on Maldives tourism A bit of background is useful in order to understand tourism in Maldives and why it used to be so expensive (and still is for some people). It is a very low-lying conservative Islamic country consisting of 1190 small coral islands in 27 atolls. Its highest point is only 2.4 metres […]
4 April 2023
First things first With a 3h time difference, I woke early and was out by 0700 for a walk. My intention was to secure my ticket to Gulhi or work out options if there was no 1500 departure as per the schedule. I confirmed that there was a 1500 departure from the Hulhulmale Ferry Terminal, […]