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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

Above: My ride from the airport to Male on the dhoni. Travel begins in earnest It was a very quick 5 night but 4 full days in Kuching.  The time was spent sorting some land title issues, seeing family and going to the gym everyday! Today my travel begins in earnest, flying from Kuching to […]