Maldives Part 5: Odds and Ends
As I write this, the rain is pouring down in Singapore with near-apocalyptic fervour. The contrast from the sunny Maldives we left not 24 hours ago could not be greater.
Some "spare change left" over from our Maldives trip:
On such a small island as Kurumba, everything necessary for life has to be imported - including water. The corresponding necessity is that all garbage has to leave the island somehow, and this is how: the garbage boat. Apparently one of the islands is a dedicated landfill/incineration site, and this is where the garbage gets shipped. We may think we live on a small island, but this is really small.
The word "kurumba" apparently means "coconut", and the island is certainly full of them. The resort staff were pruning them over the past few days (you might have noticed the garbage boat in the previous picture was loaded with a goodly amount of coconut fronds), by climbing up them with a machete and chopping away. Quite dizzying to watch.
Other odds and ends I will remember from this trip:
- the dive instructor on one dive reminding us to swim away from the reef into deeper blue water when we surfaced (so that the boat could reach us), and that we should surface in buddy pairs. She said "Remember: two by two, into the blue". I, of course, immediately heard "two by two, hands of blue".
- waiting in the departure lounge at Malé International Airport, with the Trinidad and Tobagos vs Sweden game on and everyone watching it, and having the ground staff remind us we had to board ... and actually thinking we could maybe finish watching the game before boarding the flight.
- discovering the distinctive tiny incisor marks of rat teeth on our hand soap in the bathroom ... and resolving to keep the bathroom door locked at at times!
Some "spare change left" over from our Maldives trip:
On such a small island as Kurumba, everything necessary for life has to be imported - including water. The corresponding necessity is that all garbage has to leave the island somehow, and this is how: the garbage boat. Apparently one of the islands is a dedicated landfill/incineration site, and this is where the garbage gets shipped. We may think we live on a small island, but this is really small.
The word "kurumba" apparently means "coconut", and the island is certainly full of them. The resort staff were pruning them over the past few days (you might have noticed the garbage boat in the previous picture was loaded with a goodly amount of coconut fronds), by climbing up them with a machete and chopping away. Quite dizzying to watch.
Other odds and ends I will remember from this trip:
- the dive instructor on one dive reminding us to swim away from the reef into deeper blue water when we surfaced (so that the boat could reach us), and that we should surface in buddy pairs. She said "Remember: two by two, into the blue". I, of course, immediately heard "two by two, hands of blue".
- waiting in the departure lounge at Malé International Airport, with the Trinidad and Tobagos vs Sweden game on and everyone watching it, and having the ground staff remind us we had to board ... and actually thinking we could maybe finish watching the game before boarding the flight.
- discovering the distinctive tiny incisor marks of rat teeth on our hand soap in the bathroom ... and resolving to keep the bathroom door locked at at times!
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fw!