I’m afraid I’ve got to speed up in finishing my travel notes on the Maldives, or some exciting moments during the travel may be buried in oblivion if I don’t pick them up timely. Anyway, memory is not always reliable.
Not to mention the delicacies that whet your appetite, you could get some more breath-taking experiences in various events and activities on the island. Among them, snorkeling and windsurfing were two you could join for free. You can also take a short trip about 20 minutes in an amphibian, a plane that can both fly and float on the water, but that may cost you about $100. And, a trip to the local village may cost you about $50. Then, just let us to enjoy the free part…:)
To go snorkeling and windsurfing you must be good enough at swimming. Yet I was lucky to be allowed to join snorkeling although I was a poor swimmer( But I do suggest you not to do it if you can’t swim at all, otherwise you will be exposed in great danger in spite of the meagre protection of a life-vest. ) We had bought the outfit for snorkeling in Beijing before the trip, which saved us a lot of money. The following is a picture of the outfit we used there:
The next morning after our arrival, we went to a bay nearby on a speedboat which would take us to the place for snorkeling. The water was over 10 meters deep. In a life-vest, everyone went down into the water. First time in such deep waters, I was really scared and couldn’t keep balance even with the help of the life-vest. I couldn’t stay in the water any longer and managed to get back to the boat. It was such a pity that I had missed the joy of snorkeling!
Luckily, we found another good spot for snorkeling the next day. It was shallower, and abounded with much more fish. In the sunshine, we were floating on the water and watching colorful fishes in the water: blue, yellow, dark brown…some were covered with colorful stripes. The fish were just prowling around you, and I almost got such an illusion that I was in a 3D movie and the hero was me with the fish. Those playful little fish, like some naughty elfs, darted away at the moment I reached out my hand to touch them. On the shallow seabed were growing some thick yellowish green seaweeds, swaying with the waves. The bed was covered with shells and coral and you could barely keep your feet on it because you felt hurt by those sharp debris of shells and corals.
It was a pity I couldn’t take any pictures in the water because my camera was not waterproof. The fish were so beautiful! What a wonderful underwater world!
You may ask me why I haven’t said anything about windsurfing till now. Well, I followed the advice of the local coach not to try it as I was so bad at swimming. What a pity! That’s also why I’ve made up my mind to learn swimming as soon as possible. So, do learn it if you hope to travel to the Maldives, or you will miss tons of joy there!
There is still a lot worth to take down during the trip…The beautiful sunrise and sunset, that was as splendid as what I had seen in Hawaii, was also so impressive! If the memory still stays, I may record them in the future..
Welcome to the Maldives!
