007_the ring

Here is a close-up view of an Atoll. It looks pretty much like a basin in the sea. The formation of an Atoll starts when coral settle around an organic island forming a fringing reef. Later the reef expands and the island subsides down beneath the water leaving a ring of coral with a lagoon in the middle. Learn more about the formation of Atolls at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atolls.

006_happy pilot

The pilots who work for Maldivian Air Taxi probably are the happiest among all their peers. The flights are not that long and the view is great. They could be as leisure as flying bare-feet.

005_air taxi

There are a number of resorts very far away from Male. If you choose to stay on those islands, the only possible way to get there and you still look cool is by seaplane. The main air taxi operator in Maldives is called Maldivian Air Taxi and they use the Canadian De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter for all their taxis. It’s quite a cool plane my colleague claimed it takes very short distance for take off. I have no suggestion for taking this air taxi except for ‘get your wallet ready’. (for tips on taking taxis in Singapore see 005_fair fare? and 006_seating capacity at http://urban-o-mania.blogspot.com and in Dubai see 009_flexi-fare at http://urbanomania-ae.blogspot.com)

004_atolls

The Republic of Maldives is a small country formed by 22 Atolls and a number of islands. (Singapore is another small island country. See 001_portrait of a potemkin city at http://urban-o-mania.blogspot.com) The word ‘Atoll’ is originated from Dhivehi language, which is the native language spoken in Maldives. Charles Darwin described Atolls as ‘a subset in a special class of islands, the unique property of which is the presence of an organic reef’. Learn more about the formation of Atolls at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atolls.

003_colourful monotony

This is a view of Male from sky. All the buildings on the island look so monotonous. They all share similar look and height but with different colours. There is absolutely no architecture here.

002_island capital

Male is the capital of the Republic of Maldives. It is a city on an island. The majority of the country’s 301,475-people population is living here. (source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/asia/maldives?a=facts) It is connected to the Male international airport, which is on a nearby island, by boats. Traveling back and forth between these two islands is a norm in Maldives.

001_when I’m feeling blue

When I was very young, during art classes I always used blue crayon for water. (and yeah I used the same bloody blue for sky as well.) It’s funny that we associate blue colour with water when in reality it’s hardly blue at all. It’s kind of ok to use blue for sea because the real thing is sort of blue but kids also use blue for water in canals and rivers. When we grow older we learn that the blue colour of the sea turns darker when it gets deeper. We also learn that in some places like Maldives or Mauritius, there are many shades of blue. Kids, don’t try to paint the sea in Maldives because you won’t get it right…