Reached Male punctually. Changed some ruffians in the airport before we took the transport to the hotel in the same island as the airport. No hot water. The switches were on the headboard which took us awhile to discover. They dont have twin rooms. Weather was drizzly.
We took the icom speedboat to Maafushi and reached 45 minutes later. Puddles of water on the main unpaved road showed that it had been raining. Kaani Village and Spa staff were already waiting by the jetty.
Speedboat from Male/Airport to Maafushi
Rained in Maafushi the week before
Hotel has cart for luggage
Hotel pool
We walked over to Maafushi Dive to get our dives arrangement sorted. I walked over to bikini beach to have a look.
Dive centre
Beach
Dive boat
Only one afternoon dive today. I swam in our hotel pool. Dinner was buffet at Kaani Beach Hotel. There were 3 hotels under the Kaani chain in Maafushi.
The morning dives next day were more interesting. Better than the afternoon dives. We did wreck dive.
Water villa
Reef below our boat
Weather was fully sunny starting today, no more passing showers. We saw dolphins and whales on the way to our dive sites. Night dive was interesting.
We went to the famous Kandooma Thila to see sharks. i had a good picture with the turtle thanks to a dive guide who happened to be there with a underwater camera ready. Current in Kandooma Thila was very strong so it was a challenge to us. One has to descend 30m in the blue (no reference) before reef below can be seen. We saw eagle rays there too. The whole reef was like a giant aquarium with strong current with plenty of marine lives.
In the evening we went to Kaani Princess to have beers while admiring the beautiful sunset. Maldives is a muslim country so beers are only allowed on boat offshore. A small boat will come to the jetty to pick people up every 15-20 minutes or when someone call for the boat through their hotels. We drank Heineken (the only brand available) and danced with the Spanish ladies. It was a fun evening after dives. The moon was so big and clear.
Will there be enough people for Alimatha night dive the next day?
We went back to Kandooma Thila today but couldn't see the sharks or rays due to strong current. The famous Alimatha night dive at was confirmed after 7 people signed up. Maafushi Dive only willing to do the trip if more than 5 people sign up and paid extra (usd100 per diver) due to the long journey (1.5 hours one way) from Maafushi to Boa Atoll. On the way there we saw dolphins and whales again. The crew were busy preparing tuna flesh at the back of the boat.
The moment we went down, we already saw some sharks above us. Once the dive guide threw the tuna flesh into the sea, feasting fancy began. Nurse sharks from all over rushing towards us. The commotion repeated another time. At the last spot, even the stingray joined the feast with the sharks. Alimatha night dive is famous in the diving circle for this reason. The starry sky seen from the boat on the way back was spectacular.
Alimatha night dive
Sunset on the way to Alimatha
Some of the photos were taken by other divers. Many thanks to them.
Moray eel
Lion fish
Turtle
Sharks
Beautiful
Wreck dive:
Divers:
Videos taken above the water:
Maafushi
At Kaani Village
Reef beneath us
Dolphins
Videos taken under the water:
eagle ray and shark
Sharks
Dive boat
Fish vortex
Moray eel
Fish paradise
Turtle
Nurse sharks and stingrays feeding frenzy
Videos taken by Terrence and his friends, some were taken in the part boat Kaani Princess:
Whales/Dolphins
Things to note:
1. You can change usd or sgd or other major currencies to mrf. They do accept usd everywhere but the notes must be crisp and new and cannot be old version. Each merchant has his own rate for usd to mrf conversion, you can choose to pay in either currency.
2. Male is separated from the airport. They are building a bridge to link the 2 islands. If you arrive at the airport in late night, it is easier to stay the night in airport island and cross over to other islands the next day.
3. Icom speedboat linking Male/Airport to Maafushi has frequent timing and bookable online. You can change timing at their office, subject to availability.
4. We were happy with our stays in Kaani Village. It has a pool to chill in, kids would love it. They also have beach towels for the guests.
5. We didnt see manta rays. People who went Club Med at the same period as us saw them.
6. Morning dives are better than afternoon dives.
7. We prefer to chill in Domestic Terminal in Male Airport, it has aircond and less crowded. Hopefully international terminal will be more comfortable after the expansion is completed.
8. The sun was relentless.
9. No twin room in Kaani Village and Spa. Somehow the twin room concept was not popular.
10. Maafushi Dive has one of the newest boat and diving facility.
11. According to my dive mates, there are 5 prison islands in Maldives.
12. Food and expenses in Male can be expensive as everything is imported.
13. They use 3 pin socket same as that of Singapore.
14. Maafushi is one of the biggest resident island in Maldives and probably the easiest to get to.
15. According to Maafushi Dive, one has the best chance to see manta rays in june - August.
16. There was a Chinese restaurant in Masfushi.
17. Maldives are 3 hours behind Singapore.
18. Beside Kaani Princess, there was another party boat called Sharifa but people who went there claimed that they dont have beer and only have wine. Happy hour for Kaani Princess is between 12pm-5pm, 20% discount given on all drinks.
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