STRANGE LOWS FOR MALDIVIAN POLITICS - SCUBA MEETING, MALDIVES

As if we really needed another reason to be utterly infatuated by the Maldives.
I will warn you that this is somewhat ancient news however upon reading about it I couldn’t pass up a blog post highlighting further evidence on just how bloody cool this place really is. 

Back in October 2009 a cabinet meeting was called with all state officials to discuss the impact global warming was (still is) making on the low level island nation of the Maldives. Whether you’ve been lucky to have visited the picturesque country or not I’m sure you’ve heard the fearful chatter of rising water levels and debates on just how many years before this luxury destination is completely swallowed by the surrounding crystal clear seas.

In an attempt to bring global attention to these very real concerns and in light of their impending Atlantis status, President Mohamed Nasheed along with fellow ministers reached a whole new political low. A six metre low to be exact.
On the 17^th October, 2009 the Maldivian president along with other state officials all squeezed into their wetsuits, strapped on their flippers & air tanks and proceeded to conduct the first ever official underwater cabinet meeting. [SO MUCH YES]. This fantastically fishy meeting took place at a specially structured table down on the sea bed roughly 20mins out from the island capital of Male. 

I mean really, why all Maldivian cabinet meetings aren’t held underwater I’ll never know. When you’re surrounded by such vast and thriving sea life who’d want to pass the time or be forced to make important decisions cooped up in tiny offices anyway.

President Nasheed was already an experienced diver and holds his advanced open water license and those who didn’t were trained by the Divers Association of Maldives in the weeks leading up to the event.
Each member was accompanied by a diving instructor along with military personnel on guard and a handful of snorkelling journalists lurking up above trying to capture the iconic event.
During the meeting attendees communicated with hand signals and marker boards while President Mohamed Nasheed signed a declaration calling for action on climate change which would go on to be presented at the UN climate change talks held in Copenhagen later that year.

The cherry on the cake? Or should I say the air in the tank? Okay, no. That was really lame. Moving on. All diving and scuba gear used during the meeting were later signed by officials and auctioned off to raise money in support of coral reef protection projects throughout the Maldives.

Now I don’t know about you but I’m thinking underwater meetings ought to be fast tracked to mandatory, worldwide. Great Barrier Reef? Queensland ministers? Here’s looking at you.

Still not convinced you need to visit? Take a look at this phenomenon of glow in the dark beaches! (Bioluminescent Plankton) Or tour the tiny island capital, Male.

Can't get enough of the Maldives picturesque views? Follow me on instagram for daily pics! 

PHOTO CREDIT: PRESIDENCY MALDIVES, Photographers: Mohamad Seeneen, Mauroof Khaleel
Follow the link to view the full set of photos from the day.

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THE LURE OF LUMINESCENCE - Bioluminescent plankton, Maldives

Photograph by Doug Perrine, Alamy        

A little bit of magic in the Maldives. I’ve heard stories of these mystical blue lights dancing around and gently lighting up the shores of Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives. Since recent shots of the phenomenon has graced news pages I've been sent a number of messages along the lines of ‘You need to see this while you’re living there!' At a glance it almost seems too cool to be true. Glow in the dark waves? Speckled dancing lights comparable to tiny blue fairies swimming along the shores of paradise? Surely it’s either a hoax or an incredibly rare occurrence that you’ll probably never get to see. These stories are no hoax nor are the photos a display of some serious editing skills. With all the recent hype and as I investigated further, seeing this phenomenon quickly became number one on my Maldivian bucket list of things to do and see while living here.

So what are they?
The blue lights are actually tiny marine microbes called phytoplankton. Not all but many of these plankton are known to be bioluminescent and give off the mesmerizing blue glow pictured above. On calm nights when the plankton are washed up onto shore they can be seen glowing bright in all their glory. It is said they are easier to spot during a full moon, throughout certain seasons or only on particular islands and only in the Maldives. I’d like to bust that myth. Not only can I find no evidence to support these claims though when asking a local to the Maldives I have been told they can regularly be seen at shore and that there doesn’t seem to be any real pattern to their presence other than a clear sky and fairly calm waters. Much like seeing the Northern Lights (another bucket list worthy item I was lucky to tick off while in Iceland) you either get lucky, or you don’t.

Let me paint a picture for you.
You make your way down the jetty completely in awe of the natural wonderland around you. With an endless dome above speckled with stars you watch as they gently glisten and shine dancing not just in the sky but as reflections amongst the calm gentle rock of the ocean below. You make it to the end and turn back swiftly glancing over to shore. Your jaw drops, you stand there staring in wonder at hundreds of tiny blue specks lining the beach like waves of dancing fireflies swimming and prancing within the water. Completely melting from the inside out you sit in the darkness being absorbed by the silence as you try to take in and capture the essence of what is currently before your eyes. Magic.
This is how I had hoped seeing this phenomenon would pan out.
In reality though, here’s what happened: On the way home from work last night I decided to take a detour and walk the long way home. As I work nights I have missed the plankton each time someone’s spotted them so tonight I decided to walk there in the wee hours anyway with my fingers crossed. Smart move Ashlea, because there on one section of the beach I could just make out a light blue glow coming from a handful of specks as I approached. It was them! In honesty it wasn’t a great night to see them. I could probably count on my hands how many clusters I saw- not quite the thousands upon thousands I was expecting. The lack of numbers didn't at all deter from the epic shades of awesome before my eyes. Seeing what I did was still enough to make me giddy. That feeling that twists the desire to travel, one that can only be ignited by foreign or other-worldly experiences and the feeling that makes you want to both immediately leave & see the rest of the world while equally wanting to freeze in the moment and never let it end.  They are magical, and something you really need to see to believe. They actually glow brighter when agitated so you can see them glitter as the waves roll over or in the sand from the footprints you leave with each step.

So where can you really see them?
Believe it or not there has been sightings of these or similar luminescent species all over the world and paying a pretty penny for a trip to the Maldives is not your only option. Some unexpected shores gracing that list? Belgium, India, United Kingdom, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, America, The Caribbean and even back home in Australia!

Specific sightings in Australia: Gippsland Lakes, Cairns (Seen in 2008/2009) Jervis Bay NSW & as I understand a green variation has been seen at Batemans Bay.
Sightings in America:  Manasquan Beach- New Jersey, San Diego, Leucadia- California, Everglades, Cortez- Florida.

For those who are now sporting a little bit of a lure for luminescence here’s a cool page on some other natural, weird and wonderful things that glow in the night.

The detour may well become my new route home.

For some magic off shore & in the city check out my guide here on the Island capital- Male.

Photograph by Russ Taylor

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BBOE: THINGS THAT WILL KILL YOU

Here is the first installment of the BIG BOOK OF EVERYTHING post series.
A collection of things I've learnt while living abroad, the kind of things you can not learn until you've done so.

One of the few things you do not have the option to bring with you when moving countries is your typical day to day set of ideals and knowledge. For example, Don’t touch this- it gets hot and you will be branded. You haven’t really experienced summer until you've jumped in your car in Oz, gone to clip your seatbelt and been branded by the scorching hot metal buckle. Don’t bike when it’s icy- you WILL stack it & make an utter fool of yourself & I have the battle scars to prove it, courtesy of Holland. Don’t dress like you’re going to a club when you’re wandering a muslim country. Other than the complete disrespect, unless you’re up for being oogled at & shamed- just don’t do it. Don’t bother trying to buy anything on Monday morning in Europe- you more or less can’t. Don't plan to drive through the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium around 8pm- You'll be stopped by road blocks as the Last Post service is held. All the simple do’s and don’ts that we ‘just know’ make a huge difference in how we go about our days. You don’t realise just how much of a difference knowledge of the little day to day inconveniences can make. Moving abroad comes with a whole new set of rules and guidelines. Each country has their own big book of everything – and sadly no one’s there to hand it to you when you arrive. Never fear though! The unknown is a huge part of the experience and one of the best things about living abroad, right? Navigating a new land is one of the few ways an adult can once again experience life as if they were a child. Back when no meant I’ll do it anyway and see what happens, when the only way to know how it tasted was to stick out your tongue & lick it, back when written guidelines and spoken wisdom was all but mumbo-jumbo and the only way to really learn was to just get out there and make mistakes.

BBOE EDITION ONE: Things that will kill you.

I’ve recently moved from Malaysia to the Maldives. Prior to Malaysia I spent some time at home in Australia and before that I spent a year living in the Netherlands. So you can imagine how vastly different my big books were and how little was interchangeable between them. Here’s a little snapshot of what I’ve learnt about the Maldives so far

1. Sand is no longer just a part of the beach it’s a part of every aspect of your life. It’s in your hair, your bed, your room, your nickers, your shower, your shoes and no matter how many times you sweep the house it will always find a way to be a part of the floor.

2. When it rains, it pours. There’s nothing quite like the swift and sudden downpour of tropical monsoon rain!

3. The main event, and spotlight of this post? ANIMALS!

Every country you go will be filled with its own set of weird and wonderful animals. They might want to kiss, cuddle, chase, eat or even kill you. And you’re going to need to know which actions to look out for prior to heading in for a pat. Being born and raised in Australia meant I grew up with two facts about animals drilled into me. 1. Accept they are everywhere and 2. Don’t be afraid, but keep in mind almost every animal you’ll encounter in the backyard probably has the power to kill you. Now, I’m no novice to creepy crawlies in my room HOWEVER- I can tell you that nothing has ever made me jump quite like this guy:

This is a crab. A big, brown giant crab (okay he's not that big) and he was getting his creep on in the corner of my room the other day. Can we just take a moment to appreciate how equally freaky, strange and cool it was that there was a CRAB in my room?! A crab. In my room. How did it even get there? This little guy shot me ten miles past terror because at a glance it appeared to be an oversized monstrosity of a huntsman spider. All too familiar with a spider in the corner back home I jumped to the immediate conclusion that it was a giant spider and it was infact going to kill me. It took me a few minutes to collect myself and as I went in for a closer inspection I realized the spider-strosity was actually a crab.  A CRAB.

The very next day I was strolling along the beach, ankle deep in the clear blue water. Minding my own business & testing out my new underwater camera, I was determined to snap some pictures of the little sharks darting around my legs. Suddenly out of nowhere sand started to cloud the water and I watched in shock as a GIANT stingray flapped its wings, slowly revealing itself from beneath the sand – right in front me. In fear of becoming the next Australian casualty to death-by-stingray, I froze. I had never been in such a situation and actually had no idea what to do. Will it hurt me? Are stingrays vicious? If I run will it freak out and attack me? Is this a stand still & don't move kind of situation? I was conflicted by the age old fight or flight. Or in my case- Bend down and take some Stingray & me selfies or wade out the water and run for my life. With a two or so metre long stinger I wasn’t really up for taking this beast on- but I also wasn’t going to leave without some kick ass snaps to mark the experience! Quickly and quietly I moved to a comfortably close position, snapped some pictures and got the hell outta there. All the while being eyeballed by the beautiful beast. See had I been given the BBOE: Maldives edition- I would have had the answers. However, since there is no much thing and this is all part of the fun - I'll be learning through my own experiences & jotting down and sharing my thoughts with you as I create my own BBOE based on day to day happenings. :D
Look out for upcoming posts BBOE Holland edition, and later Living in Asia!

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