Maldives

I was in Maldives for the past few days.  This post is a list of disconnected observations from the trip.

• When I was playing in the water in a lagoon with a float, I told a friend: "I want to be left alone in deep sea, with no one to help.  All I'd have is a float like this.  I want to starve and struggle and die in a few days."  When I was taken to deep sea for snorkeling, I thought "Wow, how I wish to be here forever!  I wouldn't mind if a fish eats me alive when I am in the water, if only that means I am not going back."  After all this, when I was in the real sea, I was scared to touch the plants in the sea and kept some distance from even tiny fish!  That showed me how scared I am to new things.  It takes a while before I get used to anything new and feel secure.
• I was not very enthusiastic about this trip.  And my stay in the island didn't make it much different either.  The pictures I took in the trip range from average to bad.  Except for one or two pics that I like.  When I think about it now, it looks like my good pictures -- at least the ones I think are worth sharing -- are taken when I am happy.  The pictures are in my Picasa album, if you are interested.
• Best times for me in the offsite:
• Sitting in an Italian restaurant during sun set.  You get a great view of the sea water.  Evening breeze and not-so-hot-and-bright Sun.  Some French fries and coffee.  A book to read.  One friend sitting with me, mostly minding his own business.  We talked now and then, but we were both doing what we wanted to do.
• The time we spent near the beach under the moon.
• We rented water scooters and rode them into the ocean.  It was a great experience.  Seeing so much water all around you is an experience of its own kind.
• When my friends used to finish reading a whole novel in a couple of days, I took two to three months usually.  That was because, I thought, I was a slow reader.  In Bangalore airport, I bought a copy of Keep off the Grass on a whim and finished the book before the offsite ended.  I am still a slow reader; but the books I usually read are heavy text and only that makes my reading slow.  (As if you care!)