Both the wife and our Ang Mo bud have snorkeled before, so of the three adults this trip, I was the noob. The Sunrise Huraa offers different packages at varying prices between USD15 to USD45/pax, depending on the location and what you’re expected to see while snorkeling. Since this was our first snorkeling trip as a family, and being the kiasu-kaisee – actually, specifically just the latter haha – we asked Sameer for advice. Hannah has swum in the open sea before, the last occasion being our trip to Phuket in December 2017, while Peter has only just learned how to swim without floats. In a swimming pool LOL. So, it was safety first about all other considerations.
Sameer suggested a spot that’s just nearby – their house reef I reckon, and suggested that we do a mid-morning outing as a good balance between how calm the sea should be and also the level of visibility expected in the water Again, his awesome hospitality showed in the level of care he exercised briefing us noobs on equipment, and what the experience will be like. We’d brought along a good number of gear that we picked up at Decathlon – Singapore Lab the day before we left: basically two sets of snorkeling goggles and breathing tubes for adults, and a third children-sized set for Hannah. The wife felt that we wouldn’t need flippers as we’d likely just stay in a single spot. But again, with the benefit of hindsight, flippers turned out to be a must as the waters at our snorkeling spot turned out to be pretty choppy.
Our Ang Mo bud initially was pretty sure he wouldn’t get into the water, but Sameer snorted “Trust me, you will.” And Matt did LOL.
As these things go, most of the corals in The Maldives are dead, with the still living ones not quite as accessible unless you’re setup for it to see it i.e. diving gear. The water at our spot was also not particularly clear, but it was still easy enough to see the abundant marine life that were in the spot.
Upon reflection: my first snorkeling experience was quite a bit more challenging than I anticipated. The waters were choppy enough to make staying buoyant – even with my life vest – requiring some effort! The kids however found the whole bopping up and down with the waves loads of fun, and were screaming their heads off haha. But what finally killed it for me was the nausea I developed after the boat was rocking ferociously while we readied ourselves. So, 15 minutes into the water, I scampered back up to the boat, and returned a good part of my breakfast to this sea. /sad. Even Ling, with her sea-dog experienced legs, also felt some nausea.
Still, we had a few great photos and videos coming out of our maiden family snorkeling trip. We’ll have to consult Sameer again to see what our options in the next several days are and what we can do to make the experience for the vertigo-prone me less traumatic. More to come on Day 03 in the next post!
Continued in the next post!
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