It was a beautiful August morning on the 25th, when I woke up from sleep after a chilly night due to torrential rain in and around the capital. The previous day was bit hectic and tiring thus I wanted to sleep a bit more. To be honest I felt unreasonable to fly to Addu just for a day and than return back on the following day. I haven’t been to Addu before thus wanted to explore as much as I can during my first visit..
Got into the flight and I was really excited for many reasons. In short I was going to make many “firsts” during my flight to Addu. It was my first trip with an ATR. I haven’t been to Kaadedhoo before but had a stopover. And due to that I have seen those beautiful tiny Islands of G.Dh Atoll. No doubt.. it’s going to be a “boutique zone” in tropical tourism.
Before the flight landed to Kaadedhoo, I got the chance to sit with the captain in the cockpit and that was really amazing. I never dreamed of anything like that ever. But it was for few minutes and I returned back to my seat and continued reading the book I was reading. “Unlimited Power” by Anthony Robbins.
I saw Laamu Atoll and I felt like I was passing above a “celebrity zone” not because of any famous person or anything but I have heard a lot about this atoll from many of my friends and colleagues.
Nothing was more exciting than my desire to to pass the equator for the first time. I was thrilled to win a complete journey from nothern most to southern most of my country for the first time. I recalled the beautiful metaphor by Emirates;
“When was the last time you did something for the first time . . . keep discovering !”
Landed GAN at 12:00 p.m. mid day and it was amazing ever since. On my return I witnessed one of the most greatest things in my life, to see a full-fledged take of preparation, a take off and a beautiful cruising over the atolls and a stunning landing to Male’ International Airport…It was awesome and I never dreamed to be in cockpit for a full ride. WOw…
August 29th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Woo Cool. Congrats on crossing the equator. Agree with you.
As i am from south of Maldives. I get couple of chances to fly there in a year. And i always look for a chance to visit the cockpit. or to be there during take off and the landing. The best on so far was when landing Gan. Love the beautiful scenery.
Here is a picture from a “Maldivian Dash8″ cockpit.
http://flickr.com/photos/nattu/383016508/
September 13th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Hmm… I wish I had a chance to be in the cockpit. You must have had a great time. Keep on discovering!!!
October 25th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Life is a series of experiences, each of which teaches us a lesson, even though it is hard to realize this. The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste our experiences to the utmost………..without any regrets……………this is an experience itself. This is the first time i did something like this…………..wonder what is the lesson awaiting me?
January 24th, 2010 at 8:51 am
The author of msaeed.com has written an excellent article. You have made your point and there is not much to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not argue with: The fact that things ever go right is so that things may go more spectacularly wrong later. Thanks for the info.