Maafushi: A Glimpse of the Island Life (Maldives Diaries)

Maafushi. It's the biggest island in the remote South Male Atoll (one of the country's 26 atolls) with a population of barely 1,200. It is also a "local island", governed by traditional local laws and Muslim discipline. This is why wearing bikinis isn't allowed in much of the island except at the designated "Bikini Beach". I like taking leisurely walks at the town center, far from the beach-front promenade where most hotels and guest houses are.

But the next several years will change the "face" of the island. During my walk, I saw 4 two-story hotels/guest houses being constructed. There's a football field - called Football Grand - in the center of town, as well as a mosque. The map shows another mosque at the northern end of the island near the prison which is the biggest in the country. At night, the center of town takes in the "noise" from the power plant. Otherwise, the island sleeps early. There are 2-3 convenience stores easily accessible from most hotels. Internet or wifi signal is mostly good, except at the Kaani (which has 3 branches). There's a hospital just across the football field. Water has good pressure, but is believed to be non-potable. Where do they get their water? I asked and was told, "the sea". They have a desalinating plant. I've never seen an internet cafe so far.

Maafushi doesn't have public motorized vehicles although several hotels have vans. Otherwise, most arriving guests from the jetty simply walk to their hotels alongside their official welcome party. Near the hotels are a number of souvenir shops which peddle local products rather inexpensively. You wouldn't believe how cheap they are compared to the shops in Male. A mask, for example, would cost $80 to $200 in the capital. the same product would cost $15-30 in Maafushi. the same is true in other local islands. It is thus important to remember this when you're thinking of buying lots of souvenirs for family and friends. I was, of course, too late to realize this, but "gifts" are never about prices, right?

This is the Eye in the Sky!  

Entrance of the more central mosque.

Iuma is a convenience store which opens until 9 PM.

A local restaurant with relatively affordable food. I'd get my rice meals here for my dinner. I've never seen a foreigner dine here - so when you enter, people gaze at you. They're very friendly.

Inside the souvenir shop has so many local products on display.

The "dark and scary old man" is a traditional figure commonly seen around the Maldives (check the bigger version from the first photo above).

Sampaguita in Maafushi. If it looks and smells like one, it must be one. :)

Football Grand

Manta rays in the center of town

Kilometer Zero. The green fence (left) leads to the hospital.

I've never seen canals in Maafushi. Thus when it rains, there are milky puddles everywhere.

Island Map of Maafushi - This is quite a rare find and probably the first to be posted online. I saw this pasted on a souvenir shop's wall and is quite messy, I had to clean it up a bit.

The Little Mosque by the Sea - Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur

She beckons

Like a hundred dreams of summertime

So when she flutters,

Specks of starlight welcome

Like pellets of sunshine by the shore;

Like moonbeams on a balmy night.

I spoke of her incantations,

Weary of mermaid’s calls

As those that set fishers folk 

Yonder where the sea touches the sky,

Be gone in lambent beam. 

She stood callous, but heedful

Of my bewilderment for her existence

In a parcel just four spans of my heart.

I ponder,

I ponder,

I ponder until I slumber

- Eye in the Sky, April 2, 2013

In the many instances that I've traveled along the mostly deserted roads of the Davao highway, south of the Philippine islands, I have always been fascinated by this mosque, modest in size and design, that used to sport chipping off paint along the coast of Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur's northernmost municipality. But they've recently managed a fresh dab of paint. I've always wanted to stop and gaze by the roadside, but this somehow never materialized. After all, a sinewy road flanked by the eastern ocean and the cantankerous hill westward is never an ideal place to linger..

So one day, I stopped. I stood in front and just stared for a couple of minutes while I was wrapped in a state of frozen stasis. Somewhere in the vicinity in barrio Loay stands this simple beauty. An imam decked in traditional muslim frock motioned that I could see it up close, but I just smiled, shrugged and thanked him for his kindness. Isn't it mysterious what sets our soul to rest? Yet there are raging wars all over the region. My God is a Catholic God, but I know there's a universal Almighty who answers to the deepest desires of peaceful men. Let war be a figment of a bad dream. Please.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

This locator photo only courtesy of wikipedia.

Putrajaya - Birth of a New Federal City

Have you heard of a place specifically designed and planned as a new city?

Most metropolis naturally grow and flourish, taking a life of its own. But few cities are exactly conceptualized from scratch. I know of Brazil’s capital – Brasilia, which was planned and developed in 1956 (and shaped like a butterfly or an airplane). It became Brazil’s capital in 1960 and is home to 3.4 million people. (Rio de Janeiro has 14.3 million.) I also know of Canberra who, in 1908, became the capital of Australia as a compromise between Melbourne and Sydney (I specifically remembered this from my friend Helen’s stories). The population is surprising spare at about 360,000.

Closer to the archipelago is Myanmar’s new capital, Naypyidaw, elected by its military junta after dethroning Yangon as it’s queen city. It was moved 300 kilometers north of Yangon, and is still set to be completed next year (2012). Tourists aren’t allowed to visit the capital, but I was fortunate enough to have awakened from my deep slumber in the wee hours of the morning as my bus navigated the road from Mandalay back to Yangon. It felt like a dream then – this was a city bathed with a hundred lights. I literally had to pinch myself as my bus unobtrusively careened through Myanmar’s immaculate, albeit clinically barren streets. In Malaysia, it is the city of Putrajaya!

Putra Bridge (above) and the hill towards the Putrajaya Landmark (below).

The first time I was here – not so long ago when I was still too green to be adequately confident with my travel choices, Putrajaya was in its incipient stages. There wasn’t much to see, except the jaw-droppingly awesome showcase buildings of Malaysia’s government offices. After all, Putrajaya’s raison d’etre is as the country’s Federal Administrative Capital located some 30 kilometers south of KL. To decongest the city, this was where government offices were located.

The juiciest rumors circulating then was that the seed money in its evolution originated from the deep pockets of Bill Gates, who also supplemented construction of Putrajaya’s twin-city – Cyberjaya, not so far from here.

True enough, everything in Putrajaya looked new. Each building was designed following traditional Malay influences admixed with modern architectural form. The hybrid end-product is quite fetching to the senses. Heck, even its surrounding lake is man-made! It was about 60% completed the first time I was here. But this time around, the city has come alive (population – 70,000). Fountains, landmarks and new buildings are still under construction, but basic “city life” has already settled into common place functionality.

Putrajaya Landmark up the Putra Perdana Gardens.

NAMING A CITY

“Putrajaya” is word play that literally means "princes' (putra) success (jaya)". Officially, the site is named in homage to Malaysia's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, but Wikipedia mentions that it's also a tip of the hat towards the "princes of the soil" (bumiputra), a euphemism for ethnic Malays (as opposed to the richer Chinese minority) and one of the key concepts of Malaysia's affirmative action program. Putrajaya is one of the only three self-governing federal territories aside from KL and the controversial island of Labuan that was started in 1993, and officially moved in 1999 as the nation’s federal capital (covering a vast 4,931 hectares).

TRAIN TO PUTRAJAYA

My latest visit started early with a McDonald’s breakfast in KL. From Pasar Seni station, I took the Rapid KL train to KL Sentral (which is just one stop, at 1 ringgit or $0.32). I changed trains and hopped into a KLIA Transit train (9.50 ringgit) to Putrajaya Sentral.

Even the train station (Putra Sentral) has come alive. It used to be eerily deserted; you could run around naked without much concern for spectators. I took the escalator down the station where a row of local buses await. These would take me to the city's different “sectors”, and a convenient take-off point to nearby Cyberjaya (a new city designed to house the IT industry).

TAKING THE BUS

I took Bus no. 100 (no. 300 was also an option), paid 50 cents ($0.16), and told the driver I wanted to see the pink-domed Putra Mosque which I missed last visit. This particular bus couldn't take me directly to the mosque. I was instructed to alight from a waiting shed facing a hill, then take a leisurely walk towards Putra Mosque. The good news - I could visit Putrajaya Hill on my way to the mosque to see the Putrajaya Landmark. The Perdana Putra (Prime Minister's Office) is also in the vicinity.

Taman Putra Perdana (in Precinct 1) is beautifully landscaped. From the waiting shed, I crossed the street and started my climb up the hill which was pleasant (there were no stairs so I stepped through coiffed grass). Except for a gardener trimming the hedges, I had the place to myself. This garden provided the best views in town. Last time I was here some 3 or 4 years ago, this wasn’t even a tourist sight yet. How fast this city has evolved.

At the apex of the park stands Putrajaya Landmark – Mercu Tanda- shaped like Merlin’s wizard hat, glistening in silver (or tinfoil)! There was a row of fountains directly facing the landmark. From here, you could see the city sprawl – high rise residential edifices, the Putra Bridge, the skeletal marvel of Seri Wawasan Bridge, the sinewy lakes. It was exhilarating to be catching my breath after the climb, and getting rewarded with such view.

Money and inspired planning made this city, that’s for sure.

I was headed to the Putra Mosque, but at that particular moment, I found my favorite spot in Putrajaya.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Seri Wawasan Bridge as seen from the Perdana Putra Garden from the hill.

Prime Minister's Office (Putra Perdana)

Putra Mosque

A popular steward at the Putra Mosque becomes an unexpected celebrity. Everyone wanted a photograph with him.

If you're inappropriately clothed (shorts, skirts showing knees, skimpy tops), you will be required to wear these pink gowns if you are to enter the mosque.

Justice Ministry

Perbadanan Putrajaya or Putrajaya Corporation (PPJ) is a local authority which administers Putrajaya. PPJ is responsible for public health and sanitation, waste removal and management, town planning, environmental protection and building control, social and economic development and general maintenance functions of urban infrastructure. It's probably equivalent to Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

KLIA Transit to Putrajaya Sentral at 9.50 ringgit ($3.10 or PhP135.70).

Up next: Prime Minister’s Palace, Putra Mosque, and more