14.054 Chicken Rice

Cycle 14 – Item 54

28 (Tue) February 2023

Chicken Rice

3.5

on MV Adora

-Gaafu Alifu Atoll, Maldives-

w DV and friends

Living Aboard the MV Adora (Day 4/13)

- Day -1 (14.050 Sea Bass Fillet)
- Day 1 (14.051 Blackened Roast Chicken)
- Day 2 (14.052 Mas Huni)
- Day 3 (14.053 Grilled Tuna)
- Day 4 (14.054 Chicken Rice)
- Day 5 (14.055 Tuna Sashimi)
- Day 6 (14.056 Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen)
- Day 7 (14.057 Beach BBQ)
- Day 8 (14.058 Roti with Smoked Tuna & Dal Curry)
- Day 9 (14.059 Ceviche Wahoo!)
- Day 10 (14.060 Fruit Sundae)
- Day +1 (14.061 Garudhiya Meal)
- Day +2 (14.062 Sautéed Sword Lettuce (Three Times))

MV AdoraIn the Maldives. Here for my 2nd liveaboard. For 10 days, I’ll be on the MV Adora – same boat as my 1st experience (see previously 9.191 Grilled Beef Tenderloin) – sailing through the Deep South Atolls, diving from the boat, while I eat, drink (mostly drink), sleep, i.e., “live aboard” the boat.

DIVING

Dives 8-9 (this trip) / 163-164 (lifetime)

My reflection can be seen in the bubble, just before it hits the GoPro.

On a longer dive, I like to stay a bit higher than the group, which helps to conserve air.

The deeper the dive, the faster the air consumption. At 10 meters of depth, the air in the tank is compressed by water pressure to 1/2 the volume as it is at surface, requiring double the amount of air to breath (to fill the lungs); at 20 meters, the air is 1/3 volume, requiring triple; at 30 meters, 1/4 volume, requiring quadruple, and so forth. So, while a full tank of air at surface lasts more than 2 hours, it’s reduced to 1 hour at 10 meters, 40 minutes at 20 meters, 30 minutes at 30 meters, and so forth. In the movie 47 Meters Down, depicting divers stuck in a cage at 47 meters, their air would not last anywhere near 1 hour as the gauges show, maybe 20 minutes at best, likely way less due to all the exertion, panic, and talking.

LUNCH

Sweet & sour tuna + steamed vegetables + salad + fried rice (2.0)

WINDOW SHOPPING

The Maldives is most famous for its island resorts, strings of thatched bungalows standing on stilts directly over the water.

Probably the closest that I’ll ever get.

In the afternoon, we sailed passed by the Six Senses resort on Laamu Atoll.

Bungalows ranging in price from USD 1,500 to 10,000 per night.

SUPPLIES

Now quite chummy with the crew, I was invited to view the storage locker holding all the foodstuffs for the trip.

Fresh items go first – including whole fish, eggs, vegetables – usually finishing 80%, restocked before the next group.

Frozen items are used in between – including breads, cheeses, shellfish, meats – usually finishing 30%, restocked every other group.

They cleared about half of this booze locker.

During the pandemic, the Maldivian crew members went home for a welcome 4-month holiday, but the Sri Lankans were stuck on the boat, because all international flights had been grounded. With nothing to do, they spent their days fishing, nights drinking. Knowing that they’d have to pay for the booze, they started with the cheap stuff and moved their way up. They got to Johnny Walker Red Label when the lockdown was finally lifted.

DINNER

No idea what this was, what it’s called (forgot to ask) – reminded me of a dish that I encountered in Jordan (see 9.264 Lots of Chicken, Loads of Rice). Fragrant rice, juicy chicken, the most complex/complete and elegant dish thus far – the overt extravagance made it seems more classically Indian than something humble islanders like Maldivians would’ve come up with, though of course Maldivian culture is partly influenced by India. Anyway, it was a treat.