Sweet.potato.plant

I love to crunch raw sweet potatoes.

Path to Paradise

A hard path to take! A difficult life.

Kurunba

Most of the western world, knows only young coconut (kurumba) and coconut (kaashi). However, in Maldives we have names for every stage of coconut:

Raama = flower
Gobolhi = immediately after it becomes a fruit
Miri = just before young coconut
Londhi hevaa kuruba = after miri and when the kernel is soft and watery
Kurubaa = young coconut (best for drinking)
Gabulhi = in between kurumba and kaashi (good for pudding etc)
Kaashi = when it turns to coconut which can be used for cooking

Shows how important a part coconut played in our life!

Gloriosa.Superba.bud

One of my favorite flowers (viha lagodhi) which grow wild in the Maldives. I've read that in some countries, it's considered as a pest.

Gloriosa.Superba

One of my favorite flowers which grow wild in the Maldives. I've read that in some countries, it's considered as a pest.

This beauty is poisonous? What's the proper English name for this?

Lhaimagu beach

This is kokko's (my nephew) hand. He loves the beach. Every time myself and Shaxu goes to the beach, he will want to join us. He loves dipping into the sea.

Gemendhoo Jetty at Sunset

Getting ready to leave the tsunami devastated island.

Gemendhoo road

Gemendhoo roads, covered with rotting vegetable matter and plants.

Gemendhoo bridge

Gemendhoo people were in the process of expanding their community into the adjoining island before the tsunami.

Here you see the bridge which used to join both the islands, completely destroyed during the tsunami of 2004.

Gemendhoo jetty

Gemendhoo is one of the islands completely destroyed by the tsunami of 2004. Today, the island is uninhabited - the only remains are destroyed buildings and plants.

Gemendhoo End

Dhaalu Gemendhoo beach - having a quite chat in the deserted island.

Gemebdhoo and it's adjoining island

There are 23 islands in the same lagoon in the now abandoned Gemendhoo.

Gemendhoo

The uncompleted pre-tsunami jetty building project of Dhaalu Gemendhoo.

Gemendhoo beach

Gemendhoo beach - having a quite chat in the deserted island.

Aim of our trip was to see first hand the damages done by 2004 tsunami.

Destroyers

They've distroyed and enslaved a lot of souls.

Island at Dusk

I wonder why the Sun is hiding?

Maafushee Badaru

While sitting on the beach for our speedboat to be fixed, I took couple of pictures that could be collaged into a wide angle shot.

Maldivian Kids Playground

We grew up on the sea - that was our playground. We do not have nice parks and toys. Once old enough, we travel on the sea and earn a livelihood by fishing. The playground becomes our office. That was the past! (Maafushi shore, Maldives)

Faaga Diyya

I know there arn't much you can do for an ill-tempered person. However, Maldivians used to think that drinking the juice of this extremly bitter fruit would do some good for your temper.

Kuredhi

These plants grow all around our islands - with thick watery leaves and has an extremly hard wood. These are the only plants which can grow at such close proximity to the sea - as far as I know. (Villingili, Maldives)

Until Yesteryear

Most common mode of transport in the Maldives - that was yesteryear. Motobikes have taken over the hearts of Maldivians for sometime.

From Villingili

I enojoy living in Villingili, not because President Moumoon deceived all Maldivians into thinking this little island is a physical part of Male', the capital of Maldives.

The island is still very much natural - lush vegetation and sandy beaches. It's wonderful that private vehicals are banned in the island (only about 3 taxies service the whole island). Most of the population walks on foot and few uses bicycles.

Villingilli is a wonderful place to jog in the early morning while feeling the fresh air straight from the sea.

Night Fishing

I really enjoyed our night fishing trip at Kudahuvadhoo, Maldives - it was my first. This picture was taken using my mobile phone just nearby Kudahuvadhoo.

Natural Beauty

Putrajaya, Malaysia. A house beside a lake with a lot of green – my ideal home. I’m amazed at what human could create.

Man-made

Putrajaya, Malaysia. The city is surrounded by green parks such as this one. A huge lake was next to these plants – all man-made. If human could come up with such beauty, I wonder how beautiful would be Paradise!

Dream City

Putrajaya, Malaysia. A large portion of Putrajaya is designated as green area. This shot was taken from top of an observation tower nearby the city. The city must be a dream come true for Dr. Mahaathir Muhammad. What would be his dreams for the Hearafter?

Artificial

Putrajaya, Malaysia. Another picture from my trip to Putrajaya, the new capital of Malaysia. In spite of Putrajaya being green and rich in infrastructure, the roads seems to be abandoned.

End times

Putrajaya Mosque, Malaysia. I want all of you to see the inside of this grand mosque. Yes, it’s as beautiful as it sees. It’s attractive, eye catching – and also it's extremly difficult to perform prayer in front of the fanfare!

Waste

Minaret of Putrajaya Mosque, Malaysia. These tall towers had a use during its early history. A person climbs to the top of these structures five times daily to call Muslims to gather for prayer. Today, it's just an adornment - a waste - money which could be spent on a child's education.

Disunity

A huge roundabout in front of Putrajaya Mosque, Malaysia, decorated with flags from different federal territories.

Hadith recorded in Mishkat al-Masabith, the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alaihi wasalam) said, "He who calls for `Asabiyyah (nationalism/tribalism) is as if he bit his father's genitals"

The Gallery

Putrajaya mosque, Malaysia. It’s a grand mosque, decorated from the floors to the ceiling. It’s more of a gallery than a praying place. People of all religion roam around in the courtyard throughout the day while only few are there to pray during the prayer times. Sad.

Worldly Kings

Prime Minister’s office sitting on the banks of Putrajaya’s man-made lake. Wouldn’t it be a killer view from the building? I’m sure Xaeem would want one built exactly like this, but on top of what?

Eye-catching

More bridges! This is another bridge running across the same man-made lake (my previous post) in Putrajaya. A large potion of the city is designated as green area with a huge wetland area. Anyway, the colors are eye-catching!

Putrajaya

Putrajaya – the new capital of Malaysia. Maybe you’ve not heard, but it’s a city built from scratch during the reign of Mahathir Muhammad – the Ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia. The huge bridge, built across a man-made lake, on the left side is the entrance to this majestic city.

You can see several other pictures of the city which were shot during my first visit to the city.

Rainy Day

After a rainy day everything looks fresh and clean. This is the park which I pass every day to jumah prayer. Most of the times, the park will be occupied by cheerful children playing on the grass, waiting for their parents to pick them up after school. We spend a lot of time sitting on the bench, on our way back from shopping. It’s fun to observe little kids play without any worries of this world or the next.

Pictured is an old tree standing in the middle of the park with parasitic plants growing all over it.

Favorites

Surprisingly one of my favorite spots – the kitchen. And this particular spot, my second most favorite chair in the apartment, the microwave and the conventional oven aligns into perfect planes.

Memories

It's a lovely sight. I've stayed for hours staring from my balcony for the past years while living in Malaysia. What you see is one of the prime areas in Malaysia - Asia Jaya (in Petaling Jaya -PJ).

The picture is a collage of approximately 5 shots taken at dusk. From the left: Hotel Armada, Petaling Jaya Hilton (the white small building), Minara Axis (with the dome) and at the very right is Asia Jaya LRT station.