Hubby and I in Maldives Day 3: imagining what it's like in Heaven.

Rest and relax day - when doing nothing is also an art of doing something.

Lounging around, sipping cocktails and coconut juice, basking in the sunset, playing with hermit crabs, getting the infamous Maldivian tan.

Heaven is a place on Earth.

 

Even the Heron is strolling idly along the beach, oblivious to the world surrounding it.

Without a care in the world.

Taking delight in the simplest things.

 

 

Click here for Day 1, Day 2, Day 4.

Hubby and I in Maldives Day 4: Snorkeling and then some.

We joined two ladies on a snorkelling excursion on Day 4.

Luckily they are not very good swimmers - like me! - so I won't get teased by the instructor or Andy :P

 

 

Turtle excursion: USD$25/pax

Manta and Turtle excursion: USD$55/pax

Ocean Discovery excursion: USD$265/couple - you get to snorkel with Whale sharks, manta rays, turtles and dolphins.

 

* Snorkel equipment rental at additional charges by Vilamendhoo resort.

Due to hygiene purposes, you may choose to buy your own snorkel equipment from surf shops or Toys R Us. They are not expensive and you can reuse them for future water sports.

 

Underwater shots are taken with my trusty Canon Powershot D30. It's compact and doesn't require a waterproof case.

 

Powder blue surgeon fish



You definitely don't want to step on this.

Spotted some Black tips!

They were in the middle of the Hunger Games.

The two sharks tried to round up a school of mullets.

We spotted turtles! Not just one, but three!
As marine animals are in their wild habitats, sightings are not guaranteed. We are so lucky indeed!

Why hello, Hawksbill turtle.

I'll be damned if I don't come home with a Maldivian tan.



It's hard to distinguish where the heavens and the seas meet.

Click here for Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

Kea Xplorer Insect workshop: Outdoor-bound fun for everyone.

As a kid, I grew up in Woodlands, and my parents' flat was just in front of the Woodlands Street 11 park. My brothers and I would spend our free time after school catching spiders and grasshoppers, and kept them in matchstick boxes.

Hands up if you remember this from the 80s!

 

Children of this era, however, spend too much time with gadgets!

Adam is an iPhone/ Playstation addict so when I saw fellow Mum-blogger ZhenZhu post about her experience with Kea Xplorer, I decided to sign both boys up for the insect specimen-making workshop.

First things first, everybody gather around for the briefing by Instructor Zhi Qiang.
Several kids are already swatting their nets around in anticipation.

Kea Xplorers setting off!

I caught our first butterfly! Zhi Qiang is helping me pinch the nerve of the butterfly.

 

I may be no insect expert, but I think you're holding the net the wrong way up, Ashton.

 

And another!

 

After a good 45 minutes in the field, we were all sticky and sweaty and gathered again for de-brief.

Back at Fern and Zhi Qiang's house: now we need to make the insects we caught into specimens!

 

 



Ta-dah!! We caught 5 grasshoppers and 2 butterflies.
The Rhinoceros beetle was bought from Zhi Qiang.

 

 

Thanks for the fun and enriching activity today, Fern and Zhi Qiang from Kea Xplorer!

We enjoyed ourselves very much, I think it brought out the kampong girl in me :P

The kids KO-ed right after we got home.
What a terrific way to kick-start the March holidays :)

 

Check out Kea Xplorer HERE for more workshops!

*Insect catching workshop (Pak 1) is $10/child.
Insect specimen making workshop (Pak 2) is $40/child which includes the display box and being taught how to pin the insects and preserving them in the box.
Another workshop available is Woodwork - if carving/ sawing/ creating things is your child's passion, then Woodwork is the workshop for him/her.

If you're interested in catching your own insects in future, the nets can be bought from Daiso at $2.

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*P.S. Had my braces fitted only yesterday and my mouth is in a lot of pain.

Talk, laugh, eat also cannot. Despite not having been punched in my face before, I feel exactly like I've been punched in my mouth approximately 15 times.