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Live the adventures of Dan Walker's travels through reading his travel journal. The travel journals are listed below in descending order of date. To search the travel journals, use the keyword search at the bottom of the page.

Journal Entry:

Friday, November 05, 2010 12:14:56

BIOT & Maldive Islands 2010: 1 - Getting there

The British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT), which includes the Chagos Archipelago, is one of the most difficult island groups to access. After purchasing the islands from Mauritius, the British forced all inhabitants to move out before they leased Diego Garcia to the US for a naval and bomber base. As part of the deal the British patrol the area with gunboats and helicopters. Private yachts are permitted to visit some of the farther flung islands, but under strict control and with permits from the British Government however commercial charters are prohibited.

I was offered a berth on a small boat that would try to get to into the BIOT from the Seychelles in 2002, but regrettably didn't go. My long time travelling companion, Tim Carlson, did go, and they managed to land on two islands before being discovered by British watchdogs. Fortunately, they only escorted them out of the territory by patrol boats and helicopters. Under the law the British can confiscate the boat, fine those on board up to $10,000 and sentence them to a maximum of 3 years in jail.

In July of this year I received a tip off that a trip to BIOT had been arranged through the German travel agency Infinity Reisen by Carl Siby of Sweden. There were only 16 places available on a sailing yacht, and almost instantly all were booked and there was a waiting list. Plane tickets were purchased, hotels booked and first a deposit then final payment was made for the trip. The one thing that none of us was smart enough to ask was, Does the ship have the permission of the British Government? We were all so excited go it didn't occur to us that a respectable travel agency would sell a trip for which they had no permit!

Inevitably, two weeks before departure date, a notification was received that the application for permit had been turned down and the trip was cancelled. Full refund was to be made.

Full refund is fine, except we had all purchased thousands of dollars worth of non-refundable hotel and airline tickets. Flurries of emails circulated among the group. Pressure was put on the boat owners and travel agency. People all over the Maldives were contacted to try to arrange alternate transport without permits. In the end, 10 of us decided we were going come hell or high water we'd see what we could do when we got there. The worst downside was 10 days in a delightful location in the company of some of the most travelled people in the world.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Yesterday I boarded an Iberia Airlines plane for the 10+ hr flight to Madrid on an Airbus 340-600, leaving San Jose Costa Rica at 6 PM. The deluxe business class had 42 seats with only 10 passengers scattered through the area. The seats had electrical outlets, a large selection of on demand movies, and converted to horizontal beds for sleeping. The food and service was excellent, with nice touches such as cloth napkins under each drink served, and poured liquor rather than miniatures. There was an extensive wine list with a remarks card so passengers could do a tasting of the complete list and jot down comments. There was also a large selection of liqueurs and brandies after meals. Internet connection was available with free texting and emails of 150 characters or less, but they charged to receive replays to emails. It was a very pleasant on-time flight.

The connecting flight to London from Madrid had the standard European business class basically economy seats in which they don't sell the centre seat of the grouping of three. My legs fit by sitting sideways, bum in one seat and legs in front of the other. The flight arrived in London Heathrow half an hour late, but customs and immigration were quick and efficient so I was able to hustle from terminal 3 to the central bus depot in terminal 1 just in time for the bus Id booked for Gatwick Airport, a drive of about 1 hours. The route was through countryside where trees were decked out in vivid autumn colours.

My boarding pass was printed before leaving home, so check in was unnecessary, leaving me about 45 minutes before boarding time. In the British Airways lounge I was offered a private bathroom complete with toilet, sink and deluxe shower, plus a package of towels and a bathmat. The weather in England was unexpectedly warm, so in sweater and jacket Id worked up a real sweat in my dash for the bus at Heathrow. The opportunity to shower and change my shirt was very welcome. By the time I got off a couple of emails and boarded the Boeing 777 for the next leg I was feeling great.

The business class seating configuration on BA was unlike any I had seen. Divisions made each seating area private from the others. There were four sets of seats down the centre for couples, where there was no division between the seats, but each pair of seats were enclosed. Aisle seats faced forward and window seats faced back. A button raised or lowered a partition between the seats - when it was down the seats faced the other. There was an exit from each window seat so the occupant could leave without disturbing the person in the aisle seat.

Inside the cubicle a footstool made a seat facing the main seat, so someone could drop by and chat. When the main seat went to horizontal for sleeping the footstool extended the seat to a full 2 meters (6 6) in length, making a very comfortable bed. Both Iberia and BA provided quilts instead of normal thin blankets. The cubical also contained a drawer for shoes or a laptop, electrical outlet, screen with on demand movies, adjustable reading lamps and so on. Snacks were available between meals. The comfortable 10 hr flight arrived in Male on time at 9:20 AM

The ferry dock is in front of the airport, which is on its own island. A boat leaves about every 10 minutes and for $US 1 takes passengers to Male Island. I asked a fellow passenger for directions to my hotel, and once arrived he spoke with a fellow who had a motor scooter. It was indicated that I should climb on and he would take me to the Kam Hotel, a couple of blocks away. I tried to give him money for the ride, but he refused, saying he was happy to help out. Throughout my stay my experience with Maldivians was that they are quick to return a smile or greeting and are happy to try to help out.

Once checked into my basic but comfortable room, I took a taxi to the hotel of Joanne Swartz, who I had arranged to meet to walk the city. Today is Victory Day in the Maldives, a holiday in celebration of the victory of the Maldivians over Indian troops, so not much was open. We walked miles. Stopping at a small restaurant for a cold drink and were surprised to see a happy hour sign in front. Liquor is prohibited in the Muslim Maldives, except in resorts, but apparently during happy hour coffee, soft drinks or the readily available non-alcoholic beers are consumed at reduced prices.

Joanne had a cell phone that worked, so through text messages we found some of the others who had been working on hiring a boat. We also sorted out airline tickets to Gan fortunately the booking agency was open. When the group decided to head over to the airport island to look at possible boats to charter I opted out it was 5:30 PM and I was fading fast. Back at the hotel I headed for bed and slept for almost 12 hours.