Things You Won’t See Going to the Maldives on Your Honeymoon

Marine enthusiasts and couples love the Maldives for its emerald green seas, seaside cottages, cruises, snorkeling and so on. The Maldives are highly popular for honeymoons and overseas weddings. For this domain tour, neither a couple nor a marine enthusiast went to check out the Maldives.

Sponsored by Interlink Co., Ltd. which deals with more than 1,050 Top Level Domains (TLDs) around the world, the Domain Island Tour is currently focused on about 50 types of “Island Domains” in the South Pacific and Caribbean, such as “.cc” “.tv” “.sx”, going to these islands even when it takes 40 hours one way to get there, or when flights are only scheduled one a month.
https://islanddomains.earth/
The ccTLD for the Maldives is “com.mv”.

 

◆Where are the Maldives?
The Maldives consist of 26 atolls and about 1,200 islands, located in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka. Of these islands, about 200 are inhabited. The official name is ދިވެ、ދިވެހި ރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ in Dhivehi.

 

= Table of Contents =

◆Trying to Ride in an Air Taxi Without a Reservation

◆Maldives Bonito

◆Illegal Workers, Lack of Doctors…etc. Things Heard at the Japanese Embassy

◆Artificial Islands for the Capital Malé

◆Cool Postcards of Policemen at the National Museum

◆What to Eat in the Maldives?

◆SIM Speed Test

◆MILO Delivery Trucks & Other Interesting Things in the Maldives

 


◆Trying to Ride in an Air Taxi Without a Reservation

In the Maldives, there’s a “One island one luxury resort” system, so to get to such islands, you need to travel by speed boat or air taxi (seaplane) from the Velana International Airport, near the capital Malé. The air taxis are only available for guests of said resorts or for sightseeing flights. Sightseeing flights allow passengers to take pictures of the islands from the sky. These tours don’t allow passengers to land on any of the islands. For the domain island tour, I’m not staying at a resort, and I don’t have a reservation for a sightseeing flight. But of course, I really want to ride on an air taxi, so I will have to find a way to do so.

Actually, I tried by email to reserve a sightseeing flight with Trans Maldivian Airways, and also with Maldivian Airlines, before I left Japan, but I got no response to my queries, so I will try talking to them directly.

At 9 am, just out of the arrival gate at Malé International Airport, I take a look around for an air taxi counter.

There are many reception counters for restaurants and resorts on isolated islands.

I found one for Jumeirah Hotels, famous for building the first ice-skating rink in the Maldives.

I also found Manta Air, the first to provide regular air taxi services in the Maldives as of November, 2019. Unfortunately, there was no one there. I’m going to give up on this one.

Then I discover Maldivian Airlines. When I asked them: “Can I take a flight even though I don’t have a reservation at a resort?” I was told: “No, you cannot”. When I asked about sightseeing flights, they right away answered: “Private sightseeing flights are available”. When I asked the price: “One flight costs 100,000 JPY”. Although I was shocked at how expensive, I decided to go ahead and do it.

By the way, this company’s official website uses the domain “.aero” which can only be used by members of the aviation industry.

I was told they would arrange my sightseeing flight, and that I should come back at 13:00. There was a lot of time still before 13:00, so I decided to look for the Trans Maldivian Airways counter. I asked the same questions I asked Maldivian Airlines, and got the same answers. Sightseeing flights are possible, but not today. I gave up as there were only flights available tomorrow.

The pilots for Trans Maldivian Airways fly barefoot.

The air taxis basically have no timetables, they seem to make their schedules at the request of the resorts and their guests. As I waited, I passed the time looking outside and I found a pink car, just like the one on the Japanese TV show “Ainori”.

Shortly before 13:00, I return to the Maldivian Airlines counter. As the man I had talked to in the morning was not there, I spoke to another staff: “I have a reservation for a sightseeing flight…” but he answered “The sightseeing flight has already left”. Did I make a mistake? Or did the airline staff miscommunicate? I don’t know, but what is clear is that I won’t be taking an air taxi.

At least there was no financial damage as you pay when you board. If you manage to get on a sightseeing flight in the Maldives, consider yourself lucky.


◆Maldives Bonito

It’s been speculated that Japanese bonito flakes come from the Maldives. So, I will look into the bonito in the Maldives… I need to find out for sure. I head for the fish market in the capital Malé.

Is this a unique design or has the paint just peeled off? I looked closer and it was a taxi.

I stop by to see the landing berth belonging to the President.

There’s a ship moored, but a local guy tells me it’s not the president’s ship.

Another local says to me “That’s the spot exclusively for the President’s ship”. There were two ships at anchor (A555 and A558). The two ships moored looked exactly the same grade.

On either side of those ships were coast guard vessels. The ship in front is the “ISKANDHAR”.
The other has ”NOOR ADHEEN” written on the side. There’s no connection to Japanese “Space Battleship Yamato”.

While walking, I saw many blue pipes on the ground. They seem to be drainage pipes for sewage, coming from buildings and construction sites etc.

The pipes all drain out into the ocean.

I arrive at the fish market. Large letters adorn a blue sign. However, its written in Thaana, so I have no idea what it says. Thaana is the writing system (script) used for the official Maldivian language Dhivehi.

Fresh skipjack tuna (bonito).

Near the back, yellowfin tuna was being cut up. Large fish, such as tuna, are cut and sold according to the needs of the buyer.

The leftover waste of the fish (bones, offal etc.) are collected in a bucket and then once the bucket is full, discarded into the ocean. I waited a little because I wanted to see that part.

Sea birds come out of nowhere and the sea is full of rays. They seem to know that dinner is coming.

Soon enough, a fish monger comes with his bucket of offal. He splashes it into the sea. I imagined it would be like feeding time in the carp pond, but neither the rays nor the seabirds got that excited.

I was happy to see this exciting “offal throwing” event that couples honeymooning in the Maldives are unlikely to be interested in, but my purpose, searching for the dried bonito, still needs to be fulfilled. I decided to check out the fruits and vegetables market down the road from the fish market.

Its crowded with people and bananas.

Ah, there it is. The dried bonito. Locally known as “Maldives fish”, it’s been used in cooking here since ancient times.

I don’t know the type of fish exactly, but this is also a kind of dried bonito. If you try some, its softer than it looks! The texture is like jerky. It’s a little smelly though.


◆Illegal Workers, Lack of Doctors…etc. Things Heard at the Japanese Embassy

To find out more about the Maldives, I visited the Embassy of Japan in Maldives, and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). First, the embassy. I asked the staff to tell me little known facts about the Maldives, and any issues they are facing here.

 

・Foreigners cannot start an independent venture here
The Islamic Maldives have no corporate or income taxes. But, it’s not a tax haven. Its ok to have a branch office here, so some Japanese companies are expanding that way. In addition, the Maldives does not give permanent residency to foreigners.

 

・The Maldives are said to be the worst in the world for population density and a lack of doctors
There’s heavy traffic in urban areas due to the population density. Approximately 130,000 people (1/4th-1/3rd of the population of the Maldives) live in Malé, in an area 2.5 km from east to west and 1.5 km from north to south. This city is said to have the highest population density in the world. Also, there are no medical schools in the Maldives. If you want to be a doctor, you must study at a university overseas. Although there are so few doctors in Malé, and fears about whether people are getting appropriate treatment or not, the luxury resorts have their own doctors.

 

・Illegal employment and illegal residents
Since October 2019, illegal foreign workers have been coming to get registered at the Galolhu National Stadium. Speaking of which, when I visited the stadium, I did find some people scattered around the stands, although there was no game on.

 

・Thefts at the Ferries
Ferry staff is supposed to handle larger pieces of luggage, but it seems that items have been stolen from inside the luggage at such times. You can use a taxi to get to the international airport, but its more common to travel by ferry. Ferry tickets costs $3 per person. Its best to be careful not to leave valuables in your luggage.

Next, I visited JICA, and spoke with a lady staff member who was recently transferred to the Maldives. Two things that stand out from the interview are that the seniors in the Maldives are not be able to support society as actively as in other countries, and that it’s not so easy to live in an Islamic country, which has a lot of restrictions.

By the way, it was from the Japanese embassy that I heard about the “offal throwing” event at the fish market. The male staff at the embassy said “My family all think that I am working in a lovely environment in the beautiful Maldives. Sure, sometimes I see sea turtles or dolphins from my office, but it’s not a very lovely environment working in a place that is so overcrowded.” Many thanks to the staff of the Japanese embassy and JICA who kindly answered my questions in spite of the sudden visit.


◆Artificial Islands for the Capital Malé

Hulhumalé is a man-made island located on the south side of the North Malé Atoll, it was built to relieve pressure on the most densely populated island in the world, Malé. The buildings are modern and colorful compared to the ones on Malé.

On the front gate of the preschool, there’s a list of names of the students enrolled there. I can’t imagine it in Japan.

Just before noon, a call for prayer was given from the “Masjid Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani” mosque. I wondered if the people walking around the mosque would stop and offer prayers suddenly, but no one did.


◆Cool Postcards of Policemen at the National Museum

If you want to learn about the history of the Maldives, the place to go is the Maldives National Museum, located in Sultan Park, Malé.

The entrance fee is 100 Rufiyaa (about 700 yen) per adult. If you want to take photos inside the building, you need to pay an additional 10 rufiyaa (about 70 yen). Even if you pay this fee, you can’t use flash when taking pictures. Lockers for luggage are available free of cost.

There are exhibition rooms on two upper floors. But let’s start on the first floor. In the large exhibition hall, there’s a display of small boxes etc. made from coral harvested in the Maldives.

Some of the items are modern artifacts. Two of the first telephone sets used in the Maldives.

“The first computer CPU in the Maldives.” The size really gives you a feel for its age.

A corner of the National Museum had the Philatelic Museum (Stamp Museum).

You can also purchase currently issued stamps at the souvenir shop.

Further along, a mannequin police officer.

This marks the start of the exhibition about the police. This exhibition documents the history of the police in the Maldives.

Of course, there’s a souvenir shop. What really caught my eye was the post-cards with police officers.

The one above is called “Police officers in discussion”. Below I thought it would be titled “Police officer with a handgun, looking into a room”, but actually it was “Police officer collecting fingerprints off a doorknob”. I’ve never seen such cool postcards, so I bought them up quick. I regret not buying a cap too.

Up to the second floor.

Instruments used by the famous Maldivian band the “Olympians” were on display, along with whale bones, ivory, ship models, etc.

The YAMAHA “YC-20” (stage piano)

The YAMAHA “YC-20” (stage piano)

The ELK “VIKING 60” (guitar amplifier head)


◆What to Eat in the Maldives?

Tired of walking, I took a break at a cafe. It’s called the Highway Coffee Shop.

The calm colors give a nice feel to the atmosphere. They prepare the drinks fresh, after taking the order.

The coffee came with milk by default. Another drink I ordered was the iced ginger-lemon tea.

As in other Islamic regions, drinking and selling alcoholic beverages is prohibited in the Maldives. You could buy a bottle of Mojito at the supermarket, but it was non-alcoholic.

I thought: “I could get a beer at the hotel,” but the hotel in Malé where I stayed did not handle alcohol. This one was also a non-alcoholic beer ($ 3.2).

I found a sushi restaurant in Hulhumale called “Oishii” (“Delicious” in Japanese). I ordered ramen and roll sushi. Is it delicious? As the name of the shop indicates?

Chicken ramen (185 MVR)

California roll (150 MVR)

Gold Rush roll (180 MVR)

Everything was delicious. For dessert, I ordered the “Chocolate Miso Lava Cake” (80 MVR). This is fondant chocolate with miso inside, vanilla ice cream and berry sauce on top. Lava means like volcano lava. This was also delicious.

After that I visited the Dhidhoo hotel (Cafe) for some local food.
There were many local people at this restaurant. The windows were open and it seems the air conditioning was not working. However, I was given an air-conditioned private room. Nice to get the VIP treatment. Maybe because I’m a foreigner.

I ordered the mas huni, a standard breakfast in the Maldives. In Dhivehi, “mas” means fish and “huni” means coconut.

A picture of mas huni. Divide in two, with a sausage in between, the taste is slightly different. One side is tuna and the other is bonito. Its eaten wrapped in roshi, a local flatbread. It’s delicious!

I also ordered an onion cake, and a dessert that is somewhat like dorayaki, with a small pancake folded in half. I thoroughly enjoyed the light natural sweetness. As expected, the VIP treatment was included in the bill.

 

I also tried a local restaurant called the Belle Amie Bistro. Here I ordered the Garudhiya.

This kind of home cooked meal is not on the menu, but they will make it if you order it. The taste may differ depending on the shop, but this one was surprisingly sour. It reminds me of Tom Yam soup but “Shrimp and Spice Free”. I wasn’t really feeling the bonito soup. A bit too light for me.


◆How to Purchase a SIM & Test the Internet Speed

This trip, I tried Ooredoo and Dhiraagu SIM cards. You can buy them at the Malé international airport.

Both are $ 15 and 4 GB (for 7 days). Dhiraagu is also has the registry for the domain “.mv”, and if compared to companies in Japan, it is about the size of NTT. The speed was 25Mbps.

The speed of the SIM from Ooredoo (a company based in Qatar), was 14Mbps.


◆MILO Delivery Trucks & Other Interesting Things in the Maldives

Strolling around the city, I head for the “.mv” registry, just like I did to check out the Saint Vincent registry.

I hear a truck saying: “Backing up, be careful” in Japanese. I heard the same sound in Tuvalu (.tv).

The only item on the truck is boxes of “MILO”, piled high. This is a dedicated Milo truck, carrying only Milo. In Japan, Milo is advertised in commercials that feature children playing sports, so I have a strong impression of it being a children’s drink. However, in Latin America and Asia (especially in East Asia and Southeast Asia), it is popular with adults too. Certainly, I saw plenty of it in the Maldives.

I thought that the number of people in the Maldives who could speak Japanese had really increased, but I was blown away to see a shop called “Naoto Takenaka’s shop”. However, it was a souvenir shop that had nothing to do with actor Naoto Takenaka. The story is that the store’s name comes from the fact that the owner looks like Naoto Takenaka.

The “Naoto’s shop” is also a souvenir shop for Japanese people. In this neighborhood, while we were walking around, people frequently came up and tried to “guide” us. Please note that you will be charged if you follow or listen to these “guides”.

Paint company “Nippon Paint” is advertised by a sumo wrestler with a big smile. It says, “Singapore’s Favorite Paint Brand.”

There were many shops selling tools, paint, painting materials etc.

I thought it was a sports brand shop, but actually they are selling very fashionable work clothes and helmets.

In Tonga, I found a counterfeit for sale, but in the Maldives it was an authentic Mikasa volleyball. In the Indian Ocean region, a sports tournament called the “Indian Ocean Island Games” was started by the International Olympic Committee in 1976. Featured sports include volleyball, judo, table tennis etc. In 2019, the Maldives won a gold medal in women’s group table tennis. The local newspaper reported that it was a “historic victory.” The Maldives have been chosen to host the 2023 games.

It seems you don’t need to wear a helmet when driving a motorcycle on these islands.

Finding the Maldives’ domains “.mv” and “.com.mv” around town.

The domain “.mv” is restricted to government and large companies because it cannot be registered online and is expensive to maintain. Non-governmental and other companies tend to use “.com.mv” and “.net.mv”.

By the way, looking at the map, by now I should have arrived at the “.mv” registry, but there was no such place, instead I found the Presidential Palace (Muleeaage). It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t find the registry address (19 Medhuziyaaraiy Magu Male 20-02 Maldives), but I did make it to a tourist spot unexpectedly.

I found a man wearing a T-shirt with the Japanese word “Continue” on it. Underneath it said “To Be Continued!!!”, so when I told him that the meaning was not wrong, he smiled and posed for a shot. The Domain Island Tour continues.


■The following is a summary of the places visited during the Domain Island Tour.

 

■ For Access Details to the Maldives Islands,Click Here

■ For “.com.mv” Domain Details and Application,Click Here

More Than Just Napoleon’s Exile! Google is laying undersea cables to Saint Helena, the 19th stop on the “Interlink Domain Island Tour”, a place with a 187-year-old giant tortoise and many haunted spots.

A British territory, Saint Helena is known as the island where French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled until the end of his life. A more recent hot topic, Google announced that the latest technology would be used to lay undersea cables to St. Helena. After the domain expedition to Ascension Island where I investigated the one-ring-international-call hoax, now I am exploring the little known charms of St. Helena.
Sponsored by Interlink Co., Ltd. which deals with more than 1,000 Top Level Domains (TLDs) around the world, the Domain Island Tour is currently focused on about 50 types of “Island Domains” in the South Pacific and Caribbean, such as “.cc” “.tv” “.sx”, actually going to the these islands and reporting on their features.

◆Where is Saint Helena?

St. Helena, a British Colony, is a volcanic island located in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,800 km from the west coast of Africa. It is only 122 square kilometers. It is also called a remote island. Administratively, it belongs to the British Overseas Territories of “Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha”, and the official language is English. The currency is the “Saint Helena Pound” (SHP), but British Pounds can also be used without any problem. All pound signs in the text are British pounds. One pound is about 141 yen (as of December 2019).


= Table of Contents =

◆Trouble in Johannesburg

◆Refueling and Arrival at the “World’s Most Unusable Airport”

◆Can We Go Even Though its Closed? ! Napoleon’s House and Jacob’s LadderCan We Go Even Though its Closed? ! Napoleon’s House and Jacob’s Ladder

◆This is where Google is Rumored to be Laying Undersea Cables! !

◆St. Helena is Full of Haunted Spots

◆Meeting the 187-year-old Giant Tortoise “Jonathan”

◆ Interesting Things Around St. Helena, and a 90-Year-Old Grandma Meeting Someone Japanese for the First Time

◆What to Eat on St. Helena

◆How to Purchase a SIM & Test the Internet Speed

 


◆Trouble in Johannesburg

From Japan, I head for the island St. Helena via Singapore and Johannesburg. In times past, it was only possible to get to Saint Helena by sea, once a month the Royal Mail ship went from Cape Town, South Africa, to Saint Helena, going 15 knots / hr. (28km / hr.), it took 4 nights and 5 days. However, since October 2017, Airlink has been scheduling flights from Johannesburg Airport to Saint Helena once a week.

Everything went fine until I got to Johannesburg. When leaving for St. Helena there was a problem at the O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. For people going to St. Helena, it is mandatory to have overseas travel insurance. Our company credit cards have overseas travel insurance so I showed the lady at the check-in counter my credit card. But she just ignored the card, and said to me: “Show me your certificate.” I tried my best to explain in English, but her face was like a stone. She kept repeating: “You can’t go without a certificate.”

Of course, there’s no way to present a certificate, so eventually I was able to find the location on the credit card site where it stipulates the compensation for accidents etc. and finally, she let us go. Of course, it may depend on who you get behind the counter, but I recommend printing out your insurance documents (insurance certificate) in English, just in case. The internet connection (Wi-Fi) at the airport was good.

We finally got to the boarding gate for our flight to St. Helena. We made it in time. By the way, Johannesburg has a city domain name “.joburg”.

 


◆Refueling and Arrival at the “World’s Most Unusable Airport”

Two hours from Johannesburg we needed to refuel, so the plane stopped at Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport in the middle of the desert.

When we landed, they opened the airplane hatch, and lowered the gangway ladder. “We can get off and see the airport in the desert! I’m so excited.”

Then the flight attendant tells me I can’t get off. Well, so the refueling goes on. All in all, it took about an hour to refuel. By the way, the ccTLD for Namibia is “.na”.

An hour and 15 minutes from Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, we arrive at the St. Helena International Airport. Just built in 2017, it’s a modern and beautiful new airport.

There’s an immigration tax of 20 pounds (about 2,800 yen) to enter the country. The entry stamp has birds and the departure stamp has a turtle. Very cute. This island has the world’s oldest giant tortoise, named “Jonathan”. Immigration taxes can also be paid in Euros, US dollars and South African Rands. Although the line for screening resident is crowded, the one for visitors is almost empty. There are not many tourists.

Souvenir mugs, coffee and chocolate are sold in the airport shops. Very different from Ascension Island airport, where there are no souvenirs for sale. There are also snacks and juice, it seems no different from an ordinary airport. Why was it called “the most useless airport in the world”? Well, because the airport took over 5 years to build, at a cost of about 285 million pounds (about 40.6 billion yen). It was supposed to open in 2016, but strong winds, which made taking off and landing more difficult than expected, delayed the opening ceremony. After more than a year of test flights and re-thinking things, the problem was finally solved by changing from the originally planned Boeing 737 to Embraer 190.※参考 AFP

 


◆Can We Go Even Though its Closed?! Napoleon’s House and Jacob’s Ladder

Saint Helena is known as the island where French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled. Napoleon’s mansion “Longwood House” is the most famous tourist attraction on the island. A 79-year-old veteran tour guide, Larry Johnson, took us to sightseeing spots and anywhere else we wanted to visit. The fees for Mr. Johnson were 200 pounds (about 28,000 yen) this was for 2 days, 2 people and included airport transfer and tip. We’re going to go to Longwood House, which has been featured many times on travel shows.

This is a volcanic island, and the airport is surrounded by magnificent rocks.

Gradually we get to areas with more greenery.

About 15km by car from the airport, I caught a glimpse of Jamestown, the largest town on the island. Built on a narrow strip of land in a valley with sides that go up about 150 meters, the population of Jamestown is around 600.

Exiled to Saint Helena in 1815, Napoleon lived at Longwood House until his death 6 years later. I was thrilled at the thought of entering Napoleon old home, but it wasn’t open. It was closed the weekend of our visit…

This is worse than the trouble in Johannesburg. But I don’t give up so easily. After talking with Larry, for a special fee of 150 pounds, they will open it for us! The price of 150 pounds is fixed and then divided by the number of participants. So, for two people, it’s 75 pounds per person. Open only from 11:00 to 13:00 on weekdays, admission is usually 10 pounds per person (about 1,400 yen).

Unfortunately, photography is not permitted inside. It had Napoleon’s favorite field bed, and his bathtub for his regular morning bath. Taking photos in the garden is allowed. Now under the control of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the garden is beautifully kept.

Napoleon – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

I bought a postcard at the Longwood House gift shop. I sent off right away and it arrived in Japan 24 days later.

Comments left by previous visitors. There have only been a few Japanese besides us. Of course, there are not many people visiting such an isolated island.

By the way, the boots Napoleon wore in St. Helena were sold for 117,000 euros (about 14.1 million yen) at an auction in Paris.

 

Jacob’s Ladder is the second most famous tourist attraction after Longwood House. It’s a staircase with a total height of 183 meters and 699 steps. First constructed as a sloped cableway by a railway operator in 1829, it was rebuilt as a staircase by the Corps of Royal Engineers in 1871 for the purpose of moving supplies.

If you climb Jacob’s Ladder, you can get a certificate of ascension at the St. Helena Museum next door. The issuance fee was 5 pounds (about 700 yen) for 2 people. The certificate will be sent to Japan at a later date. In addition to this issuance fee, you must also pay museum admission. It’s a donation, so you can choose how much to put in. We put 10 pounds (1,400 yen) for two people. The museum, which opened in 2002, is housed in a power plant from the second half of the 18th century. There are many valuable old items, military uniforms, hats, and swords on display, telling the history of the island up to the present.

After completing the procedures to get our certificate of ascension, we finally face the challenge of the 699 steps. With my incredible leg muscles built up through the domain island tour, I figure about it will only take me about 10 minutes.

After climbing a bit, I looked down and my legs started to shake. After that, I was too scared to take pictures. I do not recommend this for anyone with a fear of heights.

From the top of Jacob’s ladder, you can see Jamestown far below. The 699 steps led us to an amazing view. All in all, it took about 15minutes to climb the steps.

Jacob’s Ladder(セントヘレナ島) – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

Larry drove to the top and waited for us.

The certificate of ascension came 5 weeks after the ascent.

 


◆This is where Google is Rumored to be Laying Undersea Cables! !

There’s an exciting rumor in the news, that the government of Saint Helena invited Google to lay undersea cables in a project called “Equiano”. The news doesn’t mention the planned site for this big project. I heard from local people that the location is Sandy Bay. I decided to check it out.

We drive over hills and valleys, hills and valleys.

After we pass a coffee plantation,

the road starts to get worse and worse.

The road got so bad, it was impossible for Larry’s normal passenger car to keep going, so we got out of the car at this point. And walked to Sandy Bay.

It was about 15 minutes’ walk to Sandy Bay.

Strolling along the beach, is that a cable?!!

It seems to be some kind of hose, not a cable.

Ah, a mysterious floatation device.

Well, there’s nothing there yet, just a sandy beach, but the locals say this is the mystery location where the undersea cable will be laid. Maybe in the future, there will be a “Mid-Atlantic Cable Hub” that will lay undersea cables across the South Pacific via St. Helena.

Google海底ケーブル予定地(セントヘレナ島) – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

 


◆St. Helena is Full of Haunted Spots

When I was looking at the map, I found a word I wasn’t familiar with. It said “haunted house”.

Larry said: “I don’t know this place on the map very well, but there are a few haunted houses on the island, I can take you to one of them”. So, we decided to take the “Haunted House of Oaklands Tour”.

We decided to go after dinner, so it was dark when we headed out.

We arrive at the haunted house. The admission was pretty high, 20 pounds (about 2,800 yen).

Once inside, our host Philip Mercury welcomed us. He told a scary story about this mansion that was hard to understand in English. I was quite scared because of the strange smells and an eerie atmosphere, but actually the drive to the mansion was even scarier.

There are other rumors of ghosts on St. Helena, such as at the Pilling School, Shy Road, Alarm House, and the Plantation House where “Jonathan”, the 187-year-old giant tortoise lives. After spending 45 minutes here, we drove past Jacob’s ladder lit up, and then went back to the hotel. That looks even scarier to climb at night.

 


◆Meeting the 187-year-old Giant Tortoise “Jonathan”

Although he’s so very old, Jonathan is virtually unknown in Japan. Before we go to meet Jonathan, we start the day with a delicious breakfast and the same fragrant coffee that Napoleon used to drink. This is really good coffee! It’s the kind of coffee that makes you think: “If I got to drink this coffee every day, maybe exile wouldn’t be so bad…”

Before meeting Jonathan, we went to High Knoll Fort on a little mountain 584 meters up. The British army built it in 1799 to prevent an invasion from the French army, and it was reopened in 2010 for tourists.

Finally, we get to Plantation House to meet Jonathan. The oldest giant tortoise in the world is just around the corner, but again… it’s closed. The main gate is open, but closed to visitors. I was really stunned that this would be closed on weekends.

But I want to meet Jonathan! So, I took my feelings to Larry, who said, “You might be able to see him from the outside,” and took us around to see.

There he is! The world’s oldest giant tortoise, 187-year-old Jonathan!

He’s moving! I wanted a chance to get to know him better, but there’s nothing to be done because it’s “closed”. At 187 years old, that means he was born in 1841. It was an honor to meet him.

 


◆ Interesting Things Around St. Helena, and a 90-Year-Old Grandma Meeting Someone Japanese for the First Time

Walking though Jamestown.

We met some of Larry’s friends. The lady on the left is over 90 years old. She was very healthy and energetic, and said “It’s the first time for me to meet a Japanese person.” Is St. Helena a kind of “longevity island”?

There’s a lot of wind power generation.

This was built to be an oil base, but failed somehow. Larry says there’s a lot of money wasted in this kind of way.

This area is called “CHINA LANE”, because there used to be a lot of Chinese workers living here.

There are several churches around China Lane, all of which have several hundred years of history.

The domain for the churches is “.church”.

The Jamestown Supermarket. Until around 2015, St. Helena Island was so short on supplies that people said it was like living in the Soviet Union. Of course, most things have to be imported, but there was better selection than I expected, everything from daily necessities to pet supplies.

A bulletin board in the supermarket. Some kind of picture book for children? The domain “.sh” is used in the email address.

Information on discounts for bulk purchasing in front of the supermarket. The domain for this email address was also “.sh”.

The air conditioner in the Hotel was a Japanese DAIKIN. Speaking of which, the air-conditioner on Ascension Island was made by Fujitsu. Did these Japanese companies really come to do business on such remote islands? It’s amazing.

 


◆What to Eat on St. Helena

The sunset from the remote island of Saint Helena is spectacularly beautiful. But of course, I’m soon hungry. We head to a restaurant run by Larry’s friend.

This lady friend of Larry’s recently opened the restaurant and called it “Rosie’s”.

She serves beef, chicken, mutton, seafood etc. The price is reasonable.

Since there is no local beer in St. Helena, we drink South African beer.

The seafood is flavored with coconut and curry. It’s very good.

Classic fish sauté.

The beef steak that Larry ordered. There was a good quantity of everything.

 


◆◆ How to Purchase a SIM & Test the Internet Speed

I purchased a SIM card at “Sure”, a shop which offers broadband services at Saint Helena Airport. The cost was 18 pounds (about 2,500 yen). The staff at the store didn’t know how to make it work, so I tried by myself to install the SIM, but I couldn’t get it activated.

I tried again at the hotel near Longwood House, but it still won’t connect… I wasn’t able to use it the whole time I was there.

I gave up using the SIM, and tried to use the hotel Wi-Fi. We stayed at the “Mantis St Helena”, but you can only connect to their Wi-Fi at certain times, such as midnight or early morning, and it doesn’t work when there are many users. It was the worst internet environment in the history of the Domain Island Tour. When those undersea cables are laid, this island of about 4,500 people will be connected to an ultra-high-speed Internet of several terabits per second, and the network environment will change completely.

Well, it’s time to go back to Japan. When I saw Saint Helena Airport from the sky, I realized that it was more “cliff-top” than I imagined. So glad we were able to land and take off safely.