A few years ago I was on a plane to from Male’, the capital to Gan, Addu. The distance between the two islands is about 500km and it took a bit more than an hour. It was a small aircrafts and flew really slow, so serving a tiny treat killed a lot of time for the crew as well for the passengers. On this day, I was served a slice of cake, choice of tea or coffee and a small sack of sliced areca nuts. Areca nuts are an after food chew for many Maldivians. I occasionally chew areca nut to neutralize strong and lasting tastes from food. On the opposite aisle to me was a tourist whom I saw struggling to cut open the sack of areca nuts. Little did he know the sack has a magical zip which opens and closes multiple times. The next thing I saw was him emptying the sack into his cup of coffee, drinking the coffee and swallowing the dried, cured and fresh forms of areca nuts. Not only was it strange but shocking as I watched it. Nuts consumed improperly could get stuck in the throat and an emergency in the sky is the last thing a tourist would want, let alone the airline. I suppose the risk is worth taking than axing.

A few weeks ago, after about two years to the above experience, I boarded a plane to Addu. Within minutes into the flight I received my treat and it was a twin pack of two finger kit kat, choice of tea or coffee and of course the sack of sliced, dried, cured and fresh areca nuts. Areca nuts have survived. Now with more tourists taking the shuttle flight this is parfait – perfect. It’s a cocktail of risk than of culture.