Maldives – Floating on Cloud Nine
It’s the stuff dreams are made of. The deep blue of the sea dotted with green and white islands under the sun, each surrounded by a ring of crystal clear waters of an incredible shade of turquoise. Each island can be navigated in a few minutes, so while you’re there, you feel like a Robinson Crusoe lost in a wondrous dream you never want to wake up from. That is the magic that the Maldives make you spin.
A group of 2,000 islands in the Indian Ocean, only 200 islands are occupied, we were told, 20 of them by locals and a staggering 180 by resorts. One trip there and you won’t wonder why. It’s the perfect vacation getaway, whether you’re on your honeymoon, just escaping for a well-deserved break, or, like us, heading out on your annual summer vacation with friends. If you’re the type who firmly believes that going “overseas” should be a place where you can shop till you drop, this is not the place for you. This is strictly for the lotus eater, the pleasure seeker, the beach bum who wants to do nothing more strenuous than eat, float on a calm sea, and sleep.
How do you get to Paradise? You can fly from Trivandrum like we did, it’s an hour flight, or you can fly from Mumbai or Delhi via Colombo. Be sure to get a window seat so you can gape when you see the islands for the first time. You land on an island near the capital, Male. (Just remember, the Maldives is a Muslim country, so make sure you don’t bring liquor or pork products. This rule, of course, doesn’t apply to what’s served at the resorts.) From there, the resort takes over. We had booked with the Taj Coral Reef. His staff ushered us out to a speedboat that looked like something out of a James Bond movie and that’s exactly how we felt a few minutes later as we glided over the sea, wind in our hair, passing an island here and there in our way. . It took us 50 minutes to get to the resort. After a wonderful welcome drink (an exotic combination of passion fruit and mango), we were shown to our rooms. Beach villas they called them. You walked out the door and your feet crunched on the white sand with the water lapping at your feet. We couldn’t wait so we put on our bathing suits and jumped into the water, which was so clear you could see your toes! And believe it or not, there are plenty of fish to welcome you in all shapes, sizes, and colors. (Another tip: Bring a pair of lightweight canvas shoes, as you could cut your feet on the bits of coral around you.)
As always, the chefs at the Taj went above and beyond with the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets. There was a gentle reminder that if we didn’t like the food, we could order Indian food. What was there that I didn’t like? And each meal ended with desserts fit for a king.
This feeling of being in Cloud Nine lasted for the next six days. The children always found plenty to do, the adults lounged in the sun, eating, drinking and having fun. A day trip to Male was the only change in routine. A city of cobbled roads, elegant cars that drove carefully through the narrow streets without honking their horns, friendly people and a clean and tidy fish market.
If you are a strong swimmer, there are many things you can do at the resort. You can rent equipment and go snorkeling, rent canoes, go deep sea diving or windsurfing. Part of the package was a night fishing expedition. The coral around the island was interesting and we saw footage shot by the resort’s dive instructor that was the same as anything you’d see on the Discovery Channels or National Geographic.
An interesting diversion each night was the feeding of the stingray by the hotel staff. Without fail, these beautiful creatures would arrive an hour early to await their meal: black, gray, white, gold, speckled, gliding like angels in the shallows, graceful as dancers.
The weather, as in all perfect vacations, was magical. A light drizzle from time to time, but otherwise a perfectly blue sky to complement the wonderful color of the sea. As we sped back on the speedboat, our cheeks were wet with more than just the salt spray from the sea. It’s so hard to say goodbye to something perfect. One could almost echo the sentiments of old and say: ‘If ever there was a Paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.’