I envy the rookie traveler.

She who is so eager that she packs her suitcase days before the trip. She who is so excited that she can’t sleep the night before departure. She gets to the airport extra early. She pays attention to the flight attendant’s safety briefing. She’s read all the guidebooks and is prepared for everything she will experience. And then she gets to where’s she’s going and has her mind blown wide open.

When I was invited to the Maldives, I decided I would – to the best of my ability – try to be a virgin traveler. Let somebody else be the organizer, the leader, the expert. Let me be wowed.

But I couldn’t tolerate being completely unprepared. I get the Maldives confused with the Seychelles so at the very least, I should know where they are. I googled “Maldives.” From world map view it zoomed down to a cluster of islands, identifying a city called “Gan.” I zoom out. All I see on my laptop screen is blue plus a few white specs on the top left. Zoom out again. Nothing but blue. Zoom out again. And again. This time “Maldives” appears, along with a speck identified as Malé. Otherwise, a totally blue screen. Nothing but ocean (and a few fingerprints).

On my next zoom out . . . finally: Land ho! The cities Thiruvananthapuram, India and Columbo, Sri Lanka are identified, as is the Laccadive Sea. So this much I know from my Google exercise: the Maldives are VERY dinky islands. And there’s a sea I’ve never heard of, called Laccadive.

I decided to learn just a little bit more. Wikipedia revealed the following:

             *   99% of the Maldives is water

             *   Population is 393,500

             *   Malé is the capital, a densely populated island of 150,000

             *   The religion is Islam. Non-Muslims cannot be citizens.

             *   Average elevation is less than 5 ft. (that is not a typo)

             *   Highest elevation is 7 ft, 10 inches

The few people I know who have ever been to the Maldives report that it is one of the most spectacular places they’ve ever been. I’m sure it’s beautiful. But that’s a helluva distance to get to a beach resort!

 

---

 

So that’s how I arrived here – mostly clueless. Still not completely certain how to pronounce it: Mald-eeves? Mald-iives? (Answer: it rhymes with leaves.)

Flight time on Sri Lankan Airways from Columbo was just over an hour on a real plane (not a prop). It’s a night flight, arriving too late to see anything from the air. The airport is on a coral atoll – with the capital, Malé, on its own separate island – looking a bit like a mirage, with its “skyscrapers” topping out at 15 stories.

Just outside the terminal, a boat waits to transfer us to the Taj Vivanta Resort. Arriving an hour later, we’re told that they’re holding the restaurant open for us, so I quickly drop my carry-ons in my beach-front villa and rush to dinner. (Can’t miss a meal!)

The morning light reveals this stunning view: 

Darn – I could have slept in that hammock last night!

After breakfast, we wade out to the shallow reef in front of the resort, where I had an underwater encounter with Oriental Sweetlips. (That’s another story for another blog!) I enjoyed the outdoor shower before rushing to pack up and vacate my room before the noon checkout time. Such is the glamorous life of these fam trips.

Had lunch (more food!) and the obligatory hotel inspection before the boat took us back to the airport, where we transferred to a different boat for the 10-minute trip to an even more hedonistic resort, the Taj Exotica.

Arriving late in the afternoon, drummers were on the dock to welcome us. We were showered with rose petals. Champagne flutes with bubbly refreshments were passed. Photos were taken. I was introduced to my butler, Shiyam, who offered to escort me to my room. But I wanted not to rush for a change, and lingered on the west-facing beach, sipping Prosecco while an adorable Asian couple (honeymooners, I’m sure) photograph each other against the setting sun. 

Aaaaah – young love!

Shiyam told me that he was from one of the southernmost islands in the country – south of the equator. He told me that the Maldives consists of 1,192 islands, scattered more than 500 miles from north to south and 150 miles from west to east. Only 200 are inhabited and another 110 are resorts – each property an island unto itself. 

It was well after dark when Shiyam drove me to my overwater villa in a golf cart. I looked longingly at my private plunge pool – but had to rush off for dinner. (Can’t miss a meal!)

Returning to my villa after dinner, I turned off the air conditioner and flung open the doors to the deck. I took out my laptop and started typing this blog until I fell asleep at the keyboard.

Blessedly, we have another full day and overnight to enjoy this paradise. I was supposed to go to a morning yoga class, and I was tempted to book a spa treatment, but I want to spend every possible moment of blissful, beautiful solitude in this private bungalow with a view of nothing but blue. I’m inspired to take a series of toe photos.

After breakfast and the obligatory site inspection of the property, I retreated back to my villa – one of 30 thatch-roofed bungalows built on concrete pylons jutting into the sea. I plunked down on the daybed on my deck. I plunged into my private plunge pool. I dried off in the sun on the daybed. There are two different ladders down to the sea – I wondered which I should choose?  (Decisions, decisions . . .). I looked out onto nothing but shades of blue and green. Far in the distance, waves broke on the reef. Periodically, a boat passed by heading to some other island. 

Rats …. time flew and suddenly it’s lunchtime. As much as I would LOVE to skip a meal, I had to interrupt my reverie to meet the Director of Sales and Marketing. He came here from his office in Malé to meet us. Anahat is originally from Delhi, but has been posted here in the Maldives for 18 months. His position requires frequent travel. Otherwise, I get the impression that he would go stark raving mad. It’s one thing to be a visitor, quite another to have to live on a coral atoll in the middle of the Indian Ocean, (or more specifically, the Laccadive Sea.)

He shared some fascinating facts with us: Tourism is the number one industry in this Muslim country where alcohol and pork products, among other things (like bibles), are forbidden. There is a 700% duty on imported goods (that is not a typo). Everything is imported except fish and coconuts. Gas is $27/gallon. The ADR (average daily rate) at this hotel is $850/night. Plus tax. Plus meals. Plus transfers and activities.

Business is booming. New resorts are cropping up. Luxury brands (Four Seasons, Aman, One & Only, etc.) have one or more hotels here already, with more on the drawing board. Obviously, this destination is not quite so distant for wealthy Asians, Russians and Europeans. Most Americans with big-budget travel plans will continue to flock to paradise places in the western hemisphere like Bora Bora, St. Barts or Brazil.

After dinner, I retreated back to my villa. The night-time view was almost as spectacular as the daytime …. with the artful application of dramatic blue lighting along the walkway.

Surprise! My butler had drawn a bubble bath sprinkled with rose petals. A candle flickered brightly.

Since he’d gone to all that trouble, I had no choice but to enjoy this indulgence. I shed my clothes and slipped into the tub. Sunk down to my chin. How had he timed everything so that the water was the perfect temperature and the bubbles were still fluffy and plentiful when I returned from dinner?

I exhaled and relaxed my shoulders – what a lucky, lucky girl am I!

After ten minutes, I climbed out. The warm, tropical air felt good on my skin. Bubbles trickled from my legs down to my ankles. I stepped out onto the deck and cautiously descended the ladder, submerging myself in the warm seawater. I floated on my back for awhile, looking up at the almost-full moon. Right around that moment I came to my senses: it was dark, I was naked and God only knows what Laccadive Sea creatures lurked nearby!

I scrambled up the ladder to the deck and flopped onto the chaise lounge. That’s where I spent my final night in the Maldives.

If I had been a rookie traveler, I’d be hard pressed to find any place more perfect than this!

---

Next week: My love affair with Oriental Sweetlips…

---

 

Comments?