travel inspired

The concept of understanding another language or even using another currency is not really relevant in the Maldives if you are staying on an island resort.  I had the opportunity to visit the islands since I was already in Sri Lanka and it was an hour flight to the islands.  Why not?  Taking full advantage of hotel points, I booked four nights at the SAii resort in the Maldives.  

The pre-flight experience took longer than the actual flight.  But isn’t that the case in many airports these days?  First a line for security, then I had to wait for the check-in line to open.  But there were only a few people in line so I anticipated a quick experience.  Oh no.  It was another 45 minutes to “fast drop” a bag at check-in.  Even though I had already checked in online.  Then there were the emigration lines and another security line.  The airport seemed much too small to handle the massive morning crowd.  And it was not comforting to take off into rain when my destination was supposed to be a sunny island.  After landing, it was another 40 minute wait for my bag to discover the airline had completely torn off the zipper toggle on a brand new bag.  At least they didn’t tear out the zipper.  I’ve never had that happen before with over 35 years of travel. Next, I found the resort rep and waited for more passengers to board the boat to the island.  And then the rain began in earnest.  At least there was a canopy on the boat and no lightning as we zoomed across the water to enjoy a few days of sun and ocean swims.  

I had reserved a second story room with a view of the beach and ocean (photo above) from my balcony.  It was the perfect place to sit and read after a day swimming in the ocean.  The rooms were beautiful and the amenities were plentiful – beach towels, a beach bag, free snacks at reception, free golf cart rides around the island, water in the rooms, free breakfast, and even a "welcome" bottle of champagne with a basket of snacks.  

After talking to some of the staff working at the resort, I found many were from Sri Lanka, such as a young woman at the gelato place who was happy to chat with me about her life on the island.  Everyone was so friendly and helpful.  It was a wonderful break from running like crazy in Sri Lanka but my key thought was “It’s beautiful here but it doesn’t feel real.”

Luckily, sunny skies prevailed over the rich turquoise blue waters for the rest of my visit.  I could relax under an umbrella at one of the resort beaches, taking breaks to swim in the ocean, and I could use a free mask and snorkel from the dive shop.  

I’m not a big fan of staying at resorts.  I don’t like being restricted to an area because I like to explore.  But on this trip, it was my intention to relax a bit and spend time swimming in the ocean.  The swimming was great because the water was clear and cool enough to be refreshing but warm enough to be inviting.  As I swam around, there were multiple fish sporting stripes, and bright blues and greens, and the elegant long trumpetfish.  At one point, something crashed into my leg but it was gone before I could identify the culprit.  There were small sharks around but who knows?  The relaxing part was more difficult – other people wanted to smoke, drink, and chat incessantly as they lounged on the beach and it was sometimes difficult to find a chair far enough away from the noise and smoke.

The meals became an interesting experience.  I was warned to make reservations for my meals but when I would arrive for dinner the restaurants were deserted with only one or two other patrons.  Did they give me an early reservation to save space for larger parties later?  I really didn’t know.  I did find many of the food portions to be small and very expensive.  It was easy to spend $100 a day on lunch and dinner.  And that was for an entrée, a small side, and maybe a drink.  For example, at one restaurant, known for the crab, it was about $90 for a small serving.  It was $40 for a prawn.  Just one.  And I spent  $6 on a piece of bread. But I did find the resort breakfast to be a luxury – food from every culture, eggs made to order, and cappuccino or other beverages made on request.  I also enjoyed a delicious almond lemonade drink at lunch a couple of days and had some good sushi one night for dinner.  

Since I wanted to explore, I walked all around the little island complex since there were numerous buildings housing restaurants and shops.  But many of the buildings were empty and the restaurants looked equally deserted.  Perhaps I was there in the off season as there were no key holidays in early March.  And why were there no insects anywhere?  What poison might I have been inhaling to make it so?  It’s hot and beautiful and like a plastic facsimile of a perfect retreat. A most unusual place.

With only a few days, I decided to squeeze in a massage one afternoon. It was pure luxury.  And I was not the only guest with this idea.  The spa seemed to be a busier place than the restaurants.  My other adventure was to book a snorkeling expedition. It was a morning expedition and the boat seemed to be full of English citizens.  They drove us out to a reef wall where we jumped off the boat to begin our swim.  There were so many colorful fish to see!  Schools of cobalt blues, bright oranges, yellows, and we even saw one turtle swimming along the reef wall.  No sharks to pose a threat.  The biggest threat was trying not to get kicked by someone in the group.  The group did not seem to be experienced snorkelers or swimmers and the strong current made it difficult to get back into the boat.  But what a wonderful way to spend several hours in the ocean!

In the end, it was a nice way to spend a few days but I would prefer to be able to move around a bit more, spending time enjoying the water and mixing with some locals.  I guess I’ll just have to go again…