Pristine Beauty !! A traveler's paradise !! - Maldives

I had visited Maldives in May 2015. It is an archipelago of around 1000 islands. Most of the islands are not inhabited. We travelled from Kochi in South India to Maldives. We had direct flights only from Kochi and Trivandrum in India to Maldives. The Ibrahim Nasir International Airport is situated at a separate island (Hulhule) away from the main city of Male. All islands are connected to the airport vide speed boats. We had our reservation in Taj Exotica, which was about 15 minutes by boat from the airport. Most of the islands in Maldives have one single resort as the only dwelling of that island, giving the vacationers privacy and tranquility. Upon reaching there, we were welcomed by the traditional song and dance of the place and taken to our private villa. The resort was in the middle of pristine blue waters. It had snow-white sand covering the surface of land. The rooms were made of wood with some concrete to support the structure.

The temperatures were hot and humid, but would cool down in the evening due to a pleasant sea-breeze. There is no electricity on most of the islands in Maldives, so all machinery are powered by diesel operated DG sets or LPG. Due to this reason, it gets a little dark at night. There are very few high intensity lamps.

The main city of Male was about 20 minutes from the resort. The travel by boat from one island to another is very expensive in Maldives. Our ride cost us about USD 100 per couple. There was nothing much to do in Male (except shopping). We started getting a familiar feeling of urban chaos. Hence, we quickly rushed back to our resort.

All recreational facilities were available at the resort. All kinds of water sports like Snorkeling, Scuba Diving, Catamaran Sailing, Kayaking, Windsurfing, Parasailing, Water Skiing, Banana Boat Rides etc were available. I went for a Scuba with a trained instructor from PADI. The duration of the activity was about 3-4 hours. It began with a classroom session, then a training session in shallow waters, followed by the actual dive of about 45 minutes. The experience was awesome. The coral life around the island was vivid and stunning. The ride cost me around USD 190 + taxes. Snorkeling was free of charges, in case you were confident of going alone.

In addition to these, Shark and String-ray feeding sessions were organized daily. We got to see a small Shark as well. There was a shopping arcade, snooker room, library etc at the resort. There were many specialty restaurants also. The food had all variety. There were Indian, Chinese, Thai, Continental and Mediterranean delicacies as part of the food menu. People were kept engaged with regular fun-filled activities organized by the hotel staff like sack race, crab race etc.

Maldives is a paradise for people looking for serenity and tranquility. You would be living on a secluded island with not many other places or options to explore though. A must try if you want to leave behind city life and find some peace. Ideal duration of travel would be around 5-6 days.

Happy Travelling !!