Destination #8: Maldives
Maldives was my most anticipated destination before this trip all started. The famous Maldivian water bungalows, and ultra clear blue waters held the promise of beautiful relaxation and romance. Of course, I tried to lower my expectations, but my mind was already floating sky high (and I still haven't come down yet).
Once we landed in Male, we were immediately whisked away by boat to the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort. We arrived to Furanafushi Island late Tuesday night (June 28th) and were greeted with a lucky upgrade to the water bungalows! SWEET! Cliffton and I were obviously giddy and went to bed with sweet dreams of the ocean. The next morning we woke late and lazily frolicked in the ocean just outside our patio. Seeing Maldives the next morning was an immediate, "Wow". The ocean has probably the most crystal clear, turquoise water I've ever seen. It just may be the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Furanafushi Island, like all of the Maldivian islands is sinking, so the water around it is fairly shallow. Our island was also completely surrounded by coral reefs so it felt like a magical underwater playground. Anywho that night we basically spent our time getting drunkypoo at the club lounge.
Funny story: before we got to Maldives we decided to be fancy and buy some Moet at the KL airport before we left. When we got to the airport in Maldives and were going through customs, and they pointed at our champagne and signaled us over. We foolishly had been holding the Moet in the CLEAR plastic ziplock-type bag it was given to us in. Apparently, you cannot bring alcohol into Maldives!!! So our bottle was tagged and confiscated. Luckily they allowed us to collect it after our stay. But, nevertheless we were a little taken aback and felt slightly silly we didn't have the foresight to either hide it or just not buy it in the first place. Soooo after all that, turns out the club lounge in Sheraton has free Moet for all!! WOHOO! Cliffton and I found it was our duty to finish a whole bottle by ourselves. So we did!
The next day in Maldives we engaged in more "physical activities". We frolicked in the water again, snorkled, paddle boarded, and went tubing as well. Apparently, the tubing wasn't that exciting for Cliffy, but I was really scared! I do not like flipping off the tube and getting water in my nose. Or my bikini bottom falling off, which has happened to me before. Snorkeling in Maldives is quite good, we able to see a lot of tropical fish, a gross and squiggly-fat eel, reef sharks, a sting ray and a manta ray (the last three were viewable from our patio AFTER we got out of the water).
On Thursday, we did much of the same, but this time we also went parasailing. The parasailing in Maldives was excellent! I've only ever done it once before in Bali, where they launch you from the beach and you have to sort of taking a running start. But, our experience in Maldives was absolutely breathtaking. The parasail went up very high, and we went around the island. Cliffton and I were a little scared, but we were able to marvel at how truly special Maldives is. The water was clear enough that we could see all the corals, and even some of the larger parrot fish. It was hands down our favorite experience there. Later that night we watched the shark feeding at the bar. They're only little reef sharks, but I couldn't help but feel a little worried. I decided that if a reef shark wants to come my way I'll just roll up into a meatball and they won't be able to bite me. Cliffton thought my plan was dumb. Lol.
On Friday, our last full day on the island, it was a little rainy but luckily we were still able to eke out a few hours of calm waters and clear skies.
Our time in Maldives was truly enchanting. I think I sank into a mini depression when we left. Perhaps one day in the future we will be able to return to this magical place. But for now I'll just have to remember it by these pictures.
