12.2016 MALDIVES

Ahh, the Maldives. This was the trip that almost didn't happen. 

We had always thought and planned that Christmas 2016 would be spent hiking in Ethiopia. However, after discovering Ad's torn ACL, we decided that 10 days of hiking through valleys and volcanoes might not be a great decision. We knew we wanted a mix of adventure and relaxation so began brainstorming and Maldives+Sri Lanka beat out Seychelles + Cape Town. 

The Maldives is an island nation, comprising of 1000+ islands South West of India. What we knew of the Maldives prior to researching was very limited: clear blue water, overwater bungalows, and crazy expensive. All those things were true, especially the last point.

After (too) much deliberation, we decided on Centara Ras Fushi. Centara is a group of resorts and hotels originating from Thailand. It's a small, modern, adult-only island.

After 25min on the speedboat, we checking into our ocean front villa (103), we opened the balcony doors which have direct access to the beach, and we saw that the clear blue waters were even clearer and even bluer than we could have imagined.

Day One was spent between the beach and the water. We (I) are not usually swimming people, but the water was too tempting. And also, it was warm! :D Being a Thai resort (and another reason we chose this place), there was a Thai restaurant where we decided to have lunch - including very spicy green curry. We snorkelled by the Vui Bar, and saw a lot of fish, including a reef shark. At 5pm, there was a fish feeding during which we saw tons of fish and reef sharks from out of the water. Ad saw a couple snorkelling during this time and decided that we would do the same the next day at 5pm. Before the sunset, we played a few rounds of Pelanque - I won. Well, the first game, Ad won the second because he got a case of beginner's envy and became very competitive. As we finished up our game, we watched our first Maldivian sunset on a clear day. 

Day Two we had planned to get up early but that didn't quite happen. We did decide to take a kayak out to explore the further reaches of the water and that was beautiful. The beach was a bit loud and crowded and being out in the middle of the ocean was extremely peaceful. We ate at the Italian restaurant for lunch (yummy risotto), and did the 5pm fish feeding snorkel. We did the special dinner at the Arabian restaurant - hot and cold mezze platters. 

Day 3 marked our move to the overwater bungalow! We were quite happy with the beachfront room and of course Ad was sceptical about if an overwater bungalow was really worth it. We were lucky and had a choice so selected #323 on the long tail. As we walked out onto the balcony, we knew it was going to be more than worth it. The uninterrupted view of endless water and privacy were so soothing. As we moved in in the afternoon, the current was quite strong so we weren't too sure about snorkelling but Ad braved it first and as we swam out to the reef edge, we were continually amazed by the beautiful and bountiful fish. For the first time in my life (I think), I saw live, bright blue coral. All this right from our overwater bungalow =) 

Day 4 we actually and finally did manage to wake up early to take advantage of the room. We had an early workout and breakfast, took some photos and then just relaxed and swam until it was time to go (saddest!). 

Overall, the Maldives was a dream =) It more than lives up to the expectations we had. The water and swimming (and rooms), were unlike anything we've ever experienced - even though we've been to our fair share of beaches. For once, this is one place that I'd love to visit again =)