Maldives Baby!

The view from the resort room.
Having walked down to the beach... 15 steps from the resort room and complete privacy. Thing is, Maldives is made up of close to 1,190 islands out of which about 200 are inhabited. Each island is actually a RESORT and freakshly expensive. Hnece the only people you wll find here are tourists and the resort management. NO locals, NO horrible men staring you down, nothing.


The coffee shop at Giravaru island where we stayed for a night. If your going to Maldives, and plan to stay at a resort, (if your not planning to go to a resort and stay, then dont go) be prepared to shell out anything between 500$ - 750$ per head per night. Laguna, Bandos
are among the few you ought to head to if you have that kind of a budget.

The View from the hotel room at Male - Hotel Relax Inn. The small island to the extreme right is actually an oil depot, and the tiny island next to it, is a jail!

Some little facts about Maldives -

• Male, is the smallest capital city in the world. It has a total length of about 7 kms and you can walk from one end to the other.
• It is a strictly Islamic country and all local women wear Muslim scarves on their head.
• You cant get a drop of alcohol on the island of Male due to strict Islamic policy. Many efforts by the men on the trip to 'do setting' led to nothing. How to beat this is to go to Hulhule, the airport island and hang out at the bar there. (Male doesnt serve alcohol but mostly all the islands in and around do)
• IT IS EXPENSIVE.
• Snorkeling and the Whale submarine are a MUST.

I am now close to 3 shades darker than i was when i left Mumbai, with no complaints. Being the water freak that i am, lets just say that the Indian ocean i saw on this trip has left me dizzy with its sheer beauty and wanting more. Anyone planning a trip there soon, ask me about the do's and dont's. Cos believe me there are quite a few.