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TRAVEL
Maldives
Melt Away All Malaise
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ANNI V ERSARY
MALE, REPUBLIC OF MALDIVES -- How many times can you say “It’s so beautiful”?
How about 1,197, or once for each island in the Maldives (pronounced “maul-deeves”)?
by: Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher
Flying in over some
of the palm-fringed
specks that make up
the 26 atolls, it’s as
if precious stones in
Maldives: mouth-gaping bands of Indian Ocean
every shade of blue were tossed
from the heavens. Ring-like coral
formations encircle lagoons.
The Maldives quickly melt
away every malaise, delivering
not only mouth-gaping bands of
Indian Ocean but an extraordinary
vacation for honeymooners,
romantics, luxe travelers, spa
connoisseurs, families, and
especially divers. Still, a lot of
travelers have not heard of the
tropical, exotic islands.
Dive Director Alexis Vincent of Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
says, “I get that a lot: Mal-what? What’s that?” The “what” is blissful
isolation in an increasingly luxury market.
Only about 200 islands are inhabited by natives, and another 87
currently hold resorts, most of them five- and even
six-stars.
Anantara resort’s general manager Dominick
Ruhl comments: “I like to say it’s a thousand stars.”
Straddling the equator, the Maldives are an
85-mile-wide and 475-mile-long swath of atolls
south of India about 300 miles southwest of Sri
Lanka. The Maldives are 99 percent water, with a
total land mass of 115 square miles. A third of the
population, 89,000, live on Male, the capital, making
it the world’s densest capital.
These islands, largely undiscovered by Americans,
are popular with the British, Germans, Japanese,
Koreans and Russians. Italians, in 1972, are attributed
with the start of tourism, and there are still a couple of
predominantly “Italian” islands.
Vacationing here requires two decisions: First, your traveling
companion. Mostly couples and families come here. Second is choosing
your resort, especially important here, as there’s little interaction with the
native islanders. In fact, visiting a local island, as they’re called, requires
an invitation, though nearly any resort will be able to offer you a tour.
If you visit the Maldives, get under the water; otherwise, you’ll
miss what attracts many, the amazing sea life. Some proclaim it the
best diving in the world. Conrad’s dive director put it this way: “For
diving worldwide, I would say, it’s the most consistently good diving
especially in regards to the variety and abundance.”
At any of the five-star resorts - and there are loads - offerings will
include diving, sunset and dolphin cruises, traditional Maldivian hand-
Cradsouba: If you visit the Maldives, get under the water;
otherwise, you’ll miss what attracts many, the amazing sea life.
8 The International Indian
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