The beauty of nature blows me away. It was a perfect setting in Maldives for a romatic getaway or simply that unforgettable escapade of a lifetime to just invigorate and reenergize oneself. Just 4 hours away from Singapore lies this little piece of heaven. Landing on Male, the capital of Maldives doesn't quite give one a clue that we were in fact at the doorstep of paradise. Male is a humble little city which is as down to earth as it gets.
We landed late at night and we found reprise at Huvanfen Fushi, a resort 30 minutes away from Male. We were greeted at the Male International Airport by the host of Huvan Fushi who guided us to our transfer in a speedboat. The seas were not on my side that particular night, it was particularly choppy and i felt extremely sea sick. I had a hard time containing my inflight dinner. I definitely did not want to make a scene on the start of my escapade in a boat filled with 4 other Japanese couples.
Not long after, we had arrived and were welcomed by oodles of warmth and huge smiles served with a fresh chill concoction of lemongrass. It was refreshing and the service continued to be impeccable and it surely made that nasty boat ride worth it.
The Maldivian sky is pitched black with little glistering stars. It was beautiful. It was my first time seeing such clear skies despite the strong winds. This started to feel rather surreal.
We checked into our Lagoon Bungalow and the room was perfect. It was decked in a contemporary decor.
When morning came, i was welcomed by the glittering clear, turquoise waters. Maldives truly lived up to its name. The lagoon was beautiful and the waters was nothing like anything i've ever seen.
I couldn't resist taking a dip before leaving the resort!
Our stay was short-lived as my picky travel partner who was familiar with Maldives decided that the morning in the resort was enough and we should move on to explore another resort.
A last look at the resort...
Traveling across the Indian Ocean gave me a taste of true freedom with the vastness of the ocean with no land in sight.
A short ride away laid another beautiful rustic resort called Soneva Gili (now known as Gili Lankanfushi Maldives)
The decor of this one is very different from Huvan Fushi. The Crusoe Residences Villa was only accessible by boat. Each villa was designed with the utmost attention to detail, and the theme of this resort emphasized heavily on being environmentally friendly and the villa was built mainly of natural recycable materials. It is amazing how creative they were with simple twigs and branches. To top it off, there was a private water garden and sun deck, as well as a separate shower linked to your bathroom by an open-air walkway. It allowed the experience of showering outdoors.
The view looking out...
The view of the standalone villa...
Definitely a place with plenty of privacy with the neighbouring villa some distance away....
View looking towards the main island where the hotel reception and restaurants are...
And when dusk draws near, it is simply picturesque watching the setting sun...
Just being ONE with the sky in the moment makes me realize how insignificant we humans are.
One of the more memorable meals at the resort was dining under the stars on the beach really close to the edge of the waters...
It was an interesting experience just dining with my bare feet digging into the fine soft sand. The moment really connected me to Mother Earth and her greatness.
And the highlight of the meal was the "home-made" sorbet ice cream ... this has got to be one of the most natural and tasty sorbets i ever had... i couldn't get enough as you can see... 8 scoops in total! woohoo!!
During dinner, i can't help but notice some visitors...
The villa by night... (the pictures don't do it justice, wish i had better ones!)
The beach had the most gorgeous dead corals and shells, i couldn't resist... all in a day's job!
The next day at the beach....
adding on to my collection...
I could live here forever...
We took a walk to the jetty that day and a fishing boat had just docked. The leatherback turtles were caught in the fishing nets...
The eco-system is everything to the local people and especially the folks at Soneva Gili, they immediately washed up the turtles and released them back to the sea...
The turtles were gorgeous and i can imagine why, since they live in such clean and beautiful waters...
Everyone watched as the turtles found their way back into the sea, and we all clapped!
It was such a touching moment, it is just the kindness towards these sacred creatures that made it really heartwarming to know that hope for these endangered species lives.
TBC...
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