The first place that comes to mind when one thinks of pristine blue waters and rich coral reefs is Maldives. I was also one of those who was completely enthralled by the pictures and snapshots of the seascapes. To say that pictures and movies have not done justice to the beauty of the place would be an understatement!
My first glimpse of the island country while hovering above Male International Airport did not disappoint me but I was surprised at how densely populated the capital city was. This is not to say that Male is a budding New York but the small buildings painted in varied colors and the proximity of the buildings to each other did surprise me. But to be fair to the Maldivians, this is after all a country that is made up of hundreds of islands and to build a capital city on the available land is definitely a remarkable achievement.
The beautiful views of the Indian Ocean definitely did not disappoint me. The ocean stretched out as far as one could see the horizon. You can definitely just imagine how beautiful the sunrise and sunsets would have been. The view of the massive ocean just gave me a sense of how difficult it would have been for the earliest explorers to even go beyond what was known in their times. Christopher Columbus was truly a visionary to even imagine the possibility of sailing the mighty oceans to explore farther lands. His exemplary journey is put even more into perspective when we realize that the thinking of the time was that the earth was flat and not round.
In addition to the beautiful landscape, what stood out most for me was the warmth of the people. They were ever ready to help and seemed genuinely interested in helping you out. There was a congenial atmosphere between the different hotels and resorts that was completely unexpected. Employees from a particular hotel willingly dropped off visitors to other resorts who happened to miss their mode of transportation, which just goes to show the genuine warmth of the Maldivians. My experience with hotels in other regions has shown me that most often there is this subtle underlying competition to try and outdo each other. It was almost as if the Maldivians had adopted the principle that there are enough people visiting the Maldives and enough hotels to accommodate these people so there is no point in competing with one another. It would be fantastic if people in different situations adopted this philosophy without feeling the need to outdo one another.
Being a vegetarian, I was unfortunately not able to fully appreciate the traditional dishes, which are primarily seafood based. I was however able to appreciate the influences that Maldives has had on its culture and cuisine because of its location on historical trading routes. One can see the prominent influences from the Indian subcontinent and most Maldivians can trace their ancestry to the subcontinent as well.
Maldives is truly a place where you can feel one with nature. I was truly able to appreciate the beauty and the wonders of nature in the 5 days that I spent there. Swimming and snorkeling in the water gave me a chance to observe things that I would not have taken the time out to do otherwise. When you are in a place where there is nothing else to do but swim, surf and spend you time in the sun, it is then that you truly realize what you are missing in your day-to-day life. This is what truly constitutes a vacation: when you do not have an alarm clock that has to be set, when you do not have a planned agenda that you need to stick to and can spend the day as you like.
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