Magical Maldives

A great escape from the hustle and bustle of city life to the friendly and intimate beaches of this island nation in the Indian Ocean

THANIN WEERADET

The Maldives is a dream destination for today's working people who crave for an escape to high-quality beaches. Whenever you mention this island nation in the Indian Ocean to your friends and tell them you are travelling there, they flash envious glances.

These days the dream island is served by Bangkok Airways that connects Bangkok to Male, its capital, in a mere four hours. In fact, the airline began the flights two years ago but they were suspended after it was hit by a tsunami not long after.

Located southwest of Sri Lanka, the Maldives is a tiny nation comprising 1,190 coral islands stretching 820 kilometres north to south and 120 kilometres east to west. No more than 200 islands are inhabited of which 87 have tourist resorts. Tourism is the Maldives' main industry.

Many resorts sit on coral islands. Once there, the island is your world. I had a chance to stay at the Club Med Kani on the island of Kanifinholu, 20 kilometres from the capital.

By the time we arrived in Male, dusk was approaching. The Club Med speed boat was waiting for us at a pier next to the airport. It was a turbulent 30-minute ride on choppy seas to the property where a team of GO (gentle organisers) were present to welcome us.

It is a culture here to call guests GM (gentle members) and staffers who run the property GO, and then there are the GEs (gentle employees).

Like its sister properties elsewhere, Club Med Kani guests enjoy three meals a day with unlimited drinks and wine. The package is usually all-inclusive with a few exceptions, such as drinks at the bar, discovery tours and scuba diving lessons. Guests checking in are required to make a deposit with credit card if they want to spend extra during their stay. They are given coupons with which they pay when making purchases at the resort.

We were given a brief introduction and orientation before proceeding to our rooms. It was late in the evening and the first thing that caught my attention was not the restaurant, the bar or its smiling staff but a colossal tree that looked liked ficus towering over the restaurant, beyond which were a lot of tropical trees and garden plants.

The next day was quite relaxing as I walked freely around the property which sprawled over the whole coral island. It took me half an hour to walk from the north to south end during which I admired the garden landscape and villas both on land and in water. Couples from European countries were lounging by the large swimming pool, others were basking in the sun on the beach. The villas ranged from a single room with simple decoration to upscale romantic villas rising above water, for honeymoon couples.

The sea was sparklingly clear and turquoise. Swimming in its shallow water was fun as it was teeming with various marine life forms ranging from the tiny clown fish to baby shark, but no sea urchins. A warning sign told guests not to venture beyond a point where the current was unexpectedly strong and the seabed strewn with sharp rocks and coral.

Active guests took to the swimming pool where aerobic dancing in water was in progress, or went windsurfing. Yoga classes were also on offer. Less active patrons played ping-pong, pool or indulged in batik painting. Some just lay on the beach and watched the waves breaking against atolls in the distance.

In the afternoon I went snorkelling. Before setting out we were given a safety briefing and strictly advised to follow the procedures. The 45-minute excursion was less than satisfactory as the vessel dropped us off at a point where coral was not that appealing. Besides, there were just too many snorkellers cramming the space. The only thing good was that we got to see many fish. Everywhere on the sandy beach hermit crabs, from very tiny ones to inch-long specimen, were out in force.

Isolation can cause a cheap resource like water to become pricey. The resort has a strange policy when it comes to bottled water. In most resorts, bottled water is replenished every day. Here, we got a complimentary big bottle on the first day of our arrival and told if we required more we would have to walk to the Iru Bar, approximately 300-400 metres from our rooms, and then too only two small bottles. However, a sign in the room did say tap water was drinkable, while a selection of drinks packages were also available in the room.

A sense of timelessness overtakes visitors here. I had a chance to visit a coral island where the Soneva Gili is located. Its manager revealed that it was the resort's policy to move the clock ahead by one hour because that way guests would repair at the proper time and be up early next morning to watch sunrise which is extremely beautiful on this island.

There is another reason: when on holiday people seem to lose their sense of urgency. Getting to the airport from the resort requires one hour and that includes checking out and waiting for the speed boat. It makes sense to be up an hour early. After all, there have been several cases of guests missing their flights.

MORE INFO

Bangkok Airways (http://www.bangkokair.com) flies to Male twice a week - Monday and Thursday. Flying time is four hours. The airline is offering promotional round-trip airfares priced 16,500 baht/head for two persons travelling together until March 24. The fare does not include airport tax and insurance, and the tickets must be issued in Thailand.

Contacts: Vacances Siam (tel: 02-253-0108, fax: 02-253-9778, http://www.clubmed.co.th) and Club Med Kani (tel: 960-664-3152, fax: 960-664-4859, email: kanccrec02@clubmed.com).

Please note:

- Pork and alcohol are prohibited in public, although resorts do serve alcoholic drinks.

- National currency is the Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) and laaree. One rufiyaa is made up of 100 laarees. One MVR is equivalent to three to four baht, while one US dollar is worth 12 MVR.

- Travellers automatically get a 30-day visa on arrival at Male Airport.

- Dhivehi is the official language while English is also widely spoken.

- Work days are Sunday to Thursday from 7:30am-2:30pm in government offices and 9am-5pm in the private sector. Weekends are Friday and Saturday, although most private sector businesses are open half day on Saturday.

- The national power grid operates at 230-240 volts.

Bangkok Post
Friday February 02, 2007