Maldives

October 2022

What do you get your wife for a 60th birthday present? Wendy had mentioned that she had always wanted to visit the Maldives and when the post Covid holiday bargains appeared in early 2022, I found an all inclusive package for October. Wendy’s birthday was in August but we were too busy with the Holiday Cottage over the summer months. Then in late August, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and all bets were off. After various tests, scans and meetings with a consultant, the holiday fitted in before a meeting with the surgeon, so with amended travel insurance we went for it. The holiday had been paid for back in June so we had nothing to lose.

I had tried to make it as comfortable as possible so on the night of October 10th we drove to a Holiday Inn in Slough. The following morning, we left the car at a dodgy looking outfit who took us Heathrow Terminal 5. Checked in, we tried to relax in a packed VIP lounge. Once aboard the 12.30 British Airways flight to Doha, we sat in the runway for ninety minutes while they tried to ‘extract’ a catering truck.

Seven hours later we landed in Doha, Qatar around 10.30pm local time where our six hour layover had been reduced to four and a half. Doha was gearing up for the World Cup in November and the modern impressive airport had a giant version of the mascot – a sad looking yellow teddy bear and shops flogging World Cup merchandise with football shirts ambitiously priced at $140. I had last visited Doha in 2010 and driven around the (mostly) desert country in a day. But the airport seemed to have expanded beyond belief to become one of the major airport hubs in the world.

We boarded a Qatar Airways flight around 3am local time for the four hour flight south to Male, Maldives arriving at 10am local time. A hotel rep met us and escorted us to a VIP lounge where we could relax, snack and not enjoy any alcoholic beverage (the Maldives are a Muslim country), while the rep checked us and our luggage onto a local flight with Maldivian Airways to Gan around seventy five minutes south.

The rep came back to tell us the 50 seater plane was boarding for the 12.30 flight. It was pouring with rain with the tail end of the monsoon season. I had visited the Maldives back in February 2000 and the only difference I could see was a new long road bridge from the airport island to the city centre. I had had to catch a ferry on my earlier visit. As we took off, we could gaze down on many of the Maldivian islands mostly all used as resort centres and wonderful turquoise/sky blue seas. After an hour, we touched down at another Island where some passengers got off and some got on. Once in the air again, the air hostess presented us with certificates to confirm that we had crossed the Equator. Landing at the tiny Gan Airport and collecting our luggage, we were met by another resort rep who escorted us to a speedboat for the crossing of the Addu Atoll to our island for the next week.

The South Palms Resort is less than five years old and was originally attached to the island of Hulhumeedhoo but a channel was dug to separate it. Docking at a wooden pier, we walked to the reception area where we were given a drink and our keys. There was a line of spacious beach villas on the beach front. Our one was only four away from reception which made it easy to visit the restaurant, bar and swimming pool. The beach villa comprised of a spacious bedroom with air con, fan and TV, a storage area and counter with kettle/tea/coffee and fridge. There was also a bathroom with shower, two sinks and an outside shower in an enclosed area and sunbed. Out front were two sun loungers and a table with two chairs and a view of the gorgeous sea less than 75 feet away. We were very impressed.

Meal times were breakfast 7-9, lunch 12.30-2 and dinner 7-9pm. There was a vast choice of food which varied every day. Much of it was cooked to order. There was for example, a BBQ night and a Maldivian food night (where the staff all wore traditional costumes), lots of Indian dishes, excellent salads and desserts. Our waiter brought us tea/coffee/water or alcoholic drinks during lunches and evenings. We were really impressed with the food. All the staff were very friendly and couldn’t do enough to help.

The daytime temperatures were around 30’c and roasting. For the first two evenings we were battered for short periods by the tail end of the monsoon season which then disappeared for the rest of our stay. We had some spectacular red, orange and purple sunsets.

Our days were spent relaxing (which made a change), sunbathing, reading, snorkelling or swimming, interspersed with cocktails or glasses of ice cold beer. I was surprised at the lack of fish while snorkelling even around the piers. But the water was almost bath temperature and was lovely to wallow in. Especially since many people hung around the swimming pool instead which meant we had it to ourselves. I think there were less than 100 guests staying during our week.

The island was only about half a mile long and 300ft wide. I went for a wander to the far end where the ‘delux’ villas were perched on a pier out at sea where they could walk down from the villa to the sea. We preferred having a beach. There was a small lagoon where there was a ‘floating spa’. I didn’t see any birds either. A fruit bat would appear around dusk and flap around the palm trees.

On one day, I went scuba diving with a 72 year old American called Butch. We were taken by boat off the island to the coral walls for a couple of dives down around 20m. There were lots of small fish and decent coral. I spotted three small turtles. It was what I’d call average diving. Nice stuff to see but nothing out of this world. I guess the more places I dive, the more it takes to impress me.

There was evening entertainment. On one evening we saw local Maldivian girls dancing to the rhythms of a band of drummers. On another, a trio of musicians played decent covers. In the restaurant, they would have a guitarist or piano player during the evening meal. I was shocked when a young musician sang and played ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ by David Bowie. I went up to him afterwards and asked where he had discovered this song. He said that he learnt songs from ‘You Tube’. The world is getting smaller.

On our last day, a speedboat left the pier at 1pm and took us across the atoll back to the island with Gan Airport. A couple were most put out when we were asked to dispense with any alcohol and they had to give us a $50 bottle of champagne won in a resort games night. Checking on, we waited to board the 3pm departure back to Male. At Male, we were met by the resort rep who took us back to the VIP lounge to wait for our flight to Doha. We made the most of the snacks and coffee machine.

The four hour Qatar Airways flight to Doha left at 9pm. There was supposedly only an hour’s layover before the British Airways connection but the airport was huge and crowded. Reliability, British Airways flight of 00.45 was delayed 90 minutes so we got to the departure gate with time to spare. For the 7 hour flight, we had the middle row of 4 seats to ourselves so Wendy stretched out over 3 of them and slept most of the flight while I watched movies. We touched down around 7am to darkness and ferocious rain. Welcome home.

If you want a beach holiday where there is really nothing to do, the Maldives won’t let you down. We were so relaxed at the end that we wouldn’t have minded another week if it was on a different island. For someone who is usually a manic travelling, it was a nice change. Of course, the most rewarding thing is that the Maldives been everything that Wendy wanted and was delighted with her present.