Paradise Found

By Kamin Mohammadi

Lying In the Indian ocean, the coral islands of the Maldives have become a Mecca for well-heeled travellers in search of exotic bliss

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Gazing down from the plane as we started our descent, it hardly seemed credible.

A dozen palm tree-topped islands edged by white beach were drizzled across the turquoise ocean, looking exactly like islands in a children’s picture book. The fit so precisely the collective fantasy of desert islands that it takes a while to adjust your sense of reality and realise that no, it’s not all a dream.


The Maldives is a chain of 1192 small coral islands arranged in a series of clusters, or atolls, lying low in the Indian Ocean, 600km south west of Sri Lanka. Stretching up from the equator in a vertical strip covering over 750km, only 202 of the islands are inhabited, while 99 per cent of the country’s territory is made up by the sea. There are no rivers or mountains and none of the islands rise to more than 2.4 metres above sea level. But the real action is in the sea: there are reefs and lagoons aplenty populated by the most stunning array of brilliantly-coloured fish, with each atoll surrounded by a coral reef, and a reef and a crystal clear lagoon surrounding each island. The islands are generally quite infertile but tall coconut palms thrive and the beaches are pure white and soft.


Trying to determine how many islands make up the Maldivian archipelago has been an uncertain task. As you will see as you fly over the islands, it is almost impossible to distinguish between a reef basking just below the surface of the water and a sand bank poking just above.


The geography is constantly evolving: the next storm or high tide may bring about a change,
so the government have decided that it is a matter of vegetation. But that too is fraught with uncertainty: tiny round islands are topped by one coconut palm, like a comic strip castaway island – do they qualify? To the Maldivians, the distinction is between inhabited and uninhabited, but it’s important to remember that ‘inhabited’ means only those islands with Maldivian villages. The resort islands are, officially, uninhabited. And since all foreigners must head to a resort, it is worth bearing in mind that for the length of your holiday, you really will be castaway on your own uninhabited island.


Tourism in the Maldives kicked off in 1972 when George Corbin, an Italian entrepreneur, brought 12 guests – mostly travel writers – to what he was convinced was the perfect holiday destination. They found a nation unchanged for decades, 93,000 residents without a single policeman or phone and one car. Within a year a handful of self-contained resorts had opened. By the end of the decade, President Gayoom had passed tourism laws which have safeguarded the islands and ensured the Maldives a cut of any tourism income ever since.


At school Maldivians are taught that ‘cultural conflict is the most undesired effect of mass tourism as it upsets the harmony of life in the host country’ and indeed, the Maldives have successfully resisted dilution of their conservative Islamic culture by restricting tourism to the uninhabited islands. With visitor figures reaching a booming 360,000 in 1998 (the local population stands at around 300,000), the 1979 law showed amazing foresight, restricting building to the height of the surrounding trees, stating that trees cannot be cut down without prior permission from the Ministry, and that resorts must not take water from ‘inhabited’ islands. In 1982, the new department for tourism (later to become the Ministry) identified ‘the Robinson Crusoe factor’ as key to the Maldives’ appeal; all the resorts occupy their own self-contained worlds, made of natural materials and free from traffic and crime, catering to modern-day Crusoes with abundant creature comforts.


The Four Seasons Resort at Kuda Huraa understands perfectly that, though we may want to be castaways, we also want clean towels for the beach and fruit cocktails on tap. The brochure promises ‘the closest to what we deem as heaven on earth’, and having spent a week there, it’s impossible to argue. The Four Seasons’ effect starts as soon as we get off the plane, the resort’s luxurious motor launch picks us up from Hulule airport in Malé – the capital is perhaps the Maldives’ only uninviting island, teetering with high-rise buildings – speeding across the sea for the half hour it takes to get to Kuda Huraa, accompanied by pods of dolphins and bellyflopping flying fish.


As we enter the lagoon, the tiny island rises out of impossibly clear green water, plam trees swaying, thatched bungalows peeking through the foliage, and a row of Water Villas built on stilts in the water snaking away from the island like a tail. Near the other end of the island sits another, smaller island with a central pavilion building and a few bungalows perched over the water. This is the newly-opened spa, a world of wooden floors, billowing cotton, delicious smells and exquisite treatments, populated by white-uniformed therapists and serene-looking guests.


We are greeted at the main island jetty by the staff, beaming with friendly welcome, and led to the reception area. For those, like me, who have never experienced the tropics, the openness of the buildings can come as a surprise, but actually the play between the indoor and outdoor areas is perfectly measured throughout the resort. After checking in, I am led to a golf buggy which chugs the few yards to my bungalow. Although walking round the whole island takes no more than 15 minutes, golf buggies are on hand for guests who feel too relaxed to bother.


The resort has two types of accomodation with variations within both category: Beach Bungalows, or Water Villas. The latter are an ingenious way to get around building regulations stating that no development must occupy more than 20 per cent of an island’s area. And here on Kuda Huraa there are 38 Water Villas, all with thatched roofs and extensive decking, offering absolute privacy. And the Beach Bungalows all have a small tropical garden shielding them from the path, also making them very private. Of the choices of different types of Beach Bungalows, I stayed in one with a plunge pool at the front and an outdoor shower set in the back of the bathroom. I counted 30 paces from my bed to the shoreline where the waves were lapping the sand. Dipping in my pool in the evening, or eating the tropical frit left in the room every day while lounging on my poolside divan left me in no doubt as to where I preferred to be staying.


When I eventually emerged from the bliss of my bungalow with its cool terracotta tiled floor and massive bed draped with mosquito net, it took me ten minutes to walk around the whole island. This holiday is not for the hyperactive; though the island has a brilliant dive centre, a gym, a water sports centre, a library with internet connection and business facilities for those who must communicate with the outside world, besides a well-stocked bar, three very delicious restaurants serving different cuisines, the wonderful new spa and day trips to other islands, this is really a place to kick back and relax. The large oval infinity pool is exquisite: built above the lagoon, the water spills over its sides and the whole just seems to extend into the lagoon itself.


However, I tore myself away from the pool and endless fresh fruit cocktails to check out the dive centre where I had booked a four day PADI open water diving course. On my second morning on the island, I found myself in a classroom with four other diving students, all of us staring wistfully out of the window at the sunshine and wondering why on earth we were pouring over books when paradise beckoned. But by the third day of the course, when we went for our first dive in open water (until then we had become familiar with our equipment in the pool), we understood why. As we all struggled with our bouyancy and the extraordinary fact that we were actually breathing, a shoal of technicolour fish materialised around us and, our eyes wide with wonder, we forgot about everything that was odd or uncomfortable and collectively fell in love. The waters of the Maldives contain three-quarters of the world’s reef-fish species and are world famous for diving. It is estimated that over 60 per cent of visitors to the islands do some diving and that even among honeymooners, 50 per cent will dive. As my instructor pointed out when we emerged from the water with wide smiles, when you learn to dive in the Maldives, you are spoilt for ever.


Once qualified, I headed out for my first ‘real’ dive, away from the house reef. A dive that took on mythical status when we ran across a pair of huge, majestic manta rays moving elegantly in the water. We hung still and watched them, the two honeymoon couples we were with holding hands. With my breathing ringing in my ears, the mantas gliding an arms length from me, colourful coral bunched below, and walls of neon fish drifting by, I understood the real magic of the Maldives. Whether you find it below the water or above, the Maldives will conform to – and provide you with – your own version of paradise.


FACTFILE


When to Go

The year is divided into two monsoon periods, the north east monsoon from December to March – the drier months – and the south west monsoon from May to November – wetter months with stronger winds and more storms. The transitional periods – mid-April and late November – are calm with exceptionally clear water. Having said all that, there isremarkably little difference in the average maximum temperature which hovers around 30ºC all year round with sea temperatures also constant at around 27ºC. Continual sea breezes stop the heat from ever becoming stifling


How to get there Most airlines stop off en route in the Middle East and Sri Lanka’s Colombo before arriving at Malé . Singapore Airlines has direct flights.


Picking a Resort

Choose a resort with care as there is only one resort per island, so if you don’t like it, you will not be able to just check into another one. Asking some specific questions will help avoid disappointment: ascertain the size of the island and whether it is favoured by one nationality in particular. Also ask how far the house reef is from the beach. The Four Seasons Resort caters for all nationalities and has basically two choices of accommodation with options from either the Beach Bungalows (thatched roof cottages yards from the shore line), or the grander Water Villas perched on the lagoon. Beach Bungalows – which can come with a private plunge pool and outside shower – are the best value. The Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa, North Malé Atoll, Republic of Maldives; T: 00 960 444 888, F: 00 960 441188 or visit www.fourseasons.com

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