Introduction to Paradise

Getting to the Maldives was similar to many of my other experiences in India, fraught with exasperation and wonderment at why things have to be so complicated. Between getting to Mumbai International airport and getting on the plane, I think I handed my boarding pass to at least 7 people. Just as many people asked me if I had bags to check – apparently just traveling with a backpack looks just as out of place as white people in India.

So anyway, after answering the same questions at various checkpoints and standing in multiple queues, we finally had our last luggage and body search just before settling in to our business class seats on the Sri Lankan plane to Colombo at 3:30am. When we arrived at the Sri Lankan airport at 6:30am,we were a bit delirious – a combination of exhaustion from being up all night, a sense of accomplishment for getting out of India, and utter excitement at the site of such a clean and orderly airport. It’s hard to explain to people who have never been somewhere like India to have as a comparison, but it was such a relief that in Sri Lanka, everything just seemed to work. The signs were clear, things were in their place, the airport was clean and well lit, and we both felt closer to being home than we have in the past month.

After a short and uneventful layover, we were on our way to Male, the international airport of the Maldives. Male is the capital, which is on one island, and the airport is another island of its own just nearby. It’s the size of an airport runway, with about 50% extra space on either side for the terminal and air taxi “gates,” which are essentially numbered docks.

Enjoying the advantage of business class, we were off the plane first, and walked down the external stairs onto the tarmac just in front of the terminal. Stepping off the plane and into sunshine felt unbelievable. It was humid, but not overwhelming. There was a steady breeze, and the skies were clear blue. We looked at each other and said, we’re never leaving are we?

A short walk through the terminal, and we soon found our airport assistant sent by the travel agency, a young man named Ismail. He shook our hands, welcomed us with a smile, and helped us get to our sea plane transfer. Again, we were ecstatic that everything just went so smoothly. Our names were on the itinerary, our sea plane tickets were already printed, and we didn’t have to worry or argue about anything. The crankiness that has been building up the past several weeks just started to melt away.

We had to wait over an hour at the sea plane terminal because they were waiting for passengers from another incoming plane. No worries, we weren’t in a hurry. We started chatting with an Austrian woman who was meeting up with her boyfriend in the Maldives in between a stint teaching preschoolers in Sri Lanka. By her accounts, Sri Lanka isn’t much different than India, but she hadn’t shed her bitterness yet. She was so irritated that the sea plane was delayed, couldn’t understand why they told her one time when it actually wasn’t going to leave until later, and complained that she should have taken a speed boat instead. I completely understand how she felt, but was not in the mood to be in “India mode” so we mostly just commiserated with her a bit, but also tried to ignore her at the same time. Fortunately, she wasn’t on our sea plane, or going to our island!

The sea planes are really neat. They take off and land so quickly, and hold about 16 passengers. Our island was the first stop, and the flight took 15 minutes to go 50 km over beautiful ocean, coral reefs, and multiple islands. The official count of islands in the Maldives is 1192, and only about 200 are occupied. Some estimate that there are thousands of islands in total. Our island was called Helengeli. The water taxi landed and pulled up what amounted to a large raft a few kilometers from the island. There were 5 of us going to Helengeli, and we got off the plane onto the raft/dock, and then into the speed boat that met us there. Patrick was our introductory guide. When we got to the island, he walked us down the sand paths to the main reception and lounge area. We sat down, were handed a mango juice drink and after just chatting for a few minutes, he gave us an introduction to how things worked on the islands, where things are, etc. Turns out that this is only Patrick’s third day working at Helengeli, after quitting his corporate job in Switzerland (tempting…).

We were also given vouchers for 15 minute massages at the spa as a welcome gift – sweet! Everything was better than we could have imagined, and so amazingly relaxed. No worries, no hassle, things are taken care of. We headed off to our bungalow to change out of our inappropriate attire (e.g. long pants and shoes). The bungalow faces the beach, and has a front porch that enters into the single room. It’s spacious, clean, simple, and comfortable. The bathroom is outside, sounds weird I know, but it’s actually really neat. There are two outdoor showers, one uncovered, and one covered. It’s basically like a normal bathroom sans the back wall. Instead there is a low tile wall separating the bathroom from the back patio, which has a high wall around it.

First order of business is to change into swimsuits and take a tour around the island, and then start to soak up the sun….