mmmmmmm maldives

the maldivian casper

gotta have a chopper on the back

monkey see, monkey do

emil says:

if you believe in global warming and thus elevating sea levels than you better get to these islands before they are gonzo. the highest point on any of the 1,192 islands is a whopping 8 feet and according to wikipedia that puts them underwater in about the year 2100.  the maldives are a stupendously spectacular archipelago and that which you see and stand upon are the peaks of a vast underwater mountain chain. the snorkeling and scuba are at another level, even relegating the great barrier reef to second place. that said, i just don't know if i'd come here from the united states ever again. 30 hours of flight time from the west coast for essentially 'hawaii on crack' seems a bit much. but  if you are thinking of going to eastern africa, dubai, india, sri lanka or nepal than stopping at these glorious little nuggets for a few days is a must. besides distance another thing that's a bit off putting is the fact that the maldivian population (350k people) resides nearly exclusively on one tiny island (2 square miles) called male where buildings are in tatters and folks are living on top of one another.  how convenient that the airport to the maldives was built on a separate island so that tourists get ferried from the airport directly to the fabulous island destination of their choice and thus skip the entire cultural and ethnic character of the maldives.  granted tourists flock in to hawaii and out of hawaii in much the same way but in this case it's multimillion dollar yachts all over the place docking just outside the view of the rather bleak third world capital island of male (side note: the current president was part of a successful military coup in 2008). it's awesome to have visited and it's unforgettable but there is a marginally darker side to this place, if you chose to look.

lifegaurd on duty

laurel looking for that russian oil tycoon

arriving at kurumba resort

laurel says:

damn maldives.  why do you have to be so crazy beautiful and yet so far from the usa?  i fear you have ruined all my future beach vacations.  before i arrived here i thought that pictures of the maldives had to have been airbrushed.  the sand can't really be that white, the water can't really  be that blue and the resorts can't really be that spectacular.  spoiler alert: they are.  this place is pure paradise.  i don't think i have ever seen a prettier place.  and because the islands are so remote you get to have them nearly all to yourself.  we barely saw a soul while lounging on the beach all day.  the only sounds you hear are the occasional sea plane buzzing overhead.  and when you go snorkeling it is just you- mano y mano with thousands of tropical fish, reef sharks, eagle rays and moray eels.  for me, the insane water clarity, variety of coral and quantity of fish even outmatch the great barrier reef.  and when it is time to re-emerge into society for dinner, the people watching is equally entertaining.  the clientele is 80% chinese and russian, 20% euro and 0% americano.  so suffice to say, the frocks are out of this world.  money can't buy good taste.  forget the 1%, this is where the .001% hangs out, here the resorts are for the paupers as the real players roll on 150 foot yachts complete with helicopter pads.  it is quite a scene.  tragically this is one of those places that we may never make it back to given that it is exactly half way around the world from california and these pups are sinking into the indian ocean faster than rick santorum can say 'global warming.'  so i am so glad that we got the chance to experience them now.  thanks emi for letting me splurge on our once in a lifetime maldives trip!  i promise the sticker shock (and sunburn) will wear off soon.  

better than gilligan's island 

walking the plank