As kids we used to make a pact with our best friend- “when you and I turn 30, we’ll quit our jobs and go travel the world.” But, growing up hits us hard. The dream looks blurry and the monotonous life grabs on to us. What matters the most is getting a degree or a job that settles you in life, and that’s the most unsettling part of it.
You can still change that; you can still be the kid who had tiny dreams that made her happy. This is the tiny kid in me speaking and reminding you that life is full of surprises; you just need to learn to embrace it. I got this revelation after my first trip overseas – to the amazing MALDIVES.
The plan was quite an unexpected turn for me. Just two weeks before the trip, Sakshi di and Pramod bhaiya pushed their bookings to accommodate me in. Fifteen days of countdown flew by in planning and shopping for cute stuff. You don’t always believe in things until they finally happen, you know the feels? Yeah, same. And finally when T-0 day had arrived, the goose bumps were for real.
Sitting on the flight, peeping out of the window, I could see the cluster of the Maldivian islands on the most beautiful of the turquoise blue waters. At that moment I knew I had signed up for a trip to heaven.
Would you like a five-night, six-day and millions of adventures package? Well, you stumbled upon the right place. To make the most of it, make sure you travel with your most favourite people.
As for our trip, we managed to explore six jaw-dropping islands in the Maldives. The first island was Hulhumale, the island-town where our flight had landed. We took a speedboat to reach our base Island, Maafushi. It was quite a bumpy but fun ride. We reached there late in the afternoon and passed our evening by chilling on the pretty beach called the Bikini beach.
The second day was quite daunting. We set off on a speed boat for a half day excursion. I decided to get over my fear of water and throw an attempt at snorkelling. Di and I were hilariously trying to make peace with the fact that we were right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Despite the ruckus, we managed to catch a few glimpses of the magnificent world under us.
Moving forward, we headed to the Sandbank. On the way we even got to greet a pod of Dolphins. The Sandbank was my favourite part. Interestingly, it was also called the Baby Island, referring to its tiny size. Imagine being on a tiny land surrounded by stunning shades of blue. Would you want to leave the peace behind? I certainly did not!
The day ended with dinner under the moon, on a gorgeous three-storey yacht.
The next day we explored another Island called Gulhi. A five-minute speedboat ride away from Maafushi, Gulhi was like one of those pretty postcards. The Ocean was flattering us with its countless pretty shades of blue.
The trip was coming to an end. We switched from the local culture and took a tour to one of the fancy private island resorts – Adaaran Club Rannalhi. We realised, you don’t need a pool when you have the vast Ocean in front of you.
We had the time of our lives!
The waves were quite friendly and water so amazing. There was also an open bar and a lavish spread for lunch.
The water around the resort was so clear that we could see different kinds of fish in it. There were also two baby sharks chilling by the edge of the water. You could sit there all day!
For our penultimate day, we took the speedboat to Male and a cab from there to our hotel in Hulhumale. As I said earlier, it was more than just an island. It was a very cute and colourful town. Since Eid was around the corner, we also got our hand on some delicious biryani.
And very soon, it was time to say goodbye. I wasn’t quite up to the mark health wise when we were supposed to leave for the trip. I even carried my own food so I could survive there. For all its worth, I knew I couldn’t miss it, and I wasn’t proved wrong.
I have lived the best days of my life in the Maldives and I’m looking forward for more beautiful ones to come. Travel makes you the person you are meant to be, it teaches you to take risks and to amaze yourself every single day.
To Find out more about our Maldives trip, click here.
Comments by Kshitija Gupta