Friends! If there is a paradise on earth, it is in the Maldives! Even though an advertising about Bounty was not filmed here (this fact actuallysurprises me very much), believe me everywhere in the Maldives you will get a pleasure like if you are in Paradise: while stepping along the white sand, while inhaling each drop of the ocean, with each peaceful dream of local magical nights.
The Maldives is called so not by chance as it consists of 19 island atolls. Atolls are clusters of small in size coral islands, with the central island -capital called Male. All the rest islands are hotels, meaning one island - one hotel. And we are talking here not about European style hotels: no huge buildings of glass and concrete. It is amazing how small bungalows perfectly fit to the local landscapes, which are equipped with all the conditions necessary for recreation and usually withexcellent service.
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Long ago, the picturesque Maldivian atolls were volcanoes, but they damped out, their tops have disappeared under the water, their grounds have got covered by reefs and beautiful lagoonshave been formed inside. The land covers now only 1% of the Maldives, the remaining 99% is under the water.
Sizes of islands vary. We have chosen the biggest one - Sun Island (1600 m by 300 m). It is located on the South Ari Atoll. It is possible to get to the destination viaeither boat (if the island is not far from Male),or seaplane/plane (if the island has an airport). Since near to our island there is an airport first we took the plane from Male. It takes about 30 minutes. Since the airport is on the neighboring island we got to our hotel via local boat dhoni, which is the most inexpensive transportation in the Maldives.
We settled in a bungalow on the beach (and there are also stilt bungalows under the water with transparent floor –also very cool!). The bungalow has two entrances: one from the reception side and the other one from the sea side in 10-15 meter distance. Each bungalow has own benches and when you get out of your room it feels like if you are on your own private beach.
During the day you can do a lot of things. You can lie in the shade of palm trees; there are a lot of them on the island and right in front of your bungalow. You can sunbathe under the warm tropical sunon the snow-white sand. Or you can just get around the island (it takes about half a day) and feel like Robinson. By the way, you can also order a tour to the one really uninhabited island. That is another very cool opportunity.
Here is some information on the Indian Ocean. Water is so clean that sometimes it feels like swimming in the large pool. One of the touristshas called it as «natural pool». Water in the Indian Ocean is so clear and friendly that one does not want to get out at all!
Surprising and unusual experience for us was feeding reef sharks and stingrays. Sharks are fed from the territory of the restaurant, which is located at the end of the overpass,getting far into the sea. It was a very unusual and exciting experience. However, feeding the stingrays was even more unexpected thing to do as you can feed them right from your hands. I was extremely surprised how smart creatures they are. Almost like dogs. They learned that every evening at 20:00 their feeding starts, so they swim close to the shore and wait for the tourists to feed them. There are tens of stingrays coming of different sizes and colors - from light gray to black! Those tourists who are afraid just throw the food into the water and stingrays come and get their food,and those who are not afraid feed them right from own hands.
Overall, the Maldives - is a very special experience of life ... It is romantics, unity with the nature, complete relaxation accompanied with the sound of ocean waves. No desire to watch TV since bungalow reef shows you something much more interesting! No desire to listen to the music, since it is replaced with the sound of the ocean and the birds singing!
In one word, do not lose any more seconds of your valuable time, get permission from your boss to take a vacation and fly to the Maldives! And if the boss does not let you go, leave your job and run away to the Maldives, otherwise you will never forgive yourself for missing a chance to visit this branch of paradise on earth!
My suggestion is that the easiest and fastest way to get to the Maldives from Azerbaijan is through Dubai or Doha.
Good luck and welcome to the Maldives!