Taj Vivanta
Maldives Diary : Day 1 - 08th October 2011
Tucked away in the Deep Bluish-Green Waters of the Arabian Sea, amidst the vast Indian Ocean is the Archipelago of Maldives. It is always a treat to ones eye. This is Precisely what we experienced in our trip to this beautiful island. It was a short trip of 5 days and 4 nights, yet a relaxing one. No set itinerary, no idea of how to spend each day.. this is how our travel began. For this trip, we had taken the help of ATOLL PARADISE , to book a deal for us in any feasible resort in Maldives. So all we did was, pay and go. It costed us quite a bit, but as it was meant to be our Anniversary celebrations, we let it be.
It was ready-made. We boarded our Air India flight and as we approached the island, we were in total awe of the scene from our Plane. We couldn't stop taking pictures of this far away fantasy land.
Arriving in a resort that is built on a completely stand alone & deserted island, cut off from the entire world, one tend's to think that there's seldom much to do. Yes , of course, it's a perfect place to relax , no doubt, but there is no dearth for activities. We were welcomed with a special drink by the super courteous staff. We were blown away by the setting of our resort. It perfectly blended with nature at its very best. We were then led to our room. Our Sea-View villa was on the beach, facing the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean. A dream come true ! The huge sliding glass doors from our bed-room which opened up to the infinite waters immediately got us captivated.
A Hammock in the front yard, overlooking the turquoise waters, what else could we ask for ! We frolicked in the waters to our hearts content and made sand castles. Most times we were in awe while counting the different " BLUES" displayed in front of us.
Day 2 : 09 Oct 2011 : The picture perfect Sun rise each day channelised the natural energies into us. We felt the deep silence within. The Island experiences Sun rise as early as 5 am. Being engulfed by this golden aura we sat at the beach in silence fully mesmerised.
To add to the beauty of the rising ball of fire , was an infant who was, I guess , some goddess, with a radiant and innocent smile that could seemingly ignite life in millions. This scene is etched in my memory and is is just unforgettable to this day. Her parents were cool enough to just let her be. She was only 5 months old. We were told that her name is Olivia.
Beautiful little Olivia, hope you are doing well , somewhere on this earth. As the day progressed, we found ourselves swimming or rather wading in the infinity pool and frolicking on the white sandy beach and having the most relaxed time of our lives. Dozing in the hammock, walking around the island, watching the fish and baby sharks in the clear H2O, or just staring at the blue water, kept us delighted. The resort also displayed a map of its outlay. The stone map seemed quite fancy and caught our attention. This was for the sake of convenience of all and could be handy in case any one lost their way around this very tiny island :)))
The highlight of our entire trip was the treat offered by the STING-RAYS that visit the resort every evening without fail at 5pm...you see 'em coming and you can vouch that the clock has struck 5. Every evening, tourists and visitors from the resort would gather around to witness this wonder. These Sting-rays are actually being fed by the resort staff for past many years and the tradition continues. It is exciting to watch them feed on pieces of meat and fish. The tourists can feed them as well. Never knew until then, that they had such beautiful and striking eyes. Can you see that in the video ?
Wow..a sight to watch them flap their way with great elegance to the shore and swoop the pieces of meat and fish, when offered by anyone. There was enough competition around to dodge them and feed them. Children and adults alike stood watching in total excitement. Now, how did they guess the time each day and arrive at the strike of 5 without fail, that's a mystery. On the 3rd day, we set out to Male City on a private Yatch. Please read about it under " Male ".
After a fruitful day in Male , we returned by a speedboat to the resort to spend another luxurious evening by the infinity pool. We tried our hand in learning swimming too. The night views at the resort were just fabulous.
Day 4 : 11 Oct 2011 : The fourth day saw us just relaxing and soaking deeper into the surroundings. We tried our hand at boating. Due to lack of swimming skills, on and off we were shouting and screaming our hearts out when the boat rocked due to strong waves ,scaring us like hell. It was a lot of fun. Another day of simple relaxation and our trip came to an end.
Day 5: 12 Oct 2011 : A morning walk , followed by an elaborate breakfast and soon it was time to leave. A cute staff boy helped us settle our hotel bills and swiftly got our luggage on board their ferry to take us to Male, from where we were to take our flight back home. We carried memories of this fairyland in our hearts and boarded the ferry. In just under 2 hours we reached Male city once again and we got to the airport, bidding farewell. Bye Maldives, we hope to return someday !
