[Maldives] Gaafu Alifu/Huvadhoo Atoll

When: 27 March 2012 to 1 April 2012

Background: The Republic of Maldives is an island nation of 26 atolls that is Earth's lowest country and also the country with the world's lowest natural highest point of 2.4 metres. Islam is the official religion, so it would be advisable to dress conservatively when visiting the capital, Malé. For clarification, Malé International Airport (otherwise known as Ibrahim Nasir International Airport) is not actually located on Malé but on Hulhulé Island, and was thus unaffected by the recent political upheaval.

{Daybeds on Hadahaa}

{Water bungalows on water I could wake up to everyday}

Earlier this year, upon finding out that N's dad was involved in the development of a new resort that was yet to be launched, and that N was trying to put together a trip (read: free accommodation!), I immediately jumped at the chance. Said resort is The Residence Maldives, located on the newly-named island of Falhumaafushi, and the resort is scheduled to open within the second quarter of this year.

{Water villas at The Residence Maldives}

{Interior of our water villa}

{Sunset at The Residence}

Since the resort was not fully developed yet during the time we were there, we organised our activities with, and used the facilities of, the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa, 20-30 minutes away by speedboat. The Park Hyatt is located on gorgeous Hadahaa island with some truly amazing sand - apparently the sand on the island is kept in such an excellent and pristine condition because it is sieved periodically.

On the second day, we organised some diving with Park Hyatt staff and arranged to get nitrox certified. For a half day boat charter with 2 boat dives and 1 shore dive on the house reef it cost us some USD700 per person (plus or minus, depending on whether you intend to rent any or all of your diving equipment). We also decided to get nitrox certified, and that cost us some USD160, which was fairly reasonable by international standards. 

If you're thinking of getting nitrox certified yourself, just know that nitrox refers to any gas mixture composed of a nitrogen-oxygen blend, with the percentage of oxygen typically being more than 21% (usually somewhere above 30%). Diving on nitrox means that you will be diving on higher levels of oxygen and lower levels of nitrogen as compared to diving on air. This reduced nitrogen percentage extends your bottom time at each depth, allowing you to dive longer, and therefore reduces your risk of decompression sickness, but also increases your risk of oxygen toxicity with its higher oxygen levels. There are other risks such as fire and toxic cylinder contamination from oxygen reactions, which you will learn about en-route to getting certified. 

{Clearly very happy}

{Our dive guide, Mari, looking like a giant curly fry here, holding some giant rope she found and was bringing up to the surface so it wouldn't become sea trash}

{Our dive boat for the second day was a more traditional affair: Dhonis are typically handcrafted with coconut palm timber}

Both The Residence and the Park Hyatt are located within the Gaafu Alifu Atoll, believed to be one of the largest and deepest atolls in the world.

{B pouts as she gets dragged along on a borrowed life buoy by N // Jetty jumpin'}

On our last night in the Maldives, N's family, together with some of  their family friends, decided to try out the nearby Robinson Club Maldives, a resort that sure seemed like the German and more family-friendly equivalent of Club Med. At approximately USD200 for a half day boat charter with 2 boat dives, the diving there was significantly cheaper. Granted, we weren't using a speedboat, but it was a proper dive boat in the form of a traditional Dhoni (Maldivian sail-boat) and things worked out well for us because the diving here was better.

The next morning, after a hearty and healthy breakfast, N, B and myself even made it for a morning pilates class, after which we booked spa sessions and given my sunburnt state I decidedly went with the Sun Soother. I even had time for a short afternoon workout in the gym with a quick 5-km run on the treadmill and some weights, before heading back to our room to pack and catch the 5:00pm boat en-route to Male International Airport.

All in, a fantastic trip!

Getting there:

Singapore Airlines offers direct flights to Malé, and flight time is an easy 4h 25min.

Upon arrival at Malé International Airport, you have two options to get to Falhumaafushi: (i) either you take a 90-minute seaplane, or (ii) you make your way to the domestic airport situated beside Malé International Airport and take a 55-minute Maldivian Airlines flight to Kaadedhdhoo, whereupon its a short 300m walk to the nearby jetty for a 60-minute speedboat transfer.

Observations
- With accommodation in the Maldives, you can either splurge or... splurge less. If you want to splurge, the Park Hyatt Hadahaa is a very good option and if you want to spend a little less, at the time of writing this post the Residence had opening offers so you can enjoy all the benefits of a newly launched resort for less! And if you want something cheaper but with fantastic and healthy amenities and food, the Robinson Club Maldives is a good bet.