The Maldives is an island nation in the Arabian Sea—Indian Ocean (southwest of India and Sri Lanka) that consists of 1,192 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls. These atolls are composed of reefs and sandbars, and according to Wikipedia, it is the lowest country in the world. “More than 80 percent of the country’s land is composed of coral islands which rise less than one metre above sea level.” There are several environmental concerns about the country going underwater. If you’re interested, read more here. That’s all just formal stuff…In my opinion, the Maldives are the cherry on top of God’s world sundae.

I met Jenna early (early, early!) morning in the airport in Sri Lanka. We boarded our flight to the Maldives and thought it was a great way to get our trip started. Jenna started the trip with me in South Korea, and it was great to have her join me a second time. It’s an odd transition to go from traveling alone to traveling with someone, so I’m sure I talked her ear off as it was nice to have someone that could understand full sentences and fast talking. At the end of our trip she said it was interesting to see how I’d changed in the time I’d been gone, especially in regards to how I travel. She said I was more direct now.

Flying into the Maldives was quite turbulent. There was a man throwing up. Once we landed, we had to take the Sheraton’s boat to get to our hotel. It was very expensive at $119 round trip for one person, but we really didn’t have a choice. From the plane and the boat, the country looked absolutely beautiful. The levels of deep blue to light blue were astounding, and pictures do not do it justice. Our boat pulled up to reception, and we were given a welcome drink and transferred around the small island by golf cart. The entire island was the Sheraton Resort. We used points for the hotel, and Jenna is a SPG platinum member which made for some nice perks. She used one of her upgrade suite nights, so were placed in a bungalow over the ocean. It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do, and it was awesome. I “cannon balled” off the edge, and I enjoyed some snorkeling below the place where we were sleeping. There wasn’t any coral around the bungalow, but there was quite a bit of sea life, especially sting rays (all kinds). We walked around the islands to some of the pure white beaches, and enjoyed some live music with dinner. Our iPhones updated the time when we arrived, but at the end of our journey we realized they were a half hour off… which explains why the band got on stage a half hour late, the check-out time was off, breakfast lasted longer, etc. Our phones were wrong the whole time.

There’s not a lot to describe during our time here other than the fact that we enjoyed the slow life of the bungalow, the water, the island, and the sea life. We were surrounded by couples and agreed this would be a great place to come for a honeymoon, minus the cost.

I’d love to go back someday.