A Trip of a Lifetime – The 2013 Maldives Dream Vacation (Part 2)

Text & Photos /Fiona
 

A Trip of a Lifetime – The 2013 Maldives Dream Vacation (Part 1)

The next day, I woke up really early (around 6 AM), not awakened by birdsong but by the loud sound of the waves. Wrapping myself in a bathrobe, I stepped out of the room to greet the morning sun, which is how this photo was taken. Since I had signed up for an 8:30 AM yoga session, we headed to the Longitude Restaurant when it started serving breakfast at 7.

By the time we arrived at the Longitude Restaurant at 7, they were still getting ready. Yep — we were the first hungry guests, so we took some pictures of the breakfast buffet while we waited. Basically, they had everything you’d expect: a salad bar, fruit section, toast area, cereals, cheeses, juices, and milk. In the middle were some savory dishes — fried noodles, fish nuggets, beef and pork, vegetables, plus congee and miso soup. For eggs, you could order directly from the little “black guy” (staff member) at your table — options included sunny-side up, scrambled, and various omelets, as well as pancakes and waffles. They generously gave us a whole pot of coffee, and there were also plenty of mangosteens to choose from.

After breakfast, we rode bikes to the yoga class. I’ve been practicing yoga for over two years and have a solid foundation — I can do all the basic poses, though I’m not super advanced. This yoga class turned out to be the best experience I’ve ever had. The studio is on the second floor of the gym, an open space with the beach right in front. While doing yoga, you can faintly hear the sound of waves crashing. Behind the studio is the jungle, so during some standing poses, our teacher Emily had us face the ocean, then turn around to face the jungle, giving us a completely different feel.

Teacher Emily was very friendly (maybe because I’ve done yoga before? I understood all the English perfectly, and later when I took a yoga class with an Indian teacher back in Taiwan, I felt I understood better too).
There were about nine people in the class that day, only P and I were Asian. We also ran into the German couple who had taken the speedboat with us the previous day. We even had dinner with them that night. When I told Emily I wanted to take a photo with her and demonstrate a yoga pose, she immediately struck the following pose (Image above). Yoga teachers are really impressive, aren’t they?

After yoga, since P and I had signed up for a scuba diving course, we headed to the Diving Center. This is different from snorkeling — snorkeling (or norkeing) only requires goggles and a snorkel, but diving requires a lesson with an instructor, passing a simple quiz, and gearing up properly (tight wetsuit, 4kg oxygen tank, weight belt, etc.) before you can get in the water.

I was originally very resistant because I thought snorkeling was already my limit (I’m afraid of water). So before the dive lesson, I kept trying to convince myself that I could do it, I could do it. I listened attentively while the stern Dutch instructor (left image) explained the basics, but nightmares really do come true.

I basically just scraped through the written test, and then we tried on the gear and tested it in the shallower water. So I put on a very professional wetsuit, strapped on an insanely heavy oxygen tank and weight belt, and slowly made my way toward the shallow sea.

But!!!!! I really couldn’t breathe through the regulator mouthpiece in the water — I don’t know why, because I could definitely do it with the snorkel while snorkeling. I tried many times without success, and I felt like if I went deeper, I’d probably panic. So I called it quits on the spot, then quietly hauled all the super-heavy gear back to shore, watching P and the stern Dutch instructor enjoy the underwater world instead...<

Actually, I didn’t feel too bad about not completing the deep dive, because I really am a bit scared of water. But I had paid $130 USD per person for the course, and I thought maybe they’d give me a discount or something for not finishing. Nope — they still charged me the full $130.<所以拜托大家报名Scuba Diving前先仔细思考，千万不要跟我一样!!!

After the dive session, since we had used up a lot of energy (even though I hadn’t gone deep, carrying the 4.5kg gear was tiring), we headed back to the Chill Restaurant for food. We ordered pasta and margherita pizza, which were surprisingly delicious.

After lunch, we still had plans — we were going to the SPA area to try a foot acupressure session (who says the Maldives is boring? I think there’s plenty to do!). Like the morning yoga, this was a free activity. The SPA area is quite special — there’s a reception center, and the treatment rooms are scattered around it, designed like bird nests, one nest per room, blending beautifully with nature. The foot acupressure room was an amazing SPA space. Only P and I signed up for this foot acupressure class — weird, don’t people like free classes?? It was actually a DIY foot massage lesson, so an aromatherapist demonstrated for each of us. That’s what the free foot massage meant.

After the class, we strolled slowly to the beach. P saw someone windsurfing and said he wanted to try it. At this resort, if you already know how to do it, you can borrow the gear for free. Otherwise, it costs about $45 USD to get a lesson. Same goes for kayaking — if you already know how to paddle, you can rent a rubber boat for free. I thought an elderly couple paddling looked super cute.

Putting water activities aside, just chilling on the shore and staring at the sea is probably the best way to relax. Although the Maldives gets hot, it’s not as scorching as Taiwan in July. As long as you have sunglasses and remember to put on sunscreen, I actually found the weather here quite pleasant.

Every Tuesday night is the Six Senses GM Cocktail Night. Since I did some research beforehand, I specifically chose a time that coincided with the cocktail night. I’d heard from GEM that it takes place near the beach where we had gone windsurfing that day. I didn’t have high expectations at first, but when I arrived at 5 PM, I thought: Oh my god!!! So beautiful!!!

The resort had placed casual bean bags and seating on the white sand. When I got there at 5, the sky and sea were a brilliant blue, the sand was so white, and the bean bags were occupied by couples, all set against a backdrop of soft candlelight. The scene and atmosphere were as beautiful as a postcard — truly gorgeous. I remember being so impressed that I let out a long “wow.”

They served champagne, cocktails, and juice, along with local Maldivian music and dance (yep, those lively “little black guys” performing, no doubt). I’d never heard that kind of rhythm before — short, powerful drumbeats paired with the high-pitched singing of the performers. Even though I couldn’t understand the lyrics, I could feel the energy and passion of the culture.

The dance moves were pretty unique too — sort of like a “red light, green light” version with arms and legs spread wide, as if embracing the whole world. Practically everyone from the resort, along with GEM, showed up for this cocktail party. We even chatted with the German couple from our speedboat.
Philip is a doctor in Germany, and he described his work as “repairing bones.” His wife is a Pilates instructor, which explains why she’s super slim but still has defined abs.

At the cocktail party, we also talked to a man from Singapore who was here to inspect the resort for hotel management purposes. We asked him what his favorite Asian hotel was. This party was great — with natural beauty as the backdrop, authentic local music, international conversations, and the best part? You could drink all the champagne you wanted. I think Philip convinced me to have five glasses before dinner even started.

Philip invited P and me to have dinner with them, which turned out to be an amazing experience. Over dinner, we talked about so much. They’d never been to Taiwan, but were very interested in it. P and I kept showing them photos of Taiwan’s beautiful scenery from our iPad, including the stunning views of Sanzhan Bula Dan in Hualien. Philip actually asked us, “If Taiwan has such beautiful places, why did you come here?” Haha, yeah — Taiwan still has so many amazing spots waiting for us to explore.

After returning to the room, GEM pulled down the curtains by the bed. I tried to go back out to the bed on the deck to stargaze. With zero light pollution, the sky was truly full of stars!! But because it was so dark and the sound of the waves was so loud, and being someone who’s afraid of water and scared of getting swept away by sea monsters, I didn’t stay out long and soon curled up back in the room!!

The next morning, without wasting any time, we got up early—as it was our last day in the Maldives, we had to make the most of it!! In the morning, I brought the postcards I’d bought the day before and planned to write to my girlfriends while having breakfast. The spot we chose for breakfast that day was perfect—once again, it was etched into my memory as a beautiful scene!! It was really gorgeous, just like a painting, and unlike the noisy Southeast Asian countries, in the Maldives, just having a seaside breakfast spot made you feel like you had enough!

I started writing the messages on the postcards one by one, and there were a few where I almost got teary-eyed (what’s wrong with me??). It was the first time I’d sent postcards abroad to friends. Later, when my friends started receiving them, I realized how wonderful the feeling was—it had this subtle sense of sharing happiness. Postcards are usually quite cheap, but if you just spend a bit of time and write from the heart, the feeling is really special. I don’t know how to describe it, but I think next time I go abroad, I’d want to send postcards to my good friends again.

After breakfast, we planned to go snorkeling again. We returned to the beach in front of the Chill restaurant. In the morning, the water level for snorkeling was super low—only up to my waist or so—but when we went back around 4 p.m., the water level was already above my head.

The seawater is clearer in the morning, so I recommend snorkeling in the morning!! There are many hammock-like designs here, and lying on one with sunglasses after snorkeling is just too comfortable!

Since my flight out of the Maldives was at night, the speedboat arranged to pick us up was also set for around 7 p.m. Although we had checked out earlier in the afternoon, GEM prepared another room for me to take a shower. After showering and eating the last of our ice cream, we were just about to leave this beautiful resort!

I really think Six Senses Laamu is amazing!! The rooms are great!! The service is great!! The food at the restaurants is delicious!! Most importantly, this resort, with its virgin forest vibe and focus on nature and sustainability, feels absolutely fantastic!! I suggest everyone try writing to the hotel to ask if they offer any discounted rates—my cost ended up being cheaper than what I found on Agoda!! (Currently, the price on Agoda is about 22,000 per night, not including tax)

Even though exchanging over ten emails back and forth was a bit tedious, it was more practical to negotiate a discount!! The world isn’t that big—we can still take it step by step and cover it little by little^^

～ Fiona’s Blog ～