BAREFOOT LUXURY IN THE MALDIVES: MY 50TH COUNTRY!

I hit a personal travel milestone of 50 countries when I traveled to the Maldives with my friend, Jenny, in May 2016. I didn’t actually realize it was the fiftieth until I was updating my blog stats last month, as I’m not in the habit of obsessively tracking the number of cities and destinations I’ve visited. As always, quality over quantity – but this milestone was a triumph for three reasons:

1. My 50th self-funded travel destination. As someone who does not have travel sponsors, a trust fund, nor monetary support from my parents (as it should be!), it’s a small victory in terms of self-sufficiency and financial independence. My heart is only full of immense gratitude for the opportunities that the universe has provided for me and I am forever thankful.

2. It’s the 50th country I’ve been to despite having a full-time advertising career. A testament to how goals can be achieved when you put your time, mind, and resources on them and also that you don’t need to quit your job to see the world … unless that’s the life that honestly suits you.

3. It’s a reminder of my mantra: experiences over possessions. Takes me back to that moment when I detached myself from the materialistic and aimless spending mindset that was commonplace in Singapore: I sold the designer bags I owned, I buy clothes only when it’s on sale and only if I really need to, I donated all of my 78 pairs of shoes, I sleep on a purchase decision first to curb spontaneous spending, I stopped going to clubs, I sold my Macbook, I don’t own several redundant Apple gadgets, etc. Obviously, I don’t live a monastic life, but I keep my creature comforts to a minimum and reallocate the budget to experiential activities like travel, among other #ADULTING responsibilities. :)

So, the Maldives… Suffice to say it was PARADISE ON EARTH.

Out of the 1,192 islands in the Maldives or Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya (its long-form native name), I picked the 5-star Gangehi Island Resort - which is in the North Ari Atoll and 25 minutes away via seaplane from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. It’s a small and intimate, Italian-run island surrounded by warm, shallow, and marine life-rich crystalline waters. The seaplane ride was definitely worth the $$$$ and it deserves a separate future post, while the resort was everything we could imagine for that ultimate luxurious tropical island getaway.

My jaw dropped as soon as Gangehi’s blue Dhoni, a traditional Maldivian fishing boat, fetched us from the seaplane landing. We didn't lift a finger from the onset - all of our needs were taken cared of by the lovely staff. I loved that everything was blue on blue on blue!

The waters are BLINDINGLY TURQUOISE! The sun glinting off the aqua waters further intensified the water clarity and color.

I couldn’t stop taking photos and videos! Jenny and I were exclaiming: OMG, it's soooo beautiful! OMG, this is amazing! OMG, look at the blueness of everything! ... You get the drift. Different shades of blue as far as the eyes can see – no filters needed! We were met with these heart-stopping views of the resort.... LIKE WOW. JUST WOW.

The staff greeted us with cold towels and a thirst-quenching drink, and gave us information about the island, the meals, and the activities. Gangehi provides FREE guided snorkelling trips around its house reef, morning yoga, board games, quiz nights, etc. Depending on your package, even alcoholic drinks are included – we had the FullBoard package which consisted of all three meals for our 3-day stay and free bar chow at Thari Lounge & Restaurant. Our drinks were extra, but it suited us because we weren’t keen on an alcohol binge. Otherwise, you can opt for the All-Inclusive package.

We stayed in one of the rustic-chic teakwood Club Rooms, set within the lush garden setting and a few steps away from the white shores of Gangehi. It may not be the most luxurious of accommodations, but it certainly was perfect for us since we rarely stayed inside and it was really just used for sleeping. The OverWater Villas are lovely, but we realized it may not be the best during the shoulder season when thunderstorms are expected once in a while and being in the middle of the ocean for that didn't sound appealing. If we do go back to this same resort, we’d book the Beach Villas, which are situated right on the talcum-fine sands of the island. Here’s our comfy room....

The photos below show the walkways to the beach and to all the other points of the island such as the spa, restaurants, boutique, Aqua Center, and reception. Top collage is of Ginger Spa, which we never got to try because we were busy on the beach; the bottom collage is from various nooks in the island, and the last pic is of Gangehi's library - where you can borrow books to read while lounging blissfully on its white shores. The resort has no freshwater pool - but who needs that when the whole glittering Indian Ocean beckons every day?

The Veli Restaurant was where we had all our meals. I was worried the food was going to be MEH, but MYGOD the FOOD WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! More often than not, buffet-style meals fail in terms of taste because of the volume of food being churned out from the kitchen; the focus is on quantity vs quality. Not in Gangehi. I complimented the chef every day because of the unbelievably tasty meals on offer. Every single dish on the buffet table was exploding with flavors! And the views from the resto were of course, STUNNINGLY TO-DIE-FOR.

THEN THERE'S THE PRISTINE SANDBAR: OMG. It was love at first sight.

Swim, snorkel, suntan, sleep. Repeat.

Marine life photos were taken on Jenny's kick-ass underwater camera. No need to take a guided house reef tour anyway because the waters around Gangehi were shallow and calm - maximum chest-level even during high tide (on little 5'1" me, anyway!). Thankful that the waters of Gangehi were as such since I could see big waves crashing into reefs beyond the island in front of ours. Plus it was teeming with marine life - colorful corals, fluorescent fishes (two, we named the Beyonces of a school of fishes for their bright, attention-grabbing colors, haha!), manta rays, and yes, sharks - baby blacktip reef sharks, to be exact, which are common in the Maldives.

There was a feeding frenzy right by the shore when four of these baby sharks had a go at the smaller fishes!!!

We were on island time: when time crawls to a stop and every minute is an indulgent affair of living in the tropical island moment, i.e. drinking ice-cold fruit shakes at Kandu Bar and doing absolutely NOTHING. :)

The resort was full, but we never saw more than 10 people on the beach at a time. It was nice to see there were 7 solo travelers in the resort and majority of them were female: it busts the myth that the Maldives is only for honeymooning couples. Gangehi had an ultra-secluded, private island vibe. Often, the beach was populated only by its resident heron... and the occasional human. :)

The Gangehi sand bar was one of the best things about this island - and part of the reason I picked it! It was surrounded by crystalline waters bursting with marine life and brought us to the very edge of the shallow waters - after which, it drops off into the tantalizingly deep-blue Dhoni Pass. Walking from the main island to the small sandbank took almost ten minutes and we were rewarded with nature's rush hour: colorful fishes, sneaky sharks, a low-flying heron, and a flock of white seabirds dancing at the edge of the sand bar.

It was a surreal feeling to be the only two people on the sandbar, worlds away from our hectic city lives. That day, we weren't city girls, we were mermaids in our own sparkling paradise. The beauty around us was beyond description. It was magical to be surrounded by 360-degrees of calming blues - we were practically halfway towards the next island! Oh and did I mention there's a HAMMOCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN???!!! *YEP, MAJOR INSTAGRAM MOMENT*

When the day winded down, the perfect spot in the island was the Thari Lounge – which had the best vantage point for the awe-inspiring Maldivian sunsets! A variety of colors splashed across the waters! Cezanne, is that you?

We spent every sunset at Thari - the scenery was absolutely peaceful, broken only by the sounds of the waves lapping at the wooden structure. Even the resort guests talked & laughed in hushed tones, perhaps out of respect for the beautiful landscape. A couple of times, we were treated to a water landing show of the seaplanes arriving late in the afternoon.

Up to now, I cannot get over the beauty of the Maldives and wondered why I didn't visit sooner. It was definitely one perfect island getaway. We originally thought that 3 days in the Maldives was a stretch - but Gangehi proved to us that we could probably spend an entire week just luxuriating in the resort - and maybe squeeze in a couple of dives, if you're a PADI-certified scuba diver like Jenny.

It's an ideal place to clear your head, wind down your life, and truly get away from it all. The plan is to travel to the Maldives again this year on my own (hello, September!) and have my family experience the breathtaking beauty of this island gem in the middle of the Indian Ocean really soon.... It is simply futile to resist the Maldives' siren call. :)

Wish you were here, xoxo

HAPPY TRAVELS! x

#Maldives