Like Sand Through the Hourglass

Saturday, March 14, 2015
Maafushi, Kaafu Atoll, Maldives
Yesterday we decided to island-hop- since the Maldives are more than 1,000 islands, we thought we'd see another! One of the benefits of staying on Maafushi is that you can visit the swanky private resort island as a day-tripper, and return to your guesthouse later in the day with the smug knowledge that you experienced these pricey resorts, but are paying 90% less by staying a 15-minute speedboat ride away.

We chose to visit Biyadhoo, a nearby island resort run by a French company, and known for its excellent snorkeling and coral reefs. We arrived at 10am, and set up in beach chairs underneath the banyan trees on the beach (with our sunblock snafus, we are now terrified of direct sunlight). Surprisingly, Biyadhoo was less interesting than Maafushi. Since it's purely a resort, there are no people other than old, white foreigners- there's no real Maldivian life going on. In fact, it felt like a 1980s-era timeshare resort. I even thought our public Maafushi beach was better, because it had sandbanks, no rocks, and a fun beachy vibe. This place was...retirement-village quiet. Matt did enjoy the snorkeling, however- the entire beach is ringed by an impressive coral reef, and fish are EVERYWHERE. I was wading in the surf, and surprised an entire school of fish, who then leaped in the air in front of me (thereby surprising ME). Matt even found Nemo. Oooh, and speaking of finding things...since the resort island was run by a French company, we had BEER with our overpriced boring lunch (since there are no Maldivians living on resort islands, the resorts serve bland sandwiches and burgers instead of rotti and curry)!

We spent the entire day relaxing on the beach and in the ocean, and we returned to Maafushi for another spectacular sunset. I have never seen a sunset comprising pink, baby blue, red, purple, and orange. It was like a rainbow.

Today is our final day of vacation, as we board the 11pm flight back home tonight. We had a long tea-lingering breakfast, then went to the beach to soak up the last shade of the Maldives (as I'd said, we are scared of sunlight). But a monster storm hit, so we spent most of the day reading in the hotel lobby and playing in the hotel pool in the rain. It's actually kind of refreshing to get a break from the oppressive heat, and a nice transition back to London weather.

So our holiday in Sri Lanka and the Maldives comes to a close, and I must say this has been the longest-feeling vacation ever. It feels like we've been gone for over a month, and I'm guessing that's because we covered so much ground, and saw so much varied terrain and sights. And here is my requisite list:

1) Best Meal: Rice and curry at our guesthouse in Dambulla, cooked by a professional chef

2) Best Indulgence: High tea on the Grand Hotel lawn in Nuwara Eliya

3) Experience I'd Least Like to Repeat: Our nuclear-charring sunburn (Runner-up: a 4-hour unsuccessful odyssey to find an ATM in Unawatuna)

4) Favorite Moment: A tie between reaching the top of Sigirya Rock, and watching the sun set from the walls of Galle Fort

5) Most Unusual, Unexpected Occurrence: The Sri Lankans love their 80s soft rock. We have heard Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do" not once, but THREE TIMES on this trip. And more Lionel Richie and Chris deBurgh than I care to recall.

6) What I'll Miss Most: Tuk-tuks and sunsets. No question :) (Matt says kothu rotti, his favorite dish)

Cheers and happy travels :)

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2025-02-10

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