WELL, I AM late to the party, okay? After all that has been posted, vlogged, tagged and shared about the Maldives by every beach-loving, social media-reliant acquaintance I know, I finally get my turn.
It’s not that there weren’t chances to visit. It is just that the Maldives, for all its cobalt-and-sand tinted renown, didn’t feel as big a draw to me as it should. Not when the legendary beaches of Indonesia’s Nusa Penida or Thailand’s Koh Tao are just a little over two hours away by air from Singapore. So why get on a four-hour flight to Malé (the Maldives’ capital city), followed by a bumpy 50-minute seaplane ride to an island resort in the middle of the Indian Ocean, when our neighbouring beach getaways are all within reach?
The obvious answer, as I belatedly discover, is that the Maldives isn’t your regular beach getaway. Its hype—a tapestry of aquamarine, bleached sands, and languid luxury that has enamoured travellers for decades—is real. Even within the country’s seemingly standard offering of sun, sea and overwater villa spa massages, are distinct pockets of relaxed opulence.
