As a little girl, I would flip through my mom's copies of Travel + Leisure, and other travel focused magazines and see beautiful photographs of pristine white sand beaches hovering on the edge of sapphire blue, crystal-clear waters. I dreamed of finding perfect beaches like the ones I saw in the magazines and wondered if I would ever see such beauties with my own eyes.
That was when my obsession with beach vacations was born. Travelling to Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia were and still are regular holiday destinations for my family.
The Maldives was something we had always discussed but deemed too far until this year, we decided we better go before they sink!
I had no idea what lied ahead of me. I knew it would be beautiful, but I had no idea what was in store for me.
After about 12 hours of travel from Hong Kong with a connection in Kuala Lumpur through Malaysia Airlines, we finally arrived in the capital city of Male. From the airport in Male, we were picked up by the Four Seasons staff and taken to their resort at Kuda Hurra, 30 minutes away. We were to spend one night their and make our way to their other resort in Landaa Giraavaru by seaplane.
Our first morning in the Maldives in Kuda Hurra began with a siting of two baby lemon sharks swimming side by side in the low tide. Later we were greeted by a baby black-tip reef shark. I think a lot of people's first instinct would have been to freak out, but being this close to a wild animal in its natural habitat was such a special experience!
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| Black-tip reef shark |
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View from the water villa at Four Seasons Kuda Hurra
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Serenity pool, adults only
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After a scrumptious breakfast buffet (which is complimentary! This is worth noting, breakfast at both Four Seasons properties are free and delicious) and a refreshing dip in the pool, we packed up and headed to the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru by sea plane.
To my surprise, we boarded the seaplane from a floating dock that is maybe about 15ft x 15ft. The seaplane seats 30 people and the crew don't wear shoes! I was a little nervous, and the fact that the crew miscalculated the combined weight of the passengers and luggage and said it was overweight didn't help either. Afterall, that's how R&B singer Aaliyah's life came to tragic end in the Bahamas.
Thankfully, we were able to board the seaplane and on a smooth journey (but very loud due to the propellar and engines) to Landaa Giraavaru. The seaplane is a great way to take in the beauty of the atolls that make up the Maldives.
And finally, we arrive at Baa Atoll, the reef surrounding the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru.
We were transported by boat from this seaplane landing dock to the resort which took a few minutes. The blueness and clarity of the water is nothing like I have seen before. This resort is where I fell in love with the Maldives and was astounded by the ocean's natural beauty.
The resort was absolutely fantastic. I have no complains at all. The staff were friendly and genuine. A very nice girl named Han welcomed us to the resort and checked us in. Our villa wasn't ready so we decided to have lunch at Cafe Landaa. When we asked for our check, they told us that our villa was ready and that our meal was complimentary since they felt bad about our villa not being ready when we first arrived. How nice of them! We were very impressed!
Han took us to our water villa with breath taking views of the Indian Ocean right outside our door. We stayed here for 4 nights and spent everyday snorkeling, napping on the beach, and taking in the splendor of paradise.
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| Walking to our villa |
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| Our private deck at our villa, my favorite hangout! |
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| The view from our villa's deck |
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| Blue Beach |
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| The main pool |
The hotel is surrounded by natural reefs that are teeming with the most magnificent fish I have ever seen. This was my favorite activity and I snorkeled everyday for hours! On our third day, my mom and I joined the Turtle Safari snorkeling excursion, which was led by one of the marine biologists on-site - a very nice French girl named Maggie.
This trip goes down in my books as one of the most memorable holidays ever. I will definitely be returning to the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru not only because of how beautiful the island is, but also because of how lovely the staff were. They were extremely polite and helpful, and made an effort to know the guests, and this was consistent from the F&B director Pierre, Han at check-in, Maggie from the Marine Discovery Center, and the gentlement that shuttle the golf carts back and forth. All very exceptional and lovely people. I cannot wait to go back!
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