Traveling Again - The Maldives

After finishing up work in Malaysia, we headed over to The Maldives for a little R&R before embarking on the crazy week that lied ahead. The Maldives is touted as being home to the epitome of exclusive, luxurious hotels and exotic islands. In an attempt to completely bust every claim we had heard about this place, we headed to the least exotic and luxurious hotel we could find amongst the hundreds of little islands, Holiday Inn.

We were so wrong.

 crystal blue waters and white sand beaches

 me snorkeling

 what Nemo saw

 overwater bungalows

 canoe

 crabby

 hibiscus

 launch pier for snorkeling and sunset cruises

 arrival pier and cruise boat

 lots of seashells to be combed from the beach

 lots of fish to see snorkeling

a view of the Maldives from the air

The only thing Holiday Inn about this place was the sign at the arrival pier. From there, the "pinch me" experience began. We woke up each morning at dawn, with the Indian ocean peeking out above our toes and sipped freshly squeezed orange juice made in our room.We spent the mornings walking the 2-mile circumference of the white sugary sand beach and combing for seashells. Then we'd lay by the 3-tier infinity pool for hours.We had hermit crab races in our downstairs al fresco living room. To get anywhere, we walked or hopped on board - even to and from the airport. There are no cars, or roads. Just plenty of gorgeous blue waters and tiny little islands.