All is not well in the Madives

There's just ONE direct flight, leaving from Delhi to Maldives at 8am. So we're up at 3:30.am, 4 am taxi, 30 min taxi ride to airport (normally takes an hour) with rare morning horns answering each other it is a smooth and relatively quiet ride. Unfortunately, I'm too sick to care. Head congestion, zero energy, concentrating on getting through the various check-in lines (3) each one too long. Nose running like a faucet. Wearing a mask to protect others, removing and replacing every 3-5 minutes to stem the flow of water. No hands free for passport or luggage. Miserable! Dreaming of the hotel in Madives and hoping the bed is comfortable.

We make through ticketing, security, and x-ray machines only to find out our gate is at the other side of the airport. We walk for a few feet and I give up and flag down a golf cart, my first ever in all my travels. It was a life saver, 10 minute, ride to gate 14-A. Even Annalisa is relieved as her cough begins to get the best of her and zaps her energy too.

We're early. So we relax, I search for more tissues and we wait, and wait. Eventually, I find a screen to check on our flight status because there's no activity at gate 14-A. Crap, the gate has been changed, last minute, without notice, to 4-A...all I can think is (many bad words) NO %&$# way! So I flag down another golf cart and luckily this guy makes sure we make it our gate which is miles away AND down a floor by elevator! Not understanding his accent, he is kind enough to put us in the elevator and push the button for the correct floor. As the door shuts, I see him wave goodbye.

We wait some more, the crowd builds, children run from parents. I search for more tissues. FInally, we all get on a bus to the plane. After 4.5 hour flight (feels like days) and a rush through customs, etc. Annalisa grabs her bag, while I wait for mine. She needs to get directions to the water taxi. Knowing that the water taxi leaves at 12:30 (in 10 minutes) and not another one for three hours, I am panicked waiting for my bag. All I want is to get to the hotel and go to bed. Of course the dock is what seems like a mile away.

We make the boat. I look at my watch, it's 12:35. After about forty, wake jumping, minutes later we arrive at the Thulusadoo dock and our host is waiting with a golf cart ( our third of the day) and gratefully, we're off!!

Our hotel, as with most on this tiny island, is more like a guest house. Of the eight rooms available (not really available, he says that he is full) we get a room on the 1st floor..bonus!! The room is nothing to brag about. Kinda 80's Motel 6 without the dingy brown carpet. It has a king and a single bed. I claim the single and unpack. We search a few blocks away for food and soon I am finally in bed as Annalisa heads out to take a swim. I don't see the beach or the outside of our room again for nearly 24 hours. Our host is generous enough to make Annalisa dinner and sends a fruit plate to our room for me. Here we are in a place I've planned to visit for 11 months and I can't enjoy it fully. I wanted to explore by land and beautiful sea and my illness is unrelenting and wins.

By noon the next day I am coaxed to the beach by Annalisa. "Just come out and see the water" she says. I collapse into a hard lounge and an orange cat jumps up on the chair and keeps me company. My therapy cat I think. The scene is beautiful. Clear aqua water, white powder sandy beach and a cool breeze.

We are steps from our room on the only "bikini beach" in the whole place (Muslum territory) and there are plenty of them worn by all body shapes and sizes. We begin to rate the fit of their suits compared to their physique. Turns out there are a lot of bare butt string-like bikinis and most are beautiful!!

This is my first full day in the Maldives and already I'm too tired to sit in a hard, plastic beach lounge. I step into the water, call it "Too cold" and have Annalisa take a few pictures just to show we actually made it. I swear under my breath as we both head in for a nap and think "Isn't this ridiculous!!" Fortunately, I rationalize, the weather is not that great anyway!!

Eventually, after a couple more days, we both rally and get into the warm water for a swim and snorkel right off our "private" beach. The fish are immune to our presence and it seems like we are swimming in an aquarium. Numerous species of fish go about their daily activities and intermittently chase fish of their own kind away from food. I stay for an hour each session and feel so happy that if I had to be sick at any point, this is a perfect place to be!!

I would love to return one day to this small island, take a few excursions, and really explore the area the way I hoped we would. It's been a wonderful trip. The shopping in Bangkok surpassed any previous times I've visited. The Catamaran trip gave me courage to go on other small boat cruises. But above all India was a huge surprise. I had a few preconceived ideas from stories others have told and from books I've read. So I didn't expect to like India as much as I did. Yes, the traffic is crazy, the noise over the top, and the sheer number of inhabitants, 33 million in Delhi, was overwhelming. But thanks to our leader, who calls the outskirts of Jaipur his home, we were mesmerized!

Thank you for following along with us on this trip. I hope to return to this part of the world at least one more time. I love traveling to Asia so very much. It almost feels like home. Anyone want to come along??