When the passenger across the aisle on a flight from Bahrain politely refused the Health Declaration form for Dubai because “I’m transit, heading to the Maldives” I almost slung my mask off my face into his face.
‘I’m so jelly’, I groaned into the humid cavity between my mouth and mask. That was all it took for the seed to be planted.
Exactly two weeks later, I was on a red eye to Malé, the capital (which when seen from above, its outline fits one plane window frame) of the Maldives. In the last five years my attempts to head out to a sugar sand paradise were always stalled because of implacable deadlines and/or the wrong season. My summer is Greece. Greece is my summer. No country or continent can usurp the Hellenic theme between my June and September.
And sometimes, the best holidays are the onesthat are finalised in one single thought. Not to be all woo woo and weird, but I kind of manifested the Maldives into existence by dint of really, really wanting to go during the pandemic. I always think in headlines (hack duties), so the idea of ‘Paradise in a pandemic’ not only made me feel smug (that alliteration though), my deferred dream was finally reinstated. And the Maldives is virtually Covid-free and a natural participant in social distancing.
In the flesh, the Maldives is plucked straight out of the glossy pages of an elite travel magazine. It is possibly the only time where the photos on booking websites do not do it justice. The blue is bluer, the white is brilliant and every colour in between is its most vibrant self. The descent into Malé airport was a thrill alone.
Gili Lankanfushi, my residence for 72 hours, is where time stopped. Were it not for the start and end of the day announcing itself in the sky, time would operate in true island paradise fashion. Unending. Expansive. Irrelevant.
Gili’s hotel story is one of elemental beauty and simplicity. Barefoot luxury is the modus operandi of its guests and hosts – so my three pairs of shoes remained snug in their designated shoe bags and I wasn’t even mad about it. My childhood friend, Tala, who came with me had double the amount. She was not perturbed either.
Our overwater villa (one of 45 stung across three jetties and some accessible by boat only) was the summer equivalent of a winter chalet. Rustic and eco-sensitive in all the right places with natural wood and luxurious in the best places where space and privacy promise an air of Robinson Crusoe. No place on the resort ever feels full or crowded; you have to seek out others rather than bump into them. This is what serenity feels like.
In keeping with the Robinson Crusoe theme, we had our own Mr. Friday, a butler service with unparalleled attention to detail. Let me put it this way: Mr. Friday anticipates your needs before you’ve registered what is lacking in your life.
Our Mr. Friday performed a miracle of sorts in the first five minutes of our arrival. My phone’s screen suddenly stopped responding to my touch. Awks. I was in a deadlock – nothing was working after 45 minutes of trying to switch my phone on and off, because lo and behold, the phone didn’t respond to my touch! I called Mr. Friday and he took my phone away to what I want to say was a tech clinic. Not even 20 minutes later and my phone sprung back to life and no other tech-related calamities occurred thereafter. In 2020, not having phone functionality is kind of like not having limbs. Mr. Friday did oh so good.
You can do everything the resort has to offer or literally nothing at all. The Maldives is a place to power down and bliss out – but if like me you’re one with water, you can let the gentle waves waft you from one part of Gili paradise to another. The hammocks over the water is an Insta-draw, for sure. Get your water-proof gear in order in advance!
Snorkelling in a sea richer in fish than your average aquarium is something you can look forward to in a Gili trip. Black tip sharks (virtually see-through and unmissable) cruise in the opposite direction to you. “They’re harmless,” said Tiana, Gili’s resident Assistant Marine Biologist, adding, “they’re afraid of you.” Next to clown and angel fish, black tip shark’s move like a major predator but their nature is almost victim-like. We headed out to the deeper and darker waters near One Palm Island, where the clarity brings some rainbow-coloured reefs into view. Gili is deeply invested in marine conservation. Their Coral Lines Project, which started in 2014, aims to protect and replenish the island’s house reef to maintain biodiversity and mitigate episodes of bleaching, which has been a problem in recent years. Right now, the nursery has a whopping 160 lines.
When we weren’t lapping up the infinity pool or whacking tennis balls at each other like the unprofessionals that we are, we pedalled up and down Gili Highway – a sand path under an archway of palm fronds and other verdant vegetation – on our bamboo bicycles to get to our appointment at Meera Spa where the glass floor peering down at the polychrome fish was a super casual sight at that point. We also whiled away several hours in post-spa bliss reading our books in plush day beds.
As we expected Gili leads the way in sustainability and education around recycling, reusing and banning as much single-use plastic as possible and growing their own vegetables in their Organic Garden where Executive Chef Hari has successfully put the works on a natural composting mission to turn food wastes into organic fertiliser.
Speaking of Chef Hari, the food at Gili is superior. During the day we dined at Kashiveli, grazing on a feast of Chef Hari’s vegan options including a Spicy & Spices dish from the Hari’s Super Food menu. Think Green Papaya, Fried Tofu, Gili Garden Coriander, Mint, Long Beans, Green Curry Sauce and Peanut Bread. The flavours never tired nor competed with each other. Each ingredient performed perfectly during consumption.
Other dining experiences included the Tandoori Night at the Overwater Bar – essentially everything has an overwater feature at Gili. Normally I avoid overly sauce saturated meals because a storm brews in my stomach afterwards, but naan, all the naan, please! Live cooking stations are slightly different in a post-covid world. You pick what you want and the hosts will serve it to your table. I kind of preferred that to the usual motherlord of food stacked in a shaky Jenga formation on one dainty piece of porcelain. I’m the kind of person who eats with my eyes and then totally disregard my fullness cues, so this set up felt more civilised.
You know what else is civilised? The discreet and unobtrusive next-level luxury Gili achieve in their service. There were extra lavender pouches tucked under my pillow after Mr. Friday heard me say how much better it made me sleep; a gorgeous birthday ganache waiting for me at the foot of the bed on the first and last night. And when Tala asked if she could have oat milk in her coffee, our host said with plain assurance, “I’m sure we can make oat milk for you.”
The Admin
If you mentally prepare to have a for a folder of paperwork, you will not falter in giving yourself as smooth a process as possible. By now you know you need a negative PCR test to leave the UAE if the final destination requires it. I left from Dubai with a test that came out within 12 hours from Emirates Specialty Hospital. In my Monica-organized folder, I had stacked: PCR test; Flight info; Hotel booking; Re-entry permit for Dubai; Health insurance claim forms (praise be, I came back negative to tell the tale) and a copy of my visa and passport page. You don’t need the latter two, that’s just me being extra Monica about it. What you will need to do is fill in an arrival (and then departures) form via the Maldives’ immigration website 24 hours beforehand. Filling in the form then generates a QR code to present at immigration. This scan basically indicates you’re good to come and go.
The Transfer
Umm, the best part! A 20-minute speedboat ride from Malé airport (literally right outside the arrivals hall) to the arrival jetty at the resort is as long as it takes to reach bone-white beaches and glassy lagoons. Also, Gili operates on ‘island time’ where an extra hour is added for sunset benefits.
Covid-19 Response
Gili Lankanfushi has its own medical centre, with strict and rigorous testing procedures. We were tested on the second day and our results came through within 24 hours. Our Mr. Friday delivered everything well in time for our departure. The entire resort has been coated with Covid measures. Hand sanitisers are everywhere; your luggage is sanitised upon arrival and departure and hosts wear some pretty chic sustainable masks. At the end of your stay, as they bid you goodbye on the departure jetty, they’ll remove their masks and wave as you skip off into the water back to Malé. You may silently sob like I did…