The Maldives

My initial wanderings in the Maldives took me to two local islands.

I travelled to Dhigurah twice. The first time was for the MWSRP whale shark volunteering project, and then again to visit a fellow volunteer-turned-friend who ended up working for that very same project. It says something: I rarely travel to the same place twice, let alone within months of each other!

Dhigurah was the place I learned how to relax into independent travel, and feel accepted into the society of others likewise exploring new things in the world. It was where I began to re-learn how to be in a sisterhood.

I also went to Dhiffushi to spend some layover days. This was when I began taking time and courage to ask questions around travel and sustainability – as a regular traveller.

Both times yielded memorable lifetime encounters with marine wildlife, incredible paradise atoll vistas, and the beginning of a new belief in myself as a traveller in the world.

Reload.

I did not return until much later. It was the year I resigned from my corporate career. Around the anniversary of my first trip, I felt driven to return to the country that was the spark for this blog.

I found a different Maldives, more confident and developed. There is even a surprisingly urban suburb to its capital city. In a way, it reflected how Asia – and the world – changed, in the span of seven years.

Here are the stories from my time in the beautiful archipelago of the Maldives. Enjoy!

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