1996
If you want to relax (and not much more) then the Maldives is good. Great snorkelling and diving, and some nice day-trips make for a great time. The Airport near Male, is just a runway in the water with a jetty attached for all the boats to the islands. You are not allowed to take any religious icons into this strictly Muslim country so the Buddha biscuit tin you bought in Sri Lanka has to stay at the airport.
We took this Chopper for a day trip to a deserted island. After you land a speedboat takes you to another island (club med with a parrot in the bar) and finally a walk through 2 ft of water to the island. 'The island was so deserted it needed 4 full time gardeners'
This is me having a hard day's relaxing. We had one of the water bungalows in the background with a balcony and steps into the sea. Swim 10 yards and you were on the reef. We treated ourselves one morning and had breakfast delivered to the room. Prawn Curry, Chicken Curry and side dishes - bloody marvellous.
Snorkeling the reefs. We got to see a Manta Ray, reef sharks, stingrays & loads of fish. Favourite fish was the Picasso Triggerfish which attacked your mask at full tilt if you got into its territory.
