Whale sharks, snoozing haWksbill turtles, and tWo happy teenagers. Radhika tandon discovers the joys of drifting With the current in the Maldives
We seem to have the Indian Ocean to ourselves. It is late afternoon. We are the only people on the white sand beach, and the sea is a shade of blue that makes me want to use fanciful words like beryl and cerulean. Small hermit crabs scuttle by, giving us a wide berth as they carry off all the best shells washed up with the last tide. A thick wall of tropical green separates the beach from the world. Only two things give away the fact that we are not on a desert island, all evidence to the contrary. My two teens are plugged into their devices, courtesy a phenomenal wi-fi connection at our little guesthouse behind the greenery. And beside us, a big warning sign proclaims that bikinis are prohibited beyond this point. For some reason, the kids think that’s hilarious.
We are on Dhigurah, almost a 100km south of Malé. A speck in the Indian Ocean, the island is about 4km long and so narrow in parts that you can cross from east to west in a leisurely minute. We are here for a diving holiday. It’s just me and the offspring. I’ve been looking forward to getting away with them. As they get bigger and busier, I am only too aware that my time with them is ticking down.
I spent weeks dithering over where to go and where to stay. The reasons for picking this island were two-fold. Dhigurah has a reputation for its proximity to great dive sites, and for being one of the best places for spotting whale sharks. And The Boutique Beach Club (BB), where we are staying, is a British-owned guesthouse with a PADI-affiliated dive centre that offers an all-inclusive diving package I didn’t need to sell a child to afford.
This story is from the July 2017 edition of Outlook Traveller.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2017 edition of Outlook Traveller.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
REDEFINING INDIA'S HOSPITALITY AND PERSONAL CARE INDUSTRY
Kimirica Ventures is a group of companies with a diverse portfolio catering to industries including personal care, hospitality, and IT products in over 40 countries
BEHIND CLOSED
IN INDIA, 'LOVE HOTELS' ARE A HUSH-HUSH AFFAIR, YET THE ORIGINALLY JAPANESE CONCEPT HAS PROLIFERATED ACROSS TOWNS AND CITIES, OFFERING COUPLES A SAFE SPACE
AMIDST THE SPIRES AND CANYONS IN UTAH
SOUTHERN UTAH IS A KALEIDOSCOPE OF COLOURS WITH EPIC VIEWS OF ICONIC RED CANYONS AND SANDSTONE SPIRES IN A VAST, WONDROUS EXPANSE
AN OASIS OF OPULENCE
ATLANTIS THE ROYAL AT PALM JUMEIRAH, DUBAI, OWNS ITS TAG OF THE WORLD'S 'MOST ULTRA-LUXURY EXPERIENTIAL RESORT'
DIVINE
SHIVA EMBRACES AN UNCONVENTIONAL AND ALL-ENCOMPASSING DIVINE LOVE, SYMBOLISED BY THE ANDROGYNOUS ARDHANARISHVARA FORM AND THE COSMIC DANCE THAT RESONATES THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE
IF WALLS COULD SPEAK
POETICALLY LOCATED IN THE HEART OF MP, MANDU IS A CITY THAT TELLS THE TALES OF MANY LOVES
BROKEN BORDERS, UNBROKEN BONDS
THE YEARNING TO RECONNECT WITH LOST ROOTS, EMBODIED BY ARTEFACTS AND SHARED PAIN, TRANSCENDS BORDERS, AFFIRMING AN ENDURING BOND THAT TIME CANNOT ERASE
RIVER OF LOVE
CHENAB, AN EMBLEM IN PUNJABI FOLKLORE, EMBODIES LIFE'S CONTRADICTIONS, LOVE'S TRANSCENDENCE, AND THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY'S SYMBOLIC CURRENTS
INK AND INTIMACY
CITIES HAVE CHARACTER. AND SOME METROPOLISES, MORE THAN OTHERS, EMBODY THE VERY ESSENCE OF ROMANCE IN THEIR STREETS, ALLEYWAYS, BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS
FINDING ITHACA
FILMS ABOUT TRAVEL TAKE US NOT ONLY TO UNFAMILIAR PLACES BUT ALSO MAKE US INTROSPECT. WE REVISIT FOUR ICONIC FILMS ABOUT LOVE, LIFE, AND FINDING ONESELF