Hit the escape button

There’s a Maldives for oligarchs, for party animals, for adventure lovers, for families. Want the relaxed vibe of the islands of before? That’s now here too

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Most visitors don't realise this but there are actually two Maldives: Before and After. I like them both, but sometimes I really miss the Before.

Before what? I hear you ask. Well, before the Maldives became one of the world’s great luxury destinations. Before the world’s millionaires descended on the islands and some of the world’s greatest luxury resorts, like the magnificent Cheval Blanc and the elegant Four Seasons LG, became famous. Now, so many new high-priced resorts have opened that even I, who goes to Maldives at least once a year, can no longer keep track.

Why do I miss the Before period?

Well, because it was less crowded, and you had a distinct sense of the Maldives, of the 1192 tiny natural coral islands surrounded by some of the clearest water in the world, The resorts were small, and though the food was not great and the pools were ringed by recliners full of large pale Europeans who had found a package rate from travel agents, it didn’t really matter. Most villas were connected to the lagoon, so you didn’t have to bother with the pool. And I usually found an Indian or Sri Lankan chef who would cook something simple for me.

‘We never give the Taj group the credit it deserves for being a pioneer in tourism in the Maldives. It opened two small resorts on lovely natural coral islands that were only a short boat ride away from the airport, but when you got there they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

Perhaps because connectivity from India was poor, the Taj never marketed the resorts to Indians. I used to fly to Trivandrum and then take an Indian Airlines flight to the Maldives, but many others went via Colombo. There were no direct flights from Mumbai or Delhi in those days. Though I did not write about food or travel in that era, my wife did. And when she wrote about the beauty of the Maldives, the general response was ‘What is this place?”