That thing called 'bakasyon'

"Did you just decide you wanted to run off to Maldives?" the resort attendant Shamma, a local, asked me, as we made our way to the villa, my villa for three and a half days.

"I booked the flight, I think, July last year. But the resort accommodation, I just booked it sometime November," I replied.

"So you've wanted to go here that long?"

I smiled. "Yes."

At the time I saw this Tiger Airways SIN-MLE-SIN flight on sale, my usual travel buddies couldn't book it together with me. Circe was still re-evaluating her career options; Lizlie was scheduled to work during the Lunar New Year holidays. And so, seven months after, I found myself on solo flight once again.

Flying alone is nothing new to me. On my first international flight, I went on my own, a less than four hour flight to Singapore and I've been flying back and forth the Philippines many times alone over the last six years. Even long haul flights - I've survived them alone, twice over, one to Barcelona and the other to London. Going on a solo trip, though, is a bit new. I say "a bit" because I've already done it before, in Barcelona and Madrid. As the days drew closer to the date of my trip, however, I was feeling apprehensive about my decision to go alone this time. How would I manage in a place which was, first and foremost, a honeymoon destination?

The chef, attempting a conversation, asked me on my third night at the buffet dinner at the resort asked, "Are you here with your husband?"

"No."

"With your friends?"

"No." I smiled. This line of questioning is oh-so-familiar by now.

He concluded: "You're alone? I can't go alone - I'm scared. But you, you look like a brave girl."

If he only knew, I'm not really as brave as I look. If he only knew, I had second thoughts about doing this alone, thinking how pathetic it would be to be alone in a place meant for honeymooners. 

Honeymoon. With me, myself and I.

Not many of my friends knew I was going to Maldives. Lizlie, knew, of course. My travel insurance agent, housemate and friend, Nowella, knew. I specifically informed her just in case, you know, something happens. Mike came to know about the trip too, but he wouldn't believe that I was going alone. (Six years of being housemates, Mike, and you can't believe your housemate just hops on a plane to some country, with or without company, when she fancies it. Hahaha!) Even my sisters in our Singles for Christ unit had doubts that my only travel companion is the now infamous baby Pooh, possibly the only Pooh globetrotter stuffed toy to date.

Every staff member of the resort who came to know that I was in the island on my own, felt it was his/her duty to entertain and accommodate me - from helping to take my photos to chatting with me during the three-hour dolphin tour to as simple as asking me, every chance they get, how I was doing and suggesting activities for me to do. I wonder if the resort duty manager the afternoon I arrived had given a free upgrade from a garden villa to a beach villa as a favor to me, the guest who came by her lonesome.

I wanted to tell them: "Guys, calm down, there's nothing to fuss about. I'm fine. Please go about your business as usual." Because, really, I was fine the whole time I was there. All my apprehensions about being out of place were for naught. I'd say it would have felt more awkward sitting through a couple friend's dinner than staying in that resort.

First of all, there weren't just couples there. There were families, too - with kids. And the couple guests were not all lovey-dovey in an annoying sort of way. Their public displays of affection were decent. At most, they were holding hands while walking. 

Second, in that resort, folks mostly left other folks to their own devices. This worked to my advantage because I don't like nosy people. I mean, I don't like explaining myself to other people and most especially to virtual strangers. It might come as a surprise to some but I am mostly an introvert which, I guess, is the reason why, unlike most people, I can enjoy travelling alone. Travelling alone actually helps develop my sense of direction. Well, not exactly. I am still, and will remain to be, the Maleta Girl. But solo travel teaches me to focus. I may not have a good sense of direction, but all my other senses compensate for the lack of it. I still go around in circles, I still get lost; in the end, I still do find my way.

That thing called 'bakasyon'

I have hesitations dubbing this Maldives trip as my best vacation ever. Looking back though, this was, in fact, the only real vacation trip that I've ever gone on. Sure, I can enumerate some 10 countries I've visited in the past but in all those other trips, I was always in a hurry to get from one place to another, so that I could see as many tourist attractions as I can in the little time that I had. On the other hand, this trip was as 'chill' as 'chill' can be.

As expected of my ever constant body clock, I still woke up early everyday of this vacation. I woke up even earlier than the sun in that part of the world because its timezone was two hours delayed of Singapore's. But while I linger in my bed every morning in Singapore oftentimes contemplating on whether I was feeling sick enough to file for a medical leave, in Maldives, I get up as fast as I can to draw the curtains of the glass door that opens up to the beach.

Then I get dress while waiting for the sunrise.

This sunrise. Every single morning.

Dolce vita!

After watching the sunrise, I eat breakfast, a very big breakfast at that. Then I check my social media accounts and email, update my mother about my life in the paradise island over Viber and chat with the #WhoGoatLines girls, Lizlie and Mona, over WhatsApp. All this I did while lying on a hammock under the coconut tree.

I had claimed that spot since day one because it had a good view of the beach and the jetty where I could see the arriving and departing guests alike. And the best thing about it is that the WiFi signal is good. ;-)

On the second day, I went for the dolphin and sunset tour. We cruised for about two hours. Sadly, we didn't get to see any dolphins. Boooo! (Ang dolphins ay parang lovelife ko. Not meant to be. LOL. #WhoGoatLines)

The sunset at sea did not disappoint, however. 'Lovely' does not even begin to describe it. Awesome maybe the word. But still not quite it.

Lovelier than lovely

    

Standing in awe

I had learned from Upul, the Sri Lankan guide of the dolphin and sunset tour, that there were inhabited and uninhabited islands in Maldives. Of the inhabited islands, they were either resort islands or local fishing villages. I spent my third afternoon exploring two nearby fishing villages. 

The other side of the coin

Both villages were ghost towns in the afternoon. I would guess things were very different in the early mornings when their ports would be abuzz with the fishing boats' arrivals. That afternoon, the noisiest people in the streets were the tourists - the Chinese tourists in particular. Oh, were they such a rowdy bunch!

If, like me, you grew up in a barangay in a province of the Philippines, that trip to the village would be like a throwback Thursday experience on a Saturday. There's that familiar welcome arch that, in the Philippine context, marked the boundaries of barangays, the barangay hall plastered with posters of a local politician, the sari-sari store where kids can buy their sweets and adults can buy anything from softdrinks to whitening creams, the public school where Maldivian kids finish their primary and secondary education before transferring to Malé (or to nearby Sri Lanka) to study in the university.  

Juxtapose that with the overwater and beach villas, swimming pools, bars and restaurants, spa, cruise boats and jetskis in a resort island. The disparity of life on this earth doesn't get more obvious than this - one life opulent, the other simple. But that is how it is in Maldives. 

Tourism is this country's largest economic activity, accounting for 30% of its GDP in 2013. According to a Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) research paper published in 2014, this sector that had developed rapidly since the early 1970s had transformed Maldives from a fishing community to a world-class service industry - a transformation that sounds close to home as the Philippines also underwent the same. Whether the country of my birth is going ahead of Maldives or lagging behind it is something I am incapable of saying, though. What I do know as a matter of fact is that the Philippines is blessed with even more natural resources that can be used to our advantage, if only for tourism alone. While Maldives has the best beach and the clearest waters that I have seen in Asia, comparable only to Palawan in my opinion, it doesn't have any of the other bodies of water - falls, springs, rivers - and it comprises only of flat land masses; the Philippines, on the other hand, has hills, valleys and mountains. And I'm guilty of not having explored most of these before I went out to explore the rest of the world. Case in point: Boracay has remained unchecked in my bucket list for the longest time. ^_^

Best vacation ever

I still can't say that this is the best vacation ever. Maybe after I've been to Greece I'll be able to tell which of the two is. But the Maldives trip is certainly one of my most memorable. The corresponding credit card bill by itself is already memorable. HAHAHA.

Kidding aside, the Maldives trip is memorable for three reasons.

1. Because it is Maldives. 

How do you capture this in one word? You can't.

What you've seen in the pictures and on those travel documentaries about this island nation, they're all real! This is the only trip that I didn't use a single Facebook or Instagram filter in the photos I had taken. Using any filter seemed like a sacrilege to the beauty that is Maldives. And the photos themselves, they don't even give justice to the real thing. I could gush endlessly about the place like a teenager who is madly in love. Well, perhaps, I am madly in love with the place.

2. Because Eureka moments are hard to come by when you're almost 32. 

When you've lived three decades like I have, the world doesn't seem to be all that amazing all the time anymore. So once in a while, try something new - ride a seaplane and find out for yourself that a seaplane won't just cruise at sea the rest of the way. (What are those wings for, right?!?)

It will eventually take off and fly over the Indian Ocean-Arabian Sea.

The view from above

And subsequently you find out that the "airport" was a little (and I mean, literally little) platform in the middle of the sea.  

Yes, that's where we're landing, Madam

And I, being the occasional idiot, actually panicked, thinking that we were expected to swim all the way to the resort island. Eureka, there's a boat coming to pick us from the "airport"!

3. Because I'm not rich and I'm not famous but there I was, in Maldives, living la dolce vita.

I am almost sure that I will never be able to afford a beachfront property, not in this lifetime. So having this beach villa all to myself for three and a half days was, without doubt, the chocolate icing on the chocolate cake called Maldives. Yes, that is precisely how over-the-top this whole experience is for me - chocolate over chocolate.

The beach and it was all mine, mine, mine!

Sans the fact that there was no free in-room WiFi, my villa was just perfect - big bed, walk-in closet, white and yellow lighting, bright, cheerful color, lots of space. The bathroom (with two showers and a bathtub!) was a tad unconventional but I don't think I would have it any other way.

My king-size bed facing the rising sun

Al fresco

At this point in my life, I still don't know if I'll ever get married and have my own family or eventually, I'll be able to happily choose perpetual singlehood. I'm still working on that 20%.  

In any case, God sure knows how to keep the impatient entertained. He gave the honeymoon trip before the wedding. Of course, He knows! There remains that selfish part of me that's not ready for commitment. 

But, will I ever be?