The Maldives-where our new chapter began. The last three years have been difficult. COVID truly changed the landscape of medicine, and as doctors we were tired. The emotional toll of a taxed (and I would argue somewhat broken) health care system was pushing me to become a cynical shell of myself and I was becoming resentful towards a career I had worked so hard for. I knew I needed to make a change.
But what does this have to do with having a baby? Or the Maldives? Let me back up.
Our families are from India, and as many first generation Indian-Americans can attest, we spent many hot and humid summers at our grandparents’ houses watching reruns of “Tom and Jerry” and music variety shows. Visits became less frequent as we grew older, so by the time Neal and I returned to India together, it had been almost a decade since either of us had last been. My grandparents were getting older, and it was the perfect excuse to spend time playing tourist in the motherland. Click here to see how we got there.
India is sensory overload.The billions of people; the aroma of spices and flowers mingling with sweat and sewer; the sounds of calls to prayer mixed with rampant car horns, hawkers calling their wares, and animals braying; the sheer amount of history. Your whole body vibrates and is in hyperdrive 24/7. It is exhilarating and exhausting, thrilling and tiring, delighting and draining. What better place to reflect and recharge than the Maldives? Depending on where you are in the massive subcontinent, you can arrive in the capital of the Maldives, Malé, in up to four hours by flight. From there, you have your pick of over 100 resorts spread out over 26 ring-shaped islands called atolls.
How to Choose Your Island (Resort) in the Sun
There are many ways to narrow the seemingly endless number of resorts to find what you’re looking for, but in the end, it comes down to two things: price and location.
Price is rather self-explanatory; you can spend a stupid amount of money to hang out in this island paradise. When it comes to your chosen island you have to consider how you’re getting there; there are no bridges or highways connecting the separate resorts. There are about 30 resorts that are a speedboat ride away. Some resorts, like the St Regis and Waldorf Astoria, offer their own transfer, while others rely on third party services. The vast majority of resorts, however, rely on Trans-Maldivian Airways which is the largest seaplane operator in the world. While the idea of arranging these transfers sounds daunting, most resorts will assist in the process; they want you on- site just as badly as you want to be there. What I was not mentally prepared for the first time I visited the Maldives was the cost — expect to pay a minimum of $500 USD per person if you’re traveling by seaplane, and at least $200 USD per person if you’re traveling by boat. (I knew Neal, the plane enthusiast, would prefer the seaplane transfer.) Also, keep in mind that seaplanes only fly during the day, so if you’re arriving late, you’ll need to stay on Malé for a night.
On this visit to the Maldives, we chose to stay at the Conrad Maldives on Rangali Island, a part of the Hilton chain of hotels, I was a little nervous that the property would feel commercial and uninspired when there are plenty of lovely boutique hotels and resorts to choose from. On top of that, it is one of the largest resorts in the Maldives, spreading over two islands, so I was worried it would feel busy and crowded. We went in January, which is part of peak season in the Maldives, so prices can be over 50 percent higher than low season.
I made the mistake of reading a nauseating number of blogs about the “best” resorts in the Maldives and was sickened with information overload. Using price as my filter, I looked through the hotels offered via the AMEX Platinum’s Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR), and for our dates, there happened to be a featured deal: four nights for the price of three at the Conrad. It’s important to note that FHR isn’t really cheaper — you will usually find the same price if you book directly with the hotel— but the perks can be significant. There’s guaranteed late check out, a resort credit (here it was $125 USD), early check in when available, and a free breakfast for two. While they tote a free upgrade if available, in the years I’ve booked through FHR, I’ve never once been offered a significant upgrade. The number of people with hotel status is large since the Conrad is a member of the larger Hilton group, so I knew any benefit of my Gold status with Hilton (another AMEX platinum perk) would be quickly diluted. At least with booking with FHR, I’d be able to redeem the other perks. The price point for our Deluxe Water Villa with Pool was in the range I was willing to splurge due to the extra free night.
The Conrad Treatment
After arriving in Malé’s Velana International Airport, we were met by a Conrad representative who escorted us to a lounge to wait for our seaplane. While it was a quick flight from Mumbai to Malé, for those traveling from other parts of the world, having somewhere to freshen up and eat snacks is a welcome treat. The resort coordinated our seaplane transfer, so when it was time we were escorted to the seaplane terminal where we and 14 fellow leisure seekers waited for our ride. A finely tuned machine, we and our bags were loaded onto our assigned seaplane that stopped at different island resorts to unload passengers, kind of like a shuttle bus. Then finally, we reached our destination.
The Conrad is located in the South Ari atoll, a 30-minute flight from Malé. As we made our descent, we got a bird’s eye view of 2 two pearly islands surrounded by azure waters. When we stepped off the seaplane, we were guided towards reception, located in a small hut in the center of a large pedestrian bridge that connects the two islands of the property — adults-only Rangali island and Rangali-finolhu island. Simple yet upscale, it oozed quiet luxury, and the process was seamless. Once check-in was completed, a private butler took us to a golf cart to tour the property before dropping us off at our lodging. She was a lovely woman named Svea, and she was readily available via WhatsApp to do anything from making dinner reservations to coordinating activities to even getting us the recipe for Maldivian Fish curry.
We booked the Deluxe Water Villa with Pool on Rangali island. Facing west, we had incredible sunset views over the seemingly endless ocean from our private plunge pool. The thatched-roof villa sat on stilts over the water that we could access off our deck. The room itself was simple and tasteful, including a large bathroom with a soaking tub that overlooked the ocean. Renovated in 2022, it skillfully toed the line between feeling modern and tropical . All amenities were in refillable glass dispensers and containers. While having a private pool was an amazing feature, the resort did have an adults only pool and bar on Rangali, and another larger pool with a kids pool on Rangali-finolhu. That island also had luxurious (and huge) beach villas which I could see a family fitting into perfectly. The spa was also tucked away there, along with the dive center and the house snorkeling reef. Snorkeling gear was provided free of charge, as well as non-motorized water activities like paddle boards and kayaks.
There were 12 different dining options—and no, we did not try them all. The Conrad is most famous for having the first underwater restaurant, Ithaa. While we chose not to dine there, we did take full advantage of their impressive wine cellar and had a private dinner surrounded by the Maldives’ largest wine collection. We had breakfast at Vilu every morning, where we couldn’t help but have the traditional Maldivian breakfast every time. With FHR, we had breakfast included and could have crossed the footbridge to Atoll Market, the only buffet at the resort, but we just couldn’t resist the spicy Maldivian fish curry to start our day. We had some delicious seafood at the Sunset Grill on a table perched over the water, and enjoyed Atoll for a Maldivian dinner feast. While the food was delicious and the service was warm, the prices were borderline gratuitous: a hotpot dinner at Ufaa was $290 USD per person, the dinner buffet was $160 USD per person, and a bottle of water at a restaurant was almost $20. There really weren’t any cheaper options, and given we were literally on an island, we had no choice but to pay the exorbitant prices.
The “aha” moment
Our experience at the Conrad was amazing. Despite my complaints about the dining costs (you’re already paying so much for the villa!), I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful place to reassess our lives and priorities. It was there, hanging out in our pool watching a gorgeous Maldivian sunset, that we decided it was time to make a change. We had been together for almost 15 years, just the two of us, and we loved every minute of it. But staring out toward the horizon, we kept asking ourselves: what’s next? Our trip was beautiful, but we should have been enjoying it more — something was missing.
One of our biggest hang ups about having a child was the fear of being unable to have those types of experiences. People would always joke and say that our lives would be over if we had a kid. But there we realized the joy that could come with having those experiences with a child. One night, we were walking on the bridge back to Rangali island when we met a family of five with three kids ranging from two to 10. They were all hanging out on the bridge because two giant Manta rays were showing off under the stars. The toddler squealed with delight as the 10- year-old was giving a lecture about Manta ray feeding. I’ll never forget the look of joy and pride in their mom’s eyes. It showed me that a new type of pleasure was possible — a possibly greater one. We had been lucky enough to travel the world and have some amazing experiences … but how cool would it be to relive our favorite experiences through the eyes of our child?
At that moment I knew what our path forward was. I also knew that in order to change I had to change my job, take a break, and start over. Sitting on that deck back in January 2023, I promised myself I’d take that leap of faith. And at the end of November, our new travel partner, Jai, joined us and stole our hearts. We knew he was ready to take on the world, one passport stamp at a time.
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