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Maldives
Liveaboard Scuba Diving Honeymoon
I spent my honeymoon scuba diving and cruising in Maldives about 2 decades ago
and I must say that it was one of the best liveaboard scuba diving holiday
vacation I have had in my life. My new bride, along with 20 diving buddies
booked a liveaboard cruise and went island hopping, diving and fishing for ten
full days.
The diving cruise boat was our accommodation and we do not even need to
step on land except to explore some fishing villages on some of the remote
Maldivian islands. Although there are many world class spas, hotels and
resorts in Maldives such as the Banyan Tree Spa resort, we never get to stay
in any of these spas. Well, I guess it will be an excuse for me to travel to
the Maldives again to enjoy these spa resorts in my next scuba diving vacation.
About Maldives
The atolls of Maldives were formed when millions of years ago, a great range
of volcanoes rose from the floor of the Indian Ocean. As time passes, the
volcanoes sunk back into the Indian Ocean leaving only coral reefs, the
Maldivian atolls and the beautiful islands that we see today. That is why
Maldives is best known for its white pristine beaches, crystal blue lagoons
teeming with marine life, indeed a scuba diver's paradise.
The country in the Indian Ocean have no large land mass, but instead, is made
up of about 1200 coral islands with a total area of 104,00.00 sq kilo 99% of
which is the sea. Of these islands, only slightly more than 200 of them are
inhabited. Most of the islands are not more than six feet above sea level and
scientists have warned that they are very susceptible to global warming and
may one day disappear into the ocean. There are already signs that this is
happening.
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Needless to say, the mainstay of the Maldivian economy is powered by the
fishing and tourism industries. About 500,000 tourists arrive on these islands
annually. The capital of Maldives is Male (pronounced as Ma-leh). Upon
touching down on the airport, my group was whisked away by a fishing boat to
another island because the capital is no larger than a few football fields and
have one of the most dense population in the world.
Maldives has been an independent sovereign country except for a brief
occupation by the Portuguese. It then became a British Protectorate in the
mid-fifties and gained full independence in 1965. It has been an Islamic
country for more than 800 years.
During the Ming Dynasty, Chinese sailors called Maldives the "submerged
mountain chain" and wrote commentaries about these islands. If you enjoy
vacations or intend to have a liveaboard honeymoon cruises to tranquil
tropical islands or simply love fishing and scuba diving, then Maldives will
be a great holiday vacation destination for you. Oh, I forgot to mention, if
you are a seafood lover, I think there are no other place on Earth where you
can get such a wide smorgasbord delicious mouth watering seafood, except in
Maldives.
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