‘Look! The houses are made of Lego!’ exclaims the young boy behind me as we swoop onto the runway on Male, the capital island of the Maldives.
He is not wrong - the buildings do indeed look like brightly coloured blocks, jumbled together in a concentration. It is the first, and last, built-up area I’ll see for a while.
From the skies I was greeted by polka dot islands scattered across blue water punctuated only with bright bursts of white sand surrounding lush green centres. Oft described as paradise, my first glimpse of the Maldives certainly seems on point. Childlike-glee is appropriate, whatever your age. - (See also: Maldives Luxury Islands)
I find it hard to wipe the inane grin from my face as we jump onto a seaplane and take to the skies again, this time heading 320km north to Iruveli, our island destination in the Maldives’ northern-most atoll, Haa Alif.
For a place specialising in laid-back luxury, the seaplane is a thrilling and adventurous way to arrive. And when we dock, I can’t help but hum the theme tune to Indiana Jones as we weave through the foliage-laden pathways to our private villas, but it’s the last high-octane moment of the whole trip. From the moment my feet hit the sand, time slows, and every muscle starts to relax.
We are staying at The Beach House, a five-star resort which opened in July 2012. Made up of 83 hideaways – from water villas daintily tip-toeing in the turquoise shallows to beach suites leading straight onto velveteen sand, Beach House is a new incarnation for the petite 34-acre island.
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