gettin a tan... maldivian style

Saturday morning at the Maldives... I fell asleep in a thunderstorm & woke up in paradise.

It's hard to believe i was in Paris just a week ago shivering in the cold, then in the blink of an eye i'm burning under the scorching sun of the Indian ocean.

Bliss.

Neighbours.  

Beach essentials.

Beautiful.... and some of my colleagues actually spend the entire day in the hotel room!

Tanning is serious business here.

Island life..

Lunch at the Sundowners' bar...

Back to the beach...

Then an afternoon siesta...

Lazy lazy.... You know, i could get used to life like that!

back to the maldives..

a Maldivian monsoon.

so after a bumpy plane ride (seatbelt sign switched on all the way), a few plunges in the air.. a choppy nauseous boat ride, we arrived in paradise.





Except that mother nature was in a bad mood & decided to bestow upon us her wrath.
The below picture was taken at the exact same spot 1.5 years ago during the dry season!



I was happily soaking in the sun then.



Now, i was contemplating the possibility of even going into the water.
I had woken up to dreams of jet skis & stalking fat fishes beyond the reef into the deep blue.
But alas, looking at the currents, it was not to be.



My colleague was dying to snorkel & could I save her if she ventured too far out?
"ARE U F*CKING CRAZY?" was my answer.
Baby sharks were literally being washed up on the rocks... everyone was indoors except us.



Not to be deterred ("It's just wind"), we explored the island...





Ended up at the beach bar, where it was sensibly deserted.



And insisted on having strawberry milkshakes alfresco.. I mean, how depressing is this picture?
The waiter staggered over holding the 2 glasses & asked if we would like to sit indoors?
NO! We like the breeze thank you very much.
We tried to stop the glasses from sliding across the table & shouted to each other over the wind about how sunny it would be later.



See the sun peeking thru the clouds????

Then the first drops of rain fell.
The waiter came over & gave us a sympathetic smile... Would you like to come indoors where we have a nice table for u girls?
We hung our heads in defeat & dragged our feet into shelter.



Looks like this was a better idea after all.

the Maldives..

Happy 2008... and what betta place to start the new year than at the Maldives


Soaking up the sun..




Cloudless blue skies.


Preparing for a mid-morning siesta


Feeding the fishes & looking for baby sharks.







Sometimes i really do love the job. The freedom of going where the wind takes you... skiing in zurich one day, snorkelling in the maldives the next week, and then having hotpot in taipei the next. But I still need a holiday ha. That is my only resolution this year.