One the Island

Next to the vegetable and fruit market on the seaside road in Male, take the ZUHAL EXPRESS speedboat that can carry about 30 people to Naifaro Island at 8 am. The boat ticket is US$60 and the hotel can book it. You don't have to pay the crew after getting on the boat, but pay the hotel after arriving at the hotel. This speedboat is a regular flight that runs every day. The return trip is at 11 am. The speedboat travels at a speed of 30 knots on the calm sea. The sea water sometimes reflects the clouds in the sky like a mirror, and sometimes ripples appear. When passing by the resort island, you can see the seaplane that just took off. The whole journey takes 2 hours and 45 minutes to reach Naifaro Island where the hotel is located, and stops at a port to pick up and drop off passengers and cargo. When I arrived, the hotel staff was waiting at the dock in a golf cart. We arrived at the hotel 3 minutes later. The hotel is next to a green mosque that is like a mini museum (almost no one goes in and out), a children's playground and four apartment buildings. The hotel staff were very shy. They hung a frangipani flower around my neck as a welcome, which reminded me of the first time I saw this beautiful flower in Zanzibar, Tanzania 16 years ago. They also brought me cool coconuts. The room was very clean. The whole hotel was spotless, with no dust, insects or mosquitoes. The shower water was not hot enough, probably because I didn't know how to use the water heater. The hotel room faces south or north, and you can't see the sea from the window. The sea is on the west. From the rooftop cafe, you can see the whole process of the western sea and the sunset without any obstruction. It takes about 50 minutes to go around the island. It is said that there are 6,000 people living on the island, but I only saw less than 200 people. Maybe they were all at home. There is no industry here, and no fishing boats. It is very sunny here during the day. You need to wear a hat when going out. It is best to hold an umbrella. The small beach in front of the hotel is the cleanest on the island. I saw two one-foot-long flesh-colored black dorsal fin sharks cruising one foot away from the shore. They were very serious and cute. There were many beautiful small fish in the shallow water of the sea. There were relatively large hermit crabs and coral stones on the beach. There is a newly opened RANMUI CUISINE restaurant not far to the north of the hotel. The Italian seafood pasta (Grilled Raibow Runner) contains large fish fillets, shrimps and small octopus. It is delicious and only 90 yuan, but the lobster (Spc Gril Lobsre) is very small and has little meat. The price is 762 yuan, which is not worth it. There is a restaurant 60 meters to the right front of the hotel. It looks very ordinary and serves simple meals. It is said to be the second best restaurant on the island. In addition, there are six or seven restaurants that I didn’t see, which may be smaller. Next to this restaurant is a diving club. The hotel also contacted this restaurant to watch manta rays the next day. On the other side of the restaurant is a turtle nursery, where injured turtles are kept. Most of them are injured by fishing nets and boat propellers. Films will be shown here, telling the life of turtles and the harm caused by humans to nature. Five species of turtles can be seen in the Maldives, and you can see them when watching manta rays. It is a 15-minute boat ride from the island, which costs US$70 per person, with a minimum of 2 people. I saw three manta rays together at most. They are very friendly and will swim towards the manta rays from Scotland. Lan's dive guide Elizabeth, turned around one meter in front of her, and then circled. Their wingspan is about one meter. Nargiz and Elizabeth said they are just children, the big ones are more than two meters, their lifespan is longer than humans, it is forbidden to touch them, they will never come back after being frightened. This is what I encountered here. It is my first time to visit the Maldives. This is the ninety-ninth country I have traveled to alone. I like this island very much, the slow life here, the natural small beaches, the shy and simple people, the lack of asphalt and concrete roads, as if I have returned to the past, the hotel staff are from the local area, Azerbaijan, Nepal, and close friends from the Philippines and Italy. These are the countries I like. Thanks to Nargiz for replying to my email at two in the morning! Tell me how to find the pier to take the boat. Thank you to Ctrip customer service for the online guarantee and signing of this excellent hotel. This hotel should be the only hotel on the island. I was probably the only tourist on the island at that time. It is very safe here. You can also choose domestic flights for $150 and seaplanes for $250 to come to the island, but because it is not a morning departure, I did not choose them. The boats from the island back to Male are at 8:00, 10:00 and 11:00 in the morning. If I am wrong, please correct it. After that, I went to Bhutan again and watched the Pamukkale in the foothills of the Himalayas. The 117th National Day celebration of the establishment of the Drub Kagyu ******* Buddhist State was very grand. Two generations of kings, five queens, two princes and a little princess appeared. There were 35,000 people in attendance from 5:30 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon. We witnessed the largest Vajra Dance in this life. There were also nearly a hundred monks wearing five-crown Buddha hats chanting fierce mantras to clear the way for the king to enter. There were also simple, kind and helpful people there, and clear rivers flowing in the valleys. I completed the 100th country there. I am grateful for all the good karma I have encountered in this life, and thank the Dakini for her protection and blessing.

The hotel prices are confusing and the management is chaotic. The island is very primitive and is a residential island. The snorkeling conditions are average, the visibility of the water is not high, and the room is okay. However, the service is average and not highly recommended. In addition, you need to pay a high boat fee to go to the island, which takes three hours and is very uncomfortable.