INTO ASIA
Female solo
BY SVENJA MAYER
CRYSTAL-CLEAR TURQUOISE WATER, SNOW-LIKE WHITE SANDY BEACHES, LUXURY WATER BUNGALOWS AND INFINITY POOLS: THAT’ S WHAT COMES TO ONE’ S MIND WHEN THINKING OF THE MALDIVES. BUT THAT’ S NOT ALL THE MALDIVES HAVE ON OFFER...
For my first solo trip, I chose the Maldives – specifically Maalhos, a small island in the Baa Atoll. To call Maalhos“ small” is an understatement: a walk along its beach takes barely 20 minutes. Maalhos is quiet, authentic and far less touristy than many Maldivian islands. The locals are warm and welcoming and impressively multilingual, with English spoken across generations. In short, Maalhos offers everything to slow down and recharge, starting even with the early morning muezzin’ s call, which felt meditative.
After arriving at Velana International Airport in Malé, I took a short ferry to the city and then a two-hour speedboat to Maalhos. At the harbour, I was warmly welcomed by a dive master from Manta Nomad Divers, the school I’ d chosen, and the manager of the Manta Reserve, my hotel for the stay. A coconut welcome drink set the tone before I settled into my room. Later, I visited the dive school to prepare my equipment. I ended the day with a refreshing non-alcoholic passion fruit mojito, which quickly became my daily signature drink there, as alcohol is not served in the Maldives.
The next seven days were filled with diving( two each day!). I encountered turtles, stonefish, white- and silver-tip sharks almost two metres long, and majestic manta rays spanning up to five metres as they gently glided peacefully through the ocean. Watching them feed on plankton and take a breather at“ cleaning stations” while smaller fish removed parasites and dead skin, was mesmerising. I observed octopuses, masters of camouflage, change not only their colour but also the texture of their skin to evade predators. The Maldives’ underwater world proved wonderfully diverse, a parallel universe almost, though visibility sometimes varied due to strong currents.
I explored the ocean, but also took a deep-dive into Maldivian culture. The locals even took me fishing, then showed me how to prepare the fish, barbecue it and eat it with my hands – a fabulously new experience.
Maalhos gave me unforgettable dives, but also, a deeper connection to the Maldives’ soul.
98 | SUMMER 2025 / 26 • rovesa. co. za