Nurse sharks 'lining up' along the shore. — Photos: FLORENCE TEH
The plan was simple: Fly to Maldives, stay in an affordable three-star hotel instead of a luxury resort, and swim endlessly with the sharks.
I had done my research – as well as budget calculation – before deciding on the trip, and brushed off the common misconception that Maldives is an expensive tourist destination.
When it comes to accommodation in Maldives, you can actually find low-cost guesthouses and budget-friendly alternatives to expensive private resorts.
My wife and I had wanted to stay in a decent place that’s not just clean but also met certain standards, and without costing us a bomb. We found the perfect one easily.
As for flights, there are several options too. Besides our national carrier, Malaysia Airlines, there are other local airlines – namely AirAsia and Batik Air – that may be more suitable for budget-conscious travellers.
Upon arriving at the Velana International Airport in Male, the capital city of Maldives, my wife and I took a two-hour speed boat ride to Thinadhoo island, our destination of choice.
There were no seaplanes available, which would have taken us about 40 minutes to get there.
The writer and his wife, Florence, hanging out with the sharks and stingrays at Thinadhoo island. — Handout
The official population of Thinadhoo is just 50 people although I did think that I saw more people. The hotel area along with a tiny village occupies about a third of the island, which also has a small tropical forest and a beautiful beach about 500m long.
Thinadhoo is the kind of place where the ocean feels infinite. It is a quiet island in the Vaavu Atoll about 78km south of Male – far from the crowds of the northern resorts.
(There is another “Thinadhoo” located on Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll which is much further away from Male. This is a bigger and more developed island, serving as the administrative and commercial capital of Gaafu Dhaalu.)
But back to the smaller Thinadhoo.
Don’t expect to bump into Hollywood celebrities here. The guests were mostly Russians, with some Chinese tourists; we were the lone Malaysians.
For many visitors, the “invitation” of a lifetime comes in the form of two unlikely ambassadors: nurse sharks and stingrays.
Thinadhoo island is also known as the ‘Flower Island’ among locals.
I lost count of the number of nurse sharks I saw; there were plenty that greeted us at the island’s pier when we first arrived. Nurse sharks are said to be docile and friendly, and we saw for ourselves how true this is.
Measuring up to 3m long on average, the sharks glide slowly above the sandy seabed, whisker-like barbels drifting as they search for tiny crustaceans to feast on.
Their peaceful nature makes them among the safest sharks to swim with, and Thinadhoo has become one of the Maldives’ best places to have an intimate encounter with them.
Slipping into the warm crystal-clear water on the island felt like entering another world. The sharks swam past us with an indifference that was oddly comforting.
Our guide repeatedly told us not to swim too close to the sharks but it was really quite impossible to do as they were the ones that kept coming up to us.
Florence swimming with the sharks.
But still, one should never purposely touch the shark or any other marine creatures when swimming in the ocean. Our guide told us to just float calmly and keep our fins away from the seabed to protect feeding grounds.
The sharks’ skin, a mottled brown, absorbs the sunlight dancing on the surface. Occasionally, one will loop upward, curious and excited but never confrontational.
Thinadhoo’s shallow sandbanks are often visited by fleets of black-tip reef sharks and the more elegant, wide-winged cow-tail stingrays.
Under the surface, swimming among them felt like moving through choreography scripted by the ocean itself.
I have travelled to 60 countries, and countless destinations. The Antarctic tops my list as the best place to visit – Thinadhoo in Maldives comes second.
Of course, there may be better places in Maldives that I have not been to, and my opinions may also change later. But for now, Thinadhoo’s profound stillness of the experience lingers in my heart and mind.
This is Maldives in its most authentic form: slow mornings, empty stretches of powder-soft beach, and calm shallow turquoise waters so clear they seem lit from within.
It’s a calming reminder that, in a world that moves too fast, there still exist places where nature sets the pace.
I found peace in Thinadhoo.
The columnist snorkelling and encountering a turtle.
