Maldives is a favourite haunt for tourists who are looking for some peace and quiet in their coastal vacations. It's abundant, lush greenery and warm hospitality pull visitors in large numbers year round.

Maldives is thus a picturesque holiday resort for the wealthy and the affluent who want to be away from the more popular and crowded beaches in the Mediterranean or South East Asia not to forget Goa in India.

Divers generally visit the Maldives for the life they get the opportunity to see as well as for the rapid drifts that dominate the area. The recent coral bleaching caused by the 1996 - 1998 El Nino rise in water temperature has not altered the quality of the diving here. Dive sites in the west experience excellent visibility and cooler water temperatures than during the North East Monsoon, attracting many of the shark species closer to the surface. Sea conditions can be rougher and there is a more chance of rain, the diving however remains the same.

Island hopping is one of the top boat trips and will allow you to see some of Maldivian daily life. Islands average only one to two square kilometers in area, and lie between one and 1.5 meters above mean sea level. Although some of the larger atolls are approximately 50 kilometers long from north to south, and 30 kilometers wide from east to west, no individual island is longer than eight kilometers.

The resorts have a monopoly on services for their guests and charge accordingly: for mid-range resorts, $1000 per week per couple is a conservative budget for meals, drinks and excursions, above and beyond the cost of flights and accommodation. Practically anything — including hotel rooms if booked locally — gets slapped with an arbitrary 10% "service charge", but tips are expected on top. Resorts range from being very basic and cheap to the absolute height of luxury, one of them even has an underwater restaurant! Those willing to pay for the privilege can have their own islands or relatively isolated water bungalows with their own boat.

Political instability in Maldives is not in the interest of India. The Indian government should encourage Maldivian-led mediation to defuse the political crisis in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Politically the country is today one of Asia's most progressive. After a 30-year period of autocratic rule from former President Gayoom, President Mohamed Nasheed was elected to the office in a democratic 2008 election, which made the Maldives one of the few Muslim democracies in the world. Political pluralism is one of the big pillar of democracy and also a backbone of a democratic election.

Male' International Airport is located on an island of its own which is just over a kilometer long. The island is for the exclusive usage of the airport and is only 10 minutes from the capital by boat. Male is only 1.5 km long, though there is a slightly larger nearby island, Hulule, which serves as the airport. A few years ago Male was characterized by bright, sunny, sandy, sleepy streets lined with white compound walls and mosques, but now is has some 45,000 people, a severe water problem, and a number of motorcars, although the place is not large enough to get them into fourth gear. Male Hotel Associates have confirmed the sale of the hotel, but would not confirm, nor deny the sale price, stating only that Shangri-la had made "an excellent offer" to buy the hotel.