ISLAND COOL PALM

AN ISLAND IN THE SEA

“WELCOME to Coco Palm and thank-you for flying Trans Maldivian Airways,” the pilot of my Twin Otter seaplane said. He stepped out of his tiny cockpit and into the passenger area where I sat with 14 Japanese tourists waiting for a dhoni to take me to the resort and spa I was visiting in the Maldives. The pilot, a Canadian, was dressed like he was part of the holiday himself: bermuda shorts, leather sandals and a cool cotton shirt. We had landed in the Indian Ocean a short distance away from Coco Palm and the seaplane was gently riding the waves as it waited for the dhoni. This is a small fishing vessel that the Maldivians use to ferry tourists from the seaplane to an island. I could see it coming, an all-female reception party on board, Swiss, German, English, Japanese and American. And waiting for us barefoot at the beach, the French general manager of Coco Palm, Mr. Patrick Heuze, a rugged Jean Claude Van Damme lookalike in cargo shorts and T-shirt.

Coco Palm is the property of an enterprising Maldivian hotelier by the name of Shabeer Ahmed. His brochure describes Coco Palm as a captivating hideaway. I will say it is. It is also magical, intimate and an exclusive haven of serenity. Coco Palm is situated on the private island of Dunikolu in Baa Atoll in the Maldives. The seaplane from Male Airport took half an hour to reach here. I had been told that Dunikolu is the most beautiful of all islands in the region and even as the Twin Otter was circling it from above, I could see it was. Now standing on the sandy white beach and caressed by a tender sea breeze, I took in the postcard view of Coco Palm’s breathtaking lagoon and villa suites standing on stilts at the water’s edge fringed by swaying palms. The outermost one was mine.

I will briefly describe the place to you. Like all the resorts in the Maldives, Coco Palm has an island to itself. This makes for heightened intimacy when you consider you are stranded, virtually, on a desert island until the next seaplane arrives to take you away. And you are cut-off from not just the rest of the world, but also the immediate and neighbouring island in the archipelago which might be just 20 minutes away by a good speedboat. There are no local phone lines between the islands. No newspapers. Only television. If you are looking for a real private holiday, this is it. Coco Palm has two types of accommodations: beach and deluxe villas that promise beach-front rooms; and, lagoon villas built on stilts and suites that offer ocean view. Once you take your pick, you luxuriate. Unfortunately I was there during the monsoon. And a tropical storm rocked my villa and sent giant-size turtles swimming for cover under the stilts, forcing me to shift to a beach villa.

There is much you can do at Coco Palm even on a holiday. After you luxuriate, you can exhilarate yourself. Go island hopping, night fishing and on excursions that bring out the adventurer in you. There is diving, snorkelling, sailing and windsurfing. Of these, the activities involving Maldives’ underwater world are most fascinating. Thousands of tourists come just to explore the magnificent underwater landscape. You may either just swim wearing goggles, snorkel or dive. Even visitors with a fear for the sea become fascinated with the attractive fish and coral life in the protected reefs. You could sight everything from tiny shrimp to a huge whale shark. Otherwise the common variety of sea life includes the Honeycomb Moray, the Indian Banner Fish, Giant Clam, the Orange Lined Trigger Fish, the Ragged Fin Lion Fish and the Olive Ridley Turtle.

Not being the underwater type myself, I settled for Coco Palm’s temple of rejuvenation for the body and soul. A Nautilus Spa run by a team of soft-spoken, well-mannered and beautiful Bali girls. It is a total sensory experience. All-natural treatments that draw on the ancient health and beauty traditions of Asia. An exotic aroma of spices and pure essential oils, the gentle sound of soft Oriental music, and the senses are bathed and lulled into a state of relaxed bliss while professional and experienced hands combine stretching, long strokes, skin rolling and palm and thumb pressure for overall relaxation and absolute enjoyment. The Bali girls use Shiatsu, Thai, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, Swedish and Balinese massage.

The wining and dining is fine at Coco Palm. Its Cowrie Restaurant serves international dishes and provides a la carte dining on the beach. The food is perennially garnished with creativity and steeped in finesse. The Cornus Restaurant serves authentic Maldivian cuisine and other Asian specialities from India and Sri Lanka. The Cornus Seafood Grill offers romantic open-air dining. It has an open grill with visual cooking and two aquariums with fresh lobster and other fish. Also set on the beach is the Conch Bar where you can drink to stunning sunset and lagoon views. And adding fluidity to special moments is the Lagoon Bar, but you have to wade to get there.

Coco Palm, in the words of its general manager, Patrick Heuze, meets the fantasy of people of a desert island. The best time to go there would be between Christmas and Easter. Male, which is the capital of the Maldives, and which is a small two-kilometre island with an airport, is connected to all major cities of the world. From India, there are Indian Airlines and Air Seychelles flights there. And then, the Trans Maldivian Airways or Maldivian Airtaxi seaplanes. Go dressed in shorts and T-shirt.