The Independent - London, February 2nd, 2008
DECEMBER
The pale sea stretches below, punctuated by flashes of green and gold where reefs and sunlight collide. As the plane tumbles forwards, pockets of land, so tiny they are barely visible, emerge from a blanket of blue.
The wheels touch down and we screech to a halt; a long thread of landing strip juts into the Indian Ocean behind us. "Welcome to the Maldives," purrs a soothing voice.
Outside, at 7am, the air is warm and still in Male, the capital of the 1,192 atolls that make up this predominantly Muslim island nation. Scanning the list of forbidden items as we pass through customs, t...
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