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The Maldives

Rangali Island, Alif Dhaal Atoll · January 2023

Stayed: Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Sunrise Water Villa, six nights
Paid with: Hilton Honors points, 120,000 a night with the fifth night free (600,000 total)
Where: 3.62° N · 72.72° E

Getting there · The seaplane

Over the atolls

The seaplane float out the window over the sea

A sandbar and reef from the seaplane

Where I stayed · Conrad Maldives Rangali Island

It was the Sunrise Overwater villa, on Hilton points with the fifth night free. It’s a lot more points now because Hilton keeps devaluing their points. But it was pretty awesome and I’m glad I got to go there.

The villa

The villa deck: loungers, an umbrella and the lagoon

The deck and plunge pool under thatched roofs

The plunge pool looking out to sea

The lagoon from the deck, villas on stilts

Water villas over clear water

Clear water beside the boardwalk

A fish under the villa

A towel animal and flowers on the bed

A towel animal wearing glasses

Lunch under the sea · Ithaa

The undersea restaurant

A reef shark and yellow fish past the glass

A shark overhead through the glass

Brendan at the table as a shark swims by

The glass tunnel and tables

Fish over the reef

A reef shark over a school of fish

A first course with salmon

A small plate with mushrooms

Fish with vegetables

Dessert on a blue plate

Around the island

Beaches and sunsets

A leaning palm over the beach and lagoon

White sand and a villa at dusk

Sunset along the beach

The sun going down over the water

A path of coral under clear water

A bat hanging in the trees

Bioluminescence

The blue was bioluminescence washing up on the beach at night. That was very cool.

Blue glowing streaks in the dark surf

Glowing blue specks in the sand

Streaks of blue light in the water

A line of blue light along the shore

Coming next: videos of the room and the resort.

Next on the trip: Dubai.