Holiday at Fun Island Resort, Maldives

I could see the sea from where we were sat. It was a beautiful blue-green transparent colour, It seemed relatively calm and you could just about hear the gentle swishing noises over the chitter chatter in the café.

I heard a local call out 'Fun Island, Fun Island', it was time to board the speedboat and proceed on the final lap of the journey to our desired destination. I was hoping it was going to be everything I'd imagined and was feeling excited.

We made ourselves comfortable on a seat at the rear of the speedboat. I'd never been on a speedboat before so this was a new experience for me and I have to say I was quite excited. The engine roared as we sped off across the Indian Ocean. I could smell a faint whiff of diesel in the wind excreting from the boat. The boat bobbed up and down on the waves whilst the wind blew in my face cooling down my hot cheeks and Alex experienced splash back from the wavy water as he'd sat near the edge of the boat.

As we approached Fun Island I was overwhelmed as to how beautiful it was, just as you would imagine Paradise. Our Island was much bigger than the others we had passed on the speedboat. The boat pulled up along side the end of the jetty made with an iron frame and wooden planks. The steps on the speedboat had become wet from the water so I was offered a helping hand by a local to get off the boat. As we walked along the jetty towards the hotel reception Alex and I looked at each other in awe of this deserted island.

At the entrance we were greeted by about half-a-dozen Maldivian ladies, dressed in hula skirts and a chain of pink flowers around their neck. They were holding shiny silver trays offering hot flannels and beverages for us new arrivals. I took one of each. We took a seat in the reception area to take in the surroundings and relax a little from the long journey. I sat back on the chair and placed the hot flannel over my face and gently wiped the dried salt from the sea off my face. It was very soothing and refreshing, a nice welcome present. I sipped the shocking pink coloured beverage which had a distinct flavour of coconut milk and let it trickle down my throat. It was delicious.

We couldn't wait to see our room. We were led to our room by two young men, probably in their early twenties, who carried our luggage on their head! They were dressed in long white cotton trousers with a matching short sleeved shirt. The room was bright and airy but most of all cosy, just how I like it. It had matching furniture all around the room and even had co-ordinated bed sheets and curtains.

We decided to step out into 'Paradise' on an exploring expedition after we unpacked our luggage which contained everything but the kitchen sink as usual.

Alex and I walked barefoot on the beach towards the seafront. I could feel the sand sifting through my toes like a sieve. The Island itself was surrounded by soft white sandy beaches and a massive lagoon. I could see two virgin islets in the distance which you could walk over to at low tide. Around the other side of the Island was a row of beach bungalows that looked like houses on stilts in the water. It was called Cocoa Island and apparently, the likes of Jennifer Lopez and David Beckham have visited that Island.

We found a pleasant spot on the beach and lay down on the cushioned sun beds. The temperature from the sun was fierce; it must have been at least 30 degrees. I asked Alex to rub in some sun tan lotion on my back to protect it from the harmful rays the sun emits. He squeezed a dollop of lotion into his palm and the bottle made the same noise a tomato ketchup bottle makes when it is nearly empty. He gently massaged the lotion all over my back and shoulders with his big soft firm hands. I detected a coconut aroma from the lotion. I found this very relaxing, just lying here taking in the beautiful surroundings and to be sharing this amazing experience with the man I love and I had another 14 days just like this to look forward to.

During our holiday I felt brave enough to try snorkelling. I'd seen all these people, young and old, waddling along the beach like penguins in their snorkel and flippers and thought it would be fun. I rented the equipment from the diving centre. I looked like a human sized frog when I put it on. I waded into the sea, which was lovely and warm, until I was about waist height. I took a deep breath and put the snorkel into my mouth and slowly lowered my head beneath the water. It was scary at first, I found it to be claustrophobic and it took quite a lot of attempts to get used to breathing through a tube of plastic. As my confidence grew I swam towards the edge of the reef and along the way I saw the most amazing sea creatures there was a myriad of sealife below this aquamarine surface. I saw schools of multi-coloured fish that just let you swim through them and baby sharks that were only about 12-15 inches long but it was still scary, I looked around warily under the water and wondered where mummy and daddy shark was! The water was so clear you could see every little thing on the bottom of the ocean. I found snorkelling to be an unbelievably exciting experience.

When we booked our holiday they included a free scuba diving taster lesson so the next day I tried this. I found this more difficult than the snorkelling. You have to wear flippers, a bulky life jacket that would fill up with air when you press a button in case you need to come to the seas surface in an emergency and a heavy oxygen tank on your back. The breathing technique is the hardest task to overcome when scuba diving, you can hear the noise of your lungs inflating and deflating each time you take a breath and each time you breathe out you see all these bubbles escape from your mouth-piece, it was really weird. The instructor was really patient with me. Once I got used to the breathing the instructor led the way to the end of the jetty where all the colourful fish were congregating. It was like another World in the ocean, all the species of fish playing in the sea swimming here, there and everywhere. The colourful coral in different sizes and textures and shapes you would not imagine. Some coral looked like big bath sponges because of the thousands of holes they contained. I really enjoyed the scuba diving experience but didn't have enough confidence to go on a deep-sea diving expedition.

It was our last night. I'd had such a fabulous time on this holiday and although I was homesick and missed my family and friends I didn't want to go home. But as they say, all good things come to an end.

The chef put on a special evening dinner for those of us who would be leaving the next day. The staff had laid out candle-lit tables on the beach, just yards away from the sea. We took our places at our table and sipped our 'all inclusive' drinks. It was such a romantic evening, across the horizon the sun was going down, we'd seen the most amazing sunsets on this island that was one thing I was definitely going to miss. We talked about how much we had enjoyed our holiday while we waited for our food to arrive. The food was amazing and smelled delicious.

I felt sad at the thoughts of having to leave for home tomorrow morning. I was trying extremely hard to enjoy my last night in the Maldives and was thankful for all the wonderful things I'd experienced whilst here but it was difficult. I'd had the best time and didn't want it to end. I was sure Alex was going to propose if we spent another night here.

After we finished our meal we took what would be our last night time stroll along the beach and down to the end of the jetty. The planks creaked in the darkness with each footstep we took. There was a slight warm breeze that gently ruffled my neatly styled hair. We sat on the steps at the end of the jetty which were a little damp from the sea splashing over it. It was a tranquil evening. The moon's reflection was glistening on the sea that was gently rippling. For a long time we just gazed at the twinkling stars in the sky, pointing out to each other the different constellations and then Alex began to gaze into my eyes and smiled. He put his strong arms around me and held me tight. I felt safe. He began to tell me what a wonderful time he had on holiday and how being with me made it more special. At this point, thoughts were running though my mind, I was thinking what's got into him, he's not the soppy type, he's not going to propose, is he?

EMMA SMITH - DESCRIPTIVE WRITING