Treasure island with a twist

If you tire of the sunset dolphin cruises and night fishing excursions, try climbing coconut trees on neighboring islands, learning how to make Maldivian noodles with local schoolchildren, or staring at ghost islands like Kandahulhudhoo, which somehow accommodated 4,500 people before they were relocated.

After a scenic 45-minute seaplane ride from Male (return tickets cost a hefty $540), guests can dine on the beach beside flaming torches in the shadow of a stunning Thai pavilion. The Swedish-Thai massage was another treat (the spa has several overwater pavilions).

Of course, it is not everyone's cup of tea. The nights are romantic but quiet. A 17-year-old from the Czech Republic I met at Male airport only had one word to describe his nine-day stay at another resort: "Boring".

I spent five days at Loama in the lull after Chinese New Year. The average stay last year in the Maldives was six.

It must be easy to weather the storms of political change here because Male – a 2-square-kilometer island where one-third of the Maldives' 350,000 people live – feels like a galaxy far away across hundreds of fractal-patterned coral lagoons.

But political slogans emblazon the coral walls on islands like Makaurathu, just a 30-minute speedboat hop from Maamigili, highlighting how dictatorships gave way to democracy in the wake of a 2003 prison riot on Maafushi in Kaafu Atoll, Umair tells me. The country had its first multiparty election in 2008.

A yellow missile on Makaurathu's main beach pokes fun at the government's bloody response to a jail uprising. Nearby, elderly women weave thatched roofs for the big resorts using palm fronds and coconut husks, for about $150 a month.

Fishermen can earn $2,500 a week by chasing yellow-fin tuna, but apparently need lots of Red Bull to do so. Empty cans dot the beach and mosque-backed graveyard. Loama arranges half-day trips to this charming island that is known for having the friendliest locals in the atoll.

Skip the breadfruit but do try the kasha keyo, a dessert made from screw pine, sorghum, flour and sugar. It looks like pink hamburger pate but tastes like flapjack. The coconut-flower juice, bark-like flakes of dried tuna and cracked almonds – which locals use to get through Ramadan – were also worth a go.