Celebrating Our Anniversary in the Maldives

M and I just celebrated our wedding anniversary, and we decided to take a family trip to the Maldives since it's much closer to Dubai than it would be if we were back home. Many friends of ours had travelled there and said it was one of the most memorable and romantic destinations of their lives, so it seemed an appropriate place to reminisce about our wedding and our many years of happiness together from dating to engagement to marriage to parenthood.

After about a four-hour flight, we landed in Malé, the capital of the Maldives. I was struck at the airport by the beautiful form of the Maldivian language, which I later looked up is called Dhivehi. Some of the shapes reminded me of Arabic, especially Arabic vowels, and I learned that it is heavily influenced with some saying over 25% of Dhivehi words coming from Arabic. (If you're interested in learning more about the language and some basic travel phrases, check out the Maldivian language primer on the Vacation to Maldives website.)

Once we passed through immigration, we connected with a representative from our resort, Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort and Spa, who escorted us to a speedboat just outside the airport. We picked the Sheraton resort because it was family friendly and close enough to the airport that we could travel by boat instead of seaplane, as I wasn't sure about taking S in a seaplane at his age. We were the only parents who brought our own life jacket for our kid, but I was so grateful we did. The life jackets provided wouldn't work in an emergency for anyone who couldn't already swim, and they were too big for S.

This was by far one of the most laid-back, relaxing vacations we've ever taken. We were upgraded to a private villa and were grateful for it as S threw a few toddler tantrums in the comfort and privacy of our temporary abode. M persuaded me not to jam-pack our schedule as I usually do and instead just to go with the flow. He was right; it was just what we needed!

Our first night, we enjoyed a Maldivian seafood buffet right on the beach. As we sat at our table adjacent to the gently lapping waves, watching the sun set, listening to live music, eating phenomenal grilled calamari and fresh-caught fish, I couldn't stop grinning. I feel so lucky to be with my family and able to share such special moments with them.

The next day, I got up early to do a meditation class on the beach provided by the resort. Because my New Year's Resolution this year is mindfulness, I've been working on picking up a more solid meditation habit. This was a good chance to practice mindfulness and learn more about the science and history of meditation from the expert who guided the session. After that, we all went to breakfast and then dropped S off at the Kids' Club for a few hours of babysitting while M and I went on a kayaking date. It was such a workout, but the beautiful weather and gorgeous views kept us paddling.

After that, I snuck away for my own massage treatment at the on-resort spa, which was on its own little island connected by a footbridge. (M has never liked massages, so I usually go alone and don't mind a bit.) I had a very soothing and healing massage that worked out some of the tension I always seem to carry around in my neck, shoulders, and back after flying on an airplane.

Afterwards, though, I had to rush from the spa back to our villa to shower, because that afternoon we booked a family photo session. These marketing experts are brilliant - they gave us a complimentary family photo session for 30 minutes where we could receive our favorite photo for free but would have to pay for any additional photos we wanted. M and I both knew from the moment I booked the photo session that there was no way I was going home with only one family photo from our session. I love every single one of the photos we decided to keep (and I know M and S do, too).

The next day was a combination of snorkeling, playing on the beach, and swimming until the evening. We played with Stephen at the kids' club for a little bit, made sure he was well fed, and then put him down to sleep in his inflatable toddler mattress in his Slumberpod (one of the greatest inventions of all time for traveling families if you ask me). Then, we booked a babysitter to simply sit in the room in case of emergency while he slept under the watchful eye of our babycam so we could for a romantic dinner at one of the nicest on-resort restaurants.

The next day we had to say goodbye and left the Maldives on a much rainier day than when we arrived. By the end of our trip, I felt rested and pampered and relaxed but also ready to come home and get back to normal life. The Maldives certainly lived up to its reputation of being very expensive but very special and serene. For us on this special occasion, it was definitely worth it.

Returning to Breathtaking Khareef in Oman for First Time in 12 Years

I was incredibly lucky to study abroad in Salalah, Oman as an undergraduate participant in the State Department-funded Critical Language Scholarship (CLS). I spent a summer there deeply immersed in Arabic language study, Omani culture, my first Ramadhan in a Muslim country, and the legendary khareef (خريف) monsoon season that transforms the Dhofar region in the south of Oman each year. My time in Salalah is one of my fondest and most beautiful memories. My study abroad pushed me beyond my comfort zone but also took me to new heights in my own resilience, commitment to my chosen field of international affairs, and my language abilities.

So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to finally show M and S a place that was so meaningful to me. (Also, fun fact for fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, also known as the Mormon Church to many): Salalah is widely considered by scholars to be the most likely location for Bountiful, referenced in the Book of Mormon.) Salalah is just a short flight from Dubai, and I booked the trip right at the start of khareef. Salalah is beautiful any time of year, but the khareef is very special because the monsoon rains take the temperature down immensely and contribute to a verdant, luscious scene of waterfalls, trees, and crashing waves that make the south of Oman the hottest (or coolest, if we're speaking literally) destination of the region that time of year.

My gamble to book our trip right at the start of khareef totally paid off, since there were no crowds where we went but the monsoon rains had just begun. This meant stunning nature views with gently cascading waterfalls, misty mountainscapes, and boat rides through flourishing green hills and valleys. It's a nature lover's dream!

I have to plug the most famous spot of all during khareef: Wadi Darbat. This was just as beautiful as I remembered it from 12 years ago, except that the infrastructure is much more built up with a nice, new stroller-friendly boardwalk by the water and periodic stations for family fun including tethered Zorb balls on the river for older kids, cafes with a view of the greenery, and many very inexpensive boat rides.

I was surprised to find that the boat ride vendors even accepted international credit cards; the last time I was there, it was Omani rials in cash only! S loved our family boat ride, and I was grateful we brought his infant life jacket. They provide life jackets on the boat, but I didn't find any with appropriate head support for a child as young as S who cannot swim.

We also visited a spot with some unique and impressive natural phenomena: Marneef Cave and blow holes, overlooking Al Mughsayl Beach. As the aggressive monsoon waves lapped up to the rocky cliffside, some of the water was forced through natural holes in the rock, spurting up in spectacular fashion through blow holes on the viewing platform. The caves themselves were also beautiful, with a range of colors and rock types that would appeal to anyone, regardless of your geology knowledge.

Jebel Samhan was another must-see on my list, so we drove up and enjoyed the rolling fog and edges of clouds over a red-clay, rocky landscape that looked like something straight out of a great science fiction movie. I had hoped to do a lot more hiking while we were there, but unfortunately some of us got a little sick from something we picked up at the hotel near the end of our trip. Since we weren't all feeling up to hiking, we did some scenic drives and relaxing days by the water instead. (Hiking is also a very different game with a small child, so trust me when I say nobody wants to go on a family hike when someone is too sick.)

I'm so grateful for the privilege of living in the Arab world and having the chance to visit Salalah again. I truly consider it one of the most special places on the planet, and I couldn't recommend it more to anyone lucky enough to travel there.

A Long Weekend in Abu Dhabi

I had a work event in Abu Dhabi and we decided to make a family weekend trip out of it since we hadn't been yet. (Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, where we currently live. That's why we have an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai.) The event that brought me to Abu Dhabi was the Korean Film Festival, hosted by the Korean Embassy. I saw an amazing new Korean biographical movie called Road to Boston, about Korean athletes who participated in the Boston International Marathon in 1947. It was so powerful and moving, it gave me chills in the theatre.

After that, we got to enjoy our hip, artsy hotel: Aloft Abu Dhabi. Since summer in the UAE is blazing hot and a low season for tourism, we got plenty of deals for our family vacation including tickets to some of Abu Dhabi's biggest attractions included with our hotel booking.

We knew multiple sites required very modest dress and packed accordingly. I tried to plan multiple sites requiring conservative attire back-to-back so we could make sure we were appropriately dressed for all of them. However, I foolishly completely forgot to pack a scarf to cover my hair! I refused to buy a scarf from one the stands for forgetful or ignorant tourists, so I ended up improvising with a full dress wrapped around my head like a scarf. I think I did a decent enough job.

We went to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, where admission is free, but we showed up too late for a private tour. It's still stunning to view on a self-guided path, though, which we did (and where I snapped the first photo of this post). After that, we went to Abrahamic Family House: a powerful interfaith symbol for the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism with a fully serviceable corresponding church, mosque, and synagogue.

The next day, we visited my favorite stop of the trip: the Abu Dhabi Children's Library. I've been to so many libraries through the years, and this one was truly extraordinary. It was so thoughtfully designed with a variety of places for children of all ages to play, explore, and (of course) read. I wished we had a branch in Dubai, because although there are some libraries with offerings for children in Dubai they almost always exclude children as young as S. Visiting the Abu Dhabi Children's Library brought back so many fond memories of my mom taking my sister and me to the library almost every week when we were young, instilling in us a love for books and learning.

After that, we went to Qasr Al Watan, a gorgeous palace where nobody currently lives but that is used for official state functions. The opulence and grand scale of the palace was difficult to wrap our minds around as we explored its enormous halls. They also had several exhibits of impressive collections of artifacts from UAE royal families' private collections as well as official diplomatic gifts from around the world.

We ended the day with an excursion to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. (Did you know the Louvre is in Abu Dhabi, and not just Paris?) I'm normally not a big art gallery person, but there was a specific temporary exhibit on fables I was very interested in seeing called "From Kalila wa Dimna to La Fontaine - Travelling through Fables." I remember learning about Kalila wa Dimna in my Arabic classes as a young student, and I've always found myths and fables a fun way to learn about others' history and culture. It was a delightful exhibit, and S even picked out a bilingual fable book (The Monkey and the Turtle) at the gift shop to take home at the end. (Fun fact: I learned over the course of writing this blog post that there is a totally different folktale from the Philippines called The Monkey and the Turtle!)

I also had the opportunity to attend Sunday services at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and quickly realized it was quite different in Abu Dhabi than it is in Dubai. I especially loved having a real meetinghouse to convene in instead of using a hotel conference space.

On our last day, we went to the National Aquarium, which was S's favorite stop. This was the best aquarium I've ever experienced in terms of actually varieties of fish and animals, including many I've never seen before. As someone who likes reading descriptions and displays, though, I feel like there could have been more opportunities to read and learn about what we were seeing without booking a formal tour. S, however, was in heaven. I could've kept him there for many hours and he would've been happy.

We loved the peaceful, quiet tone of Abu Dhabi. It was a major shift from the hustle and bustle of glitzy Dubai, even though it was glitzy in its own way. We had a great experience with the food, from the hotel to various restaurants including in the charming Mina Zayed (port) area. There are so many beautiful nature attractions in Abu Dhabi, as well, that we didn't get the chance to see this time since the weather was too hot. I'm sure we'll be back to see them in the not-too-distant future!