The point
Our hotel
If there is a heaven, this is surely it. We are on an island 100 miles from shore in the middle of the Arabian Sea called Bangaram. There is nothing on this island but a hotel with 30 simple even ascetic huts, about 30 people staying in them, another 120 people working at the hotel and a few fishermen and coconut gatherers who come every now and then. The hotel only operates eight months a year, and closes every May 15 when the rains come. Then everybody who works at the hotel goes back home. And the island returns to nature.
When we arrived, the hotel manager briefed us. He said, “On Bangaram, everything is very simple. There is no TV, no internet, no phone, no golf, no tennis, no A/C and no hot water. But it is very luxurious and you will love your stay here, I promise.” I was, like, “What!!!! No hot water???? We are paying $400 a night and there’s no hot water?#%?$@$%?” But the manager was right. It is heaven. It’s just quiet and peaceful and intensely rejuvenating. The water is so warm we don’t wear wet suits when we dive, and the evening breezes are so soft they brush your shoulders like angel wings. Some days we dive, some we don’t. On the days we don’t we just laze around on the beach, or in the water, marvelling at the astounding beauty of Bangaram. We read. We write. We swim. We nap. On the days we do, we go out in the hotel’s ancient wooden launch to the reefs. The trip takes a leisurely hour because the boat is so slow, just like everything else on Bangaram. We swim amongst the lionfish, the turtles, the moorish idols and thousands of splendidly-colored other-worldly creatures. It is such a marvel, this second planet that God created under the sea. So much more ephemeral and beautiful than ours, and so much more serene.
The Bangaram Island Resort is the very opposite of resort. But it is vastly more luxurious than any resort we have ever been to. We privileged few are so very lucky to have this whole heavenly island to ourselves.
