When landing on Hulhulé Island right by the capital city of Malé in the Maledives, one might think the plane will touch down on the Indian Ocean itself. After the flight over the open ocean and its endless blue, where the sky seemingly merges with the waves, tiny specks of land rise above its surface. A narrow strip of sand is just wide enough to fit a runway whose bare concrete surface lies in stark contrast to the densely packed city next to it. Malé -growing out into the ocean- appears almost surreal besides the virtually pristine atolls surrounding it, and the connecting flights aboard a tiny seaplane that will bring you to those atolls are an experience in their own right.