Visiting the Maldives for the first time after 9/11, what a different world

I visited the Maldives in late 2001, shortly after 9/11. The airport was a small, open air terminal with maybe a dozen gates, and was almost empty of people when I arrived. The island was very nice, and had a golf course, but it was a bit isolated and very quiet. <br><br>Flash forward 20 years. The airport has been expanded into a mini-city, complete with a terminal that looks like it was ripped straight out of Blade Runner, and is overflowing with people. The island is still nice, but I found it to be more crowded than I remembered, and more focused on high end shops and luxury experiences. <br><br>What a difference two decades make.