Trans-Maldivian sea planes. [Photo by Wong Chiu Man and Zhao Xu/provided to China Daily]

Almost all the money she has earned in the Maldives has gone into her savings account, she says. The monthly income, including salaries and tips, is usually between 7,000 yuan ($1,000) and 10,000 yuan. "It's easier to save here because you don't have many places to spend on a tiny island.

"I've asked my parents to come, but they didn't want to, worrying about the cost. When they became aware that here we commute in boats and sea planes instead of buses they became seriously worried about me."

In the full knowledge that in a few years she will be back in China, and probably her hometown, where a suitable marriage and a stable life awaits, Cui believes that the Maldives has given her much more than better English and darker skin.

"My birthday is in October, so when my last birthday came I had just joined the St. Regis. I expected nothing, but my work mates and friends gave me the biggest surprise," she says, beaming. "They handmade a birthday cake, sang Happy Birthday to me in Chinese and, in a typical Maldivian way of celebrating a birthday, threw me into the sea.

"This is going to be my last stop in the Maldives."