Hi Daniel, I was checking out your To Do list after reading through your GX1 post on Tynan's site and thought I'd let you know about a pretty insane deal to Maldives. 

Washington DC (IAD) to Male (MLE) for $675, round trip incl taxes. $1200 is a normal fare. Departure dates beginning February 18th, with returns up to a month out. This is an extremely limited sale.To book directly visit: http://www.turkishairlines.com/en-us/ and select "flexible with dates" to find the best pricing. Tip: Put in your United Airlines ( a Turkish partner) frequent flier number and earn an amazing 18,000 miles.

I've been looking for flights to India for March to photograph the Holi festival which I'm sure would be right up your ally! The colors there are incredible! So I'm using this flight deal to get me there and then just taking some short flight to India for about $250 one way and then back again. It'll work out to roughly the same cost as getting to India, but I get a free stop over in Turkey and Maldives. A win win.