Maldives - October 2017

Without intense discussions or stern contemplation, one of my best mate and I merely raised the subject and agreed almost immediately to the idea of spending a short holiday in Maldives, and everything were subsequently booked and arranged within days. After having Maldives in my travel plan for years, I could finally witness this paradise on earth for the first time.

Two things which I have insisted in this trip:

i.  All meals must come in buffet style; and

ii. Our room has to be a water bungalow

We have at first filtered a list of resorts that offer the all-inclusive packages, since we were both too lazy to even think and decide on our meals during the stay. We set aside RM5000 for the 3D3N trip, and apparently some luxury resorts that come with a private jacuzzi overshot our budget hence we relegated our standard to a more rational and economical one.

Our primary plan was to spend a night in Male as advised by most of the travelers on the web due to the late and odd arriving hour of Airasia at 8.10pm, however the check-in time at 2.00pm on the next day left us with very limited amount of time on the island thus we decided to pay the extra bills and check-in directly to Adaaran Club Rannalhi on our first night. One of the plus point of selecting speedboat over a seaplane is that the transfer service do operate at night. Understanding that the hotel desires to maximize the profit while minimizing the cost on the speedboat transfer service where they would collect the passengers while waited for the other guests to arrive, but more than 1.5 hours of waiting time was a little excessive for two tiring souls. We lingered in the airport fantasizing the comfort of sinking into our bed once we get into our room. The sea ride wasn’t a smooth one due to the undulating waves crashing violently against our boat throughout the journey. But fortunately the small window at the front deck of the boat provided us with sufficient fresh air and works the miracle in averting my seasickness. Upon our arrival at Velana International Airport, we visited one of the cell store and purchased 2 of the 7 days data sim package offered by Dhiraagu at USD$22.00 for 15GB which makes life easier and kept us connected to the outside world.

Maldives is definitely the well-known destination for honeymooners, to the extent that there were no blinds or curtains in the bathroom and everything can be seen through the window at night if standing on the balcony of our water bungalow. Looks like the rooms are catered only for couples while they were not meant for friends. Due to our late arrival on the first night, we have no idea what is buried in the dark opposite of our room and being bothered by the idea of showering in an open view, we have searched almost every corner in the room to collect whatever stuff that could be used as a temporary shade to at least obscure the sight for a peace of mind.

The weather was so erratic that the sun and the rain would come interchangeably within minutes. We could wake up greeting the great sunshine but after 20 minutes of washing-up, we were devastated by the pouring rain. We could be monitoring the rain outside of our balcony waiting for it to stop before we could go for lunch, but once we opened the front door, it was raining cats and dogs despite that we noticed that the rain subsided from the balcony.

We were both having wounds and scratches on our legs due to the surrounding corals. The water beneath our bungalow was crystal clear but rather shallow and during the low tide hours, we could easily hit on the corals whenever we try to paddle in the water. The watersports doesn’t come with a cheap price as expected, but we still went for an hour’s canoe ride at $31.00 (inclusive of taxes).

The all-inclusive package is certainly a value for money. We get the free flow drinks (alcoholic beverages included) and snacks throughout the day. Although there were no wow factors in the choices of food, but we have nothing to moan since they fed our stomach well. The room cleaning services was great as the staffs tidy our room at least twice a day knowing that some water activities will certainly ruin the neatness of the room.

Knowing the preciousness of sunshine especially from the current frosty country which I am residing, I threw myself under the sun as much as I can before returning to the land of pure white snow. Despite the sunburn I got on my hands and shoulder, I did enjoy this vacation wholeheartedly.

One of the epic joke in this trip: During the breakfast session one morning while I was in an half-awake and dozy state, I took 2 pieces of waffles from the tray and thinking to add some toppings to it and I simply grab the nearest ladle soaked in the gravy and pour it over our waffles without realizing that those are the raw flour mixture rather than the syrup!

Having spent less than 25% of my cash, I would now keep them for my next USD destination.