Mesmerising Maldives
So my birthday was coming up soon and my partner was thinking of ways to surprise me by taking me for a trip. This time she surprised me with the Maldives. Well, I got to know about it because she had to ask for my passports as it was with me. Lucky me. And the best part is that she promised me that its gonna be a leisure trip, unlike Bali where we had back to back activities. The Maldives would be the complete opposite where I had the liberty to laze around gazing into the vast and never-ending blue seas and the blue skies for 4 Nights and 5 Days.
So we left for the Maldives on 11th of November via Sri Lanka. We had opted for Sri Lankan Airways. We reached the airport and did the check-in and security check and completed our immigration check and finally seated in the lobby area sipping a Krushers from KFC and munching Zinger burgers. Our flight was scheduled to leave at around 2:30 AM.
We boarded the flight and then ate our meals and I had a Tiger beer on the flight. We landed at Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo. Since we had around 5 hours layover in Sri Lankan. So we decided to go out wandering the city. Got the required permissions and the transit visa stamps on our passports and off we went. We booked a cab from the airport for a round trip explaining to the guy at the counter what exactly we wanted and he was happy to help us. Turns out he was an Indian from Kerala who was settled in Sri Lanka. We thanked him for the assistance and then sat in the cab and our driver took us to Galle Face Beach first, where we whiled away some time taking a stroll and clicking pictures. Next destination was a church near Galle Face Green. We went in and prayed and then off to a public garden near the new state assembly office of Colombo. We clicked pictures and strolled for a while. Then from the public garden, we went to the shopping market in Sri Lanka where we bought a small backpack for my partner. We finally said goodbye to the city and headed back to the airport for our connecting flight as it was already close to our check-in time.
Post our security clearance and necessary formalities completed we sat in the lounge eating a snack. The connecting flight was an ATR flight. We boarded the flight which was a one hour flight. We were offered meals and refreshments. No sooner did we finish it was already landing time at our destination. It was hardly a 1 hour 10 mins flight. We de-boarded and did the formalities and finally stepped out of the airport. Now this package was booked via Antilog Vacations, Ms. Ridhima Sood, from Antilog, understood the requirement and helped us rather my partner with the package. We had got a Full Board package. So our stay included all three meals and return boat transfers. Tip: Do not buy any liquor from DFS at Colombo while traveling to the Maldives as it is prohibited to carry liquor to the island. Though they do serve liquor in the resorts. Please read the following Do & Don'ts before visiting the Maldives by clicking the link below:
We met our guy from Fun Island Resort, Bodufinolhu Island and he told us that he is waiting for few other guests as well and that once they arrive we can proceed to the resort. He said that they should be there in another half hour to forty-five mins. It turned out to be more than an hours wait as some flights got delayed. Finally, as everyone gathered we were escorted to the speedboat. We spent around forty mins from the airport to the resort on the speedboat. Reached the resort and we could see blue waters all around. We walked the wooden planks leading to the beach resort. Here we were greeted by the hotel staff and offered a nice refreshing soft drink and some cold towels to comfort us from the scorching heat wave.
We were all briefed about the stay at the resort and then given the keys to our respective rooms. Our room was at one end of the resort with a view of the sea facing west. It's a 5 - 6 mins walk from the dining area of the resort but worth the walk. You are surrounded by white sands and blue skies and as you, near the room, you can see the blue seas. Ahh, what a sight to behold in our senses. We reached our room and I quickly ran out to click some pictures of the beach and the sea.
We had our lunch and then relaxed in the room as it was hot outside and the AC in our room was a real comforter. We didn't have any access to wifi in the rooms but only in the main areas of the resort like the common area/lobby and the dining area. So when in rooms you can actually disconnect from the electronic world and connect more on a human interaction world (the face to face types). We rested till just about sunset and then went out on the beach for a stroll. Walked from one end to the other end of the beach clicking pictures. The resort was full of guests and I could see couples and families out on the beach enjoying the blue waters.
The Maldives is an island with nearly 2000 islands which form a garland type formation. Not all islands are inhabited and not all are natural. Some islands are disappearing. Our resort sat on a small island. We could easily stroll from one end of the island to another without wasting too much time. Though it was nearing sunset it was still hot and humid. We clicked a few more pictures before retiring back to the comforts of our room.
Had dinner and then took a stroll on the beach walking up to the wooden planks where there was a fish feeding point. At night there used to thunder and lightning and heavy rain which felt like hail falling on the rooftop. The next 2 days at the resort were pretty much same, with hot and humid during day and rains at night. But there was a surprise coming my way on the 3rd night.
We were called by the staff of the resort and told that we have been upgraded to their 4-star property which is Paradise Islands in Lankanfinolhu for our last night stay in Maldives. We were asked if we were OK with the upgrade and if we would like to take? We both agreed to the upgrade. But I asked them why such an upgrade to which they replied that their resort is already full and they are expecting more guests tomorrow and the property at Lankanfinolhu is available hence a chosen few will be transferred to that property. Especially those guests who were staying back just for one more night. We were excited about the next day and what was in store for us in the new place.
The next day which was our second last in Maldives we woke up pretty early as we had to leave from Fun Island at 7:30 AM. We along with other chosen few were first ferried to the airport first where the hotel staff picked up some more guests and then we headed off to the new location. This place was hardly 20 mins from the airport.
We reached the resort and what we saw this resort sitting on a bigger island. We were again offered refreshing soft drinks and offered cold towels. Then we were briefed about the resort and various points of interest and then escorted to our rooms. We had our breakfast first and then headed to our rooms on a buggy.
The resort was huge and had different room ranging from beach properties to water bungalows. We had got a beach property and the balcony or sit out of this room opened to the sea. This resort property was much cooler than the previous one because of the trees planted along the way to the rooms. Also, here we had wifi in our room. The bath area was of the size of a room and there was also an outdoor shower area. All in all the room ticked all the right points in the check-list.
We were out on the beach trying to walk from one end to the other clicking pictures and though it was hot and humid and we were sweating like crazy we did have lots of fun. Also, got ourselves tanned in spite of the SPF's. In the evening we retired to the room and relaxed after walking for nearly an hour from one end to another end of the island.
After dinner, we proceeded to some activities that were going on in the resort. Fed the sharks and also the Manta Ray. Clicked some pictures in the night and retired to our room after some entertainment in the lounge area. Around midnight one of the hotel staff comes to our room with cake and a bottle of wine. The day I grew another year smarter. I cut the cake while my partner sang the birthday song. We ate the cake and then we toasted the wine to my good health and success and many more such trips. I drank her share of the wine as she doesn't drink. So I ended up drinking one whole bottle of wine.
Next morning we both had good breakfast at the resort restaurant. All these days my staple diet included lots of rye slices of bread and butter and chicken and pork. Post the hearty breakfast we took a stroll on the beach and finally retired back to our room. Around 11 AM we proceeded to check out of the resort. We were ferried back to Maldives International Airport from where would fly back to Sri Lanka and then afterwards our connecting flight home to Mumbai, India.
All in all, I really loved this short vacation which was a truly amazing one.