Maldives Attraction Of Asia
By webmaster on Nov 8, 2007 in Attractions Of Asia, Maldives
Splendid Isolation : Huvanfen Fushi , Maldives
We were spoiled , our honeymoon destination , we had a sensational time .Its a contemporay/trendsetting resort , arrived by speedboat from MLE . The property manager came to introduce himself , and we hadnt wear shoes ever since on the island. Great breakfast ( Includes w/ our pricey room rate) , we dined at Celsius mostly (Raw once) . Yoga class on the pavillion , spa at regular treatment room (only took photos at underwater spa ) . Snorkelling on your door steps , white sand beach . Ok staff . Free wine tasting at Vinum/ underground wine cellar . It rain in the evening (ants) , nice hotel umbrellas outside the room , we tried and failed to take it home , it dosent fit in our suitcase . What impressed us the most is the outdoor bathroom , private plunge pool , modern jacuzzi tub, 2 rain showers , Bose sound system , and his and her sinks thats pretty far apart . Great resort island , but once here is enough for us.
Heaven on Earth
Expecting to land in tropical paradise, we instead stepped foot into a $270/night shithole hotel room in Male for an overnight stay, before departing by sea plane to our Maldivian resort the next morning. Gene was fit to be tied when he discovered that the Internet would be down for the rest of the evening. As though putting a child down to sleep, I had to convince Gene that the sooner we went to bed, the sooner our day in paradise would present itself.
The following morning, all hotel guests were bused out to the seaplane port. As Gene sat over a cup of coffee and I at an open computer, I listened to him babble to another couple nearby, cursing to myself at the thought of having to socialize on our island of respite. Little did I know, but from that point on, we would become inseparable from our new Persian friends, Farzin and Colet. Before we would even venture out on our own to explore the island, we had already set plans to meet up for lunch.
As I entered into our suite at the W Resort, my eyes were quickly drawn to the large bouquet of flowers, bottle of champagne, and strawberries with whipped cream that my romantic husband had arranged to be awaiting us upon our arrival. I was taken aback by the size of our 1500 sq. ft. room, inclusive of a private deck, which contained a plunge pool, outdoor shower, circular couch for two, lounging chairs and dining area with barbecue. Our room itself contained a giant plasma television, surround sound Bose stereo, fully-stocked wine cooler, and glass floor to view aquatic life. I thought I had died and gone to heaven – that is, until I noticed the cockroach on our patio floor and the giant black beetle flying around our deck. Certainly, God wouldn’t have punished me with life-sized bugs in the Afterlife.
That night, after dinner, we would return to our room only to find another creepy critter – Papa Roach. As heavenly as our bed was, I had trouble falling asleep that night as I was convinced that our deceased friend had called on the troops to seek revenge.
I began the next morning sharing a Pringles breakfast with a school of fish, as I sat dangling my feet off the side of our deck. I couldn’t have been more relaxed as I basked in the sun within the privacy of our impressive abode. That’s when I heard the steady vibration of what sounded to be a fighter jet overhead. Almost as if it had been waiting for me to roll onto my back, the monster beetle took a nose dive within inches of my face.
All silence was broken as Gene glanced outside to see what the ruckus was about. Dressed in my birthday suit without an ounce of shame, I pounced on and off the furniture with my $0.99 plastic fly swatter in hand. All was fun and games until I had a gigantic wooden sliver stuck in my foot. As I lied injured on the bed, I reprimanded Gene for not doing anything to help me. Yet, when he came unsympathetically over with a pair of tweezers, I begged him to stay away.
Naturally, I decided to keep my clothes on for the rest of the day so that I would stop attracting so many horny beetles. With that said, we invited over Colet and Farzin for an afternoon barbecue, never anticipating, however, that the entertainment would be had next door.
As Colet and I took an invigorating dive into the ocean, our eyes were accosted by the sight of our neighbors – a Chris Farley look-alike practicing yoga with his young, double-D bride and private yoga instructor. We nearly drowned as we struggled to keep our heads above water and our cackles to a down-low. Colet would later befriend the couple as our private investigator to gather the facts and would discover that the couple had recently been married in Vegas. That said it all!
Each of us had yet to share in the experience of witnessing Dolly Parton’s bare boobs as she yawned and stretched at the edge of the deck while we enjoyed a swim.
Gene, pumped about learning how to kite surf, threw a hissy fit when he found out that it was prohibited on the island for safety reasons. As he stood at the water sports cabana on the beach, he could not figure out why the hotel would advertise lessons on their website and admit to having the appropriate equipment if the sport was forbidden. Sometimes it’s the simple things that send Gene over the edge.
Dinner would be had at the Maldivian barbecue with drinks and dancing to follow. Once at the bar, Gene sat on watch in the company of a snoozing Farzin while Colet and I danced the night away. Farzin, still suffering from jet lag, was the first to call it quits as his newlywed wife begged him to let Gene and I walk her back to the room at the end of the night. Needless to say, that didn’t go over so well. Unfortunately, between several shots, cocktails and dancing, we either managed to run up a $400 bar tab or the shit-faced Americans once again fell victim to an outlandish scam.
Aside from our hangovers, our last day in the Maldives could not have been better. We spent the majority of our time out in the clear waters of the Indian Ocean snorkeling with Colet and Farzin, lying out and barbecuing. As we flippered our way through the reef, Gene motioned me underwater toward a sea turtle, which appeared oblivious to our presence. I watched in utter amazement as Gene outstretched his arm to pet the shell of the endangered species. Jealous of his extraordinary encounter, I, too, made my way over to cop a feel. I, on the other hand, got the “Hey lady! Mind your own business!†turn of the head before the turtle continued on his way.
Our last night in the Maldives would be unforgettable as Gene and I sat and listened to the DJ spin slow jams while watching the sun disappear into the horizon.
Fish Blood Chutney and Other Maldivian Delicacies
Having spent the previous night in the park at Colombo’s international airport I was fairly exhausted when I arrived in the Maldives. Although I was looking forward to my stay in the Maldives I felt a slight sense of trepidation as I was travelling alone.
The Maldives is marketed as a romantic destination for couples on their honeymoon and I felt that this could end up being a fairly depressing holiday. I’d been to the Maldives before, but I’d been travelling with someone so it had been different. Thankfully my fears turned out to be unfounded. Although there were plenty of couples, there were also families and even the odd independent traveller. At the immigration desk I was told that I would not be allowed to enter the Maldives without a hotel reservation. I explained that I simply hadn’t had the time to book a room before I left Sri Lanka. I was informed that I would have to leave my passport with the official at the desk and go outside and book a hotel. Only then would my passport be stamped and returned to me. I had initially planned on spending the whole weekend in Male, but having been there before I knew that I would get bored pretty quickly. I therefore decided to spend one night in a resort. I was offered the choice of two islands within reasonable travelling distance from Male. I chose the smaller of the two.
Having paid for the room I was able to return to the immigration desk to retrieve my passport. That done, I headed for the dhoni (Maldivian boat) that would be taking me to Giravaaru, the island where I would be spending the night. The other passenger on the boat was an American who had also arrived without a reservation. It turned out that we had done similar trips around Southern Africa last year, and we spent the boat journey discussing all things African. The resort wasn’t fantastic, but it certainly wasn’t bad. I spent most of my first day drinking banana juice and sunbathing. I stayed up late, sitting on the beach, and listening to the sounds of Bob Marley drifting over from the hotel bar. The next afternoon I headed to Male. I had been requested to bring back dried fish (Umbalakade) and fish blood chutney (Rihakuru). I headed into the produce market, where I was able to buy both of these.
I really should have waited until later in the afternoon before making my purchases though, as both the dried fish and the chutney smelt appalling. I took in Male’s sights in less than an hour and then spent the rest of the afternoon reading a book on a bench by the artificial beach. I also had the pleasure of eating a Spaghetti Eis (my German readers will understand my excitement). As it got dark I decided to head to the airport.
The dhoni had covered about half the distance to the airport when I realised that I didn’t have the fish blood chutney with me anymore. I had to get another dhoni back to Male where I was fortunately reunited with the bottle of chutney. I then took yet another dhoni back to the airport where I spent the next six hours waiting to check in.
I had decided against getting a room in Male as I would have had to leave in the middle of the night anyway. Unfortunately the fish blood chutney was destined never to leave the Maldives. Airport security took it off me, stating that chutney qualifies as a liquid and therefore cannot be taken on the plane under the new security regulations….
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