Maldives day 1 Sunday
I'm trying to see as many countries as I can so I try to plan my vacations around that. The Maldives is a country made up of a lot of islands in the Indian Ocean. Gorgeous water, nice sand, great diving and very expensive. I am living closer to them than I ever will so I decided to go. Got a great deal on a flight and a resort. Each island is basically one resort. Mine included half board and all the activities for free! Which is rare here.
Lawrence picked me up at 6:30 am to go to the airport. We got there really fast since it was Sunday morning. I had a 2 hour flight to Cochin, a two hour layover then a two hour flight to Male. It went pretty smoothly only - minor pushing and shoving and only one screaming outburst. Pretty good for a domestic Indian flight. When I got to Cochin I asked where the international flights where. A guy pointed where to go. Like all places in India there were multiple security checks. The guy stared at my paper and passport and sent me on. The baggage screener also looked intently at my paperwork. I got in line to get my boarding pass and waited half an hour. When it was my turn the guy said "male? You need to go to international terminal". How did I get that far and no one noticed!! This airpot was about the size of Bloomington normals airport and is on the very western/ southern part of Indian. Obviously they go to Male and I saw an add for KL but seriously how many international flights are here?? There is one family in there. 9 immigration line are open and they are all reading the newspaper. I carry two passports right now because mine will expire soon so I got a new one but my visa is in the old one. These guys has trouble with that! I thought the plane would be full of rich tourists. Nope. Many were Indians who worked at resorts in the Maldives. The guy next to me was a chef and said this was better than working on a cruise ship.
I was sitting by the window and watching the islands come into view was cool. You could see islands that were covered with water. Resort staff was waiting for me to take me - by speedboat- to the island. It was an hour. I took a Dramamine when I got off the plane. Good thing! It was so windy because we were going so fast I couldn't open my eyes. I just leaned back rested and prayed I wouldn't vomit.
I stayed at the rihiveli it is a French hotel. I'm pretty sure I am the only native English speaker here. Christophe, a Belgium man was waiting for me to show me around. The place was heaven! We walked down a sandy lane from the pier. He showed up with a bag to put my shoes in. They believe in a no news, no shoes policy here. All the paths are sand. He showed me the water sports area, the spa, the bar, the two other islands belonging to the reort - sunrise island and bird island. They are close enough to walk to and the water is only knee to hip high. All the bungalows open up to the beach. They have thatched roofs and wood floors. The bathroom is open air. There are two sun beds and a hammock outside. They are spaced out so they are fairly private. I'm laying here on Monday morning with the wind on my face and the sound of ocean waves :) he showed me where the life jackets were in case of tsunami warning. Basically we don't stand a chance. There is no higher ground- this island is tiny! I guess we put the jacket on and hope we float to another island!
I walked to sunrise island -great workout for my legs! - then read until dinner time.
Dinner is served 8:30 to 10:30. Which is a long time from breakfast!! It is a set menu and they bring it as you are ready. A guy was walking around serving coconut/spinach soup. When I finished that, he brought the main course-A bed of mashed potatoes with green beans and snow peas on top. Tuna streaks were on top of that and the whole mountain was topped off with a fried onion ring. English deep fruit pie for dessert.
It is pitch black at night. I could not see anything in my room there wasn't a glow of a light or moon or anything. Haven't been in that kind of darkness in awhile!
I'm trying to see as many countries as I can so I try to plan my vacations around that. The Maldives is a country made up of a lot of islands in the Indian Ocean. Gorgeous water, nice sand, great diving and very expensive. I am living closer to them than I ever will so I decided to go. Got a great deal on a flight and a resort. Each island is basically one resort. Mine included half board and all the activities for free! Which is rare here.
Lawrence picked me up at 6:30 am to go to the airport. We got there really fast since it was Sunday morning. I had a 2 hour flight to Cochin, a two hour layover then a two hour flight to Male. It went pretty smoothly only - minor pushing and shoving and only one screaming outburst. Pretty good for a domestic Indian flight. When I got to Cochin I asked where the international flights where. A guy pointed where to go. Like all places in India there were multiple security checks. The guy stared at my paper and passport and sent me on. The baggage screener also looked intently at my paperwork. I got in line to get my boarding pass and waited half an hour. When it was my turn the guy said "male? You need to go to international terminal". How did I get that far and no one noticed!! This airpot was about the size of Bloomington normals airport and is on the very western/ southern part of Indian. Obviously they go to Male and I saw an add for KL but seriously how many international flights are here?? There is one family in there. 9 immigration line are open and they are all reading the newspaper. I carry two passports right now because mine will expire soon so I got a new one but my visa is in the old one. These guys has trouble with that! I thought the plane would be full of rich tourists. Nope. Many were Indians who worked at resorts in the Maldives. The guy next to me was a chef and said this was better than working on a cruise ship.
I was sitting by the window and watching the islands come into view was cool. You could see islands that were covered with water. Resort staff was waiting for me to take me - by speedboat- to the island. It was an hour. I took a Dramamine when I got off the plane. Good thing! It was so windy because we were going so fast I couldn't open my eyes. I just leaned back rested and prayed I wouldn't vomit.
I stayed at the rihiveli it is a French hotel. I'm pretty sure I am the only native English speaker here. Christophe, a Belgium man was waiting for me to show me around. The place was heaven! We walked down a sandy lane from the pier. He showed up with a bag to put my shoes in. They believe in a no news, no shoes policy here. All the paths are sand. He showed me the water sports area, the spa, the bar, the two other islands belonging to the reort - sunrise island and bird island. They are close enough to walk to and the water is only knee to hip high. All the bungalows open up to the beach. They have thatched roofs and wood floors. The bathroom is open air. There are two sun beds and a hammock outside. They are spaced out so they are fairly private. I'm laying here on Monday morning with the wind on my face and the sound of ocean waves :) he showed me where the life jackets were in case of tsunami warning. Basically we don't stand a chance. There is no higher ground- this island is tiny! I guess we put the jacket on and hope we float to another island!
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| my hammock |
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| my bungalow |
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| fish totem - after 4 stays you get a fish with a ceremony and everything |
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| I spent a lot of time in these chairs |
I walked to sunrise island -great workout for my legs! - then read until dinner time.
Dinner is served 8:30 to 10:30. Which is a long time from breakfast!! It is a set menu and they bring it as you are ready. A guy was walking around serving coconut/spinach soup. When I finished that, he brought the main course-A bed of mashed potatoes with green beans and snow peas on top. Tuna streaks were on top of that and the whole mountain was topped off with a fried onion ring. English deep fruit pie for dessert.
It is pitch black at night. I could not see anything in my room there wasn't a glow of a light or moon or anything. Haven't been in that kind of darkness in awhile!
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