Diving Into the Maldives (Day 7)

The next morning, promptly five hours after we first stepped into the lounge at the airport in Sri Lanka, the attendants woke us up and reminded us that our time in the lounge had elapsed (despite being the only people in the whole lounge for the entire time we were there). We took a moment to brush our teeth and did our best to kill time.



It was just past 5:00 by that time, and with only a few hours of sleep (and a healthy dose of alcohol the night before for me), what we both needed was a big cup of coffee.



And thankfully, there's a Coffee Bean at the airport in Sri Lanka. We were thrilled! Especially since that gave us a place to burn some more time as we waited for our flight.



Even with only a few hours of sleep, Ingrid looked beautiful as usual, and surprisingly alert.



I, on the other hand, could barely keep my eyes open, even with a hot cup of coffee.



After hanging out for a while, it came time to go to the gate for our flight to the Maldives! When we got there, we checked in and were given this piece of paper. For those who don't know, the Maldives is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls located about 435 miles southwest of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, and is the smallest Muslim nation in the world. In fact, its constitution states that a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives. Some other interesting laws are listed on the handout and disclosed to all entrants to the Maldives. Wait a minute. What the heck is up with item 6?!?! This can't mean there's no alcohol on these islands, can it?!? If there's no alcohol, I may be prohibited from entering the Maldives because I'll turn into a "dangerous animal". And no pornographic material? Geez... Fine.



After sitting at the gate for a while, a shuttle pulled up to take us to our plane. It was about this time where Ingrid and I started getting super-excited about what we were about to experience.



But first, we had to endure the flight to Male (pronounced "MAH-leh"), the capitol of the Maldives. And I say "endure" because it was a true test of endurance to be on that flight. To put it bluntly, the people on that flight stunk... literally. In fact, the whole plane stunk for the entire flight. The funk was almost unbearable.



Thankfully for us, it was a relatively short flight, so when we began spotting tiny islands outside our window, we knew we were close... close to fresh air, that is.



Okay, this should put a little color to how bad it actually was in there. When we landed, the flight attendants made an announcement over the speaker system that we should cover our faces because they would be "spraying" the cabin with some "freshener" that may irritate our eyes. I know you probably think I'm pulling your leg, but I'm not kidding. And neither were they.



See?!?! This flight attendant walked down the aisle and sprayed air freshener in the air and all around the passengers. It smelled like Lysol, but was a welcome scent for us. When you stop and think about it, it's actually quite funny. The passengers on this flight stink so bad that the airline sprays the cabin and its occupants with air freshener. Ingrid and I couldn't help but laugh behind our shirts covering our mouths. But seriously people, if you're going to do this, can't you do it before the flight leaves? I mean what good is it after we've endured the funk for the duration of the flight? We complained at the time, but in hindsight, it's pretty damn funny.



With that out of the way, we deplaned and finally got a breath of fresh air on our short walk to the terminal. Ahhhhhh.



Though you can't really tell in this picture, we were welcomed to the Maldives by a couple of guards carrying automatic weapons. Luckily, I drank all the alcohol I stashed from the lounge, so we had no problem getting past the guards and through customs.



For our stay in the Maldives, we pulled out all the stops and made reservations at the Four Seasons. Once we made it through customs, we were immediately greeted by Four Seasons staff who promptly took our luggage (including the rugs and boxes of dishes we had brought) off our hands. As they guided us to the boat we would be taking to the resort, we could see the bright blue water. It was at this point I knew this leg of the trip was going to be like no other.



We threw on our life jackets, and on the ride to the island resort, the crew served us ice cold water as they pointed out sights along the way (mainly other island resorts) and explained a little about the Maldives and the island where we would be staying.



After a half hour speedboat ride, we arrived at our resort...



... the Four Seasons at Kuda Huraa (which means "small village").



Just off the dock is this tiny island we were told was the spa. You actually have to take a boat to get there. Only in magazines had I ever seen water so blue, and I had always dreamed of going to a place like this. The water was so clear, you could look down into it and see schools of fish swimming around everywhere.



Upon arrival, we were escorted to the reception area to check in. You can't tell from this picture but the area was completely open-air, with no walls to obstruct the ocean views. It was quite impressive.



As they processed our information, we were served a refreshing ginger concoction, along with a cold towel to clean and cool our hands and faces.



Yummy. All this really needs to make it perfect is a shot of vodka. Which reminds me... is there alcohol served at this place, or what?!?!



After checking in, we hopped in a golf cart and were taken on a tour around the island. The island is a long, narrow island, but short enough that a walk from one end to the other, lengthwise, would take about ten minutes. Here are the over-the-water bungalows, which are super cool looking.



We, however, opted for these bungalows right along the beach, and complete with our very own private pool, which you can barely make out in the bottom left of the picture.



Check out this video of our amazing room, which should make things clearer. Outdoor showers are awesome, I must say.



Staff brought our luggage to our room and we wasted no time changing out of our travel gear and into our swimsuits. In our room was a bottle of champagne on ice for us to enjoy, which was great not only because it was complimentary, but because that meant there was alcohol served there! Thank goodness!!! Now I can really relax and enjoy myself! We grabbed our bucket of champagne and hit the beach.



And we didn't have to go far to get there. That's our room right through those trees behind Ingrid. The beach was literally right outside our door.



The ocean was cool, clear and refreshing, as was the champagne. And as we lounged there on the beach and relaxed, staff came by to see if there was anything we'd like to eat or drink, or if we cared to enjoy the smoothie of the day. And if you know Ingrid, she isn't one to turn down an offer like that.



We laid out on the beach, drank and dozed off as we desired, until our appetites forced us into action. Hungry, we threw on some clothes and walked over to one of the three places to eat that afternooon. It was time to find out what this place had to offer in terms of food.



Having gone a full two days without eating sushi, Ingrid opted for the sushi over my strenuous suggestion that she pick something else on the menu to eat. I just couldn't imagine sushi would be something prepared well here in the Maldives (no offense), and unfortunately, I was right. Not the greatest choice, but at least now we know.



I chose the always reliable mushroom and swiss burger with fries. Can't go wrong with that! Mmmmm. And don't worry, the meals will just get better and better, even to the most sophisticated of palates. Trust me.



After eating, we made our way to the pool area for some more relaxing. That's Ingrid lounging under the little hut over there. I'm floating around in the infiniti pool which, as you see in a couple of pictures down, looks as if it flows straight into the ocean. For whatever reason, there were so few people on the island (or at least it felt that way to us), most of the time it seemed like there was nobody there but us. Who needs that tiny private pool outside our room, when we can have this ginormous pool all to ourselves!



Similarly, why get out of the water for drinks when you can get them while floating around? As far as I was concerned, the best part about the pool was this fully stocked swim-up bar. Something tells me we're going to be spending a lot of time out here... Ingrid under the hut and me in the pool at the bar.



With a delicious mojito in hand, I floated around my ginormous pool. Check out the ocean view from my pool. Awesome.



As Ingrid caught a short nap under her hut, an egret landed along the edge of my pool to pose for a picture. This place is amazing. You can see here how the infinity pool flows straight into the ocean.



After putting back a few mojitos, I got a little sleepy. And why get out of the pool to take a nap when I can take a nap right there in the water? Ingrid thought it was funny, and it reminded her of our trip to Brazil where I fell asleep in the exact same position on the edge of the hotel pool and woke up with a terrible sunburn. Hey, who's that over there on the left in my pool?!? It's a good thing I was sleeping, or I would've kicked them out.



After making fun of me, look who I caught biting my style. Uh huh.



To just relax at the edge of the pool and look out at the clear ocean was simply stunning and sublimely serene.



Of course, being the stubborn fool that I am, the same thing that happened to me in Brazil when I fell asleep on the edge of the pool happened to me here. My back and the back of my legs got burned. Great. First day in the Maldives and I'm already sunburned. Earlier, Ingrid and I had each checked out snorkel gear and I put my set to good use after exiting the pool and relaxing in the shade for a bit. If you go up three pictures from here, you can see that just off the pool area is a huge coral reef, and as you might expect, it was swarming with an abundance of sea life. As I swam around and explored, it was like being in a National Geographic television episode. I made it as far out as the waves are breaking in the same picture above. It was unbelievable. Each little cluster of coral was like its own little world. I only wish I could've taken pictures of the amazing things I saw. But all that said, let me tell you that if there's anything a person with a sunburned back shouldn't do, it's snorkel. Even with the cool ocean water against my skin, I could feel my back and the back of my legs burning as the sun beat down on me. But the awesome things I was seeing as I explored made me forget all about it. Eventually, however, I came to my senses and headed back to shore.



And with the sun setting a bit and casting a shadow over my private pool, I got in some pretty good cannonballs, along with some pretty good drinks. Man!... Look how red and burned my back is!



Before it got dark, we stopped back at our room to change into evening wear. At sunset, we hit up the Sunset Lounge to watch the sun set.



Ingrid even enjoyed a fruity cocktail as we enjoyed our front row seats.



We also ordered a cheese plate to snack on as we enjoyed some romantic music and watched the show.



Speaking of which, say cheese, Ingrid!



You know, you may not realize it, but sometimes taking pictures is tough. As many photos as I take, there are those times where taking a picture will simply ruin a moment, and the sunset that evening was one of those moments, so apologies for not capturing it on film. That said, quite often I find myself thinking, "Wow! A picture of this would be great. But it will totally sour the reason the picture would be great if I pulled out my camera right now..." or "Wow! A picture of this would be great, but people will think I'm weird if I take a picture." To get a sense of what I'm talking about, next time you go eat at a fancy restaurant, take a couple pictures of your meal before you dig in and tell me what kind of looks you get.



Shortly after sunset, the lounge area converted into a swanky bar. Ingrid and I decided to chill there before having dinner.



And spend some time playing pool. Again, being there with no one around made us feel like it was just her and me on the entire island.



After I beat Ingrid in our game of pool, we felt like having dinner. With a few choices to decide from, we opted for Cafe Hura for something amazing.



These guys were grilling lobster captured locally by Maldivian fishermen, and we were about to have our first taste of this local delicacy.



At the end of our second night in the Maldives, the love in the air was so strong, I got all choked up and red... or maybe just hot and sunburned.



Looks like love is in the air over at Ingrid's end of the table too. Too bad I think she's just loving the idea of sinking her teeth into that tasty lobster we could smell being grilled.



The meal began with this tasty lobster dish that had lobser prepared three ways (yes, more lobster). The one wrapped up in a leaf was steamed and all three little preparations were delicious.



After our lobster came the most amazing lobster bisque I've ever had. Usually, I find lobster bisque a bit too rich, but this one was much lighter and very enjoyable.



This may look like a street light behind some trees, but it was actually the moon peeking through the palm trees.



Eventually, the main course was served, and along with it came a couple of extremely satisfied newlyweds. Let me tell you that this picture doesn't do the lobsters in the Maldives justice. I've never tasted lobsters like this before. They generally taste the same as the lobsters I'm used to enjoying, but theres a hint of sweetness to these lobsters that is simply amazing, and that I can't explain. After this delicious meal, something tells me we'll be enjoying more lobster on this trip.



After our wonderful dinner, we stopped by the video library to check out some DVDs to watch in our room that evening. There was a pretty good selection of current movies stored there, and as Ingrid made her picks, I just hoped she didn't select anything too girly.



On the way back to our room, we came across this ping pong table and Ingrid challenged me to the first of many, many matches. I'm pretty sure I won this one, but Ingrid impressed me with her skill. Until next time, pena...