”Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Velana International Airport. Local time is 11:50 and the temperature is 31 degrees.
For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign. This will indicate that we have parked at the gate and that it is safe for you to move about.
Please check around your seat for any personal belongings you may have brought on board with you and please use caution when opening the overhead bins, as heavy articles may have shifted around during the flight.
On behalf of Turkish Airlines and the entire crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice day!”
What a nice wake up call. Oh wait, I'm finally in Male. Oh My God. My real trip just begins and I'm single and ready to mingle. (I don't know what the difference between this trip and any other trip, but I just wanted to say that once at least.)
Choosing a place to stay for my first night or two was so hard but I finally decided on my get away destination, 'COCO PALM DHUNI KOLHU'. It's at 'Baa Atoll' which is an island I think... I dunno and that's the least problem I have right now. I need to get there ASAP. I need a shower.
My first ride of the day, or the afternoon as it is, a seaplane and I have to say, that's not something you can ride on your everyday life. Let's hope on and I'll show you the room once we are there.
That was EPIC! The view from up there is something you can never see anywhere else I spent my time watching the bluest blues and the amazing tiny circles of aqua spread out before me as far as I could see.
It’s just spectacular, I can't tell you how amazing it is to see. The captain and co pilot sat in quite a confined space that I could see into from my seat. I loved these guys! They fly with bare feet, and there were so many buttons and knobs and bits and bobs to press and it was so fascinating watching them.
We are now landing and I haven't seen anything like this before.
Employees from the hotel are waiting for us. They are saying they'll show us around. Most visitors around here are couples. Seems like I'm the only single person here. (Shockingly!)
I'm being showed around the island and how to navigate to and from. The place here is a True paradise and I can't wait to see where I'm staying.
Seems like I have reserved a 'Sunset Lagoon Villa' and BOY OH BOY did I score a win! There I thought I didn't know anything and here comes my prize. My Villa's location is EPIC. the path to it is AMAZING. Simply walking on it is a romantic thing to be done on it's own.
I simply can't put a description to it. Check the pictures to see for yourself.
I can't ask for anything more.OK guys I jokingly said I'm on my honeymoon but I have no problem being on a real honeymoon now. Well, I'm!
First of all I'll settle down and take a shower then let's see how and what's to be done after this point. (We both know that food is on the top of this list but I'm talking about after that.)
You can call it a brunch, I can call it an early lunch. It's about 2:00 pm now and I'M STARVING.
On this island, there are 2 beach bars and 2 restaurants. Choosing a one won't be a difficult thing as each one gives a different experience. One on them is by the beach on the edge of the woods. The other one is tucked away between the greens. I decided to go with the second option as I'll be by the beach the entire time later. It's marvelous and enchanting anywhere you look.
The food here isn't something I'm familiar with so I think I'll try tons of new things from vegetables, fruits and seafood.
My choice for now will be.....
'Banbukeylu harisa', 'Roshi', 'Mas Huni' and 'Fried Yams'. I know, absolutely random. I simply ordered based on the photos shown in the menu. I'm ready to be surprised.
Foooooooood is here. Let's see what I've ordered.
Apparently the 'Banbukeylu harisa' is some kind of soup. Oh, it tastes amazing! What is this? OK, it is a curry of steamed breadfruit, chilli, onion and coconut. I'm pleasantly surprised specially that I'm not a fan of coconut at all. The 'Roshi' seems to be flatbread. (No, no and no. It's not the character from Dragon ball or Naruto, even though that would have been fun) and it's already served with the 'Mas Huni' which is shredded smoked Tuna, served with grated coconuts, lemon and onions. Basically a tuna salad. The 'Fried Yams' are something like Fried Sweet potato but not, as they are trying to explain to me. There is a slight difference between them. They have different nutritions and the 'yam' is drier, along with some other things. Anyway, that looks so delicious. I'll eat now meanwhile I'll be thinking about what's to be done next.
'Explore the reef without getting wet' sounds like a good idea with low amount of movement needed. I like that they go anytime of the day even at night. I think I'll take the next trip which is going in half an hour from now.
OH, my ride looks cute. They say that it'll take 45 minutes. I'm wondering if there would so much to see? As I'm definitely up to snorkeling later. Diving with the sharks is on my bucket list too. Anyway, here I go.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, This is so mesmerizing, fascinating and beautiful. There are so many sea creatures. The reef is breathe taking. How can it be so colorful down here? I wish I can go even deeper. I'm definitely going snorkeling tomorrow. I'll leave you here with few pictures and I'll go live the view.
That was undescribable. I can't wait for tomorrow. Now I've got 2 hours till the sunset. I think I'll go back to the villa to change then go for a dip in the lagoon.
Change of plans, I decided to walk around the island a little bit. There are Cabins in the woods so I couldn't move there freely but there is a garden where fresh basil, rosemary, eggplant, Scotch bonnet chilli and a selection of other herbs and vegetables are grown. They belong to the restaurants here. It's really nice to see that what I'm eating is being planted locally. So relaxing. I'll have dinner here then go back by sunset.
The restaurant by the beach serves cuisines from China, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
I think I'll try 'Boshi Mashuni'. This time I ask about what I order before ordering it. So this dish is known as the banana flower salad. Basically, this particular dish is a cross between salad and salsa. It features a blend of blanched but crunchy banana flowers, spices, and fresh coconut. I really wanted to try the 'Lobster' for a while now, so where is a better place to try than this. I think this is it for the dinner cause I'd like to try some sweet stuff, specially 'Maldivian Lady' which is a fresh and tropical aroma and fruity taste Maldivian drink made of white rum skinned, apricot brandy, grenadine, orange and pineapple juice, which I've eyeing since the moment I saw at at lunch. (Hope you aren't surprised that this is an alcohol.) Since I really want to go all the way I'm rising the sugar level with an Indian delicacy which is a spongy milky balls soaked in rose scented sugar syrup called 'Gulab Jamun'.
Here comes my 'Lobster' see you after the feast.
THIS IS THE BEST THING I'VE HAVE HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I simply can't believe I've lived this long without trying this and I can spot my drink too. This day can't get any better.
Man! I'm stuffed. The drink wasn't like anything I've ever had and the 'Gulab Jamun' was perfectly sweet.
I said that this day can't get any better? How can I say that. The paradise can surely give you more without you asking. You are asking me what it give me? The most stunning sunset I could ever dream of.
Now I'm on my way back to my villa. This path is so nice to walk on .... I'm definitely having a lovely time in my little own pool then go to sleep because tomorrow holds lots and lots for us to do.
'Baajjaveri reygande' folks. (Which means good night in the Maldivian language by the way.)
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