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Published: March 4th 2008
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Sunset in Negombo
This is when the mossies bite Well, what can I say about The Maldives……..Wow! is the first thing that springs to mind followed by: Breathtaking, Beautiful, Amazing, Colourful, Relaxing, Heavenly-Paradise. I think from that you’ll all get the picture, and I imagine that the next few Blogs will include LOTS of pictures - purely because there’s really not a lot to do in The Maldives apart from snorkel, dive and chill on the most pure white sands surrounded by the clearest deliciously inviting waters. Therefore, not a lot to report….but an awful lot of photo opportunities!!!
SRI LANKA
Once again we were forced by the Indian Government to take a "Holiday", or as they see it, leave the country for at least 24 hrs. Rather than spend £500 on two flights to Sri Lanka and back in order to get the all important stamps in the passport, we decided we'd spend £1300 on a once in a lifetime splurge on a luxury break to the nearby Madives.
We flew with Sri Lankan airlines via Colombo (Sri Lanka’s capital). The deal included a stop off in a Sri Lankan hotel both on the outward and return journey. We were picked up from the airport and transferred to The
Goldi Sands Hotel in Negombo, a place that we were very familiar with having had two holidays here in 1997 and 1998. The hotel was ok, nothing too flash but it did look straight onto the golden sands of Negombo beach which was a bonus. We had a nice leisurely stroll along the beach and stopped off at The Browns Beach Hotel where we’d stayed in 1997, the place hasn’t changed at all in 11 years; it’s probably still one of the nicest hotels along the strip. After a refreshing drink we headed back to The Goldi Sands via the main street, we found a few of our old haunts along the way including Keith’s Bar - a place where we’d spent much of our previous two holidays, unfortunately the bar has closed and the building is standing empty……..maybe a good location for SHOOTERS II. Negombo has certainly changed quite a bit since our last visit, there are more bars and restaurants than before but one thing that hasn’t changed is the people, they are still lovely and smiley and friendly.
WAITING IN ANTICIPATION
Our flight out of Colombo was at half past midnight and arrival time into Male
(Maldives Capital) was 1.00am local time - Male being 1 hour behind Colombo. Our final flight to our chosen island resort was to be by seaplane, unfortunately the sea planes (or Maldivian Air Taxis as they are commonly known) are only allowed to fly during daylight hours which meant that we had a good few hours to wait in Male airport. Eventually the seaplane check-in desk opened, so at 5am we checked in and were transferred to the Air Taxi departure lounge which was nice and comfy, we drank coffee and watched the sunrise while waiting for our taxi driver to arrive and whisk us off on the 40 minute flight to Meedhupparu Resort in Raa Atoll.
This was our first ever time travelling by seaplane and we loved it!! The planes are tiny, they seat a maximum of 15 passengers in a seating configuration of 2, 1. We opted for a window seat each and were the only two tourists on the flight - the rest of the passengers being staff of the resort. The flight was amazing and gave us our first glimpse of the islands scattered out below in the beautiful clear waters of the Indian
Shopping for tat
"No thanks, I don't want a wooden tuk tuk" Ocean. Viewed from above the islands are vivid in colour, imagine peacock feathers blowing in the wind and you’ll come close to the images that we saw.
FINAL DESTINATION - MEEDHUPPARU - RAA ATOLL
We arrived in Meedhupparu at 9.20am local time - Meedhupparu being 1 hour ahead of Male. Our bags were taken to reception and we were taken directly to the restaurant for breakfast - good breakfast it was too, all meals are buffet style and the choice was really good. Our room still had occupants in residence at this time so we were forced to hang around for a few hours before settling in and unpacking. The rooms are bungalow style, each has its own veranda with tables and chairs and the all important sun beds. The room was spacious and bright and had the novelty of having two showers, one inside and one outside in a private little courtyard…….lovely!!
The rest of the day was spent snoozing on the massive bed, paddling in the ocean and eating the gorgeous food provided as part of our full board deal. We did a little bit of exploring - not too strenuous as you can stroll /
Sunrise on Male
Waiting for the taxi driver to arrive wade around the island in approx ½ hr, not really a lot to see apart from sun sea and sand……..I think we’re gonna love it here.
............Coming in the next Blog: Delhi Belly, My 37th Birthday and what lurks beneath the surface
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jeanniewigs
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WHAT A PLACE!!!
JUST BEEN TALKING TO OUR JO, WAIT TIL SHE SEES THE PICS, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE MALDIVES, I THINK ITS A MUST SEE PLACE, SO YOU NEVER KNOW, ONE OF THESE DAYS YOU MAY BE RETURNING WITH 4 MINDERS!!