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When traveling, one of the things we love to do is explore local areas and eat local food. There is not much said about Male (pronounced Ma-leh and not like the reference to the darker sex although when I first saw the Male Shopping excursion package at the hotel, I stopped and wondered why on earth would they have a shopping trip catered just for men. Took me a few seconds before I realized my bimbo-ness mistake!!) on the internet, well mainly because there really isn’t much to say about this tiny place:p

On our way back from paradise, we had 9 hours to kill before our flight back home. We checked into a hotel at the airport island which offered a day stay (coz I can never go on for long hours without a shower okie?), dumped our bags in the room and decided to explore Male.

Here I am at the jetty waiting for the water taxi which only cost us RM2 each to get to the other side. Safe to say we were the only foreigners on board because most people don’t really explore this part much.

A glimpse of Male. Boat ride took about 20 minutes.

This is primarily the ONLY mode of transportation for those who live in the airport island (which was built by the government to accommodate its growing population).  Of course you have the option of swimming too. If you dare.

Bollywood tour anyone? And yes, Hindi movies are popular here.

Male town is rather small and extremely congested.  You see alot of people, cars, bikes, buildings, more people at every corner. It reminded me of my India trip, except Male was much cleaner.  And the air was a little more fresh. Nevertheless, people here are not exactly courteous. For this reason, we both miss Thailand!

Be extremely careful about exploring Male in the morning as 90% of shops only open at, get this, 2 freaking pm!!! Good thing we arrived in time for lunch.

The hubby was up for something local so we stepped into a local cafe and got a breakfast set for lunch. I believe this is called Roshi, which is their version of chapati, some spiced tuna chunks (fish and tuna are BIG in Male for obvious reasons) with a side of egg. Total cost: RM10. Food is not cheap in Male for sure.  And it didn’t even taste all that great. Prior to that, we had a slice of tandoori pizza, coffee and milkshake and that cost me RM40.

Let’s not forget that Male is EXTREMELY hot too…..was sweating and smelling like a pig.

Ok so I”m tanned at every angle…….meh. But what’s a beach holiday without a tan eh?

After 2 hours of walking around and shopping under the hot scorching sun, we had enough and decided to leave with 2 small bags. So-not-me. Then again, there wasn’t really much to shop in Male to begin with.

On the way back to the hotel for some shut eye and longggg shower so I can smell good again before the flight home.

The best Banana Milk everrr and it’s made in Sri Lanka

I think we would have left Male earlier if it wasn’t for our attempt at getting Sairah something decent. The hubby for once was picky about her clothes. And we walked from one shop to another as most shops here sell clothes with wrong spelling or irrelevant banters!

Only perfect spelling for my baby girl please.

So yes we settled for this orange dress that says SHOPPING on it. Cost me RM40 just for this.  

I got home, turned to see the label and guess where it’s made from?

THAILAND.

I swear it’s a freaking sign or something.

For now it’s back to work and nappy duties

17 February 2011 – 23 February 2011

We’ve been enjoying the sand, sun and sea for the past few days in Maldives. The husband got this as an anniversary gift last year. I call this the Honeymoon Version 3.0, 3 representing our three years together as husband and wife And boy has it been a journey of sorts.

Honestly I dont even know where to start. The whole experience and trip was beyond amazing.  Maldives ranks the best beach holiday I’ve ever been to. One thing for sure without a doubt, we missed Sairah like CRAZY and have vowed to bring her here in a few years time. *promise*

On board MAS. It’s been a longgggg time since I set foot in KLIA or MAS for that matter, haha. The husband had to refrain me from taking out the wallet everytime we got served food or drinks, lol.

Still had pork and alcohol in the hotel

The airport with a view

Note the expression…..

Coz he had to fork out USD16 just for this meal. Maldives is indeed expensive!!

Our sauces made it to Maldives yo! You’ll find many Malaysian products here. And it’s absolutely BORING to shop here coz all you see is Malaysian products. Sheesh.

All on board! Boat transfer was over-the-top expensive @ USD150 a pop!! We could have literally bought tickets to Bangkok or Bali.

Nevertheless we were lucky that there were only another couple on board with us so it made it somewhat private and worth it

Have you seen water this blueeee???! At this point, we were getting anxious to arrive the hotel just to see how the island looks like.

Took us 40 minutes before we arrived Holiday Inn Kandooma.

We’re in Maldives bitches!

The breathtaking view.

Can you believe GOD created this?

Why can’t we get water this blue in PD? WHY?!

The reception area where we were given some refreshments.

As we arrived at 10 a.m in the morning, the hotel was kind enough to let us check in early, talk about fantastic service. And if that wasn’t enough……

We got upgraded to a private villa!!!! Talk about being lucky

The villa was perfect in every way…

From the lounging area outside where the hubby drank his beers and smoked his cigar

To the outdoor shower (though I could do away with the green walls)

The bed was the most comfiest bed I’ve ever slept on

*refusing to budge from the bed*

To the little details like an Ipod dock so we could play some music

Oh how I loved the outdoor rain shower

Peekaboo, we can see you…

Even the citrus juicer got us excited. Fresh and free orange juice everyday, mmm, mmm, I could live like this everyday!

And to think that this was suppose to be our ‘home’ for that 5 days. LOVE the idea of upgrades.

I would say that the major highlight of the villa was the balcony! For starters, it overlooked the Indian Ocean. I loved every minute I had on that balcony. I loved waking up in the morning to the sound and sight of the ocean. All I had to do was draw open the curtains, lie on my bed and in return I was rewarded with the most gorgeous view one could ever ask for.

After a swim in the ocean,  I would come back and plonk myself on the balcony while enjoying a whole pot of tea to myself as I ponder about life. The husband of course would spend his time downstairs having his cans of beer, no complains there coz I enjoyed my me-time!

We also dined in on one of those days. Talk about being anti-social.

But the moon was simply amazing that night. Couldn’t get more romantic than that.

Even the workaholic husband enjoyed the balcony as he worked away.  Life of a business analyst, tsk….

But they do work hard and play harder, haha

Did lots and lots of swimming too

Oooh who’s that girl, nanananana

Just me

Water so crystal clear you can see your chipped pedicure

3 years and counting…..

Complimentary snorkelling

Now this part was the hardest. Saying bye to this wonderful piece of heaven. It was a 5 day trip of pure relaxation with nothing much to do or crack our heads about. It takes about 20 minutes to cover the entire island by foot. We did alot of sleeping, swimming, talking, sleeping and honestly, it’s something I wouldn’t mind doing once a year, for at least a week for a little rejuvenation.

Now it’s back home with a REALLY bad tan….

A sight we already miss so much

As we were heading back to the airport island, we came across DOLPHINS! They actually have a USD40 dolphin tour, but we had ours for free, hehe. The Captain was too kind to stop the boat and let us take photos of  this beautiful and rare sight.

They say dolphins bring you luck, so here’s hoping I’ll hit the jackpot (yes yes same ol same ol) soon so we can come back to Maldives with Sairah!