We land into Kooddoo airport (from Male airport) at 1.10pm on
Saturday 16 March 2024. We are soooo close to relaxation. We had booked the
Pullman Maldives through luxury escapes.
Being on Maldives time the bags take forever to come out. Strangely one trolley arrived fairly promptly then we wait and wait and wait. Even with fans in this room it’s super hot. People are standing at the window looking outside - that’s not going to make the bags come out any faster!!
Once we have our bags we are put onto a golf buggy and driven a few minutes to the other side of the island where we are greeted by the Pullman Hotel boat.
We had been told it was a 15-20 minute ride to our island. Absolutely didn’t feel that long.
On arrival there is a welcoming group to greet us with cold towels along with a refreshing drink.
We are put onto separate buggy’s - our driver / guide Hassan gives us a tour of the island. So much information is provided, after a while it’s hard to take in. I’m focusing on the beautiful island.
I found out this morning they had upgraded our room to a pool villa. YE HA!!!! When we booked over two months ago we requested for a twin room. I was informed on Thursday that that won’t be possible as all the twin rooms are booked……we weren’t impressed. Anyway, it’s ended well. For whatever reason the hotel doesn’t confirm the rooms to the night before, seems very very odd to me but hey ho.
Hassan’s last stop is our villa. Opening the villa door it’s like a gift. Wow! What an amazing view. I’m absolutely not going to want to leave and I’ve only just arrived.
After having a tour of the villa we head off for a late lunch. Unfortunately lunch is over everywhere so it’s salads and samosas at the bar area. It’s so unbelievably H O T sitting here. Zero air flow and no fans. Not fun. As soon as we finish eating we are leaving the table and heading out to the buggy stop. Time to return to our villa.
Sitting here staring out to the water is heavenly. There is something so soothing listening to the waves.
At some point 4 black sting rays swim by. Wow!! Shortly after a much bigger sting ray cruises by.
We had tried earlier to book into one of the restaurants tonight for dinner but had no luck - so the buffet restaurant it is. While it wasn’t terrible it wasn’t the best we have eaten. More filling a gap.
We have a couple of minutes wait before the buggy arrives. Once moving the breeze helps to cool us down.
Aah walking back into the cool room is heaven!
I wake just before 6am on St Patricks’s Day 2024 and immediately jump out of bed to head outside to see night turn into day. Wow! See sunrise blog for the photos.
Sunrise is about ten minutes later but due to the cloud it takes a while before we see it.
Just after 7am I decide I’ll go out for a run before the sun gets too hot.
I arrive at breakfast before Susan - it’s nice to be in a/c again! For now, I need water and lots of it.
Breakfast is a nice slow affair. Our only thing today is the sunset cruise at 5.15pm and a dinner reservation at 7.30pm.
We have the morning at the villa - it’s pure bliss! Being able to jump in and out of the pool is great. It’s also fun sitting here spotting the sea life. I even manage a wee nap.
Around 1.30pm we head to lunch. Thankfully we enjoy it more than dinner last night.
Ooh my, it takes 45 minutes to get a buggy. Ridiculous!!
On arrival back at the villa Hassan (our greeter guide from yesterday) calls to apologize for the wait. He advised they had a group of 40 guests that just arrived.
It's so nice to relax in the a/c!
At 4.53pm the phone rings again - it’s the junction (reception) informing us the buggy is outside waiting and apologizing again for the long delay earlier.
We are here far too early! It’s super-hot waiting. On the positive side we do see two black rip reef sharks swim by.
We end up waiting 35 minutes before we are told it’s time to get on the boat. The sun is beating down!! The lady informs us 5.15pm is the time to arrive for a 5.30pm departure. If only people were on time! And if only we knew that, we would have planned to arrive at 5.15pm.
At least we had something to pass the time - watching a huge pod of spinner dolphins. Wow!
Once we are all on board, we are informed we’ll go up and down the sea watching the sunset. Sounds great! Within minutes of leaving the wharf a glass of Prosecco is handed around.
We speed off in the direction of the spinner dolphins - wow!!!! The sunset is basically forgotten. My head is turning in all directions trying to take it all in. I know my photos and videos won’t do it justice.
I’ll never grow old of watching the sun set (or sun rise).
Back at the wharf we walk to the junction to order a buggy to the bar next to the Italian restaurant closest to our villa.
We enjoy a cocktail sitting by the pool, listening to the waves watching the stars is so peaceful.
Dinner at the Italian restaurant is super tasty! So glad we’ll be coming back here again before we depart.
It’s a short walk back to the villa where we are greeted with a lovely cold room!
Monday 18 March I wake at 6am. No sleep in’s here! Watching the sun rise is magical.
Before it gets too hot I head out for a run. Just as I’m finishing I spy a sting-ray.
Breakfast is like yesterday - a slow relaxing affair.
As the buggy drops us back at the villa I spy another sting ray. Wow!
We have the morning relaxing at the villa before walking down to the Italian restaurant for lunch. We do not need a 45 minute wait for a buggy like yesterday!
The afternoon is spent in the same way the morning was - relaxing at the villa, in and out of the pool.
For dinner we head to the Monday night special of BBQ. Not exactly like the BBQ we are used too but what we eat is tasty.
I enjoy the outdoor shower under the stars to cool down.
Tuesday 19 March I wake just before 5.20am, too early to get up! Like yesterday morning it takes time for the sun to appear due to the clouds.
I decide to head to the place next to the Italian restaurant for breakfast - easier and hopefully quickly than going to the buffet.
It’s certainly slow here!! I’m now questioning my decision to come here. Really hope my coffee and food arrive soon.
Thankfully all’s well - I manage to eat my breakfast and get a shuttle within 10 minutes. I'm off scuba diving.
There were five of us that signed up for the two morning scuba dives. The first one was at Lobster Cave and the second one at Turtle Cove. Both were great. Some highlights were seeing lots of turtles, a sleeping black ray, at least 3 large lobsters, a black tip shark, and a huge moral eel. In between the two dive sites we were fortunate enough to see a small pod (no more than 20-25) of spinner dolphin’s. So cool!
I meet Susan at the Italian restaurant for lunch. It’s nice and breezy so we sit outside. Bliss!
Back to our villa we go - pool and relaxation is needed.
For dinner we go to the vegetarian restaurant - so many options that I want to try. We end up getting a couple of extra meals and share. It’s all absolutely delicious and very nicely presented.
We walk back to our villa, once we reach the pier / leave the island the sea breeze picks up.
I wake just before 6am on Wednesday 20 March. Sitting here watching the sun rise is beautiful but breezy. Hopefully the breeze remains for the day! Will help to take the heat out of the sun.
No run for me this morning, instead we decide to walk to and from breakfast. On the journey back to the villa taking the beach route.
Back at the villa it’s to the pool we head! Even though it’s very breezy it’s still very hot.
Early afternoon we wander down to the Italian restaurant for lunch. Sitting outside as it’s nice and breezy.
We have the afternoon at the Villa relaxing and swimming. At 4pm a piece of chocolate cake is delivered for Susan (we are in the Maldives to celebrate her birthday). So kind of them!
Late afternoon we decide to head to the sunset bar to watch the sun set.
After a few minutes sitting here in the hot hot sun we decide it’s just too hot so head inside where it’s cooler.
As the sun is starting to set we head back outside again. Thankfully the heat has reduced. Sitting here watching the sun set we notice spinner dolphins. What a way to see day turn into night.
Before heading to the Italian restaurant for dinner we head to The Junction to ask about checking out and the boat / flight to Male. We also decide to pay our bill - saves us coming back tomorrow!
I had looked up the flight times to Male and assumed we would be on the 5.55am flight (arriving into Male at 7am). The lady advised us we would get confirmation tomorrow night in our letter box around 6pm, however said the estimated time of departure was 7.45am from the hotel for a 9.30am flight to Male. Ooh please please please let’s hope this is true! Time will tell.
Dinner sitting outside next to the sea was lovely. A great end to another amazing day.
I wake far too early on Thursday 21 March at 5.38am. Unfortunately I hadn’t slept the best - lucky I can have a nap later on! It’s breezy when I walk outside to see night turn into day.
I decide to head out for a run before the sun gets too hot. I am lucky to see a black tip reef shark swimming around!
As we are waiting for the buggy to take us to breakfast a black stingray swims past. Wow!! It made me wonder what colour stingrays are….google informs us they are brownish in colour. Soooo it’s clearly not a stingray we saw, rather a manta ray. Even more wow!!
Back at the villa enjoying time in the pool we spot another manta ray swimming around. So cool!
Around midday we spot a turtle just hanging out. It’s been great to see so many different sea animals.
After lunch at the Italian we have the afternoon at the villa relaxing, swimming and fish spotting. This is the life!
Around 5pm our check out details arrive. Ooh no! I’m on the crack of dawn flight and Susan is on the later on. I do NOT want 5 hours hanging around Male airport thank you very much!!! On calling The Junction I’m told they can move me to the same flight as Susan’s but I need to sign a disclaimer. If something happens then they aren’t responsible. No worries - worse case I buy another flight ticket to Bangkok. But hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
They say they are sending someone to our villa for me to sign the disclaimer before they can move my flight. First I’m told someone will come in 10 minutes then after 20 minutes waiting I call and am told another 5 minutes. We are definitely on island time here!!!
We had been invited for a cocktail reception with the hotel management at the 4 bedroom villa, which is basically a 2 minute walk from our villa. So of course we needed to go and check it out!
Wow it’s amazing!!! We grab a drink and wander around the place.
For our last meal we had booked the Vegetarian restaurant. A buggy takes us there via the other over ocean villas.
Dinner is delicious! By far this is the best restaurant on the island.
Unfortunately it takes 25 minutes for a buggy to arrive - crazy! This has definitely been the worse thing about being here, the constant waiting for buggy’s. Not fun!
Our room is nice and cold when we walk back in. Thankfully there is a letter waiting for me advising they have moved my flight. Let’s all hope and pray there is no delay and I make the flight to Bangkok. Time will tell!
I wake well before my alarm (set for 6am) on Friday 22 March. It has been a very short night - I feel like I didn’t sleep much at all.
The sun rise is nowhere near as amazing as it’s been every other day due to the huge amount of clouds around. We do get to see a few new fish though - razor and puffer being two that stand out so that’s cool.
At 6.45am a buggy arrives to take us and our luggage away. Nooooooooo. Our 6 nights here have felt like so many more. We are taken to The Junction to check-out, for us it’s a key drop as we have already paid for our activities.
Breakfast is quiet when we arrive, it’s strange seeing others here fully clothed. I force myself to eat a couple of pieces of fruit and have some coffee. In the end I decide to stuff a boiled egg into two croissants to eat at some stage along the journey.
Nine of us fit onto a buggy to the wharf where there are at least 8 staff there to greet us and wave us away. A nice touch.
As we are cruising to Kooddoo island, to take the flight to Male, we have a detour to see dolphins. Amazing! No spinning today though as the sea is like glass.
Once at the airport we hand over our passports and identify our bags. I’m told they will put a priority tag on my bag - let’s hope that works! My passport and boarding pass are taken away to take a copy to send to Male. Zero idea what that means as it’s only mine that this happens too. If it helps at the other end I’ll take that!!
My hand luggage is chosen for a random search. Thankfully no issues. And now the waiting (again) happens.
At 8.50am the doors to the tarmac are unlocked and we are told we can board. No need to rush - it will be a hot tin can inside the plane!!!
The positives of flying from a tiny airport are you can depart when everyone is at the airport! We end up leaving a good 30 minutes early. Ye ha! Here I was worried that it was going to be tight at Male airport. Alas no.
We land into Male at 10.02am - heaps of time!
Sitting in the last row of the plane meant we were first off (door at the back of the plane not the front). Unfortunately we have to get onto a bus to the airport which is a hop, step and a jump away.
I see my suitcase on the bag trolley that drives in front of us. Woo hoo!
Once we collect our bags we then need to wait for others to get their bags before a staff member walks us to the check-in area.
More waiting - to get through security. Thank goodness there are a few fans!!
There is no line at the Air Asia desks which is nice change. I’m asked how long I’m staying in Bangkok for - 3 days - then asked for my ticket out of Bangkok.
Waiting again to clear immigration….. if you have time to spare fly by air!
The lines at security are just as bad - and people have clearly never travelled before! Honestly it’s a joke.
We get to the gate area at 11.29am. I’m so so so pleased I didn’t have to have 5.5 hours here. I would have been bored to tears.
At 11.55am I see the Air Asia plane drive by….that means it’s late arriving. Fingers crossed it doesn’t mean a delayed departure. Again I’m so thankfully I didn’t take the crazy o’clock flight this morning!
Boarding is announced at 12.20pm, ye ha a quick turnaround.
I have the whole row to myself so move to the window seat.
The Maldives you have been speculator! Such a stunning part of the world that I feel privileged to be able to visit. I would LOVE to return one day. For now, it’s off to Bangkok I go.
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