MALDIVES!

(Taking Off Day! Day 1 in Maldives)

     So our flight is schedule on 14 September 2015 on 11 plus plus at night. So to do online check- in it have to 48 hours before departure. I tried to do on Saturday night, but MAS website couldnt find my booking number (I booked since March, so its like 6 month before) then I decided to call the MAS hotline number and they told me the website database is on maintenance so try again another 24 hours. So next day, Sunday. Did the same thing but still the same result and again called the MAS hotline number and you know what they told me "Sorry miss, all our route to Maldives are suspended, and our last flight is 28 August.." I was like "What!!!!" Nearly cursed, but I hold back.

     So cut story short! MAS had arranged the flight instead going straight to Maldives, we are going to have 7 hours transit at Colombo, Sri Lanka. And from Colombo we have to board Sri Lankan Airlines on the next day which is on 15 of September, 7.30 in the morning. So instead arriving at Maldives on the 14 so we have to arrive on the 15 instead. But never mind, the original plan was when we arrive in Male International Airport that night, we overnight that night in the airport and make our way to Maafushi Island on the 15th. So basically, although with the shocking-near-to-death arrangement, it doesnt really change that we will be arriving in Maafushi on the 15th.

     Malaysia Airlines. Sentiasa Di Hatiku ;p

     Although the Ibrahim Naseer International Airport is also known as Male International Airport but it is not on the Male Capital City Island. The Airport is an Island of its own but still, the sea and view is breathtaking! Plus, there is no HAZE in Maldives. So I'm inhaling a such good quality clean fresh air, and it filling my lungs and its GOOOD! 

(Right outside of the Airport)

(The deck is the jetty deck where we have to board a ferry to Male Capital City)

     When we arrive at the airport the first thing that my Su Woei (my cousin sister, lets abbreviate her name to SW) did was go to the POS Office, she wanted to post a postcard to one of her office mates back in Malaysia. And as for me is change 20 USD to Rufiyaa, and I get 300 Rufiyaa (bila nampak 300 Rufiyaa macam dalam otak terus "aku kaya!" lah sangat!) And the second thing that we did is go to the toilet then hunting for sim cards. Naively I thought that the Broadband in Maldives is as good as in Malaysia so its a bit slow but OK laaa. The tourist simpack with 5gb extra is around USD35 including tax. Like I said, I was naively to think that the broadband was as good ;p But hey! to me, the next time Ill be coming to Maldives, maybe still would buy the simpack, just maybe 2gb is good enough for me ;p 

     To be getting to Maafushi Island, I need to go from Male International Airport to Male Capital City and in order to do that we have to ride a ferry that cost you 10 Rufiyaa or 1 USD. So when we arrive in Male Capital City, we have to actually go to Villinggi Jetty to take a ferry to Maafushi. And from the jetty where we go off from airport boat, we have to take a taxi ride to Villinggi Jetty which cost around 35 Rufiyaa. But you can actually get up at the back of a truck to take you to Villinggi Jetty for FREE :) But SW refused to ride the back of the truck, which I don't mind as long it can save money, so yeah! Taxi it is.

     So near to the Villinggi Jetty there is this cafe named Sea House or Sea Horse cafe and since our ferry to Maafushi is at 3pm, so we decided to have lunch together with our Maldivian Uni-mates :) There is 2 public ferry that is going to Maafushi on that day, one its at 12 noon and another one its at 3pm, and it's only 15 Rufiyaa per person. And also there is speedboat to Maafushi too from the jetty, and that will cost you around 20 USD. And on Friday its their weekend, so if you flying to Maldives on a Friday, you do have to arrange the speedboat transfer with the hotel, and the price for per person will be not 20 USD per person, alot more actually.

     The public ferry ride took us about 2 hours to arrive in Maafushi. So depart at 3pm and arrived at 5pm. And along the way, its a bit bumpy ride because of the bad whether. So happen, its the monsoon season, so yeah big waves, rainy and bumpy ;p But the best part is, I could see a number of Luxury Resorts along the way and its so beautiful.

     As soon we arrived, there are representative from Arena Beach Hotel waiting for us at Maafushi Jetty, and as soon we arrive, the rain stops ;p Gladly and happily welcoming us to Maafushi I guess ;p But since the hotel its like in the end of the island and the road is turning into puddles, so we ride a motorcycle to the hotel. And once we arrived to the hotel, my mouth drops!

     Arena Beach Hotel in on the Private Beach and its only on the Private Beach that the people are allowed to wear less clothing and bikinis. So the Private Beach is actually hidden behind a coconut leaf and wood wall to separate it from the public eye. And that is what I actually find it truly amazing. Coming back about the hotel, right in front of the hotel there is its not that long but I still can say a stretch of white sand beaches and turquoise blue and green water. Is it up to me, Ill just dump my bag at the lobby and run to the big wild sea! But since Im doing all the arrangements, so the booking details is in my possessions ;p so yeah, check- in first. We were great by Welcome Drinks and hot towel. Oh! How I remembered the feeling of the hot towel on my dirty tired face! Oh! Wow! Yeah! ;p

     After being checked-in, I straight away change my clothes and try to guess what I do next? And its after the video about the humongous room that we are place in :) OFF TO THE BEACH LAAA! Subahanallah, its the only word I repeatedly said while I'm getting closer and closer to the sea. Its so serene, its so peaceful, its so beautiful its Allah's creation, Subahanallah and I am actually get to experience all this, Alhamdulillah. 

     So what it for dinner? Since we are in a budget, I did bring a lot of Brahim's instant food, Meggi of course and chicken curry and chicken kurma in a can by Adabi. And not forgetting, I also brought a small 0.8 Liter small rice cooker along. It is a budget trip right? After spending 35 USD fora simcard with 5gb internet, I need to watch my money, plus I do want to participate in their snorkeling activities, so I gain some and I sacrifice some :)

     After dinner, me and SW went to a local so call like kedai runcit or a mini market to buy water and went back to the hotel and doze off. Lets call it a day :)

So to break it down my expenses of the day is;

• Travelers Sim Card + 5gb Data = 35USD
• Boat from Airport to Male Capital City = 10 Rufiyaa
• Taxi ride from the 1st jetty in Male to Villinggi Jetty = 25 Rufiyaa (25 or 35)
• Lunch = 100 Rufiyaa (I should have taken the buffet lunch  at 115 Rufiyaa)
• Public Ferry to Maafushi Island = 15 Rufiyaa (but for this, Musad belanja, Thanks Musad!)
• Buying stuffs at the mini market = around 50 Rufiyaa. 

     So Goodnight & Assalamualaikum.


WAIT!!! CHECK OUT MY YOU TUBE VIDEO ;p

   

MALDIVES!

 (PLANNING STAGE)

     Assalamualaikum & Hello strangers! ;p Heeeee.... Kidding! FINALLY! After 2 weeks post-Maldives holiday I managed to write something here. Weeee! I'm still excited about Maldives, it's so beautiful, Subhanallah. 

     Ok. Before I start yapping about my trip over there, lets start first with the planning stage. BUT! Before I go there, lets introduce my humble ME :) (like got people want to know) ;p 

     My name is U-Riey Safawati Bt Kamaruddin and I am 27 years old and I am single (what is status got to do about this?) Ho key! Im sorry if my writing is way out from the right using of English Grammar, because I am from Malaysia (not to say Malaysians is bad in ENGLISH, NO! Just we have our own English, called MANGLISH. Plus it's 2 am, so my brain it's a bit of over active I can say ;p ) I studied in International Hospitality Management, so basically when my cousin asked me "Hey! Let's go to Maldives!" So to say, I do all the planning :) 

     From my research, Maldives is a Muslim country. Plus I study in Sunway University, so there are a handful of students who are Maldivians. And so happen, my senior while I'm in Diploma in Hotel Management is a Maldivian, so to say I have the edge of referring to a very valid source. And so to speak, my cousin also have a classmate from Maldives as well. 

(YEA!! Sunway Alumni Reunion in Maldives!!)

So I really think that we are so lucky in this matter. Continue to the Muslim country part, they also are using the Shari-Law as their main law. Therefore, in the public places such in public islands (that is include their International Airport), public places and etc, it's not appropriate to wear revealing clothes. Not to say to wear a Jubah. Fairly speaking, a moderate decent clothing wear is needed. And you can't have alcoholic drinks in public places too. Even you can't find alcoholic drinks at the public mini market and such. Alcoholic beverages only available in the Private Islands and it is quite relatively expensive. As for me, I'm a Muslim, it's actually a yeay! for me not to have alcoholic drinks around me, because I am not going to worry getting surrounded with drunk people. 

     After doing the cultural & customs research. I did read alot of blogs regarding travelling to Maldives in Budget. Just type in 'Travel Maldives in a budget' then it will come out about 10 articles or write ups about Maldives in budget holiday. Most of the write ups were, NOT Malaysians, so I would be glad if I could be the first or the second or the third to write up about Maldive ;p . After one by one articles that I had read, on where is the International Airport, form there where to go and how much does it cost, and which island that Im going to stay, and how to go there and so on. Plus, I did Googled about 'Local islands in Maldives'.

    On 2004 Tsunami, Maldives did get hit by the Tsunami, but quoting from my local friend Maldives hit it's not as bad as Sri Lanka. However, some island (local and private) were damaged by the hit. But after rebuilding back Maldives, in 2010 the new president of Maldives has opened up opportunities for the local Maldivian to set up businesses such as accommodations and restaurants. And since then, Maldives has opened up it's doors for budget travelers, so much like me. 

     I can say, it was a huge relief to know that I can travel Maldives in a budget. But how BUDGET is budget? That I need to dig more, but at least I don't have to pay RM5000++ per night in the Private Island, Luxury Hotels. After months of Googling and referring to my local Maldivian friend, I had chosen Maafushi Island as my preferred local island destination. Why? Because Maafushi is one of the famous local island in budget travelling and right now the whole island are building up budget accommodations, guests houses and F&B. So I can have alot of choices and simply means, they will have more competitor so they can't mark-up the price too high :) NEVER go to places where there are 1 or 2 accommodations IF you want to save your $$$. Because they monopolized the market, so they control the price. For example, when I compare my expenditure to go to Maldives vs going to Pulau Rawa in Mersing, hehe, Maldives is much affordable ;p Like seriously! Because in Rawa, they only have 1 or 2 resorts or accommodation operating there, so simply put they are can charge as high as they want as long the guests is willing to pay, guests has no other choice maaaa........ 

     So destinations checked! So now it's time to open up Booking.com , Agoda and Trip Advisors for which accommodations in Maafushi I want to stay. Maafushi island is not that big. You basically can walk 15-20 minutes and you have visited the whole island, CONGRATULATIONS! ;p So in the island, like I had said before that you can't simply wear revealing clothes or swimming attire, simply put, NO BIKINI at their beaches. But as I dig more deep, there are 2 status of beaches, 1 is public beach and another 1 is private beach. So public beach, you can't put nor display your bikinis but in private beach you may. There are 2 accommodations on the private beach, and several more that is relatively near to the private beach and mostly, is facing to the public beach or is within in a small town in Maafushi. So after, looking at the prices and reading the reviews, I had decided to be on the private beach, although it is slightly expensive then the ones is facing the public beach or even in the small town, but I guess, it's worth it. The different of price is basically RM 10 - RM 100 depends how fancy the accommodations are. So, Arena Beach Hotel it is! Yeay! 

     TIP NO.2; If you are travelling alone or like me, me and my cousin (2 person) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE book the hotel in advance (I did 6 months booking) if you want again to save $$$. And another small tips from me, coming from Malaysia where our money against USD are so weak, if you think MYR is getting weaker, PAY AHEAD YOUR BOOKINGS, this will avoid to pay more. But if, the MYR is getting better then ade laa sikit rugi ;p Alahai nasib! Like me, I did not have enough money to pay when I did my booking, so I choose to pay when I stay, ended up I did have to pay extra RM 200+ due to the MYR is getting weaker. Huk huk! :( When I book, MYR to USD is 3.6, but by the time I'm going the there, MYR to USD is 4.3 :( Sad!

     Flights, the only way to get my butt in Maldives are by flying MAS. There are other options like Singapore Airlines, Tiger Air, and Sri Lankan Airlines. But Sri Lankan Airlines need to transit for more then 4 hours in Colombo. So, proud to be Malaysia, of course laa I'm flying MAS (SIG & Tiger Air is slightly expensive and plus have to fly from Singapore, duh!) TIP NO. 3; Wait for MATTA FAIR to book your flight ticket. The ticket price to and fro was RM1110.00 :) MAS :) Proud To Be Malaysian :) 

     Ouh! I forget about the most important thing about this trip. Maldives is using extremely USD as their 2nd currency. They do have their own local currency called Rufiyaa, but to make things easy to tourist (I assume laaa), they will and do accept USD. So, basically, when you arrive in Maldives, you no need to change to their local currency, but I did and I'm glad I did ;p 1 USD = 15 Rufiyaa, and since I am travelling in a budget and thinking of taking the local ferry to Maafushi, therefore I change 20USD to Rufiyaa, so I get around 300 Rufiyaa. 

     So after the hotel is booked, flight ticket dah beli. I need to wait for another 6 more months to travel to Maldives, but let me tell you is WORTH OF WAITING. Lebih- lebih lagi masa pergi tuh, Malaysia diserang oleh JEREBU! Nikmat betul dapat keluar Malaysia ;p

      So for the next posts will be "What Did I Manage To Do In Maldives with 180USD" Ouh, my total budget to go to Maldives INCLUDING FLIGHT ticket (MAS!), HOTEL & live or die ;p (expenses there for A WHOLE WEEK) is ngam- ngam RM3000.00 :) 

      Goodbye, selamat malam & Assalamualaikum :) 

p/s: I am doing another trip to Maldives. And this time is a group trip. Where I am working with my friends in Maldives to hunt the most reasonably price over there (plus, local with local got local price maaaa ;p ) So I am in the means of receiving their rates right now. So, if you want to be updated, do follow our Instagram @frommalaysiatomaldives and our FB GROUP FROM MALAYSIA TO MALDIVES.