Trip Index
- Planning and preparing for our epic vacation to New Zealand and the Maldives
- Flying to New Zealand via Honolulu, visiting Auckland and Devonport
- Waitomo Caves and Tongariro Alpine Crossing
- Taupo, Waikite Thermal Pools, to Christchurch
- Mt. Cook National Park
- AJ Hackett Kawarau Bungy Jump, K-Jet boating, hanging out in Queenstown
- Day 1 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
- Day 2 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
- Day 3 of Routeburn Track 3-day luxury guided walk
- Arrowtown, Wanaka, Mount Roy Track
- Franz Josef Glacier
- Tranz Alpine train Greymouth to Christchurch, then to Singapore
- From Singapore to Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
- Day 1 and 2 at the Conrad Maldives: beach villa, overwater spa, Atoll Market, snorkeling
- Day 3 at the Conrad Maldives: water villa, diving with manta rays, meeting new friends
- Day 4 and 5 at the Conrad Maldives: Vilu, Sunset Grill, reef diving
- Day 6 and 7 at the Conrad Maldives: whale sharks, Ithaa, snorkeling
- Returning from the Maldives via Singapore
- 10 hour layover in Seoul and landing safely in SFO
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Monday was going to be a lazy day so we could enjoy the water villa to the fullest. Since we were on the small island, we enjoyed our complimentary Hilton HHonors breakfast in
Vilu restaurant. The format was half buffet, half a-la-carte, which I ended up liking much more than the full buffet at Atoll Market, even though the selections weren't as numerous. I read various opinions on which restaurant was best for breakfast, but I think it boils down to what kind of food you prefer and the atmosphere you're looking for. Vilu doesn't have the Asian congee or sushi like at Atoll Market. The small buffet at Vilu was enough to satisfy me (especially since they also had the cute little chocolate croissants), plus I could order whatever I wanted on the a-la-carte menu, which included Western favorites as well as Maldivian choices, delivered hot and fresh to the table. I preferred the more peaceful setting that Vilu offered as well. If you are in a hurry to get somewhere, the Atoll Market would be better as all the food is available, no need to order. I forgot to mention earlier in the blog that champagne was free at breakfast. At Atoll Market, you could pour your own. Here at Vilu, they'll pour it for you.
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| Vilu's menu was on iPads |
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| a shady table with a view |
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| drinking hot tea in 80+ degree tropical weather :) |
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| continental buffet options |
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| the other end of the buffet |
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| fruit juices and champagne |
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| my Maldivian omelette |
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We spent the rest of the day reading our Kindles on our patio, jumping into the jacuzzi (water was not heated, but in the Maldivian sun, it was the perfect temperature), and exploring the waters around us. Even though the resort was pretty full, we hardly saw anyone around the island or in the water. Was everyone inside their villas or out doing something on the ocean?
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| Kaleb walking around under our villa |
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| enjoying the view from the jacuzzi |
Beware...the sun is very strong here! I was feeling quite warm while reading on the chaise lounge chairs under the supposedly shady umbrella. Turned out I got sunburned pretty bad; I forgot to re-apply sunscreen throughout the day. The sun must have gotten through the umbrella as well as reflected from the water. When I peeled off my bikini in the bathroom, you could really see the dark tan lines on my chest. Kaleb was also burned...how could he not? ;)
We got cleaned up and hopped over to the main island for our 7pm dinner reservation at Sunset Grill. The restaurant opened at 7pm so there wasn't anyone there yet. We were seated at one of the over-water table areas, affording a nice view of the sunset. (hence the name)
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| different kinds of salt |
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| a beverage to start |
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| this menu was also on iPad |
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| bread assortment with butter and spreads |
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| butternut squash soup amuse-bouche |
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| chili calamari |
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| seafood chowder |
The sun had set during our meal. What a beautiful backdrop!
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| see George on the water's edge? |
The only light left was the flickering lamp on the table, making the rest of the pictures a bit dark, as I didn't want to blind fellow diners with a flash.
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| duck breast |
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| catch of the day |
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| Manjari chocolate tube truffle |
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| Sunset trilogy |
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| complimentary chocolates |
Our wallet was a little lighter, but it was a delicious meal accompanied by great service and romantic atmosphere. I could peek over the railing and see fish swimming under us as there were lights illuminating the ocean below.
We decided to walk across the connecting bridge to get back to our villa. The ocean was dark and there was a slight wind, but there were lights every few feet on the walkway. I happened to look down while walking and in the edge of darkness between lights, I saw a ball of something swaying precariously on the side of the bridge, close to falling into the water from the breeze. We stopped to check it out and found a wad of paper bills with a US$100 on the outside. Were all of them $100's? Alas, not all, but still, this windfall helped reduce the expense of tonight's meal to regular resort standards. But who would have Benjamins in their pocket in a mostly charge-to-your-room resort? I did carry $5 bills to tip the breakfast servers, but $100? We speculated that it may have been one of the members of a Saudi Arabian prince's entourage staying in the resort. We had heard there was a large yacht parked in the water just off the coast of the Conrad Maldives and that the women and children were staying in villas while the men remained on board. I had seen some beautiful women, fashionably dressed (not for the beach) with head coverings walking around with children in tow; I would gather they were part of the prince's entourage as most of the other women I saw in the resort during the day were wearing sundresses and cover-ups as expected at a beach resort.
One other surprise while we were walking on the bridge...seeing manta rays swimming underneath! The lights under the bridge illuminated the ocean, drawing fish like moths to a flame. Our water villa also had lights outside that you could turn on (switch located behind the patio curtains). We had them on for a bit but nothing was swimming by.
On Tuesday morning (April Fool's!), we had breakfast in Vilu right when it opened (7am) as our diving trip was leaving at 9am. Three of the other divers were from our FlyerTalk group. Today's outing was along a reef so we got to see a lot of interesting sea creatures, including a shark and octopus. The underwater settings on my camera were re-adjusted to eliminate much of the bright blue tint seen last time.
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| diving is fun! |
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| our FlyerTalk friends |
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| rare pic of the both of us |
28-second vid of a moray eel (and daredevil fish swimming by): (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
39-second vid of us in the middle of an aquarium: (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
24-second vid of a cool-looking puffer fish: (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
51-second vid of a SHARK! Well, just a reef shark...: (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
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| interesting coral |
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| colorful fish |
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| giant clam |
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| exotic fish |
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| clownfish in flowing soft coral |
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| smooth starfish |
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| different type of soft coral |
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| vivid fish |
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| purple shrimp |
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| more clownfish in soft coral |
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What an awesome dive! The other FlyerTalk divers were "advanced" open water divers so they went on a different deeper route than us.
Later that evening, we all attended a manager's cocktail party at Vilu Bar. I believe all the people staying on the small island were invited as well as Hilton HHonors Gold and Diamond members. Servers were offering wine, champagne and non-alcoholic punch. Various hotel staff members were available for chit-chat.
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| George is always following us around!? |
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| FlyerTalk friends among the guests at the manager's cocktail party |
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| our set of water villas against an artistic sunset |
Tomorrow, we will swim with whale sharks! Stay tuned!
***
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Day 3 at the Conrad Maldives: water villa, diving with manta rays, meeting new friends
