Singapore, Malè International and Rangali Island, Maldives
The alarm went off way too early this morning. In order to make our 9:30AM flight, we had to get up at 7AM. Five hours of sleep was not enough but thankfully going on an adventure adrenaline is starting to kick in.
Before boarding our flight to Malè we stopped in Singapore’s Silver Kris Lounge for breakfast. The eggs were clearly a dried powder, which was a bit of a disappointment, but the Diet Pepsi was delicious, as was the french toast.
While waiting for our flight inside the secured area at our gate I was I-chatting with Scott. As only Scooty can he looked up our flight and had some commentary on the equipment on which we were flying. In coach the A333 features 28 rows of 2-4-2 seating and then five additional rows of 2-3-2. I vaguely remembered booking Ben and myself in what I thought was 36A,C. When I looked at our tickets they said 39E,F which Scott confirmed were two middle, middle seats. I was sure this wasn’t what I booked. I looked at my confirmation which did in fact say 36A,C. When I realized this error I approached the counter and asked the agent to switch our seats. His comment was that the flight was virtually full and there was next to nothing he could do. I asked how full business class was and he said there were 16 empty seats. I told him this was an easy wrong to right and that he could just put us there. He said that was impossible for him. I would have to go back out to the booking gate to ask an agent there to do it. This wasn’t an option because our flight was to leave in 10 minutes. After continued pressing and showing of my confirmation email from Singapore airlines the agent told me to take a seat and he would see if there was something he could do. Seven or so minutes later the agent called me back to the counter with good news that he was able to move the guy in 31H, so that we could be seated in 31H,K. This was a great development as 31H,K are bulkhead seats with increased legroom, which of course is a big win for Ben’s long legs.
I thought I would spend the majority of the flight from Singapore to Malè sleeping but it turns out I was too excited for sleep. I had the lunch service, which was followed by the delicious ice cream cone shown below. I also watched End of Watch, which was a good but depressing movie. One of my favorite parts of the flight was the reminder from the stewardesses upon arrival to “save our work” before disconnecting and shutting down our computers. Additionally I enjoyed the warnings about "choking" the toilet. The view coming into the airport wasn't bad either.
They should serve these in United economy.
Don't choke the toilet.
The Malè airport is awesome. It’s just one long runway. Our plane landed and then turned around at the end of the runway before taxiing back to an open air parking spot near the arrivals terminal. Disembarking the plane I enjoyed contemplating this woman's wardrobe choice for a climate that is 85 degrees during the day and 81 degrees at night, on mostly sandy terrain.
Malè International Airport (MLE).
The departure terminal at MLE.
A very destination appropriate outfit.
The A333 we arrived on.
The MLE customs arrival hall.
After waiting for 20 or so minutes in the customs line featured above, we collected our bags and made our way to the Conrad kiosk. A host quickly weighed our bags and got us set up with our sea plane to Rangali Island. We then proceeded to a bus that took us to the Conrad Lounge at the sea plane terminal.
The Conrad lounge at the MLE Sea Plane Terminal.
The food spread in the Conrad lounge.
I’m glad that our lounge was super nice because we were in it for quite a while. I’m not sure if the Conrad people were waiting to fill our plane or what. The communication wasn’t great but the view was fantastic.
Around 1:45PM we were finally boarding the sea plane on our way to Rangali Island. The 35 minute flight was loud but fun. I had heard the sea plane pilots are known to fly in bare feet. Evidently that is true. I spent virtually the entire flight looking out the window at the different atolls and into the cockpit.
Our barefoot sea plane pilot.
This guy's office has an excellent view.
We finally landed at the Conrad a little after 3PM. Strangely enough Rangali Island is an hour ahead of Malè during daylight savings time. After disembarking our plane we were met by Hersial our attendant for our stay at the Conrad. He was our contact person for any dinners, activities or other needs we encountered during our stay. During the check in process Hersial talked us into an upgrade. I felt okay about it because we ended up paying a third less than the hotel had initially offered after I booked our room with Hilton Honors points. We finally made it to our room at 4PM.
The "airport" at the Conrad Rangali Island.
The pilots are also the baggage handlers on the sea planes.
The view of room 133 from its path to the beach.
Our first order of business after getting our stuff and ourselves settled in the room was going to the dive shop to confirm our arrangements for finishing our open water scuba certification. We filled out some paperwork and confirmed that we were to be back at the dive shop at 9AM the next morning. We then explored the island very briefly, hit up the Hilton Honors cocktail hour and took some beautiful sunset pictures before proceeding to the buffet for dinner at 7PM.
Not a bad place to enjoy a free cocktail.
The hammock in front of our unit during sunset.
The food at the buffet was beautifully presented but it didn’t taste good enough to justify its ridiculously exorbitant price. I read a few Trip Advisor posts that said people didn’t think the buffet was a very good value in terms of the options on the two islands. I imagine Ben and I will find that to be the case.
Sushi anyone?
How about lamb?
If only this dessert tasted as good as it looks.
We are tired from traveling and have to be up early for scuba, so it’s time for bed.
Until tomorrow,
Katy
No comments:
Post a Comment