Sawasdee Krub everyone!

. . . The destination of this trip is the paradise islands for many of us which we have dreamed to go there once in our lives.

I am no exception but my dream has slightly changed after I have been there once.

The dream of visiting for once in a lifetime has changed into one trip is not enough. I dream to go there once a year. haha



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[CR] Flight

[SR] Hotel


Thank you for all comments, likes, and share.

Now, let's get to know more about Maldives!

Maldives has Malé as the capital city which is the smallest capital city in the world. There are only about 100,000 populations living in Malé.

Malé is located on Malé Island in Kaafu Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The island is rich with coral reefs.

Maldives consists of twenty-six atolls with 1,190 islands in total but there are only 200 islands where they are inhabited. 74 islands out of these 200 inhabited islands have been developed into hotels and resorts to welcome tourists.



Let's get prepared and learn those important information before going to Maldives!



Flight ticket

There is only one airline that operates direct flight from Bangkok which is Bangkok Airways. It takes about 4 hours and 15 minutes to get to Maldives.

There is also only one flight that is available per day. The flight departs from Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 9.30 AM and will arrive in Maldives at 11.45 AM local time.

The return flight depart from Maldives at 12.40 PM and will arrive in Bangkok at 7.05 PM. It is about 4 hours and 25 minutes.

If you don't want to pay the full ticket price but still want to fly a direct flight, you need to transfer your point from your credit card company to FlyerBonus program of Bangkok Airways and redeem. You need to pay the tax only 5,710 THB.

You can also wait for a promotion of point redemption which will give you 50% discount on the ticket or a promotion from Srilankan Airlines via Colombo which could be cheaper than 10,000 THB.

However, flying with Srilankan Airlines via Colombo could be complicated. The flight depart from Bangkok at 9.05 PM and will arrive in Colombo at 11 PM. Then you need to wait for another 8 hours for your connecting flight which will depart at 7.20 AM next morning and will arrive in Maldives at 8.15 AM (updated March 2016). Therefore, I would highly recommend you to wait for a good promotion to fly a direct flight.



Maldives local time is 2 hours behind Thai local time. Maldives supplies electricity at between 220 and 240 volts AC and my hotel offers adapter in the room.


Currency

The local currency is Rufiyaa but I suggest you to prepare USD.



Best traveling season in Maldives

Maldives is in the Indian Ocean with hot tropical climate.

Summer is between November to April which is the best time to travel to Maldives.

Rainy season is between May to November.



However, the best traveling time to Maldives for me is anytime with a flight promotion. hahaha Rain in Maldives comes for only about 20 - 30 minutes and then it will be gone with the wind.

Mileage redemption promotion of Bangkok Airways is normally to travel from May - July. This is the same time that the hotel rooms are pretty cheap as well.

To summarize, you can travel to Maldives all year round.



Personal belongings needed

Sunscreen, sunglasses, swimming suit, and waterproof camera.



If you have done packing, let's get this trip started!





We are here at Blue Ribbon Check-in counter of Bangkok Airways to check in our flight at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.



This is the Blue Ribbon Club Lounge for Business Class passengers and those premium members.


This lounge offers shower rooms and massage chairs as same as the Club Lounge for domestic flights.



We are on our way to Gate C1A.



It is about 4 hours and 15 minutes only for flight PG711 to get to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Maldives.



We are flying with Airbus 319.


Business Class on Airbus 319 has 2 seats per side and only 3 rows. In other words, there are only 6 seats in the Business Class on Airbus 319.



We are ready to take off.


After the flight takes off for a while,

we are waiting for food to be served and we have a chance to choose our own menu because we are in Business Class.



This is the menu I have requested since I reserved the flight ticket. I have requested for Seafood Meal and I have got fish.


It tastes very good but I am still full. I ate quite a lot at the Club Lounge earlier. ^^



This is another set we have ordered on board.



Then we have 2 dishes of fresh fruits and a small bowl of fruit salad.



Mini iPad is available to borrow and it is full with entertainment options such as music, movies, and games.



We are free now so let's open this Amenity Kit bag and see what is inside! It is complementary for all passengers in Business Class.



Then we need to fill up the arrival card to get ready to enter Maldives.



. . . It has been around 4 hours and the aircraft starts the descent.


We are getting more excited with the view outside the window.



The view on our side is over Malé.



There is a staff holding a sign of Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa Maldives and Centara Grand Maldives at the arrival hall. We don't hesitate to run to him and check our reservation before waiting to be called to board into the transfer boat.



The porters will bring all guests' belongings into the boat first. The call will be later.



We are super ready to board into the boat, let's go!


It takes about 15 minutes by the speedboat from this port to Giraavaru Island where Centara Ras

Fushi Resort & Spa Maldives is located.



After that the staff will start giving you an introduction about something. I am sorry that I didn't listen to him because I am distracted by the clear water along the way.




This is the pier of Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa Maldives.


I want to jump into the water already. This is so tempting.



Lobby


We are checking in now.

There is a Thai staff explaining all important information in the resort including how to book all restaurants, how to rent snorkeling gears, and what are activities on the island.



There are 4 types of rooms available as follows.


Ocean Front Beach Villa

Deluxe Ocean Front Beach Villa

Deluxe Water Villa

Deluxe Sunset Water Villa



There are also 4 restaurants as follows.

1. Ocean serves buffet.

+ Breakfast 7 AM - 10 AM

+ Lunch 12 PM - 2 PM

+ Dinner 7 PM - 10 PM

**No reservation is required**

2. Alkhaimah serves Arub cuisine in a tent.


Only dinner is available here. It opens from 7 PM - 10 PM.

**Reservation is required**


3. La Brezza serves Italian cuisine by the pool.


La Brezza serves lunch from 12 PM - 2 PM and

dinner from 7 PM - 10 PM.

**Reservation is required**


4. Suan Bua serves Thai cuisine by the pool.


Suan Bua serves lunch from 12 PM - 2 PM and

dinner from 7 PM - 10 PM.

**Reservation is required**




There are 3 bars as follows.


- Viu Bar ** It is a highlight bar of the resort.

Viu Bar opens from 11 AM - 11 PM.

Afternoon tea is available from 3.30 PM - 4.30 PM.

Sundowner serves a variety of canapés during sunset before dinner from 6.30 PM - 7.30 PM.


- Giraavaru Lobby Bar is a bar by the Lobby opened from 11 AM - 11 PM.


- Wave Pool Bar is right in the middle of the pool opened from 10 AM - 6 PM.




Water Sport Center


There are snorkeling gears available for rent here.

You need to take the swimming test with the staff first. The test will be conducted at the certain time.



Activities, half-day tour, and full-day tour are also available here at Water Sport Center for you to book.



+ TURTLE QUEST at 50 USD per person available on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday only



+ SUNSET FISHING at 65 USD available from 5 PM - 7 PM everyday

*Eat the fish you catch at the restaurant of your choice



+ SNORKELING EXTRAVAGANZA ( Snorkel at two spots ) at 65 USD per person 65 $

Available on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday only.



+ DOLPHIN CRUISE at 100 USD per person for group, on demand (2 person), or private at 350 USD



+ BIG GAME FISHING on demand 750 USD (4 Hours) with 150 USD (every extra hour)

*Eat the fish you catch at the restaurant of your choice



+ PARASAILING at 95 USD available on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday only


I have done looking through the whole resort map roughly and will go into details later.

Let's go to our villa now!





Suan Bua serves Thai cuisine by the pool.


It serves lunch from 12 PM - 2 PM and dinner from 7 PM - 10 PM.

Appetizer plus Main Dish (a choice of Chicken, Beef, Fish, Pork, and Vegetables ) and Dessert.




We choose to dine at Suan Bua for our first dinner.


All Inclusive Package can choose

ONE APPETIZER OR SOUP

ONE SALAD OR MAIN COURSE ( RICE INCLUDED )

ONE DESSERT



We order Spring Roll and Chicken Satay as my appetizer.

I would say that they don't give enough sauce for Chicken Satay but the taste is like what we have in Thailand exactly. ^^



We have Fried Rice with Shrimp and Shrimp Pad Thai for my main course.


Most of the products and ingredients are imported from Thailand including Thai chef. That's why it is truly authentic. ^^



Desserts are Pumpkin Custard and Mango Sticky Rice.



. . . The new morning has come and we are ready to explore the island. There are water activities available here including pedal boat for couple, canoeing, and surfing. Water activities with no use of an engine are all complementary free of charge.



. . . After a walk through the island, it is time for breakfast.


Breakfast is served at Ocean Restaurant which is opened from 7 AM - 10 AM.



I kind of like the desserts here because they are all so good and not too sweet.



. . . We are done with the breakfast and thinking shall we go for the main swimming pool or shall we just swim in front of our villa.


We have decided to swim in front of our villa so let's have a quick look at the main swimming pool for now!



We have borrowed the snorkeling gears from the Water Sport Center.


Let's swim in this natural pool first! I have brought a waterproof camera as well ... the main swimming pool is for later Eiei



The snorkeling gears are ready ....



All photos below are taken from the area around our villa.


We are enjoying the underwater world, we can't help but think that the sunscreen SPF50+ is not enough. hahaha

I use GoPro 3+ camera to record the video and these photos are captured from this video file.



. . . . We have booked a table at La Brezza for lunch.


La Brezza serves Italian cuisine by the pool and it opens for lunch from 12 PM - 2 PM and dinner from 7 PM - 10 PM.



Firstly, we order Blue Ocean and Virgin Colada for our drinks.


You can order as much drink as you want for All Inclusive Package.

Then some bread have been served with something. I don't remember how it is called but it is tasty.



There are 3 courses for you to choose like the dinner last night.


+ Entrée (pronounce as "an-tre", it is a French word which is commonly known as appetizer)

+ Main or Pasta or Pizza

+ Desert



Entrée

We choose to have Antipasto Plate and High Country Pork.

(To be honest with you, we have no clue what exactly they are and we don't even know if we can eat them hahaha)

The result is ... we have finished them all. hahaha



Main Course is Seafood Pizza which would be delicious for sure.


Another one is Pork Tenderloin. It tastes good as well but we can't finish it since we are pretty full from the pizza.



Deserts are Coconut Panna Cotta and Raspberry Torte.


I guarantee that all desserts at La Brezza are superb. ^^



** Viu Bar ** is the highlight bar of the resort. You can chill on the amazing water hammock while sipping some wine here.


It opens from 11 AM - 11 PM.

Afternoon tea is available from 3.30 PM - 4.30 PM.

Sundowner serves a variety of canapés during sunset before dinner from 6.30 PM - 7.30 PM.



. . . We are lying on the water hammock when watching the sunset. The sky has turned into orange color.



Our dinner tonight is at Alkhaimah Restaurant.


Alkhaimah serves Arub cuisine in a tent and it is opened only for dinner from 7 PM - 10 PM.




We have Makdous Salad and Artichoke Salad firstly.


I can't explain how it tastes like so I would recommend you to try. Apart from the food, I would say the atmosphere here is pretty good. ^^



Our main courses are Grilled Boneless Chicken and Lamb Chops.


Grilled Boneless Chicken is not dry and flavored with spices very well. On the other hand, Lamb Chops are tasty and not smelly.



Our desserts are Green apple Sorbet and Lemon Sorbet.


They are very good which kind of help us feeling better from the heavy main course.



We woke up quite early this morning and we are very excited. We are going for the turtle watching.



We have reserved TURTLE QUEST program at 50 USD per person for today from Water Sport Center.


This program is available on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday only.



This is how it looks like on the boat. It takes about 30 - 45 minutes to get to the spot where we will be snorkeling to see the turtles.


Toilets, towels, and drinks are available on board. ^^



There will be the staff pointing where the turtles are for us to see.



Ocean Restaurant serves buffet.


+ Breakfast 7 AM - 10 AM

+ Lunch 12 PM - 2 PM

+ Dinner 7 PM - 10 PM



Our dinner will be here.



We also have got a chance to have the treatment at the spa called SIGNATURE COLLECTION.


We are going to have Maldivian Sea Sand & Senses Signature Massage for 90 Minutes.



Our spa journey starts with filling up the consultation form.


It is at the same time that cold towels and Bael juice are served (the juice comes in such a small glass and this is not enough hahaha ^^).



The light inside the treatment room starts to be dimmed down, the music starts to be clearer, and the temperature starts to be nicer. I fall asleep already even the massage has not started yet. ^^


I feel totally refresh and reborn after the treatment is done. I feel much better with my body after having been snorkeling for a few days.



Games room and Fitness Center are also available in the resort.



Souvenir Shop



It is time to go back home. You can inform the Front Desk in advance for the time you need to leave the resort.



Staff come to wave their hands and say goodbye at this pier to all guests.


Our stay here has been nothing but very impressive. I don't wonder why people return to this resort every year.



Bye Bye ...



It takes only 15 minutes to get to the pier near the departure hall of the airport.



This is the atmosphere inside Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.



This is the Check-in counter ... There are not many people yet. We will do the check in and go to the Club Lounge right away.



Business Class passenger will be entitled to use the lounge at Leeli Lounge.


- Free Wi-Fi is available as well as fresh fruits, sandwich, and some food.



We are done with the lounge and getting ready to go home.



I choose 1F seat on this return flight.



I am having iced cocoa and some macadamia for my snack.



I am impressed with all quality products such as crackers, cheese, and fresh fruits.



Carrot Cake with lemon tea ^^



The return flight also takes about 4 hours to get to Suvarnabhumi International Airport.


Thank you for all your kind support and I will see you again next trip _/\_ thank you ^^


Mr.Fahsai

 Monday, April 18, 2016 10:21 AM

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