Arrival at the island

Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Kooddoo, Gaafu Alif Atoll, Maldives
We arrived safely in paradise after a very long plane journey. The check in at Perth was nothing like we had anticipated. The bag drop was quick and easy and the customs counters were empty. We didn’t even have to take our computers and liquids out of our bags.
We had a spare seat on our flight to Singapore which was good but didn’t help us to get any sleep so we arrived rather zombie like into Singapore.
The customs people at Changi airport were a bit less lenient and requested all the usual stuff to be removed from our carry on bags, but we got through fairly quickly without much fuss and we were on our way to Male in a crowded plane.  It was a more pleasant flight than the first one and we got into Male in good time, and to our enormous delight we had observed our cases being loaded onto the plane while we had waited at Singapore, so we knew they would be waiting for us in Male.
The city has changed quite a lot since our last visit several years ago and the airport has added another runway and is in the process of building a very large new terminal.
We were met by the resort representative who whisked us away to their very nice waiting lounge which has also been vastly upgraded, and we were treated to a buffet lunch and drinks. We were certainly well looked after by the staff who kept us informed of when to check in for the flight to Koodoo, and escorted us to Check-in, (actually she pretty much did it for us),  and then to meet our flight.
The flight was delayed somewhat because the baggage handlers could not work out how to get a load of surfboards on the plane. That caused a great deal of conference between a large group of ground staff, but eventually we were on our way on our hour long scenic flight across the ocean to Koodoo island.
Another couple accompanied us on our golf cart ride to the resort, and we were met there by the Check-in man and other staff members who presented us with a palm tree necklace and a cool drink of iced tea.
Check in done, we were escorted to our villa which turned out to be even lovelier than in the photos, and we set about unpacking before heading over to the main dining area.
There wasn’t the promised ‘bucket of beer’ in our fridge but we were instructed that all the stuff in the fridge (which included a full bottle of white, and red wine) as well as a few bottles of quality spirits were complimentary. Party in our room tonight!!!!!
Unpacking done, we headed over to the restaurant after freshening up a bit, to partake of the Monday night buffet, which was seafood.  
Ross’s eyes were bulging out of his head as he surveyed the delicacies that were on offer.  There were just about every type of seafood you could imagine, including freshly seared lobsters and fish. They also had various types of non seafood including Korean beef and lasagna, for those of us who prefer their seafood alive and swimming.
It was all delicious, as were the desserts. Ross somehow managed to fit in a piece of white forest cake.
A couple of colourful cocktails accompanied our meal and then it was back to the room for some much needed sleep.
Last night the weather was very rough (apparently it is monsoon season) and it rained heavily for most of the night (that I heard), but this morning it was quite pleasant as we headed to the restaurant for breakfast.
We had a lovely breakfast and then went on over to check out the dive centre, as our package includes a few dives. The young dive instructor there chatted with us about the diving here (not comparable to the diving in Indonesia where he was from!) and booked us in for a dive on Friday.
It was time then to get in the water and test out the new snorkel and try snorkeling with my contact lenses in, but as Ross went to put his fins on, he dropped one of the straps, and then it was ‘all hands on deck’ to search and rescue. Since the water was pretty murky from the storm last night it was difficult to see anything close to shore, and I must have found the same rocks and seaweed about a hundred times.
Anyway, about half an hour later Ross actually managed to find the strap so he could breathe a sigh of relief that he didn’t have to resort to having to use the resorts crappy full foot fins.
We were going to have a pre lunch cocktail at the pool bar after that , but since a very nasty squall started when we got there we are confined to our room until it abates enough to go back for lunch.

Comments

Jill Dean
2022-09-27

Lucky you have a stocked fridge to survive the storm

Mark
2022-09-27

Why you Aus. still bring a ironing board with you on holiday is beyond me

2025-02-06

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