MALDIVES

A few years ago, I published a post about the Maldives in Indonesian language, and to this day has reached more than 46000 hits. So this post is in english version which has been revised.


Between Blue azzure sky and white sandy beach.... The green turquoise sea....

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Jakarta, Dec 2007

Before entering the year 2008 we are planning to go somewhere for vacation for just a few days, because hubby can only sneaked out a few days from work. Of course, a place where is not too far away, but it should be beautiful, quiet, and it had to be awesome too :). It was in December, where in half of the world is being hit by the winter, and we have no desire at all to wear those thick winter clothes (which we dont have :D)

And we got some clue:

- Due to the short holiday, just a few days.
- Should not be far away which is takes a few hours plane, to a nice and quiet place, hmmmm.

My hubby asked, "What do you think about Maldives?" I looked blankly, "Wow... Maldives.."  I really didn't thought about that. Then, we began to discuss things. According to the books that say "Do not die first if you dont see Maldives" or "1000 places to visit before you die" in which Maldives is in its high position, and also we've been wanting to see the beautiful Maldives for a long time and they said that Maldives is almost as beautiful as paradise, and the location is also not too far from Indonesia, so I said: "Hell yeaahhh"! That same day we look for tickets information and lodging and other expenses in Maldives, I was so busy with the browsing and was difficult to get a hotel because there are so many of them on the list, it got me a headache.

I Had also called travel agents in Jakarta to get the right information given flight and hotels in Maldives,  with the thought of that the travel agents usually have a lot of tour programs. Unfortunately travel agents in Jakarta have no online programs among travel agents and with the resorts there in Maldives. Agents that I contacted was very slow and sounds does not understand anything when I asked about the resorts in maldives, I was wondering if there are not many Indonesian people that go to Maldives. So I have to do all by myself, looking for the hotels, flights, etc via Internet. Until finally I got the Anantara Resort which is located in South Male Atoll. Approximately 40 minutes to 1 hour by speed boat from Male, capital of Maldives. It was also with the help of a friend who was working there.

To travel to the Maldives from Jakarta we pick up our favorite airline, Singapore airlines. From Jakarta layover in Singapore, then from Singapore we fly direct to Male (Maldives) for 3 hours. Tickets are pretty expensive, for the three of us, 2 adult and 1 child for nearly 3500 USD.

Arrived in Male, almost 12 o'clock at night, at the airport in Male, we get picked up by an employee of the resort and then we were ushered to the island by a speedboat, there are several other passengers on the speed boat that will also stay at the Anantara resort with us. The boat trip took about 40 minutes. Unfortunately, that month of december was not really good weather in Maldives, its been raining and even the storm in Maldives, at that time our speedboat do a great shaken, its scared me to death! According to information, at the time was raining a lot in the last few days. Geez, I hope it will not rain when we are there, we've paid a heavy price for the hotel. Which then fortunately, after 5 days of being there, only the last day that was very cloudy day and by the time we are going to the airport then the rain pouring down, hard..  as if only the rain would fall as we were not there.

In addition to the speed boat ride from Male to the resort can also be reached by small plane, but because we are arriving at night so we had to use a speed boat. Costs ranged USD100/person speed boat, small plane while it charged USD300 to USD500 per person. All prices in Maldives using USD, give any tip we use USD, Euro or other strong currencies. I heard from a friend who lived there, in Male people used to use American Dollar in trade in the fish market.

Our fishing boat

We chose Deluxe Sunset Beach Villa, because we intend to take the beach house rather than the water villa which is not recommended for children, we have our 4 years old boy with us. 

Prices for holidays in Maldives is not cheap, in one night we paid nearly $700/night for our room (on a rainy season) it is NOT includes lunch and dinner, as well as the price for the fishing boat (if you want in the future). If taking watervilla, price range around USD 1500/night, and even then only room rates, even not including food. Anantara Resort Maldives, a 5 star Resort located in South Male Atoll, the resort is newly opened on August 1, 2006 convincing every guest who comes to get a completely new service. Anantara Resort Maldives offers luxury, perfection of style and warmth typical of Anantara. Opposite the island we have a 6-star resort whose owners are still the same, Naladhu resort, All the villas in Naladhu resort are all water villas and ocean villas, prices start from USD 1800 / night, room only.

When we reached our room was  in the middle of the night, it was completely dark outside, I couldn't imagine where the sea is, and I could not wait to see the sea water at the beach which they said its color like the color of turquoise stone. That night I could not sleep well. In the morning when the sun begins to shine I awoke, and there I realized that I am in Maldives, my son and my husband were still sleeping, I immediately opened the window blinds. Oh my goodness, the sights that I saw right there in front of me, just few meters from our bedroom, its the most beautiful sight I've ever seen, it really happened what they are saying ... Azzure sky blue, turquoise green water and white sandy beach ....

I immediately shouted and shouted happily, waken up everybody, jumping up and down in front of the window so that my husband and my son get up in haste. We were having breakfast in a hurry and put  our swimsuits on, then we were running towards the beach. On the beach that the water just above the ankle, there is a sting ray that was swimming quietly on the edge of the beach, after a long stare at the sting ray we also made ​​a motion that startled the sting ray so he went away. Apparently there are a lot of small sting ray around there and there are also baby sharks. It's so beautiful, clear water color  as transparant as glass, lots of small fishes swimming near my feet, and my son was busy chasing fish. Moreover, baby sharks, longish shape makes it very easy to see.

Obviously, this beach is the best beach in the world. Located in Maldives, which lays on corals! Maldives is a small country located in the Indian Ocean, exactly on the equator south of Sri Lanka has 1,190 islands scattered into 26 islands of the atoll. To issue a visa, you do not need to worry because it can be obtained upon arrival. So, anyone can just come there and given visa-free for 30 days. With white sandy beaches, the resort is luxurious and sparkling water filled with awesome sea life, Maldives offers a relaxing holiday and free from any noise, appropriate for beach lovers and city dwellers.

Maldives dubbed as the last paradise on earth because of its tropical islands are natural, clean, beautiful, with palm trees swaying leaves, water colors beautiful blue sea and white sand and smooth like icing sugar, not to mention the beautiful underwater natural . Taking pictures wherever in the island will never go wrong with a beautiful scenic backdrop like that. Amazingly, the sea water is so calm because it was blocked by the atolls, and I somehow think the water is not so salty, so swim early in the afternoon-evening-night is not a problem. For scuba divers, Maldives is an ideal place - there are beautiful coral reefs, sea caves, wreck, Napoleon fish, Manta Ray, Eagle Ray, turtles, White Tip and Hammerhead Sharks are spread over more than 250 dive sites. Lodging in Maldives are usually located on scattered islands.  There is also the island has only one resort alone.

                        

To enjoy paradise in Maldives, you may not seem to come up with a budget-style backpackers. Because of all the facilities at the resorts renowned five-star hotel. In addition to standard amenities such as swimming pools, restaurants, discos, karaoke, lounges, shops, and sports facilities, you can also enjoy water sports. Ranging from snorkeling, scuba dving, canoeing, banana boat and jet ski. If you are interested, the hotel can also arrange for a fishing trip, like a submarine ride, to the surrounding islands are uninhabited, to the fishing village, to a romantic dinner on the ship, essentially no money no quality.

Most tourists are normally couples who are enjoying the honeymoon, or many also do the weddings there. Rarely bring small children. The first day we swam all day. Swimming, sunbathing, eating lunch, then swim again, tracing the resort, along the beach in the island, enjoying the sunset, dinner, just enjoy of doing nothing. The second day we filled with snorkeling and fishing activities. That night we departed from the resort, towards the sea, and a stop at some point. USD50/person price for the fishing trip, and got a discount for children, inside the ship there are also 5 other couples.

That night was only us in the boat that gets a lot of fish, but I have heard from other guests who did fishing trip the night before that actually it is so easy to fish there in the atoll, just hook the fish were immediately lowered its bait. So that night other guests on the boat got nothing. So what I heard was not true about how easy to fish there. By the way I was 7 months pregnant with our second baby, so my pregnancy might bring us luck. That night I got one Red coral fish (fish is similar to Grouper / groper / red grouper but having colourful dots in their flesh, the meat is white and super tender) is quite large, and my husband can another three groupers.

The fish then we give to the restaurant to be grilled for us, and we can choose how we want our fish to be cooked, we chose Maldivian grill recipe, cooked by the chef of the restaurant, but we had to pay $80 fee to get our fish to be cooked  the next day for lunch. The next day we also had our lunch dishes, grilled fish of our own, complete with the rice, breads, salads and so on. Yummy!

We also plan to do the dolphin safari, after we book for safari trip, turned out that the weather is not friendly, it was clouded, so it will not be a lot of dolphin that can be seen they said. Even if we were lucky, we could only see two or three dolphins, and even then if we were lucky. Otherwise, could be nothing at all. The cost of dolphin safari was not cheap and the we decided not to do it, so the trip is canceled.

It seemed that those five days  passing so fast in Maldives, after a solitary and isolated at the beautiful resort in the beautiful island, who want to return back to Jakarta with its traffic jams and pollution. Clearly, once you are in Maldives, you will feel all the other beaches into mediocrity. Imagine if you spent New Year's Eve or honeymoon on the island, it would be a moment that you cant forget. So if you are looking for heaven on earth, Maldives is the place.

* My collection of other photos of Maldives can be found at: http://yullysebayang.smugmug.com/Travel/Maldives/13527506_VA77g

MALDIVES, MALADEWA

Between Blue azzure sky and white sandy beach.... The green turquoise sea....

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Jakarta, Dec 2007

Sebelum memasuki tahun 2008, kami  yang mempunyai beberapa hari libur saja berencana untuk pergi ke suatu tempat. Karena kita hanya bisa sneaked out beberapa hari saja, tentunya tujuan nya yang tidak terlalu jauh dari Jakarta, tetapi harus yang indah, tenang, dan harus yang mengagumkan . Ha!

Saat itu pada bulan December, dimana di setengah belahan bumi dilanda musim dingin (dan kami tidak berkeinginan sama sekali untuk berdingin ria) sengaja mencari tempat tujuan yang bermusim panas.

Lalu suami memberi ide tentang Maldives. Why not Maldives?. Menurut beberapa buku yang salah satu nya mengatakan "Jangan mati dulu kalo belum ke Maldives" (Hahahah) atau "1000 places to visit before you die" dimana Maldives ada di dalam daftar tinggi nya, dan juga kebetulan kita kepengen banget liat Maldives yang konon indah nya seindah surga itu. Mengingat juga letak nya yg tidak terlalu jauh dari Indonesia, maka kita pun mencari informasi tiket dan penginapan serta biaya-biaya ke Maldives, dengan mengobrak-abrik internet. Sempat pusing juga mencari hotel yang dalam list jumlah nya sangat banyaaakk dan semua nya rata2 mahal.

Pintu masuk ke Anantara Resort

Pintu masuk ke Naladhu Resort

Anantara Resort

Relaxing hut - Naladhu Resort

Gue menelpon beberapa travel agent untuk mendapat kan informasi pesawat dan akomodasi hotel mengingat biasanya travel-travel agent mempunyai banyak program tour. Sayangnya, di Jakarta (saat itu, thn 2007) belum ada program online antara travel-travel agent dengan resort-resort di Maldives. Beberapa agent yang gue hubungi lelet banget waktu ditanyain tentang resort di Maldives. Bahkan beberapa dari mereka seperti baru pertama kali mendengar nama Maldives dalam hidup mereka. Sepertinya belum banyak turis Indonesia yang pergi ke Maldives. Alhasil gue harus cari sendiri semua lewat internet. Butuh beberapa hari  juga ngubek-ngubek link-link hotel di depan monitor. Banyaknya jumlah hotel-hotel di Maldives yang semua bagus dan menarik, malah mempersulit pencarian gue. Sampai akhirnya ketemu Anantara Resort, di South Male Atoll. Kira-kira 40 menit naik speed boat dari Male, Capital of Maldives. Itu pun dengan pertolongan seorang teman yang memang kerja disana.

Private swimming pool in Naladhu

Anantara beach

Trip ke Maldives dari Jakarta kita menggunakan Singapore airlines, via Singapore  kemudian terbang ke Male selama 3 jam. Untuk masalah visa, Anda tak perlu cemas karena ini bisa diperoleh upon arrival. Jadi, siapa pun bisa langsung datang ke sana dan diberi bebas visa selama 30 hari.

Sampai di Airport di Male (Capital negara Maldives), hampir jam 12 malam, kami di jemput oleh seorang pegawai dari Anantara resort yang kemudian kami akan diantar ke pulau dengan speedboat. Perjalanan kali itu ditempuh dalam waktu 40 an menit.

Menurut informasi saat itu di Maldives turun hujan beberapa hari terakhir. Oh noooo, jangan sampai hujan   waktu kami di pulau nanti, kami sudah bayar hotel mahal -mahal untuk 5 malam online.

Bulan Desember memang bukan waktu yang tepat untuk ke Maldives, pada bulan Desember akan ada banyak hujan. Untung nya, setelah 5 hari berada disana hanya hari terakhir lah yang sangat berawan, dan pada saat kami mau ke airport untuk pulang ke Indonesia, turun lah hujan, seakan-akan hujan hanya mau turun pada saat kami tidak berada disana :)

Sebelum berangkat ke Maldives sebaiknya cek terlebih dahulu cuaca disana. Karena semua aktivitas yang ada di Maldives rata-rata outdoor. Jadi jika hujan turun akibatnya semua acara terganggu.

SPA sections in ANANTARA 

Fishing boat

Selain dengan speed boat, perjalanan dari Male ke resort dapat juga ditempuh dengan pesawat tebang kecil, tetapi karena kami tiba di Maldives pada malam hari maka kami menggunakan speed boat. Speed boat yang kami gunakan tsb sharing dengan tamu-tamu lain yang juga tiba di Male malam itu bersamaan dengan kami. Biaya shared speed boat tersebut USD88/orang, jika anda ingin    di jemput dengan speed boat pribadi, anda dapat menyewanya dengan harga USD1600. Sedangkan naik pesawat terbang kecil sharing dikenakan USD300 sampai USD500 per orangnya. Semua diatur oleh pihak Anantara resort, dan semua harus dibayar online pada saat mereservasi kamar secara online.  Semua harga di Maldives menggunakan USD, memberi tip pun kita menggunakan USD, Euro atau mata uang kuat lainnya. Dengar-dengar dari seorang kawan yang tinggal disana, penduduk Male biasa menggunakan uang Dollar Amerika dalam bertransaksi di pasar ikan.

Malam itu kami langsung diantar oleh seorang pegawai resort menuju kamar kami. Kami memilih Deluxe Sunset Beach Villa, karena memang prefer beach house ketimbang water villa yang juga tidak direkomendasikan untuk anak-anak. Kamar yang kami ambil menghadap sunset, tanpa private pool, dan kami membayar USD700/night (saat itu low season), tanpa breakfast! Anantara juga mempunyai Sunrise villa, dan anda dapat memilih dengan atau tanpa private swimming pool di villa anda.

Harga untuk liburan ke Maldives tidaklah murah, dalam satu malam total yang kami keluarkan sekitar US$1000, jika kami menghitung makan siang dan makan malam. Selain itu kami juga harus membayar  yang lain-lain seperti transport boat, fishing boat dsb, jika anda ingin pergi jalan-jalan ke Male suatu hari, anda harus membayar lagi transport speed boat nya. Sedangkan  watervilla, kisaran harganya sekitar USD 1500/malam, itupun harga kamar saja, malah belum termasuk makanan.

Anantara Resort Maldives, Resort bintang 5 yang terletak di South Male Atoll, resort yang baru dibuka pada tanggal 1 Agustus 2006, meyakinkan setiap tamu yang datang mendapatkan layanan yang serba baru. Anantara Resort Maldives menawarkan kemewahan, kesempurnan gaya dan kehangatan khas dari Anantara. Diseberang pulau kita ada sebuah resort berbintang 6 yang pemiliknya masih sama, Naladhu nama resortnya, villa-villa disana semuanya water dan ocean villa, harganya mulai dari USD 1800 / night, kamar saja.

A housekeeping in Anantara

Sampai di resort sudah tengah malam dan diluar gelap sekali, dan aku rasanya sudah tak sabar mau melihat air laut di pantai yang katanya warna nya seperti warna batu turqouise. Sayangnya kami harus menunggu sampai besok pagi. Malam itu aku susah tidur karena excited. Pagi hari ketika matahari mulai bersinar aku pun terbangun, dan sadar kalau kami ada di Maldives. Anak dan suamiku sedang tidur,  langsung kubuka tirai jendela.....

Oh my Godddd....

Pemandangan yang aku lihat saat itu adalah pemandangan yang terindah, sungguh benar-benar terjadi apa yang di tulis orang, dikatakan orang... Blue azzure sky, green turqouise water and white sandy beach....

View yang kami lihat dari kamar

Aku pun berteriak teriak, melompat-lompat di depan jendela sehingga Suami dan anakku bangun tergopoh-gopoh. Kami makan pagi dengan tergesa-gesa dan langsung memakai swimsuits, dan kami berlarian menuju pantai. Pasir putih terasa lembut dan hangat di telapak kaki kami. Tak sabar kami segera menuju air.

Saat itu di pantai yang air nya hanya diatas mata kaki, ada seekor sting ray yang cukup sedang berenang diam di pinggir pantai itu, setelah agak lama menatap sting ray tersebut kita pun membuat gerakan yang mengagetkan si sting ray sehingga dia pun pergi. Ternyata banyak anak2 sting ray berenang renang di sekitar situ dan ada juga bayi-bayi ikan hiu. Sungguh indah pantai Maldives itu, bening sekali warna airnya, banyak ikan kecil-kecil berenang-renang di dekat kaki kami, ikan-ikan berwarna warni seperti yang kami lihat di Televisi. Si Badai pun sibuk mengejar-ngejar ikan-ikan malang tersebut, Apalagi bayi-bayi hiu, bentuknya yang agak panjang membuatnya sangat mudah terlihat. Badai pun tak berhenti mengejar.

Jelas sekali, pantai yang satu ini adalah pantai terbaik di dunia. Terletak di Maldives (dalam bahasa Indonesia Maladewa), negara kecil yang terletak di Samudera Hindia, persis di garis khatulistiwa arah selatan Sri Lanka ini memiliki 1.190 pulau yang tersebar menjadi 26 kepulauan atol besar. Dengan pantai yang berpasir putih, resor yang mewah dan air yang berkilauan penuh dengan kehidupan laut yang mengagumkan, Maldives menawarkan liburan yang menenangkan dan bebas dari segala kebisingan, tepat bagi pecinta pantai maupun penduduk kota.

Maldives dijuluki the last paradise on earth karena pulau-pulau tropisnya yang alami, bersih, indah, dengan lambaian daun pohon kelapa, warna air laut yang biru indah, serta pasirnya yang putih dan halus bagaikan icing sugar, belum lagi alam bawah lautnya yang indah. Berfoto di mana pun rasanya tidak pernah salah dengan latar belakang pemandangan indah seperti itu. Hebatnya lagi, air lautnya tenang karena terhalang atol, dan entah mengapa rasa air lautnya tidak begitu asin sehingga berenang pagi-siang-sore-malam pun tidak masalah. 

Bagi para scuba divers, Maldives merupakan tempat idaman – terdapat terumbu karang yang cantik, gua laut, wreck, ikan Napoleon, Manta Ray, Eagle Ray, penyu, White Tip dan Hammerhead Sharks yang tersebar di lebih dari 250 dive sites. Penginapan di Maldives biasanya terletak di pulau-pulau yang tersebar. Di dalam satu pulau bisa terdapat beberapa hotel. Ada juga pulau yang hanya memiliki satu resort saja. 

Anantara beach

Untuk menikmati surga di Maldives, Anda sepertinya tak mungkin datang dengan budget ala backpackers. Karena semua fasilitas di resort-resort ternama ataupun hotel bintang lima lainnya amatlah lengkap. Selain bisa fasilitas standar seperti kolam renang, restoran, diskotik, karaoke, lounge, toko, serta fasilitas olahraga, Anda bisa juga menikmati olahraga air. Mulai dari snorkeling, scuba dving, canoeing, banana boat, dan jet ski. Jika anda berminat pihak hotel bisa mengatur trip-trip untuk memancing, seperti naik kapal selam, ke pulau-pulau sekitar yang tidak berpenghuni, ke desa nelayan, sampai dinner romantis di atas kapal, pokoknya ada uang ada mutu.

Kebanyakan turis yang datang kesana adalah pasangan yang sedang menikmati honeymoon, atau banyak juga yang melakukan pernikahan disana. Jarang sekali ada yang bawa anak kecil.

Hari pertama kami berenang renang seharian, sunbathing, makan siang, kemudian berenang lagi, menelusuri resort, jalan-jalan sepanjang pulau, menikmati sunset, makan malam, pokoknya enjoy aja deh. Hari kedua kita mengisi dengan kegiatan snorkeling dan memancing. Malam itu kita berangkat dari resort, menuju laut, dan berhenti di suatu titik. Harga untuk kapal tersebut USD50/orang, dan untuk anak mendapat diskon, didalam kapal tersebut ada juga pasangan-pasangan lain sekitar 5 pasangan.


Malam itu hanya kitalah di kapal tersebut yang mendapat banyak ikan, padahal aku dengar dari tamu-tamu lain di resort, katanya begitu kail diturunkan ikan pun langsung memakannya, tapi semua pasangan dikapal tersebut tak mendapat apa-apa. Aku dapat 1 ikan Red coral (ikan nya mirip dengan Grouper / Garupa / Kerapu tapi berwarna merah yang mempunyai bintik2 warna warni di kulitnya, dagingnya sangat lembut berwarna putih) yang lumayan besar, dan suamiku dapat 3 ekor.

Naladhu, 6 star resort

Ikan-ikan tersebut pun kami berikan ke restoran untuk dibakar, dan kami dapat memilih mau dimasak apa ikan-ikan tersebut, kami memilih resep Maldivian, dengan membayar USD80 untuk upah memasak ikan-ikan tersebut untuk dimasak keesokan hari nya. Esok harinya santapan siang kami adalah ikan bakar hasil pancingan sendiri... Amboyyy... rasanya super duper lezaaatttt.....

Kita juga merencanakan dolphin safari, setelah kapal kami booking untuk safari, ternyata saat itu cuaca sedang tidak bersahabat, sehingga menurut mereka tidak akan banyak dolphin yang bisa dilihat, kalau pun beruntung hanya bisa melihat 2 atau 3 ekor, itupun kalau beruntung katanya, bisa tidak sama sekali, jadi rugi kalau sudah mahal-mahal membayar kapal kalau tidak bisa liat dolphin sama sekali, dimana kalau musim sedang bagus kita bisa melihat ratusan katanya, entah benar entah tidak...

Rasanya tak mau pulang ketika melewati sekitar 5 hari disana, setelah menyendiri dan terkucil di pulau resort terindah di dunia, siapa yang mau pulang balik ke Jakarta yang macet dan berpolusi. Yang jelas, sekali ke Maldives rasanya semua pantai lain menjadi biasa saja. banyangkan jika anda melewatkan honeymoon di pulau ini, pasti akan menjadi liburan dan moment yang sulit di lupakan. Jadi jika anda mencari surga dunia, Maldives lah tempatnya.

Badai's castle

* Koleksi photo-photo yg lain di Maldives bisa dilihat di : http://yullysebayang.smugmug.com/Travel/Maldives/13527506_VA77g