Christchurch to Sydney (7am to 8.40am)
Singapore souvenirs are to die for most especially the ones with the preserved orchids! Ooooooh! I couldn’t help myself so I ended up buying a picture frame. I remember seeing that particular picture frame when we last visited home in 2011 and I have not forgotten it ever since.
I was genuinely surprised what the two of us were capable of. In a span of 24 hours, a lot has happened and we’ve been into places we’ve never been, and still, I am with this guy. At that point in time, I realised what I truly have with me and how much he meant to me, what I have with me is a treasure I was never worthy of and still, he is with me, with me in places neither of us has been to. They say travel with the person you’re with, be with them in a place you both have never been in and see how the two of you would cooperate.
We’ve been to local places together for competitions and still, being overseas is a different story, but the matter of fact, I felt safe. I felt protected and that nothing will go wrong as long as I am with him. Just like always, he’s the one who always helps to ease my unrelenting heart.
Singapore To Male, Maldives (Approx. 3.30PM - 9.30PM)
I have been having trouble finding the time to write about the holiday we had at the beginning of the year mainly because right after the holiday, we immediately got on to working full time and spending more time training and serving in our church community. On the first week of October, we also went on a Holiday but I wouldn't want to get into that yet, that's saved up for another blog post.
I honestly could not, for the life of me, remember how we ended going to the places we went to. In the year 2016, my boyfriend and his family were due for a trip back home to attend a family wedding function. Their tickets were booked months and months before the date of their departure. Due to unforeseen circumstances at my work, my boyfriend was not allowed to take the leave for their planned holiday. At that stage, visiting home is not an option anymore.
Some how, we came up with the idea to re-book his tickets and we both can travel elsewhere in hope that this will make him feel a little better. As far as I can stretch my memory, we didn't have much time to think about where we want to go since he left re-booking his tickets down to very last minute, hoping that a miracle would come through and he'd be allowed to take his leave. But to no avail, the previous decision stands still.
As our days run out before the last date to when we can change his flights, we were scrambling through travel vlogs & blogs, travel websites and so on until I remember a lifelong dream I've always had of going to the Maldives. To be alone on an island where there's nothing but peace, harmony and the different hues of blue. I gave my travel proposal to my boyfriend and one of the many things I love about him is he's always ready for anything so as you can imagine, he immediately said yes!
We went to the travel agency to have his flights redirected and so that I can book mine. He initially booked with Qantas which have no direct nor connecting flights to the Maldives. We can go as far as Singapore, which means that there's more work for us to get through. It was a daunting process but we still decided to book the flight from Christchurch to Singapore and we'll work around that flight from there on. The only risks this poses for us is the fact that we need to be careful with two separate tickets, as if there were a delay on our international and missed the flight to the Maldives we would lose the value of the missed ticket and have to buy a new one. We had my boyfriend's flights change and mine booked around May 2016, our flight leaving for Singapore was 4th March 2017 and flight back home leaves from Singapore on 18th March 2017. From there on, we had difficulties containing our excitement.
The next day was full of looking for flights from Singapore to the Maldives and which resort should we book during our stay. We were able to book a flight with Sri Lanka Air which takes off from Singapore then stops over to Colombo which will take us to the main city of the Maldives known as Male. We also found a lovely resort called Bandos resort. Its a private island located 8 Km away from Male which we immediately booked. Our holiday was set out for a couple of weeks and we don't intend to stay in a resort for that amount of time because it's just not possible financially. So we booked ourselves a room at Bandos Resort for three nights and four days and the rest, we had to figure out where else we can go. Obviously, we didn't look further away from Singapore because our flight home takes off from there and we want to minimize the cost of this trip (or in my case, minimize the flight cost so that I can maximize my spending money for shopping), it's a win-win situation. Because Malaysia is just the border of Singapore, we thought that would be our best option so we booked our flight from Male to KL then to SG. So that is our itinerary, roughly anyway.
The toughest part of planning for the holiday only consists of three things in my opinion:
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Saving Up - it is tough in a way that you have to work extra hard but you don't mind because you know what you're working hard for. I can remember doing so many extra shifts that I have gone as far as working 114 hours in a fortnight. That might not be a lot for others and it didn't feel that way for me but I really did surprise myself that I am actually capable of doing that much hours of work.
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Waiting Game - to whoever traveled before, I mean who would not have experienced this? I remember feeling something that is similar when I was younger, it was my 9th Birthday party and I could remember how I was barely able to sleep as the day gets closer. Its more than the excitement but the fact that you have something to look forward to and prepare for is just an amazing feeling overall. The year may seem to have added a couple more of months in it but its always worth the wait.
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Preparation - this is not only of what to bring and what to include in the itinerary but also prepare the ones we'll be leaving behind. I mean, I have travelled for competitions before but that was only within the country but never out of the country. There was a lot of convincing most especially with my parents, I had to ease them into it and thank goodness they didn't say a lot. Most children would want to have their parents to have a say with this matter but not with my parents, because if they have a lot to say, it would be mainly convincing me to not go and why I shouldn't go. Silence is the best answer I can ever ask from my parents, most especially from my father.
When there is a good amount of time from when you booked your flights up until the day you depart, the more you have time to think things through about your holiday and new ideas come into life. A month before we depart, I decided to change our resort in the Maldives so we ended up booking a beautiful resort called Anantara Veli Maldives Resort. Again, I provided my boyfriend with the idea and he immediately said yes, sometimes I wonder why do I even ask my boyfriend for opinions! HAHA! I guess its just one of those things he trusts me with when it comes to finding places to go and where to stay, he knows very well that wherever I go, style and quality is something that I always consider. He knows he's in good hands.
More Good News Before Our Departure
A couple of weeks before our holiday, we received a number of wonderful blessings.
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I landed my first full-time job (after graduating) - It was just all perfect timing to be quite honest. At the time, I was working at JR/ Duty-Free at the airport and I have been searching for a job that is related to my field and a couple of weeks before our holiday, I got a call from the Ministry of Business saying how they are more than to have me over for an interview. I believe it was 1st of March that I had my interview which I was very confident with and having studied HR, I can tell when they are interested in me or not.
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My boyfriend and his family got their residency - we were just over the moon after hearing this wonderful news. I am not going to get into more details about this matter because this is not a story for me to tell but they went through tough battles with their residency and it means the world to us having heard this wonderful news.
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I finally resigned from my Other Job - Why is resigning from a job considered a blessing? Don't get me wrong, I love the job and the people that I work with but the hours are quite hard to work with. Its a split shift kind of job and because of planes lands and departs from the Christchurch International Airport 24/7, the staff obviously have to compensate. Alangan naman yung plane pa magcompensate samin? HAHAHA!
Just like any other trip I've been in, I can never sleep before flights! I guess the the excitement always get the best of me so I am always sleepless whenever we fly off to somewhere.
Here is our first ever selfie for this whole trip. I was honestly exhausted already and this boyfriend of mine right here already got onto vloging. I'm not gonna lie, I had a little snooze before our flight and that was definitely not enough. Before taking off, there was barely a light on the horizon but thank goodness we were still above in the sky to have witnessed this beautiful sunrise.
The flight from Sydney to Singapore was the time I was finally able to catch up with some zzzzs. I tried to watch some movies but my eyes were not up to it so I gave in to the darkness for some peace.
At exactly 4.30 PM, we finally landed in Singapore and the first thing we did was look at our itinerary and almost lost ourselves when we found out that we just missed our flight to the Maldives. Remember that risks we had to take when we booked two separate flights that flight schedule may change? Yeah, that is exactly what happened but we refused to be sucked into the negativity of the situation and we did our best to handle it with ease, which, we surprisingly managed. I won’t lie and say that we didn’t get annoyed at the unfortunate event and with each other but all is fair and we took the risk and we had to suffer the consequences. We had to adjust our itinerary a little but praise God for blessing us with a resilient heart and mind during those trials because it would’ve just ruined our holiday, but we refuse to go down that easy. So we booked the next flight to the Maldives and searched for a place to stay for the night.
The moment we got out of the airport, we immediately felt that welcoming heat but it was a lovely welcome. It was as if the warm wind was whispering lovely symphonies in my heart. Despite the drawback, the excitement in our hearts still prevails and we put on our Dora pants and started our first ever adventure out of the country together.
Sydney to Singapore (11.15AM to 4.30PM)
We didn’t have any other means of transport at the time so we ended up taking the taxi. We were obviously amazed by the beauty of Singapore and we couldn’t wait until we get the chance to experience the city full on but that has got to wait of course. Once we got to our hotel, our immediate thought was to eat and we were hunting for Jollibee straight away! It's definitely close to where we’re staying but we got to our hotel past 9.30pm so it would’ve been closed by then. We settled with McDonald's since it’s the only shop that’s open and decent at that point in time.
We didn't really know where we were heading but all we were after is food and we can’t really help but admire the shops that we pass by. It’s as if it almost feels like home, like we belong, as if your insides know that this is where you belong, it’s that sense of belonging that took over our hearts right away.
We didn’t have the luxury to be picky at the time and we were just really exhausted and we were definitely craving for some good night sleep. And so we did.
We booked ourselves a hotel that is only within the vicinity of Jollibee and to be quite frank when we were trying to decide where we will be staying in Singapore, one of my main preference is that it has to be close to Jollibee.
The next morning was a lovely morning; it wasn’t too hot nor too cold, we got up early with the intention of going to a Sunday mass. We found a Church via Google and we took a taxi from our hotel, we were dropped off at a drop off station and we had to walk a little to get to the church. To our surprise, the church was being renovated and the other church within the vicinity only has masses in the afternoon. So, we ended up Jollibee hunting earlier than we imagined. I made sure that I am extremely hungry so that when I get there; I will stuff myself with as much food as I can possibly gobble down.
After a little over 20 minutes of walking... we have finally arrived at our destination!
Again, that feeling you have within as if everything inside you rejoices for they are where they were meant to be. I have never felt closer to home. Memories of childhood constantly flood my heart and I manage to do a marvellous job pushing back tears. How ridiculous would I look, crying in front of a fast food restaurant like a baby?
We obviously didn’t spend much time contemplating about the past and we moved right in to order our food. Oh how tempting it was to order everything but I had to control myself. I have spaghetti and the Chicken joy of course. Before stepping out of the restaurant, I ordered more for lunch! I probably looked like a fatty but when you’re having the time of your life, you tend to not care about the rest.
On our way home, we decided to walk instead of taking the taxi since we haven’t really seen the neighbourhood we were currently staying in. My impression is that it’s quite similar to New Zealand, very beautiful and clean and everyone follows the rules with a hint of Philippines in the sense that the weather is very similar; there are street vendors here and there, lots of cars and wonderful building structures in every street we turn to.
We didn’t have much time left so upon arriving at our hotel, we immediately packed our stuff and headed off to the airport for our flight to the Maldives! Upon arriving at the airport, I couldn’t help but smile, I was almost skipping from happiness and there was not a moment that I would’ve felt embarrassed if that was indeed what I looked like. This obviously, was our this-is-it-moment! As ironic as this may sound, I had butterflies in my tummy and I was beyond excited! There’s no other word that would’ve expressed how I felt that day but the word grateful. Wherever I turn, all I can see is nothing but abundant blessings pouring down on me.
Singapore would always be my favourite airport to go to! I mean, you can tell by the number of photos we have taken on the day. It has that paradise feeling where you feel like kicking off your shoes and set up a mat for a picnic. It's traveller-friendly in the sense that the airport has enough charging stations and seats where you can rest for a minute or even for a little snooze. The vast amount of shopping places always tickles my heart and wallet every now then but I manage to stop myself from filling our carry-on baggage with souvenirs.
It was afternoon when our flight to the Maldives left. It was a couple of hours flight and neither of us manages to get some sleep because we’re just too darn excited! We didn’t get any photos upon arriving at the airport because by the time we arrived, it was already dark and there is nothing else that we can see but a few lights from scattered islands and resorts.
When we stepped off the tarmac, I’ve never started sweating so quickly. Even the breeze was warm, offering no respite as it rolls across the flat, hot concrete. The tarmac was awashed with floodlights, so bright it almost crowds out the stars. Everything around us was well-organized for a small airport and, judging by hangars and outbuildings, well-funded.
The airport was pretty straightforward, the usual immigration question and after a few minutes, we were out of the airport already. We decided to stay a night in Male because we wanted to experience the city life of Male and be one with the locals. CHAR!
So we took a ten-minute boat ride from the airport to the city of Male. Male’s population is 100% Muslim so I obviously have to make sure I dress appropriately. The barker/valet (CHAR) tried getting us a taxi but our luggage wouldn’t fit so we had to get into a multicab. I get to ride in the passenger seat while my boyfriend had to settle at the back of the multicab along with the luggage. The guy was having the time of his life vlogging himself sitting at the back of the car as you can see in the video.
When our boat drove up to the resort, it was as if we were being delivered to heaven! The water was crystal blue and it was so clear that even the fine sand could be distinguished from a distance, not even exaggerating. We had the staff singing a welcoming song on the wharf as our boat pulled over to the side. The resort was lovely even from afar but being on the resort was heaven on earth.
We went up to the reception first and signed a few documents, they explained how the charges works and possibly tips as well, oh and the currency they use is USD. There goes a picture of me, signing my boyfriend’s life away just in case we burn our bungalow down or we break something that is more valuable than our lives.
Day One Summary Vlog
Our hotel was tucked away in a neighbourhood somewhere and the paths were soooo tight our car had to drop us off a couple of minutes away from the Hotel. We were briefed that the resort boat will pick us up from the airport. Most resorts have their own stand just before exiting the airport and they have someone manning the stands and would sort you out from there on. The Anantara Veli Resort booth, on the other hand, took us quite some time to find because we’ve been looking at each and every stand and none of them says Anantara. We freaked out a little because we started thinking…what if that resort was a scam?! That would’ve sent us jumping off a cliff but we didn’t lose hope just yet. We started asking around and this lovely gentleman sent us to the other side of the airport where there were lounges! Char! Ours was not a stand but a lounge! It was a little office where there is air conditioning, thank God, and we were briefed when our boat departs and what we could possibly do while we're in the airport. I have a few of our US dollars converted in Maldivian rufiyaa while waiting because you just never know.
We left pretty early, around 9 AM so by the time we arrive at the resort; it was almost 10 AM. The boat ride was lovely and we’ve passed through some of the most amazing resorts I’ve ever seen. Most of the luxurious resorts you won’t really pass by boat because of half of the time, you need to take a seaplane because that’s how secluded they are.
The boat drivers were really lovely and very accommodating just as you expect tour guides would be. When the tour guides announced that we have arrived, I almost jumped out of my seat but since I am forever unstable when riding boats, or anything that floats for that matter, I had to reserve my excitement for later.
Day Two Summary Vlog
Our day three started pretty early, we had to get up, get ready and have breakfast because we had to travel back to the port and take a boat ride back to the airport.