Last Day in Maldives [January 2015] - Adiós!

<< Day Five

No matter how sick i was and how much i needed the bed, i had to make sure all the belongings were packed in the luggage for the journey back to Singapore! 

The speedboat arrangement was to depart at 7.30 am and even though it was not only 10 minutes past 7 am, i could not wait to leave Kaani Beach Hotel! 

Just to clarify, i wanted to leave as soon as possible because i could not bear spending my precious vacation time on bed frail, lethargic and moody. Especially when this is Maldives we are talking about! Argh!!! 

Those taking the ferry (note: much cheaper tickets and a longer journey) were waiting for their vessel which was also scheduled for departure at 7.30 am. 

There's a slight problem. Give my poor state of health; i forgot to ask the staff at Aachaa the night before where should we wait for the speedboat and what's the registration number!! 

I knew for a fact that we would not be taking these cargo ships but the local ferry terminal was just filled with too many speedboats serving the excursion agencies and hotels / guesthouses / inns. 

Ferry had arrived and we were still wondering which was our assigned speedboat. We were thankful to have a staff from Kaani Beach Hotel who helped to call Aachaa to check on its whereabouts. 

Turned out they forgot there was a booking since there were only two of us and our purchase was so last minute! Well, it didn't take long before we caught sight of a boat steering into the lagoon. 

Yes, it was for us! So great to have the entire vessel for ourselves! 

Venturo was one of many hotels / guesthouses / inns in Maafushi and i remember hearing from one of the friends we made in Maldives that aside from providing accommodation, it also offered competitively priced excursion packages. 

Riding past one of the exclusive resorts; i might consider staying in one of these expensive resorts next time. After checking out Rihiveli and Adaaran in my day excursions, i checked the booking rates and it seriously wasn't that unachievable if i am just looking for simple relaxation. 

Issue is my personality makes it hard for me to relax over an extended period of time! Coming back to the itinerary, we arrived at the international airport within an hour. If we had opted for the ferry, we would take another 1 hour to reach Male, 10 minutes on cab to the terminal where we had to take another 10 minutes ride to the airport. 

Checking in immediately upon arrival as i only wanted to find a place to rest. The virus that attacked me was so strong; i could not afford any energy to explore the airport. Alex, on the other hand, was happily going through the few souvenir shops in the departure lounge. 

I was just happy to get a pot of tea from Dome and rest by the ceiling-to-floor glass window overlooking the parked airplanes. 

The mind was unfortunately in a blank and before i knew it, it was time to leave. 

Funny i can still muster the energy to take out my DSLR and shoot some pictures for the purpose of this blog; i professional one okay! Ha!

Don't you love being on the tarmac of an airport?! So wide, so spacious and in the case of Singapore, strictly restricted nowadays after the closure of the budget terminal. 

Everyone calls it Male airport with some people even calling it Maldives airport. Truth is, the airport is actually known as Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and was named in honour of the country's second president who went into self exile and eventually passed away in Singapore in 2008. 

Final look of Male. 

Mixed feelings as the aeroplane lifted from the runway; Maldives was truly a paradise and the perfect place for a person who loves the seas to retire but bad luck surrounded me when i was there; lost my phone, spoiled my camera and got insanely sick!

Whatever the case, it's rare to see me cover myself up so snugly. Thanks to the stubborn fever bug, it took me more than a week to recover! I was happy to lose 4 kilograms though.

-End of Trip-

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For my Maldives 

itinerary, click here. 

Char Casual Dining - The Best Char Siew in Singapore? @ 393 Guillemard Road [Geylang Singapore]

Knowing my deep affection for Char Siew, the Great Kon recently shared with me two establishments said to serve better fork roasts than Kay Lee; one of which was Char Restaurant.

Dinner operating hours started from 6pm and although we were there only 15 minutes past 6, the entire restaurant was already filled with hungry diners! Reservation would be strongly encouraged!

We promised to leave before 7pm and a reserved table was released for the three of us. Many thanks to the accommodating waitress! As you could see from the above photo, the decor departed from the usual Chinese style and in my opinion, more aligned to the feel of a western cafe! 

Without further ado, let's start with food. I am anxious to start given the excitement that this could be another well-deserving place for me to gain some weight for the sake of yummy char siew rumoured to melt in your mouth! 

Triple Roast

There was a minimum order of at least 300 grams for their signature roasts (roast pork and char siew) and we figured the triple roast (150 grams each) would be a better use of our hard earned salary. 

Roast Duck

Except for the tender meat, this didn't leave any memorable impression. I would be better off with the nearby Sia Kee Braised Duck; speaking of the latter, i really miss their unbeatable braised duck rice! 

Roast Pork

Rich in flavour with a soft texture that spoke lengths of the perfectly timed roasting! I kind of like this even though i would prefer a thicker layer of crust. 

Char Siew

Higher expectation often comes with greater disappointment; the char siew tasted like kong ba (braised pork) / dong po rou smothered by a lusciously sticky black sauce. The sauce was overwhelming savoury without the increased sweetness associated with typical char siew.

I am a lover of fatty char siew but this was way too fattening for my liking! For kong ba, this might be a mean competitor; for char siew, just give me Kay Lee /  You Kee! 

Butter Chicken

Honestly, this was the best of the lot and to think i was about to disagree with Kon's suggestion as we had way too much food that day (think No Signboard, Maple & Market and Brawns and Brains within three hours)! 

Anyway, the use of chicken thighs resulted in a supple, well received texture. However, the coating consisting of evaporated milk, curry leaves, chilli, butter bore some similarity to salted egg yolk batter and without a question, we devoured the pieces of butter chicken in record time! 

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Location

393 Guillemard Road

Map

As Above

Reservation

Call +6568427759

Operating Hours

Lunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm

Dinner: 6pm to 10pm

[Closed on Mondays]

Website (with Menu)

http://char.com.sg/

Prices

Triple Roast - S$25.00

Butter Chicken - S$14.00

White Rice - S$1.50

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

Wasting the Vacation - Day Five of Maldives Trip

<< Day Four

I kid you not; the pack of panadol pills was my best company the entire night. It was obvious i had a nasty fever with cold shudders, blurry eyes and a somewhat unclear mind. 

Poor Alex had to endure the entire night with no air conditioning, a ceiling fan at its lowest speed and a breakfast all alone at Kaani Beach Hotel. By 1.30 pm, i knew a visit to the island's clinic was inevitable and literally dragged myself out of bed.

Despite the lack of strength, i cycled to the local clinic and made a fuss-free registration. Unlike Singapore's polyclinics which were usually filled with patients, the place was quiet and i was next in queue! Everyone must be darn healthy! 

My complaints, the doctor's observations and his prescribed drugs; my fever was close to forty degrees celcius and i knew it was much higher in the early morning when a touch to my neck and forehead felt much hotter.

Medicine dispensed to me was the usual except for the voltaren suppository; something i had to squeeze up my asshole! Trust me, it was a mental challenge putting it in. 

Since i required food in order to take the medication, we popped by the restaurant at Beachwood Hotel. According to a group of Taiwanese tourists we bumped into two nights ago, the food here was said to be pretty good.

One of the few hotels in Maafushi that had a swimming pool. The other being Kaani Village Hotel which was the sibling hotel for Kaani Beach. 

I was famished although i didn't have the appetite. While waiting for the food to arrive, i noticed cuts on my skin; must be all the snorkeling in the water. 

First up - a basket of soft, warm bread. Definitely a suitable thing to have when one is sick. 

Banana Split was alright; it's rare to find a good banana split i think. I would be better off having sundaes. Whatever the case, don't ask me why i ordered this. The mind wasn't working well that day.

Alex's chicken rice wasn't the chicken rice Singaporeans are accustomed to. Tasted alright and definitely not comparable to the chicken rice we have in Singapore. Not even close.

Pizza looked delicious with thick chunks of meat; taste wise, not my cup of tea. 

Best purchase so far (the bread was free by the way), the watermelon juice was a soothing remedy for the parched throat and brought a trickle of much wanted sweetness. 

Our bill in US$. 

That banana split hardly satisfied me and the simmering heat from cycling back to the hotel under the hot sun encouraged me to buy another ice cream; this time, a Magnum! After popping in the medicine and shoving that suppository up my ass, it's time to take a rest. Alarm was set for 6.30pm as we needed to arrange for transport back to the airport the next day. 

Scrambled like mad to get dressed and asked the hotel's reception if anyone would be sharing with us the cost of the speedboat. I don't think my body can bear the longer journey via the ferry. Popped by iCom as well; rate was cheaper at US$150 but as with Kaani Beach, no one has requested for speedboat back to Male / airport. 

Decided to hold back the purchase until the last moment as it was seriously too much money to spend just to cut down the travelling time! Was going through the souvenirs at Arena (across Kaani Beach) when the young shopkeeper commented i could get speedboat tickets at just US$20 a person! 

Those departing from Maafushi should note the name of the shop; Aachaa! Aside from speedboat tickets, you could also purchase the ferry tickets here. Location wise, it was near to the football field along main street. 

Maybe to make it easier for you to navigate and remember, it's opposite the Hard Rocket Cafe, which had a logo similar to the Hard Rock Cafe we were familiar with. 

At the insides, Aachaa was just a normal supermarket! Who the heck would know it offers more than just instant noodles, bunches of bananas or bottles of chilli sauce?! 

It's really true; speedboat at only US$20 a person! 

Many thanks to the young chap at Arena! 

>> Last Day

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For the summarised Maldives

itinerary, click here.