Of love and life

It's a long way. It can't always be perfect..


But you can always choose to be happy.

Dream Getaway

I used to be afraid of  beaches and the sun when I was a kid. And though one of the things I love is swimming and floating in the sea, I dreaded the fact that I'd get even more tanned  if  I swim under the heat of the sun. So, I would always  try to avoid or opt to hit the beach from late afternoon to dusk. But when i have come to terms with  my being "morena", and have come to love my  natural color,  the beach lover in me was unleashed. 

Being born and raised in an island where beaches are just a blink away, i  already have set foot in different shorelines and done a lot of basking in the sun but nothing compared to where I have recently been - Maldives.

Our trip to Maldives was actually just a plan B, as I was supposed to join Jeremy (the boyfriend) and spend summer in France. Unfortunately, it didn't push through. So, to appease my broken heart, my ever sweet french love cut his vacation in Paris short to spend the remaining days  of his holidays  with me, in the beautiful island of Maldives.

Since I was in the Philippines and he was in Paris, we decided to just meet in Maldives. While waiting for my departure date, I was already browsing some resorts in Maldives where we could stay in.  And there are actually not so pricey ones, ranging from Php7,000-Php12,000 per night. But of course in a famous island like Maldives, there are the luxury resorts with rates ranging from Php30,000-Php100,000 per night. So, when Jeremy sent me the copy of our hotel booking, I almost choked on the food I was eating coz  he   booked us  in one of the most luxurious resorts in Maldives- The Conrad Maldives Rangali Isaland.

The Conrad Maldives Rangali is located at the South Ari Atoll and is one of the best 5-star resorts in the Maldives. Click here for the website. Before I write about the details of the resort,  here are the deets on how to go to the Maldives.

From Manila, the fastest way is to fly to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, then fly to Male. In my case, I took Malaysian airlines which flew me to KL(roughly 4 hours of flight) for a stop over. I waited about 2 hours before i flew again to Male, the capital of Maldives. Ticket price is around $630 for one way. From Male International airport, you would normally fly for about 40 mins via seaplane to the island where the resort is. But since I arrived in Male at 10 in the evening already, the resort had to arrange a domestic flight for me  as the seaplane's last flight is at 3pm. So, from Male Domestic Airport I took a 15-minute flight to Maamigilli Domestic Airport. The resort's crew was already waiting for me and the two families  who were also booked in the resort. They greeted us with some welcome drink at the arrival hall and briefed us on our next trip. After the briefing, the  resort's crew led us to the coach, which will bring us to the port where the speedboat that will finally take us to the resort was.Travel timel is about 20 mins.  Seaplane or arranged domestic flight costs around $500  for two-way per person. We arrived in the resort at around 12mn.

I still couldn't  see the beauty of the resort because it was already dark. But the ambiance made me feel relaxed and the service is just superb. A resort staff  took me to our water villa, (Since the resort is so big, there are a lot of golf carts that will bring you to different parts or the island) and Jeremy was already waiting for me outside. The first thing that I noticed in our villa was the balcony with the Jacuzzi facing the sea. I was in awe of how serene and romantic the place was. The water villa is around are 75 square meters and is built on stilts over the turquoise Maldivian waters with magnificent view of the Indian Ocean. All villas are provided with individual ipod  which can be used to communicate wit the resort's staff.  The ipod is also full of different music  you can listen to.

The resort has seven restaurants and four bars, serving delicious international cuisine.  What i love about the resort is everything is personalized. We were provided with  the resorts daily itinerary. And there was also a reception cocktail party for the guests.   You can  also choose among the 4 major  restaurants where to have your daily breakfast. 

Maldives is a paradise on earth. The perfect blue ocean with its powdery white sands. The spectacular landscape and the stunning seascape. The photos cannot replicate the euphoria of witnessing  beautiful tropical sunrise or romantic sunset. I am so lucky to  have been able to experience all these with someone I adore. This trip is something that some people could just dream of.

For more photos visit my Facebook account.:)