- July 15-17, 2026, Wednesday to Friday.
- Is there anything special about a resort in the Maldives? This has been a question on my mind ever since more tourists - including friends - started noticing and considering the Maldives as a holiday destination in recent years. As someone who isn't particularly interested in the beach or the sea, especially as a holiday destination, I wouldn't naturally find anything exciting about beaches. I honestly think that all beaches generally "look alike" (sand + very wide sea, that's it). Because I ran out of things to do in the capital, I begrudgingly considered visiting a resort, at least fort a day. So yes, visiting a resort in the Maldives was my last resort to kill boredom.
- The day before, I booked a day pass via GetYourGuide to Adaaran Hudhuranfushi. It is one of the five resorts across the Maldivian islands by Adaaran. There are other resorts that also offer day passes, but this one I found had good reviews and allowed a minimum of one person (others required at least two people.) The price, though expensive for a day trip, covered a lot: the boat ride from Hulhumale to the island and back. buffet lunch, buffet snacks (AM and PM), unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, all-day access to the sea and the pool (but water activities will need additional payment).
- That morning I asked help from my hotel to book a taxi for me, since I couldn't use the Avas app as I did not have a standard Maldivian sim card. I was later driven to the airport's Terminal 2. Outside the arrival gates of Terminal 2, the different resorts across the Maldvies have their kiosks set up for boat transfers. You see, many tourists often skip the capital, and just directly go to their luxury island resorts upon arrival, then go directly to the airport after their stay in the resort. The trip from the dock to the resort was around 30 minutes.
- Upon arrival I just mainly took photos of the resort, and had a little incident with my phone. (I did not swim in the sea because I am not fond of the sea, but my phone did anyway....thankfully security and I were able to retrieve it in no time as it was at a very shallow part of the sea, and my phone is still working as of writing this blog.) I also had a very satisfying lunch after the phone incident.
| I didn't get to watch the live action Moana, so I just created my own version HAHA. |
| Photo with the iconic stilt houses present in most Maldivian luxury resorts. |
| This gives me anxiety because I don't like the idea of being in the middle of the sea, although the water here is still quite shallow. |
| A resting spot in the middle of the resort. It looks like a tiny stilt house. |
- That afternoon I spent time just "chilling", a word that is often not found in my vocabulary when traveling, but for a change I guess. I had nothing better to do anyway. I went back to the city at around 4PM, after a nice day at the resort. I took the speedboat back, and there was a taxi stand at the dock where I could just hail a cab back to my hotel. Being at the resort the whole day was a different experience, and a very uncomfortable one, as I'm used to being on the go when I'm in a different country. The resort was nice anyway, and at least I get to say that I experienced what people often come to the Maldives for.
| Photo of the dock. This is where the speedboats arrive or go from the resort. |
| Oriental garden lizard. |
| Photo with the stilt houses from a different part of the resort. |
| Grey heron. |
| Resort lobby. |
| A baby coconut!! |
| A view of the resort from the dock. |
| About to leave, that's out speedboat!! |
| Saw some jellyfish! These critters are also why I'm a bit scared of going to the sea. There's just a lot of unpredictable creatures living there. |
| Goodbye Hudhuranfushi. |
| Back in Hulhumale! |
| The bats in the Maldives were really big. I was scared the first time I saw them. They're called the Indian flying foxes, and their wingspan can grow as big as 4 feet!!!! |
| I'm not sure what kind of bird it is, but it might be a species of tropicbird. |
- On my last day not just in Maldives but for my whole long journey that started in the UK, I literally ran out of things to do. I just waited until noon for check out, had lunch, and rested some more at the hotel. But knowing me, my butt would not stay still, I decided to take another stroll back to Republic Square, and saw some more stingrays. This time there were more stingrays, so I'm glad I went!
| Had kanamadhu cake at the hotel. "Kanamadhu" is the local name for sea almonds. |
| Back at Republic Square, the flag is not half mast anymore! |
| Perfect for a travel brochure maybe. |
| So many stingrayssss!! |
| Like, A LOT. |
| This cat has plans. |
| The sunset was divine!! |
| This one is white and spotted! |
| A stingray and many fishes. |
- I went to the airport that evening, and rode Singapore Airlines - for the first time - to Singapore. I passed by Jewel Changi via the airport skytrain, and it was my first time to take a peek at Jewel Changi. (Maybe I should visit Singapore in the near future, I haven't been there in a while!)
| Jewel Changi. I hope to see you more properly, and not through the window of an airport skytrain. |
| Jewel Changi from afar. |
| Had breakfast at the airport. A simple kaya toast with eggs was just what I needed for comfort. |
- The almost month-long journey is now done. I am sunburnt, I am exhausted (and so is my bank account HAHA), and I am sore. The whole trip wasn't perfect, but even the imperfections had good outcomes still. Even so, these were places that once only lived in my head and a ton of what-ifs. Learning more about the places I had been to and gaining more appreciation of them, I now have reasons to go back to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and to some extent, even the Maldives!
** Check out my other adventures in the UK, Ireland, and the Maldives here!!
ENGLAND
Part 1: Big Ben and Westminster, Camden Market, Tate Britain, Platform 9 3/4, Les Miserables - here
Part 2: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Tate Modern - here
Part 3: British Museum, National Gallery, Portrait Gallery, Piccadilly Circus, Chinatown - here
Part 4: Bath, Stonehenge, Windsor Palace - here
Part 5: Buckingham Palace, Notting Hill, Titanique - here
Part 6: Abbey Road, Kensington, Albertopolis - here
WALES
Part 1: Cardiff Castle and Cardiff's City Center - here
Part 2: Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff Bay - here
IRELAND
Part 1: Dublin City Center and Riverdance - here
Part 2: Kilmainham Gaol, Jeanie Johnston, Immigration Museum, Post Office - here
Part 3: Cliffs of Moher and the Burren - here
Part 4: Galway City Center - here
Part 5: Book of Kells and Other Museums of Dublin - here
NORTHERN IRELAND
Part 1: Giant's Causeway And Surroundings - here
Part 2: Titanic Museum Ulster Museum, and Belfast City Center - here
SCOTLAND
Part 1: Edinburgh City Center - here
Part 2: Edinburgh Castle And Surroundings - here
Part 3: Scottish Highlands - here
Part 4: Glasgow - here
Part 5: Dean Village, Palace of Holywoodhouse, Museums, and Ghost Tour - here
MALDIVES
Part 1: Male - here