Eh finally lah kan, the final entry on our honeymoon.
But before I start, just in case you haven't been following my honeymoon story, you can click on the following links first to
read about out honeymoon in its entirety:
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Dah? Settle? Okay geng, jom kita start!
... kalau malas nak baca pepanjang, skip to the last part je, boleh tengok video.
Duration: 4 hours 35 minutes
Maldives to Singapore via SQ461 on 11 November 2013
Departure from Maldives: 2.20pm (Maldivian Time)
Arrival at Singapore: 10.10pm (Singapore Time)
Duration: 4 hours 50 minutes
Time Difference:
Maldives is 3 hours behind Singapore e.g. if it is 4pm in Singapore, it will be 1pm in Maldives.
Note: The Greenwich Meridian Time for Maldives is GMT +5.
Currency Used:
The official currency for Maldives is Rufiyaa.
However, we did NOT use Rufiyaa during our stay in Maldives at all. Our expenses were charged in United States Dollar (USD) and all the prices indicated all around the resort were in USD as well.
We brought along USD800 for expenses but as it turns out, we didn't even have to bring along that much cash with us because everything that we purchased (e.g. souveniers, drinks) and booked (e.g. snorkelling, parasailing) were all charged to the room, and payable during check-out. The only times we used actual cash was when we tipped the staff that served us and our thakuru.
But that's okay because we eventually used what was left of our USD800 (after tips) to partially pay for our final bill whereas the remaining amount was paid by card. Nasib no need to bawak balek the USD and exchange balek, mesti rugi :/
Weather & Climate During Our Stay:
The weather in Maldives during our stay was perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect!
We were blessed with perfect weather throughout our stay - cool light weather for lazy mornings, warmed up to sunny weather during
the afternoons (which was absolutely great for swimming, tanning and all other outdoor
activities) then back to gloriously cooling weather at night for quiet
dinners and peaceful sleep.
There was a very short period of rain just after lunch on our third day, though. The
rain came quite suddenly and the wind started getting stronger and
stronger until we had to scamper to get our barang barang from the
deckchairs and balcony and move them inside the room so they wouldn't
get wet! Tapi after about 20 minutes, the rain stopped and it
was all sunny again. Ala, sekejap je.
What We Opted For
Do-It-Yourself VS Book a Package with Travel Agency
Even though Maldives is a relatively easy to DIY sort of destination, we chose to book a free and easy package with a travel agency.
Some people might view our decision as silly and wasteful but Saliheen and I were determined NOT to burden ourselves and fret over our
honeymoon planning since we were already quite busy - and burnt out! - with our wedding
planning. Senang cakap, we decided to take the easy way out and just pay the damn professionals to do the job for us. Comfort and convenience, kaa-ching!
Also, if you've been
reading my blog for quite sometime, you would have known that me and
DIY? We are as jauh as langit and bumi hahahahahahaha
[
Note: Even though we booked our package with an agency due to convenience, I do think it is definitely possible and relatively easy to DIY a holiday to Maldives. If you're planning to go down the DIY route and want to arrange for
your transfer from airport to resort, you can just contact the
resort and ask whether they can make the necessary seaplane transfer
arrangements for you.
Alternatively, you can contact companies that provide seaplane transfers like
TransMaldivian for their rates and schedules. Make sure you have your transfer booked
in advance
before your arrival because seaplane transfers are scheduled only on
certain days and timings, and passenger lists are fixed days before i.e.
you CANNOT arrive at the transfer office and expect that there will be a seaplane for you to hop on.
I've also discovered that Agoda.com has a useful FAQ page on booking and transfer information to Maldives which you can read
here.]
Seaplane Transfer VS Speedboat Transfer
Truthfully, there was no contest for this: Seaplane transfer OVER speedboat transfer, anytime.
I was very adamant on this, okay! So much so that I only considered resort packages that provide seaplane
transfers because there was NO way I would have sat in a speedboat for 40 to 60 minutes willingly and not get bored zzzzzZzzZzzz
Plus, we're in Maldives, you know! Why sit in a speedboat to tengok permandangan (which you can do all day long when you're at your resort) when you can be in a seaplane IN THE SKY and gaze down at the pretty blue waters and atolls scattered all around Maldives from a bird's eye view?!
So unless you have a phobia of flying (congratulations for being brave enough to take the airplane to Maldives from wherever you came from, though!), then trust me - take the goddamn seaplane.
If you're DIY-ing your trip and need to decide which kind of transfer to take, seaplane booking rates might be slightly pricier than speedboat transfers but think about it - bila lagi you akan naik seaplane??? In Maldives??? Speedboat anytime pergi other beach destinations boleh naik.
Half Board Meals VS Full Board Meals
We were asked by our travel agency whether we wanted to top up for full board meals or half board meals. If you're wondering what those are, full board meals are prepaid lunches and dinners at the resort whereas half board meals are prepaid dinners only. Usually, full board or half board meals will be at the resort's main restaurant. (Don't worry about daily breakfast, it's already part of the package and requires no top up.)
We opted for half board meals (dinner
only) and that turned out to be one of our best decisions because it was much cheaper than having to
pay for each individual meals at the resort itself!
We
paid about SGD840 for 2 pax for all 4 nights, which is about SGD105 per
night per pax. If we didn't opt for half board meals and chose to pay directly to the resort after every meal, it would have
been about much more than that price - at least that's what we were told by the
agency staff and the impression we got from reading blogs and reviews :/
Another reason why we didn't opt for full board meals (lunch and dinner) was because I didn't want to
be restricted to only ONE main restaurant throughout our stay. I figured it'll be nicer to dine at different restaurants at the resort for lunch, and then stick to the main restaurant for our dinner. We would have gotten 20% or 30% discount at other restaurants since we were on half-board, anyway.
But as it turns out,
we didn't even have to eat lunch!!! (Save for the 4th day where we got a little hungry after spending some considerable time frolicking at the beach so we ordered room service.)
We gorged on SO much food during our breakfasts sampai we were so stuffed and didn't feel hungry until about 4.00pm to 5.00pm each day. Once we felt peckish while waiting dinner, we'd survive
on the complimentary popcorn and icecream that came with our in-villa
bar, before stuffing ourselves silly again
during dinner. Swee.
Of course kalau you want to save some money by opting for half board meals instead of full board ones, but takut mati kalau tak dapat makan lunch, you can always pack a few instant noodle packs, bread and biscuits in your luggage. Asalkan you don't anyhow pancing ikan from your villa and start cooking them for lunch sudah. Terperanjat katak your thakuru nanti.
Why we chose Maldives as a Honeymoon Destination:
Right from the start of our relationship, our honeymoon choices have always been clear:
It was either Eastern Europe or Maldives.
But since we wanted to rest and relax after a hectic year of wedding planning and the wedding itself + the odds were in favour of Maldives, we decided Maldives was the best honeymoon choice for us as a couple.
One or two people told us that it isn't worth spending SGD8000 (not inclusive of food, drinks and activities) for a beach destination package when we can pay 1/4 of that price for a
great honeymoon in other beach destinations such as Bali, Krabi, Phuket, etc. But we really wanted something special for our one and only honeymoon and we both felt that we can easily go to places like Bali, Krabi, Phuket, etc another time, anytime, and we can even go to such destinations with our friends, with our future children, etc, insya Allah.
Nanti after paying for our house, household items and bills, future anak, etc, entah bila lagi we will have this kind of moolah to splurge on a holiday to Maldives.
Which Resorts did we consider for our Maldives Honeymoon:
We considered the following resorts after much research on blogs, Youtube videos, Tripadvisor reviews, Agoda.com reviews, etc and this was the list of resorts which we brought along to our trip to the NATAS Fair last August:
- Adaaran Prestige Vadoo Resort (here)
- Anantara Kihavah Villas Resort (here)
- Cocoa Island by COMO (here)
- Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
Resort (here)
- Constance Halaveli Resort (here)
- Dusit Thani Maldives (here)
- Huvafen Fushi Maldives (here)
- Jumeirah Vittaveli (here)
- Velassaru Maldives Resort (here)
- W Resort & Spa Maldives (here)
Of course, as you all know by now, we opted for Niyama Maldives. Whoop whoop!
By the way, if a travel agency tells you that a resort is "an all-inclusive resort" or the resort declares itself as "an all-inclusive resort", it means that their price is inclusive of accommodation, transfers, food and drinks, sometimes even a list of non-motorized watersports and activities that you can book during your stay (You will need to check with the agency or resort specifically what are the items included in the packages offered!).
You can read the definition of "an all-inclusive resort" here.
All-inclusive resort packages are great if you just want to throw in a certain amount of money and know that that is more or less the confirmed costs for the accommodation, transfers, food and drinks and listed activities from start to finish (save for miscellaneous costs not included in the packages).
My husband and I didn't opt for an all-inclusive resort because we didn't want to be restricted and preferred to have a bigger range of resorts to choose from. The one and only all-inclusive resort we considered was
Lily Beach Resort but we canned that because we didn't like the private pool that came with their room that was within our budget.
Note: I don't know why but we were dead set against ClubMed Maldives packages (which are all-inclusive, by the way) that most travel agencies will try to sell during travel fairs! Just a ~feeling~ we wouldn't like them somehow. Plus, they can haz NO private pools! Meh.
Why we chose Niyama Maldives as our Accommodation:
Niyama Maldives was NOT even in our list of shortlisted resorts initially.
We got to know of Niyama Resort by chance - we'd already spent about 20 to 30 minutes at Chan Brothers' booth during last August's NATAS fair, flipping through different brochures and weighing the pros and cons between 3 different villas that Chan Brothers had packages for, which were within our budget. Suddenly, the staff who attended to us asked whether we've considered Niyama Maldives since it's within our budget and handed us their brochure.
We did a quick Google search, took a look at their official website, read a few reviews, found out that Niyama was newly opened in March 2012, pleased that their villa with private pool was within our budget and lo and behold, we were sold like boxes of limau during Chinese New Year.
You can read more about this paper project
here and watch how it was made
here.
We chose Niyama's Water Studio with Pool because this was the villa that met our requirements:
1. The villa must have private pool;
2. The villa must be over the ocean and NOT located on the beach; and
3. The villa must be within our budget;
(via
Bless This Stuff)
Honestly, I actually preferred their Deluxe Water Studio with Pool because their
private pool comes with a jacuzzi as well!!!!! Fuh, rilek rilek dalam
jacuzzi while facing the Indian Ocean... maut kape.
Unfortunately, my husband managed to convince me that the additional few hundred dollars can be used for other expenses during our honeymoon and that we didn't reaaaaaaally need a ocean-facing jacuzzi. Oh well, I let him win that one, then.
Oh, here's the floor plan of the villa we chose!
For floor plans for the rest of the other villas in Niyama, you can click
here.
We got lucky with this in terms of budget because there was a free 4th night promo when we booked the package at NATAS Fair so technically my husband and I only paid the price for 3 nights. If there wasn't a free 4th night, it might have busted our budget by a thousand or two.
Overall Review of Niyama Resort, Maldives:
The Resort
In case you can't already tell from my whole entry, we love love love love LOVE Niyama Resort like crazyballz!!!!! Give them our jantung and hati all!!!!!
The resort is very clean and well-maintained, the private pool is in fantastic condition and the bed in the villa is fairly comfortable. Privacy-wise, it was still pretty decent - we didn't see that many guests walking around when we were there, and we only saw a handful of people at any one time when we dined at Epicure and spent time at the beach.
One of the downsides for us was the TV that refused to work - we would have enjoyed our stay even more if the TV worked and we could watch the movies that we wanted.
The other one would be us getting caught off guard when we found out there were no basic
toiletries such as toothpaste, toothbrush and soap already provided in the villa. No biggie though, our thakuru gave them to us when we requested.
The Facilities & Activities Available
Niyama Maldives has a considerable list of activities - both land and water - that can keep you occupied during your stay. The charges are pretty expensive but hey, it's your honeymoon! Go make memories! If you're not keen on stuff like snorkelling or parasailing, there are other stuff like private boat charters that you can book for romantic sunset dinners woooooo.
If you're hungry, there is a good selection of restaurants to choose from (if you decide not to pay for full board meals) which are a buggy's ride away from your villa. And of course, the spa and massage OMG THE SPA AND MASSAAAGGGEEEEE! Sooooooooooo divine, I kind of wish there was a 10-hour package *tebiat*
You can find the individual costs for water activities at Niyama
here, land activities
here, and their spa & massage menu
here.
Of course if you don't want to spend money on any activities, you can just tan or swim at the beach - I don't even know how to put into words how GORGEOUS MALDIVIAN BEACHES ARE.
The Service
Their service was absolutely impeccable.
My husband and I received VIP treatment everywhere we went even though we weren't guests in the most expensive and most fancy villa they had at the resort. Every single one
of their staff was friendly and warm and fantastic, and everyone (including our thakuru) was always so eager to help with whatever issues or questions we had without being intrusive! Even their resort manager greeted us and chatted with us whenever he saw us around the resort.
You can read more reviews on TripAdvisor
here as well as blogs of other guests who have visited Niyama Maldives
here,
here,
here and
here.
Overall review of Chan Brothers:
We were super duper mighty pleased with the service we got from Chan Brothers!!!
I'll be honest and admit that I wasn't very keen on Chan Brothers at first, mainly because I didn't have a good impression of them - my girlfriend once told me that their staff messed up her Phuket honeymoon package. Like, how do you mess up freaking
Phuket sia?
But we ended up at Chan Brother's booth by chance, and the service that we received from start to finish was absolutely fantastic! I guess it was my girlfriend's bad luck to have run into an incompetent staff? I think that is what happens when an organization is so huge - there's bound to be staff members who cannot carry the good name of the business *shrugs*
Anyway. The staff who attended to us at their NATAS fair was patient, constantly smiling, spoke fluent English, took the initiative to make suggestions without being pushy or condescending and she had fantastic product knowledge. We wouldn't have discovered Niyama Maldives if not for her!
Even her colleague who followed up with us was very nice and thorough, and
explained everything to us via email, phone and in person patiently. (If you're looking for Free and Easy
packages with Chan Brothers, can liaise with Ivan Hong!!!
ivan_hong[at]chanbrothers[dot]com[dot]sg)
I give
our experience with Chan Brothers five stars out of five stars! We wanted our honeymoon planning and honeymoon itself to be fuss-free, and that's exactly what Chan Brothers gave us: fuss-freeness! (Lol word sembarang campak)
(For a copy of the pre-departure guide that Ivan emailed to us prior to our Maldives trip, click
here.)
Oh hell yes.
When
we first decided we were going to Maldives for our honeymoon, we told
ourselves - look, Maldives is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We can
go to Maldives for this one special occasion (honeymoon), enjoy ourselves and then start looking at travelling to
other countries.
Boy, we were *so* wrong.
Can't believe we're harbouring hopes of returning to Maldives some day!
Dalam mimpi ah mungkin menjadi.
Is it enough to be in Maldives for 5D4N:
Yes, if you're looking for a reasonable amount of relaxation and water activities (without getting ~too~ bored at the tail end of your trip), 5D4N is a good period to be in Maldives. Anything lesser will be too short a period, I feel.
No, if you're gila about relaxation at a beach destination like us hahahahahaha. We regretted not going for a week at least, but that might just be us!
Who should go for this kind of honeymoon/holiday:
- People who are too lazy to walk around for their holiday;
- People who like / want to laze around on their holiday;
- People who want a fuss-free holiday;
- People who like to do nothing but sleep, swim and eat on their honeymoon / holiday;
- People who want to be away from the hustle and bustle of life;
- People who want to go to a country where halal food is abundant (they do have items which contain pork and alcohol but in smaller quantities and these are separated from the halal kitchens and areas);
- People who love the sun, the sand and the sea.
Who should NOT go for this kind of honeymoon/holiday:
- People who want to constantly be on the move during their holiday;
- People who want to go sightseeing for their holiday;
- People who want to go on adventure rides for their holiday;
- People who hate sun, sand and the sea for no reason (freaks!!!);
- People
who do not want and do not like to chill out on their holiday and are are not willing to pay for the activities (and then
whine about Maldives being boring);
- People who want a super duper zuper budget trip
Note: I personally feel that it is ~slightly~ difficult to *truly*
enjoy Maldives on a VERY tight budget. I was told by a friend that she
regretted going to Maldives with a small restrictive budget because her villa was
located at a remote beach and she couldn't do the water activities, even when she wanted
to, because she didn't bring the budget for it.
If you're on a tight budget but want to go for a beach destination and still rasa puas hati,
then Bali, Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui and the likes will be a much better alternative.
But that said, you DON'T need a super massive budget for Maldives lah, as long as you're willing to pay for a decent villa and still be able to
splash a little bit of cash for food and activities, then you're good
to go. Just that I think Maldives is generally a more expensive holiday as compared to others.
This is especially when you compare it with trips to further destinations (from Singapore), like Europe, for instance, where you can pay about the same price for a much longer period e.g. 13 to 15 days in Europe VS 4 to 5 days in Maldives. Satu villa per night je dah makan berapa ribu + food is generally on the pricier side.
The Total Expenditure:
Since "How much did you spend for your honeymoon?" has become a popular question after I posted my previous entries, I've decided to publish this table for easy reference for those who are planning to Maldives for honeymoon or holiday!
Take note that some of the expenses - the ones made in Maldives and airport - were charged in USD, and have been roughly converted to SGD.
SALIHEEN
& FARHANA’S HONEYMOON EXPENDITURE
5D4N PACKAGE
TO NIYAMA RESORT, MALDIVES
NOTE: NATAS
PROMOTION - 1 NIGHT FREE & SGD200 OFF PACKAGE COST
|
Package
Cost
(3 nights + 1 night free)
|
:
SGD8,116 (Calculation: SGD4,058 x 2 pax)
|
Half-Board Meals
|
: SGD840
(Calculation: SGD105 x 4 days x 2 pax)
|
Airport Tax & Charges
|
: SGD730
(Calculation: SGD365 x 2 pax)
|
(Minus) NATAS Discount
|
: minus SGD200
|
Parasailing (15 minutes)
|
: SGD306 (Calculation: SGD153 x 2 pax)
|
Snorkelling (Coral Reef Garden)
|
: SGD166 (Calculation: SGD83 x 2 pax)
|
Spa & Massage Package
(2 Hours x 3 Treatments)
|
: SGD506 (Calculation: SGD253 x 2 pax)
|
Drinks
(Beach Bar)
|
: SGD25
|
Drinks (Subsix Club)
|
|
Room Service Drinks x 2:
|
|
Room Service Lunch x 1:
|
|
Souveniers (Resort):
|
|
Souveniers (Airport):
|
|
Burger King Lunch at Airport:
|
: SGD20
|
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
|
: SGD10,927
|
Or if you prefer to print this out, I've uploaded this table
here for downloading and printing as well.
Of course, I *
must* emphasize that HOW much you ultimately spend depends on what you want to do - everyone's travel itineraries are different and different itineraries require different budgets.
If you don't even want to spend on activities and can enjoy your Maldives honeymoon just by sleeping and swimming then by all means, save that SGD1000+++ instead of spending it on activities! Or if you don't mind spending lesser on your villa (you don't mind
not having a private pool) then by all means, book a villa that is cheaper than this.
Similarly, if you're willing to pay more for something more exclusive like private boat charters or personalized romantic candlelight dinner or spa & massage sessions for
every day you're in Maldives then by all means, splash your moolah! Just make sure you don't go bust by the time you arrive back in Singapore! Ini pesanan mak mak ye anak anak, saya cuma tolong sampaikan.
******************************
We have now come to the end of my honeymoon series!!!
And how can I end it all, without sharing this amateur honeymoon video of ours!
Click on 'Watch on Youtube' and switch to 1080p HD setting for best viewing.
The footage taken for this video was taken on our Go Pro Hero 3 and Canon G16.
We love love love our homemade honeymoon video - it's amateur and it's not supa cool and supa trendy like
this video done by another couple who also went to Niyama Resort Maldives but we love it just the same because these are
our special memories + my lovely little sister Fazlin took the time and trouble to put this together for us! Sayang adik to the moon and back ♥
Plus it's a nice little video that we can play whenever we miss our honeymoon! (Which is, like, ALL THE FREAKING TIME LAH KAN but it's alright it's okay kita tahan heh heh)
Now, all we can do is to look forward to our next holiday together as husband and wife!
Whereeeeeeeeeeee shall we go next, can you already guess??? :D
