Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Operation Maldives - Part 3


Right after our snorkeling trip we went on a night fishing trip. As we departed the island we can see the sun setting and what was very cool is that you can also see a full moon in the sky, wow!
The boat stopped for photo opps and one of the crew was quick to take photos of couples together which was very thoughtful.

We later went to a fishing hole and the fishing lines were passed out, note no fishing poles, just line wrapped around a spool with a sinker and a hook with chunks of tuna as bait.

Everyone found a spot and dropped their lines, I was surprised at how deep it was. It didn't take long to start getting some bites, the hard part was trying to catch one! But soon everyone had caught a fish, I caught a Red Snapper, but somehow I caught it through the eye. I was waiting to hear Chris say "I got one!" and she did, a little banana fish. Someone else at the back of the boat caught what appeared to be about a 4' - 5' shark but they cut the line.

When we returned the fish were laid out for a photo opp again. Then the kitchen asked how you wanted your fish cooked. I need to back track. A staff member from island who was on her night off caught a nice sized White Snapper and said I could have it. In turn my Red Snapper was donated for someone else meal. We chose to have the fish cooked Mediterranean style. We went back to the villa to get cleaned up. After awhile we went to the main outdoor dining area and relaxed in the outdoor theater area until the fish was cooked. We went and got a table and our fish was brought to us along with salads we ordered. The fish looked good and tasted even better! We ate it to the bone, literally.

The next day we spent some more time at the beach and returned to pack up. The hotel sent a golf cart to collect our stuff but we were running late so I asked them to come back.

We checked out and got on after a short wait got on the speed boat back to the airport. This time they gave us a short safety lecture that they had not done before. It was very neat cruising very fast across the ocean and seeing all of the many other resorts. We also passed some dolphins.

About 40 minutes later we arrived at the airport. Security was a breeze along with passport control. When we got to check in Chris was quick to ask for a company upgrade. The counter agent already had our tickets in hand and said that in fact we had been upgraded to Business Class, sweet! She also gave us VIP passes to the Business Class lounge. We went straight to the lounge at hit the cappuccino maker with a vengeance! We also made plates of cheese and sandwiches and the like. Some friends from work also made their way to the lounge so we had company.

Boarding was announced and we went to the Emirates plane and to our seats. Pretty comfy! The meal was delicious, coupled with all the stuff I ate at the lounge and now this, I was stuffed!

We arrived in Colombo and back to reality. We also were much quicker than anticipated and our driver was not there. I called him and he told us to take a taxi. I was a bit leery as I thought they would try to inflate the price but was happy when he quoted pretty much the same price our driver had charged.

About an hour later we were back in the apartment. My unpacking took me all of about two minutes, all the clothes in the hamper, shaving kit back on the bathroom counter, travel returned to its spot, done.

Would I go back? In a heartbeat, but would probably try to stay at another resort just to get a little change of taste.

The Hikkaduwa Guest Houses


Just thought I would mention the funnier names of guest houses in Hikkaduwa:

Funky de Bar
The Drunken Monkey
Casa Lanka

I'll post more when I think of them