A GLORIOUS HONEYMOON @ BAROS, MALDIVES (Part 2)

Ok, so continuing from the previous post, we basically spend all our time in a very very very relaxed mode. Waking up late in the mornings, going for lazy breakfasts, lounging on the beds watching dvds, napping as and when we feel like it, soak in the jacuzzy (bath salts included yo), literally jumping off our water villa into the blue blue ocean for a swim, savouring long lunches, snorkelling, romantic dinners ... basically just doing anything and everything together with wifey.

Ok, now to the highlights of our heavenly escapade. We took a half day tour to the capital of Maldives, the li'll town of Male. From the resort, the front desk staffs would send us off personally to the awaiting speedboat and 20 minutes or so later, we set foot on the capital which we were told is as large as 1km by 2km. So you can imagine how tiny it is and 2/3 out of the 300,000 population resides here. Hence, space is indeed a very much sought after luxury. First impression tells us that the country is rather poor. Economy relying solely on tourism and the export of fish, mainly the yellow fin tuna for the Japanese sushi market isn't sufficient to sustain its people's increasing cost of living. We had a local guide to show us around and we toured the city on foot. We were brought to the parliment, the president's residence, the ex-president's residence, the oldest mosque in the country (real tiny this one), the biggest mosque in the country (building funds contributed by several Islamic countries including Malaysia), the National Park which is in an embarrasing state of total abysmal (looks more like a drug haunt than a park), the National Museum (no larger than a 3 storey terrace house ... they're currently building a new one though), the smelly fish market and the colourful veg market. Throughout the tour we were briefed on the history of each landmarks visited and this was also where I managed to purchase my hair gel. I forgot to pack mine and hence, the first 3 days were very bad hair days ... so much so that even the wife also cannot tahan. :p Of course the guide brought us to shop for souveneirs and I dare say that everything offered were highly overpriced. We reluctantly purchased a few t-shirts, key chains and fridge magnets for our close family and friends before adjourning to a restaurant for a quick snack pit stop. Soon, we made our way back to the jetty and to the resort there after.

Being foodies, we also signed up for the Executive Chef's lunch presentation. This was conducted at the Sails Bar's bar area. A make shift stove was set up along with a table to place the necessary ingredients and condiments. And guess what, we were the only couple who opted for this, so we had the chef's full attention. The chef's huge and hailing from Sydney, he told us he has been with the resort for the past 3 years. Acting also as the resort's F & B Director, he entertained us with stories of his experiences around the region as he prepared our lunch. On the table, laid copies of the menu and recipes for our keeping. Damian Barret (the chef) started off with preparing the dessert cause it needs to be chilled after it's done. It's a local delicacy and it's called the Banana Halua. Slices of bananas were cut and its thickness depending on how ripe it is. It is then stir fried for a couple of minutes with castor sugar, chopped cashew nuts and a pinch of tumeric powder. When it's done, it's left to chill in a freezer before being served later with a refreshing scoop of coconut ice cream. Next up, our entree, a Maldivian chicken curry. All sorts of spices and condiments were added, from a variety of curry powder and chilly paste to ginger slices, chopped onions and many others. Lastly, pieces of chicken and coconut cream were included and it was left to simmer under a slow fire while we prepared the appetizer. Now this is an interesting dish and it's called the Tuna Prochiutto. Mine was prepared raw while SY requested to have hers cooked. Thin slices of yellow fin tuna were placed on a tiny serving dish. Then Damian blended an assortment of ingredients namely finely chopped onions, ginger, Kikkoman soy sauce, sesame oil etc before pouring it on top of the fish. We took a small bite and the flavours just exploded in our mouth sending our tastebuds into a very happy frenzy. It was really that good and the perfect mixture of saltiness and sourness worked up the appetite immediately. Before the entree was served, we were each given a lovely scoop of mango sorbet to cleanse the pallet. Its natural sweetness complimented the surrounding tropical feel flawlessly. The mains came up next. Piping hot spicy curry very much influenced from neighbouring India served with steamed rice and crispy popadums and the final kick came from the imported mango chutney from Sri Lanka ... utterly delish. We polished our plates clean as Damian fed us with more of his life's stories. Finally, our Banana Halua came out and it completed the best lunch we had on the island. Crikey mate!!!

That's not all, we even put our names down for the Dolphin Cruise. Just before sunset, we took the boat and headed out to sea. Approximately 25 minutes later, we came to a stop and gently bobbed on the ocean's surface before the boatman pointed his finger out signalling for our attention. Several meters away, we saw dolphins breaking in and out of the waters. It was very exciting for the both of us since we've never seen wild dolphins up close before in their natural habitat. It wasn't long before the these amazing creatures 'warmed up' to us and swam very very close to the boat. Further out, some of em' cheeky ones were showing off by leaping out of the water and twirling in the air before crashing back into the deep blue sea. It was a wonderous sight to behold. With the sun setting on the horizon, champagne with strawberries and canapes were served on board as we enjoyed the show these acrobatic marine creatures were putting for us. Another one of God's remarkable creations for mankind to appreciate I guess. :)

On the topic of marine life, we also went for night snorkelling. We made our way to the Dive Center just before sunset and was briefed by Hollie, the resort's marine biologist of the do's and don'ts, safety precautions and also what we can expect to see from this expidition. I personally have a phobia about going into the water after dark so I suppose this is one way of overcoming this particular fear. Apparently, there are a lot of nocturnal sea creatures around and it's very different from what we can see snorkelling during the day. We were joined by another ang moh couple and the five of us soon set out to the house reef ... about 20 meters away from shore. SY also rented a wet suit since we were told it might get a bit chilly after dark. Armed with high powered torch lights, we paddled out into the abyss with Hollie leading the way. What an astounding sight to behold as we feasted our eyes on multi coloured octopuses, striking red lion fishes, pencil tipped sea urchins, a sleeping baby turtle nestled cutely between the corals and many many others. Half way through, SY suddenly tugged my arm and pointed below. Beneath us, an adult black tipped shark of about 2 meters long glided stealthily below us. It was a very 'kan cheong' moment then. :D Apart from that, as we were heading towards the shore, we spent some time on the inner part of the house reef, the ones closer to shore and was graced with the presence of a very large stingray. It's black in colour and contrasted the white sands of the ocean bed in a very obvious manner. Not wanting to end up like Steve Irwin, we paddled to a safe distance before 'Wow-ing' beneath our snorkelling masks. :) We returned the gears and made our way back to the room feeling tired but most satisfied. It was an experience we will definitely cherish for a long time to come ...

Stay tuned for Part 3 ... :)