Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 1
Trip to the Maldives – the flights part 2
Conrad Lounge in Mali and Seaplane to Rangali Island
Beach Villa at the Conrad Maldives
Euro swimsuits and Turtles
The main pool and snorkeling
Our luggage arrives, Vilu, and the Quiet Zone
The employee strike
The strike ends
Ithaa underwater restaurant, Water Villa, and sunset cruise

We woke up in the morning and on our way to breakfast, there was a note in our mailbox stating the the employee strike had ended. I’m not sure what concessions were given to the employees, but I was glad it was over and that the resort could return back to normal.

We headed back to Vilu for breakfast and that delicious breakfast smoothie. After breakfast, we went to the main pool again and spent hours and hours there.

For the first time, we tried the Happy Hour at Rangali Bar which had half price drinks from 4-6 pm. We had virgin strawberry daiquiris which were really good. They also serve cashews with a little kick.

For dinner, we had reservations at the Sunset Grill. The Sunset Grill is right by the Ithaa underwater restaurant and is open from 7 – 11pm. Earlier in the day my wife had told an island host which table we preferred, she said she would note the request but could not guarantee it. We arrived a little early in order to secure a table outside on the deck that faced the sunset.

There are times when poring over all the message boards, doing all the bonus offers, traveling around the world, and staying in hotels everywhere in order to amass points finally make it worth it. Tonight was one of those nights – the ambiance was incredible. Perfect weather and just my wife and I. Many of you know that my wife is often left at home when I travel for business for weeks on end. It makes me happy when I can reward her for her patience with trips like these.

Looking at the menu, there were plenty of fish and meat dishes. They even handed us an iPad with the wine list uploaded on it. We both decided on the Rib-eye steak Australian Wagyu with Tellicherry pepper ($65 a piece).

The chef sent out a creamy mushroom soup for us to try – absolutely exquisite.

Watching the sunset from our table – it was magnificent. If there was any doubt whether the Maldives could surpass Bora Bora as my favorite destination, Bora Bora was surpassed tonight.

This was my favorite meal thus far. We headed back to the room where a stuffed shark was waiting for us on the bed. This place really is paradise.