Having My Parents Here
12 Sep 2007 - My goodness, how long has it been since I last wrote?!? Geez… and so much has been happening as well! Which partly explains why… reason being that I’ve been saving my days off. Yes, my precious one single day off… firstly cause 妈妈 and 老爸 finally came to the Maldives! Yes, they were really here! More to come on that of course. And secondly, I’m saving my days off again to do a diving course in a couple of weeks. So no days off = totally shacked = no time to blog. Sorry folks.
The thing that prompted me to finally get off my butt was that I received the loveliest surprise yesterday morning. As usual I was in the staff room when my recep came to inform me that a guest wanted to see me. Shit, sinking feeling… usually when a guest specifically asks to see you, it spells trouble… what have I done wrong now… With slight apprehension, I entered the relaxation room where the guest was waiting, a certain Mrs Roxanne Richards, hmm… not one of my package guests, wonder why she wants to see me… oh well, we’ll find out soon enough. “Oh hello Tiffany, I wanted to meet you to let you know what an amazing writer you are. I’ve been reading your blog, you write really well.” Wh-wh-wh-what?… My jaw would have hit the ground had I not resisted the urge. Oh wow… I TOTALLY wasn’t expecting anything like this. What a compliment, and yes, a definite reminder that there are people out there who are actually reading my blog. Some more than others. I can’t let them down. I must write! So yes, thank you very much Roxanne for the gentle nudge to get back on track.
So as I had mentioned, YES YES YES, would you believe it, my parents were actually here at the resort! Imagine that, my 妈妈 snorkeling in the Great Indian Ocean, oh well, trying to anyway. And my 老爸, geez… there was no getting him out of that Jacuzzi! We also wined and dined to our heart’s content on the finest of cuisine, went on a fabulous champagne sunset cruise and just spent many a magical moment together. I’m getting all emotional again just recalling their stay, and I’d better not start bawling like I did cause I happen to be in a very public place at the moment.
But yeah, it was pretty special, not to mention surreal to have them here in the Maldives. The thing is that my parents, especially my dad, are quite typically Asian in the sense that their usual holiday destinations would involve a lot of shopping and eating in big cities like Bangkok or more recently, Zhuhai. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was working here, I could never imagine for the life of me the two of them coming to a remote destination like the Maldives. It would have been “too boring” by their standards, especially since they are not the outdoors type either. Nonetheless, I must commend them for getting out of their comfort zones to try something new, and see, as it turns out, they had a fabulous time and thoroughly enjoyed themselves! So you see, take the plunge people – when was the last time you did something for the first time?!!
And certainly, pictures, pictures, pictures… 老爸 was kept very busy just switching between the camera and the videocam. Haha, but you know him, of course he had to document everything! He loves the fact that now when I talk about what I’m doing; he’s able to picture me in that place.
See the bouquet that my mum is holding, we actually arranged with SQ to present it to them onboard the flight whilst announcing that it was their wedding anniversary. They were so accommodating, and even excited about doing it, so much so that they even threw in a cake! Thank you! Singapore Airlines… a great way to fly! But enuff said, it’s already 11+pm, time to catch some sleep because our seaplane transfer is at 5am!
See what I mean, it’s not even bright yet.
Laoba, first time in a seaplane. But thank goodness, the weather conditions were very calm and the seaplane was very still. Secretly I was afraid this part would have freaked my parents out!
Arriving at the Resort. Phew! Made it.
Yay! Our first breakfast together!
Oh my gawd… check out the amount of stuff they brought me! I could almost open my own tuckshop now… heh heh except I’m not sharing… everything is mine. Mine mine mine!
Front Office was also very kind, offered us a complimentary bottle of Pol Roger bubbly. In fact during their entire stay, everyone was so kind that everywhere we dined, champagne simply flowed. Haha, laoba said he hadn’t had as much alcohol in the last few years as he’s had in these few days.
Of course we had to pay homage to the office.
A couple of “thrones” my parents could not resist…
My first excursion trip – Champagne (yes, again) Sunset Cruise on the Rangali Rani.
It was lovely… so relaxing. See, my parents at play, so cute! And check out my dad with my over-sized sunnies – absolutely hilarious!
A toast, a toast to good times… ahhh… champagne, canapes, a yacht, the magnificent sunset… my parents… eh… SALAH lah… something wrong with the picture ley… where’s the MAN to share this moment with?!?
Even managed to catch a fish on the trip, which the captain so kindly offered to my parents, but they kindly turned it down, so sashimi for the boat’s crew tonight!
The next day, we went back to the spa. While waiting for my parents to have their massage, I thought I’d tidy my toes. They finished early, so here’s mum inspecting the spa’s QC being the queen of DIY manis and pedis.
Ooh, lunchtime!
Remember I mentioned the Jacuzzi? Yep, their very own right in front of the villa! My laoba, man… he really digged it. Many a times, mama and I would be watching telly in the room, and even by himself, he would soak for hours. Haha!
But enough of the pool, here’s the real deal… the great wide Indian Ocean.
Mama in the new Jim Thompson sarong I got her — come to resort must dress the part right… Laoba… erm, laoba in the towel from the villa.
This is definitely a “first”! My parents are gonna try to snorkel! Fitting the gear in the dive shop…
Haha, don’t we all just look funny?!! Ok, mama tried, but she just couldn’t get comfy with the mask and snorkel. Laoba got a bit further but he was having problems with the fins. Oh well, at least they tried! That’s something!
Mum and I on dhoni on the way to the other island. Heading to Vilu for dinner.
The mouth-watering dishes we had: venison, roast suckling piggy and lobster risotto. Um-um!
In this sort of place, it only makes sense to sleep in right?…
So whilst mama continued to snooze, laoba had a early start to see what wildlife he could capture from the beach… some sharks…
and some bird…
Followed by a big breaky! Back at Vilu, first time having breaky there for me!
Laoba was very intrigued by the sugar swizzle sticks. High-class mah this place, packet sugar just won’t do…
Wine cellar
Since we are already on the other island, we checked out the Over-Water Spa too.
Another meal at Atoll… under the rates that my parents came on, if they were to dine here, meals are all complimentary, pretty cool hey? So yep for lunch we usually head here, then something special for dinner. Works out really well!
Parents’ last night. At the last minute, we managed to get a table at Sunset Grill, so yep, here we are all dolled up for the occasion. This was also the pose for our memento photo, which my parents got to bring home in a very nice frame as a souvenir. Hee hee yet another freebie thrown in by the Front Office (usually only extends to couples who are here on “Honeymoon Packages”.)
Yummers! Tasty offerings at Sunset Grill, comp champagne and dessert!
And of course no trip to the Hilton Maldives will be complete without a visit to the Ithaa underwater restaurant, hee hee, better yet if it was a private tour like ours.
Very sadly and far too soon, it was time to say goodbye. The four days passed way too quickly! Would have loved for mama and laoba to stick around for another week or so… But what to do, at the very least they did make it here, so I guess I can’t really complain…
Oh Mama and Laoba, love ya lots. I’m so very happy that you came! I had a GRAND time with you here on the island. It was so special for me being able to share this enchanting place with you personally, and I hope I delivered the promise of making this a “once in a lifetime” trip. Haha, and like I said, so which holiday destination would you like to visit next? I’ll try to find a job there! *Wink, wink*