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5th Trip to this wonderful Island of Meeru
Executive lounge
We use this every time we fly and decided to use Eclipse lounge rather than Service Air. We arrived and found the lounge very full, kids were running round. This lounge advertises no children under 8yrs unless traveling with 1st class tickets! Mmmmm.
The reception lady said a flight was due to be called and that it would soon be empty. Once it was called the passengers descended on the drinks, crisps and sandwiches like a swarm of locusts. My thought was that they must not be getting any food on the flight to Islamabad!
It was soon stocked up and the sandwiches made a welcome change.
There was a Man United football player in the lounge with his family. Sorry can’t remember his name but he was French with an injured arm if that helps.
Flight
Just as the drinks trolley got to us, the Captain asked "is there a Doctor on board as we have a medical emergency". My G+T nearly went flying, I thought Oh No which airport will we be landing at!! When no further calls were made we guessed that it was all under control.
The cabin crew at the front of the plane, who looked after us were very chatty and full of smiles. This made a pleasant change to some reports and flights we had been on.
They were a credit to FCA.
Our pre-booked bottle of Champagne arrived well chilled and delicious.
Arrival
As we approached Male the sun was shining and we never get tired of looking at the atolls surrounded by crystal clear waters. From landing, clearing immigration, collecting our cases and collecting our arrival packs we were on the boat heading for Meeru within the hour.
Arrival on Meeru
We arrived approx 45 minutes after leaving Male and the first thing we saw as we approach Meeru was the Asian Wok, the new over water restaurant.
We where met by Areef the marketing manager who took us to our Jacuzzi Villa. I had e-mailed requesting that the 2 villas be as close to each other as was possible and in the 600’s.
We were given villas 637 & 638 which are roughly in the middle of the line of Jacuzzi villas. Areef told us that he had arranged for another 2 villas nearer to the Uthuru bar to be available for us in a couple of days time, I am still suffering from knee surgery and this meant being nearer to the bar. To be honest the location of our villas was lovely and we enjoyed the stroll to and from the bar/restaurant.
The distance to the beach was approx 20 feet away. The stretch of beach in front of our villas wasn't as busy as it was closer to the Uthuru Bar.
We decided within 5 minutes, once unpacked etc that we where happy to stay where we were. Our bed had been made up with some flowers and to top it all a bottle of chilled champagne was waiting for us in each villa.
This was Chris & Lawrence’s first visit and they immediately loved the place. Which made us relax that little bit more. Within 20 minutes shorts and bare feet were order of the day.
Malaan Restaurant
After getting changed we made our way to the Uthuru bar and had ‘one for the beach’ We went to the Malaan restaurant for lunch and as we approached the lectern positioned on the left hand side Sami arrived and took us to our table.
Sami recognised us from our last visit and was good to see that he had been promoted to a supervisor in charge of one of the restaurant areas. We where introduced to our table waiter Zahik who was quiet but very friendly and smiley.
Pam & Chris decided they wanted to charter a Dhoni boat and take some of the staff home!! Zahik would be one of the many members. Faz was also another waiter who helped out Zahik and vice versa. Faz topped the list for coming home with us. He had a wonderful ability to mimic accents and a wicked sense of humour.
On Maldevian night (Friday) the waiters dress up in traditional dress which includes what looks like a white hanky on the head. Faz came up and said he was feeling poorly and had had a bad day. The girls got all concerned and asked why, to which he replied 'I got hit on the head by a coconut and have to wear this bandage!!' He did all sorts of other silly things and small screams from guests would pin point where he was or had been.
There was a great selection of food. I loved the fresh pasta station and the chef had a quiet but cheeky sense of humor and would try and encourage you to have chillies with what ever he was cooking. Another for the Dhoni boat.
Uthuru Bar
We spent many a few hours in this bar particular on the first 2 days as it rained continually. All of the waiters were polite and attentive. Worthy of mention has to be Wasseem who is so full of energy and never stopped smiling. He brought photos of his family to show us, he has the most beautiful children. The Dhoni boat list keeps getting bigger!
Waseem Barmen, Guyan & Vijay were also wonderful. Vijay has the brightest teeth and a huge friendly smile .He wore a badge with 'Trainee' on it. To be honest he didn’t need to wear it, he was a star.
Place number 5 on the boat !
Some nights when it was busy we found that if you sat outside it did take longer to get served. However if you went to the bar to order your first drink the waiter would notice where you were sitting and ensure he dropped by your table on his rounds.
Hagern Boat
We had our annual lobster meal on the boat. The lobster was gorgeous. Our only complaint was that the lettuce in the ceaser salad starter was warm and soggy. (we mentioned this to the manager later on). The Hagern used to be our favourite place to eat but to be honest the Asian Wok has pipped it at the post.
Over Water Restaurant (Asian Wok)
In our opinion this has to be the best location on Meeru for either a meal or drink. As you walk along the decking to the entrance you are greeted by a member of staff. On each of our visits it was from a young girl "Onke" who came from Bali. She was beautiful both to look at and to talk to. You will know who I am talking about when you see her. Full of enthusiasm and incredibly polite. The 4 of us ate here 3 times.
Meal 1 was from the Al a Carte menu. We chose
Starters
3 Japanese Tempura vegetable & 1 Japanese chicken karage
Main course
1 Japanese chicken teriyaki
1 Japanese beef teryaki
2 Chinese chilli chicken
Including rice
We were joined by Areef who chose the Fish tandori. He had to fight Pam off, she loved it. With no room for desert, we opted for tea & coffee.
Sitting on the soft comfy cushions dangling our legs over the side watching the fish and sharks swimming around the restaurant soon became our favourite pass time. It is truly relaxing. We also had 2 meals at the Tepenyaki table which was out of this world. Not only was it delicious but the chef made it very entertaining. There are 2 chefs who are trained in this art, both are from the Philippines.
The start time for this meal is approx 8pm. With the table seating only 8 people it’s quickly booked up. The meal starts with small spicy meat & popadum. Followed by mixed salad with the most gorgeous dressing. Miso soup is served in cute little bowls with lids. Followed by the Teppanyaki experience.
All 4 of us chose the Asian Wok special. This consisted of Tiger Prawns, Chicken & Fillet Steak
The taste and smell was unbelievable. The meat was cooked to your liking
I don’t want to go too much into exactly what takes place, suffice to say its great fun and totally scrummy. A definite for 2008.
Just love the sail boat glasses that you are served drinks in...here is a G+T & Rose wine with ice.
Weather
Apart from the initial 2 days which varied between intermittent rain and full blown monsoon for most of the time, the rest of the holiday was glorious sunshine, again be warned it is very humid at this time of year. Don’t forget the sun cream even when it’s cloudy.
Jacuzzi Fun
After lunch on the second day all 4 of us, dressed in swimmers descended to our Jacuzzi. Armed with 2 bottles of champagne and 2 umbrellas we hit the water, set at 40 degrees!
We didn’t mind getting wet, the brollies were to cover the champagne glasses, well you don’t want it watered down now do you? We put the world to rights for an hour or so. Every now and then we looked at the sky and muttered ‘it’s definantly easing’. Soon as it was said the heavens would open up again. What a good time we had, we videoed it for prosperity, can't wait to watch it. An excellent start to the holiday rain or no rain
Beach
We found the beaches to be just as beautiful as in previous years. We noticed that the beach area to the side of the Malaan was about half the size that it had been when we visited 12 months ago, and at the side near to the boardwalk which leads to the 700’s, sand bags were in place to prevent the sea from undermining the restaurant. A small price to pay to prevent erosion. We were told that sometime soon the sand will be pumped back onto this area returning it to its former size.
On a couple of days rubbish was washed up (high tide), fruit, empty sun lotion bottles etc. This had been thrown overboard by other boats and due to the tides had been washed up. A quick call to reception soon had this was rectified.
A quantity of sun loungers are now in place to the side of the Uthuru bar.
The Spider
One morning after it had rained heavily overnight, I collected our 4 towels, put them under my arm and headed out onto the beach to set up our ‘gypsy encampment’ and lay them on the loungers. As I picked up a towel I caught sight of something which, ran off the towel, up over my left hand and up my arm faster than Schumacher! As it got to my elbow it turned left and headed towards my shoulder. It was at this point that self preservation kicked in. (actually I screamed and fell backwards). It turned out to be this spider which landed on all six’s on the sun lounger and just looked up at me. I quickly looked around because not only did I scream but I also managed to fill 3 swear boxes in the process. Luckily the beach was empty. I thought to myself, no one will believe me without a photo so I hot footed it back to the villa and grabbed the camera. To my annoyance when I got back the spider was no where to be found. I gingerly picked up each towel from the corner (at arms length) and shook them, there was no spider?. No way was I going to lie there not knowing where the blighter was. An in depth search of the 4 loungers proceeded, lo and behold there sitting on the last lounger feeling smug was the spider. On spotting me it decided to make off back towards the vegetation. Just as it was about to escape for good a hungry lizard ran out and they had a face off!
£5 bet on the lizard…it won…
If the bar had been open I would have had several large G+T’s when I told Pamela what had happened, she just said ‘stop being a wuss!! That was until she saw the photos
Hah hah whose the wuss now.
Excursions
Love Boat, cost $180
We did the love boat trip on the Saturday 3 days after arriving. We thought the sun must shine as it had rained for 2 days solid. We awoke to a mixed sky and within 30 minutes of leaving Meeru the sun came out and sunbathing commenced! We stopped to watch what must have been over 100 dolphins who performed for us, but the best ohhhhhhhh arggghhhsss were reserved for a group of babies who decided that whatever mummy could do they could do better.
Our first stop was Kagi Island (we renamed it Craggy Island after Father Ted) and I was honored to be partnered up with Mohammed (from the sea centre) who took me off snorkeling.
We must have been close to a mile away from the island at one point. I saw sharks, puffer fish and a glimpse of a turtle who swam for its life into the depths......Having read a previous trip report it was probably the same turtle and thought sod this I’m off.
We headed back to shore and found we had been away for around 45 minutes. One of the boat crew then surfaced holding a puffer fish which looked just like a ‘furby’ it looked positively human!!
Back on the boat for lunch for some of us!! I sat there and all of a sudden felt quite ill and was unable to eat anything; I left the table and spent the rest of the day feeling sorry for myself. I couldn’t even bring myself to fish from the boat…. Think I was dehydrated and had too much sun after 2 days of rain.
We stopped off for more snorkeling and for me more feeling sorry for my self. I drank quite a bit of water and slowly my brain started to work. Some may say different!
The 45 minutes snorkeling without sun cream or a t shirt (I know but I’m a man, man) was the reason for suffering so be warned .In our previous 5 years all I managed to burn were my feet and back of hands.
We found the sun in April to be more intense, totally different than in Jan/Feb/March. My punishment was no alcohol and sitting in the shade for 3 days, I was gutted and wore factor 50, 30, then oil for the rest of the stay. In fact I peeled really badly on my upper body within 3 days and looked like some sort of Alien shedding its skin, and was the joke of our party. It’s no fun when you are unable to tolerate anyone even putting after sun on your back. I know Humble Jim will be shaking his head as the resident weather man but anyone going please follow his lead and cover up when snorkeling and wear a high factor to start with. I can laugh at it now but I was more worried in spoiling others holiday. Around 3.30pm as we headed back to Meeru the crew asked us to come and sit inside the cabin and they started to baton down the hatches. Grey/black clouds suddenly appeared followed by torrential rain. Apparently we hit a storm that was also over Meeru. Upon our arrival back there were huge puddles all over the island.
The crew was superb, always checking we were alright, never letting us go without a drink, alcoholic or otherwise. They pampered to our every whim. Please be sure to take a few dollars with you for a tip to express your gratitude.
Sea Plane Photograph Trip
Cost $90 for 20 minutes min 8 - max 16 persons
This is very popular so be prepared to visit the excursions board to get your name down fast. The list went missing and it was eventually located in the Farivalu restaurant some inconsiderate soul had decided to take the whole day trip lists to look at while having breakfast and decided they couldn’t be bothered to walk the 10 or so yards to replace it and left it under the table. You receive a letter under your door confirming the flight is going ahead.. Having done this the year before I sort of new what to expect, the safety brief still makes me chuckle. On this flight we flew over the airfield and around Male. How 70,000+ people managed to fit onto such a small piece of land is beyond me.
The photos I took of the island with the new build didn’t quite come out as I was on the left hand side and just as I was about to take the photo it banked so I got mostly the engine….if anyone has any good photos showing the island I would love the chance of a copy to put on the wall.
Sports fishing
Big game by sports fisher. 2hrs daily fishing 0600 - 0800 . Coffee & pastry included. $60 per person min 2 people or hire boat for $120
Off shore big game by sports fisher daily 0600 - 1000 & 1400 - 1800. Coffee and pastry included & soft drink $115 per person min 4 persons or hire boat for $460
Off shore big game by sports fisher 8 hrs...full day excursion
Coffee, pastry, soft drinks and lunch box provided $175 per person min / max 4 persons or boat hire $700
I took advantage of some big game fishing aboard the Meeru Sports fisher….wow what can I say. The boat had 2 huge engines on the back and felt like a jet engine on a small car….
We left Meeru at warp factor 9 and soon had a beer in our hand as the crew set up the rods and lines. We had to catch our own bait (live fish) to entice the bigger fish. Within a short time we had a bite and a Tuna was soon on board. We had a few big bites with the line going out like a scene from jaws. But the line went slack something was definitely out there. Over the next hour or so we managed to bring on 4 more tuna, and in the last 10 minutes the scene from jaws started again. As the line was reeled in it went slack, out it went again with the Capt. Shouting it was a sail fish. A fight ensued with everyone taking turns then the line went slack again! There was still some weight on the line and when it was finally reeled in there was just the head of a large tuna…..it had been bitten in half, the cut could have been done with a knife it was so straight and clean.
We then headed back to Meeru again at warp speed!!
Even though I am not a fisherman it was well worth the experience and I would highly recommend it to others. Definitely on my must do list in Oct 2008.
Night fishing
Lol and I did this whilst the girls visited the Spa. Our boat must have had a few jonahs on board because between 12 of us we only managed to catch 2 fish and 1 moray eel.
The other 2 boats who went to a different area came back with their fish boxes over flowing !! Once landed and cleaned up, we met the girls in the bar. Lol complained of a swaying sensation, as if he was still on board the boat. I laughed and took the Mickey, oh how I regretted it when at 4am I woke up with that same feeling .
Someone mentioned it is similar to vertigo ( note to self don’t take the micky out of others )
Room Service
Thought we would sample breakfast with a bottle of fizzy, it’s called the Mimosa Sun Rise breakfast. We filled in the menu card and placed it on the outside door knob around 10.45pm, it asks that you have it displayed prior to 11pm. We requested the food between 9am-9.30am as Lol and I was doing the sea plane photo shoot at 8am and thought it would be a treat for when we got back.
At 9:30 on the dot this mountain of food appeared on 2 trays. Cereal, pastries, cold meats, cheese, beans, eggs, bacon, fresh warm rolls, butter, jams, fresh juice, tea, coffee, milk and a bottle of fizzy in a ice bucket with 2 chilled glasses. What a way to start the day.
It was all very civilized, sitting on the veranda. Highly recommended and another must do for next year
Coconut theft
Every villa has a coconut with DO NOT DISTURB painted on it. It’s to let the room boy know that some one is in the villa. One night we put the coconut out and went to bed. Around 6:30am we felt a small vibration and heard someone outside on the veranda. Thinking it was Lol, I opened the door only to find a wet, sandy footprint on the doormat just in front of the door and sound of someone making off!! . It seems someone wanted a spare coconut; either it was an athletic honeymooner or someone wanting to liberate one back to their home country! Mohammed our room boy soon found us another. (we didnt ask him where from)
Safani Jewelers
Both Chris & Pamela spent many a happy hour in the jewelers. We thought it was due to the air conditioning; this has to be the coolest place on the island. We were soon proved incorrect when both the girls came away with a ring each. Pamela’s had to go to Male for it to be adjusted but was back and on her finger within a couple of days. You don’t actually pay for the ring until you collect it. It can be paid for straight away or if you’re under the room limit it can be added to your room account. We paid straight away.
Decorated beds
Our end of stay bed was decorated on the morning of our penultimate day. The bed was wonderfully made up.
Mohamed had even taken the time to make lizards, birds and fish from palm leaves. This is the first time in 5 years that little animals had appeared. Mohammed was another client for the Dhoni boat to England. We took a couple of football shirts as gifts, Mohammed was well deserving of his. He had only been married a couple of months and was missing his wife terribly.
Pamela took far to many girlie toiletries (as women do) and ended up leaving the majority of them for Mrs. Mohammed
Jacuzzi Villas
Much has and will continue to be said about the Jacuzzi Villas 600’s & 100’s.
We found our villa 637 to be immaculately clean, lovely inside and had a large garden area. We ate in the Malaan. However in our opinion, having had the chance to view the 100’s we found them superior. Obviously brand new and therefore in pristine condition.
Bedroom 100's
The bedroom in the 100’s has the same amount and a similar style of furniture as 600’s but the things we really liked was that the dressing area was much brighter.
Bathroom 100's
The bathroom was larger with fabulous tiled floors, there’s not quite so much outside inside if you understand what I mean.
Jacuzzi 100's
The garden area however is much smaller. It still has a Jacuzzi and lounger although with no covered sunbathing area like the 600’s. The outlook from the front of the 100’s is more open with clearer views of the sea, where as the 600’s have more greenery in front. However this makes the 600’s cooler in the daytime as a result.
I don’t want to turn this trip report into a debate over which restaurant you eat in because of villa location. Considering you spend about 3 hours per day in the restaurant you are allocated. It boils down to a choice, villa location over restaurant. For us it was villa location. A few people have said they don’t want to be near kids whilst eating. We saw a max of 10 children of all ages in the 2 weeks and this was during the Easter break. Sharing tables is another issue regularly mentioned. Mark Jones and a couple of others had e mailed Meeru prior to arriving and requested not to share a table. Their request was granted.
Pamela and I have rebooked for Meeru in October 2008 and have made the duty request with the tour operator for the Jacuzzi Villa, this time in the 100’s We will send an email as usual 14 days prior to arrival confirming this request. The Maalan and Uthuru bar are fabulous. We have stayed at that end of the island for the past 3 years. Next year we decided to try to be close to the new the Asian Wok.
We spent this holiday sharing our time between the Uthuru bar and the Asian Wok where leg dangling watching the fish over a Rose wine and a G+T was our favourite pastime. Both ends of the island have their own plus points. If you’re lucky enough to be going soon and you get a Jacuzzi land villa, during your stay ask to have a look at both the 100’s and 600’s and see what you think. Or ask if it’s possible, stay 1 week in each and sample both villas?
Jacuzzi Water Villas 300’s
We had opportunity to view these villas.
As you approach there is a reception type building with some comfy chairs and a telephone from which you are able to arrange the golf buggy to collect you. This area is not manned. To the side are boards advertising all excursions, restaurants and special meals. There are also bike racks .There is a sign clearly stating no cycling on the boardwalk to the villas. Having twice previously stayed in the JWV 700’s, we noticed that the only real difference between the two is that the 300’s have their steps down to the sea from the veranda rather than from the Jacuzzi area. The bathroom area is slightly larger while the living area is slightly smaller. They are well appointed and set at a slight angle facing out.
At the furthest end of the boardwalk is a sunbathing area with a number of sun loungers and again steps down into the sea, sun loungers are also placed on the beach area in front of the small reception building.
Male executive lounge
Huge thanks to James and others on the forum for passing on this little gem. The call of the plush soft leather seats, sandwiches with the crusts cut off, pot noodles, cheese and biccies and a wide range of soft drinks, internet access in the Executive Lounge won us over. It was very relaxing and our time spent at the airport literally flew by. At $16 dollars each. it was well worth the money. We just turned up on spec.
However since the departure lounge works have been completed there are more seats in the general lounge and it is much cooler.
Flight home
First Choice cabin crew again where cheerful and friendly. We got the right hand side of plane in row 2, great, near to the loo’s and more importantly first up with the drinks trolley.
However, no sooner was the seat belt sign off than the woman in the seat in front (extra leg room) decided to throw the seat back as fast as possible. I was leaning forward at the time to remove my s****s and when the seat didn’t go as far back as it could due to my head, the woman decided to use the bulkhead to brace her feet on and push to try and gain an extra few inches. On my head!!!
Now I am not known for having any great patience and this duly tested me, but Pamela’s Vulcan death grip on my peeling arm said it all. The same woman asked if there was any oxygen on board as she had required it on the outbound flight. Now it all fell into place, she must have been the ‘request for a doctor’ reason on the way out.. My question is “Don’t you have to be able bodied to sit in the emergency seats”?? When the meal arrived this woman still had the seat back and had to put a pillow behind her in order for her to sit up properly and eat!! A sharp word in her ear soon had the seat upright, Vulcan death grip or not.
We lost count of how many times she told the air crew she worked for servisair at Manchester airport (ok, complaint over and orange box packed away now!!)
Our pre ordered bottle of chilled champagne arrived. Nicolas Feuillatte, delicious. We drank it with a splash of fresh orange which made it last longer.
I managed to sleep for around 5 hrs in between playing battle ships, who wants to be a millionaire and drinking gin and tonic.
We arrived at Manchester airport, cleared customs, collected cases and got home around 11pm.
We had to be up in Durham handy to collect the boys from the breeder and set off about 6am. One occasion where we said ‘thank goodness for jet lag’.
Sandy, the breeder had done us proud, our boys were fabulous. They didn’t snub us and immediately came to us for cuddles. The umbilical cord was duly attached for the next few days.
I think that’s it. If there is anything I think of that I have missed out I will continue to add it, please remember that this report is how we found Meeru to be........
Some trip reports will differ greatly from this and you may wonder if it’s the same island being referred to.
All information given can only be a good thing, it allows others to research and come to their own conclusions. If any one has any questions etc. then please don’t hesitate to ask
I have updated some photos on my site and added separate pages for the 600 & 100’s also 700 & 300’s (over the next couple of days)
Thanks for reading
Totally relaxing
We stayed on Bodafinalu - Fun Island. We went with friends and it was everything and more. Fun Island is very small but the accomodation was fantastic. The bungalows were private, air conditioned, on the beach and very well appointed. The beach was almost deserted and swept clean every day. The snorkelling was amazing, with thousands of fish. The food was delicious and varied We didn't wear shoes for a week and lived in sarongs and bathing suits. It was absolute paradise with warm clear seas and fabulous sunsets. It was a long journey but worth it. For a totally relaxing holiday this is it!
We stayed at an island called Villavaru which is in south Ari Atoll. The island was very small, one resturant and one bar. It took about 10 mins to walk round the island: it was absolute paradise!!! We snorkelled and my husband went on a dive: it was amazing. The sea is so shallow in places around the island that you could walk out about a mile and it only reached your knees. The rooms were basic: no television or radio (Oh no, I hear you say). The Maldivian people were so friendly they would do anything for you. Hopefully we will go back next year! All in all it is like being in HEAVEN!!!!
