Part IX: Transfer to the Park Hyatt Maldives
We had finally arrived in the country of the Maldives, which was Country 72 for me, if we're going off of the Travelers Century Club list. Woo!
We cleared customs pretty quickly, no real delays, and certainly faster than US customs. Right outside of security, we found our first Park Hyatt representative, who was waiting for us and another couple. They arrived about 5 minutes after us, and we were escorted to the domestic terminal, just a quick walk down a covered walkway.
Inside, we handed our new friend our passports and luggage. He'd be handling check-in for us, which was a great perk after a long travel day. He walked us into the Moonimaa Lounge, which was empty except for the four of us. FWIW, this is a Priority Pass lounge, and it is dry, as expected in the Muslim country. There was a modest food spread and some sodas and water that I picked at.
After about 30 minutes, we were told boarding had begun for our Maldivian Airlines flight to Kooddoo. We lucked out and got a direct flight on the outbound.
Love the dolphin on the tail! On board, our phones died, but we got a wet toilette and a juice as in-flight service. Once we arrived in Kooddoo, we walked into the "terminal" which was basically a room, to wait for our bags. Another Park Hyatt representative found us, and once our bags arrived, they were whisked away in a separate golf cart. We were loaded into one, too, and made our way to the speedboat dock.
We were loaded in, and took a seat towards the back of the boat. Seats were very comfortable, couch-like, and we were given life preservers to wear during the journey.
An iced tea and a snack jar were passed out as well, with the ubiquitous cool towels.
Decently smooth ride got us to the resort in about 35 minutes, and we were met by our host for the four nights, Ameez, right on the dock, ready to check us into our villa! It was about 2:30 in the morning island-time, after getting up at about 6 AM Incheon time. We were ready for bed.