worldtraveller73

Park Hyatt Maldives
North Huvadhoo, Gaafu Alifu Atoll, Republic of Maldives
Ethiad Airlines Promotional Rate (no Hyatt Passport points): 50% off, Park Villa, Water Villa

After the high of the dolphin sighting before we knew it, we were at the welcome jetty of the resort. I will just come out and say it – after traveling through more than 50 countries throughout the world, this resort stay experience was the best of them all to date. We had such a fantastic stay that the memories of it will be etched into our minds for the rest of our life.

A whole army of staff had come to meet us, including the general manager Pierre Lang and the operations manager. There were at least 5 hosts greeting us on the jetty. We were escorted into the dhoni (a relaxing area in the form of an upside down boat sculpted to look like local transport) for check in. We were given iced tea while our information was obtained. Once that was completed, we were led into a golf cart to be taken to the room.





Our stay was two nights in a Park Villa and two nights in an Over Water Villa. We were led to Park Villa #23 to start. It was a south facing separated villa. The design of the building was fabulous. The villa had a separate bathroom and sink area for men and women, and was complete with an outdoor AND indoor shower. It was, in my opinion, supreme luxury. Needless to say, Ms WT73 was very impressed. Everything was to her expectations – and believe me sometimes they are high expectations!!











The villa was equipped with an iPad that contained all the features of the resort, including menus for all the restaurants. In essence, the iPad replaced the usual worn information binder that is found everywhere else. The iPad also contained information surrounding the common flowers, fauna and fish seen around the resort.



We were at the edge of the world. Spending days at the beach was like spending time in complete solitude. There wasn’t a plane seen overhead, a boat passing by on the horizon or the polluting lights of the big city. There was almost nothing between us and Antartica to the south, and Africa to the west.

Meanwhile, the resort continued to impress. The resort had a total feel of exclusivity to it. We were the only guests on the main beach area and had the whole place to ourselves. The entire time we were there, I never saw anyone in the main swimming pool. Well, almost all alone with the exception of ma91pmh who happened to be here at the same time!! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves here.



















Sunset drinks lounge / beach bar

worldtraveller73

Hadahaa House Reef,
Park Hyatt Maldives

Part of our reason for coming to the Hyatt was the famous Hadahaa Island house reef. I had done some research about the house reef here and wanted a great snorkeling experience to be available from the hotel, as opposed to being tied to boat excursions. The house reef ended up being the most impressive reef alone that I had ever seen attached to a hotel (or accessible from land). The coral formations were intact and perfect, the fish were plentiful in numbers and the variety of what was available to be seen was fabulous. There was even a “drop off” like in the movie Finding Nemo which was really dark and spooky! The fish here were not all accustomed to seeing humans though, and some scared easily.











Dinner at the restaurants was a bit more of an expensive affair compared to the Sheraton. All the resort supplies arrived via dhoni boat, which was 24 hours travel from Male. Therefore the food was priced accordingly. Starter soups and salads were $22-$26, with meats starting at $42-$50 per person. They did have some wines available starting at $55 a bottle, however, there were only a few and we often found that the resort sold out of these quickly, making you purchase at the next price point of $90 - $120 a bottle. Ms WorldTraveller73 loves Merlot and this would set me back starting at $80 per bottle.

The gastronomie experience was of greater quality here, however the portion sizes were much smaller – similar to a fine dining restaurant at home where you are expecting small portions with an emphasis on flavor. I was surprised to find fresh thyme springs on my duck breast, considering how far they much have traveled to be served.

worldtraveller73

Inhabited Island Visit
Gemanfushi Island, Maldives.

On our third day, we booked an inhabited island tour through the resort to Gemanfushi Island. The tour price was $190 USD per person, or $475 for a private tour. However, since we only gave the resort 3 hours notice, there were no other tour participants. I had wanted a look into the local lives and to see what atoll life was really like in the Maldives.

Visiting an inhabited island on your own is almost impossible for an independent traveler. First off, foreigners are not permitted to stay the night off of the resort properties unless they get a permit through the government. This means that there is generally no private accommodation on the Inhabited Islands, unless you’ve been sponsored by a local family. Foreigners are also only permitted to visit during the day time hours, and again a sponsor that is responsible for the visitors is required, making it a further challenge to visit Inhabited Islands without an escort. I was told by our Hyatt guide that tours to the Inhabited Island were organized by the hotel for about 3-5 guests per month. I guess in a snorkeling and diving paradise, diving tours or tours to a private island are more interesting for the tourists than seeing the local culture.



After a quick twenty minute speedboat ride from Hadahaa, we ended up at Gemanfushi island where we had a coconut juice arrival drink. I don’t usually put up photos of myself on Flyertalk, but in this case, the photo is so unusual with the Maldivian script. Given the Muslim and conservative population of the island, MsWT73 had to spend more of the tour with her shoulders and legs covered up. In the 35 degree heat, this was no small challenge. It was hot!! The one time MsWT73 is taller than me...



We headed into Gemanafushi, not really sure what to expect. Were these people going to live in houses? Make shift tents? I was curious. There were a few motorbikes on the island and apparently a few trucks, although we didn’t see any. Our first impression was that the island was super quiet and peaceful. There were also a lot of Unicef water tanks to collect rain water from he roofs so that there were appropriate drinking water supplies. To my surprise, and not really sure what to expect in the middle of nowhere, there were concrete houses complete with buried electricity cables and roofs.





Surprisingly, the locals were really interested to see us. Even our guides were encouraging photography of the locals, something I thought was verboten given the strong Muslim religion of the local inhabitants. "take pictures! take pictures!" they said...



Our first visit was to the local hospital. There was no one in residence at the hospital, but there was surprisingly a maternity ward and a place to give birth for local island inhabitants.



Several women give birth here every year...



I learned that many of the locals earned money by catching tuna by net fishing in the area. Most of the tuna caught by locals was brought back to Gemanafushi where it was dried. It would then be shipped up to Male and packaged (and usually sold to China).



Chatting with the locals, I asked them what they thought about the fact that their islands were sinking? For those that haven’t been following it, the waters in the Indian Ocean (and globally) have been rising at the rate of 1 meter over the last 10 years due to the effects of global warming. Eventually, they fear that since the highest point in the Maldives is 2.4 meters above sea level, all of the Maldives will be underwater. The Maldivian government has been in the process of securing a land purchase in Australia, so that the Maldivian will have a place to go if their country ends up underwater. Surprisingly the Maldivian's that I spoke too didn’t seem to convinced that their country was going to sink. It really didn’t concern them too much. Whether this was a disconnect with the news or not worrying about the outside world, it seemed to be a comfortable state of bliss for them.

I also learned that the tradition houses used stones with a dead coral fill instead of concrete to mix the bricks together. There are a few examples of this still remaining amongst abandoned houses and if you look closely, you can see the dead coral mixtures mashed together between the rocks.




We were given permission by the school administration to visit the Gemanafushi School during primary class hours. During this visit, I had the opportunity to chat with the Gemanfushi school prinicipal, who was a Maldivian. The school building served a dual purpose of primary classes in the morning and secondary classes in the afternoon. The principal indicated that the majority of students finished their schooling, and the testing was using Cambridge Oxford school exams that were sent from London. I surprised to see teaching to such an apparent high standard, but I did read previously that the Maldivian literacy rate as 98%. There were of course a lack of computers- I think I saw three in the administration office and that was it for our tour. It was so warm, even our guide was sweating like he was defusing a bomb...



The children were of course interested to see us Westerners.



We did stop for a drink at the local store. Cokes and Sprites and a juice came to 38 Madlvian Rufiyaa ($2.45 USD), which I thought was a fair deal considering the distance that they had traveled. I later learned that Coca Cola in the Maldivies is the only country in the world where Coke is made using de-salinated sea water.

At the end of our tour, we were invited to one of the tour guide’s family home. We were given a sampling of local foods. “Short Eats” or hedhikaa as they call it – a snack between lunch and dinner. The Maldivian snacks included fihunu mas, (fish pieces with chili coating), gulha (fried dough balls filled with fish and spices), kuli boakiba (spicy fish cakes) and samosa like triangles filled with vegetables. The tastes of each were quite similar - spicy similar to Indian foods, but with an emphasis on fish. Needless to say, it was fabulous.



Swings outside the dock from converted fishing nets.



Before we knew it, it was time to return to Hadahaa. The inhabited island tour was a great opportunity to see the local lives of Maldivians – something you surely won’t get from staying on the resort. Most amazing was the fact that the locals were completely separated on different islands from the thousands of tourists that visit the Maldives every year.

worldtraveller73

Park Water Villa
Park Hyatt Hotel Maldives

When we returned, the staff had relocated our bags to the Park Water Villa. It was our first time in a Park Water Villa, and it turned out to be a really unique experience. The best part about the Water Villas’ at Park Hyatt were that they were all west facing – meaning that you did not have to pay a further premium for a sunset view. The Water Villas were similarly equipped to the Park Villas, except that there was direct and private access to the corals below. Initially I was not sure whether the additional tariff was worth it. Being out on the water, you get a lapping sound against the silts, instead of the sound of the waves crashing up against the shore that you’d have in a Beach Villa. The best part, was looking directly below and seeing the first swimming through the corals.











We spent the balance of the next two days locked within the confines of our villa snorkeling away. We did hit the water as much as 5 times per day. The reef below was wonderful and there were lots of fish to be identified. The best part about the Water Villa was the direct access to the corals below (as opposed to swimming 10 minutes to get there from the shore).

















The sunsets here at Hadahaa were spectacular. Perhaps even qualifying for the “best ever” award.









A comment about the different rooms to those considering a stay here. There are three categories of rooms: Beach Villa, Pool Villa (a beach villa with a private plunge pool) and Water Villa. If you are watching your pennies, the beach rooms are perfectly fine. Although you won’t get the over water experience, when we visited, the resort was deserted enough that you essentially get your own private beach front with two lawn chairs. Aside from meal times, you might see one or two other couples the entire day. The main pool is always empty, and there is a general beach area in front of the pool that was deserted every single day we were there. Although it’s nice having your own plunge pool, I doubt that I would get the value out of it.

I’ve attached a resort map here in case you want to make specific room requests. Likely the worst room in my opinion would be Villa #1 facing the jetty as it’s the least private. The best rooms would be the west facing Villa’s for the sunset (#26-51 although you might not be able to see the sunset from inside your Park / Pool villa due to the vegetation growth). The Dawn Jetty was not used for passenger transport during our stay, it was used for food deliveries at odd hours, so there wasn't a lot of traffic too and from it.




Advantages:

A small 56 Villa island where the service was excellent.
The house reef was the highlight of the trip.

Disadvantages:

Food costs are expensive.
The transit time in was lengthy. You have to travel to reap the rewards. It was 5.5 hours door to door from the Sheraton Maldives to the Park Hyatt.
The cheaper wines seem to get sold out and the re-stocking supply is irregular given the distances from Male.

Conclusion:

After 50 countries of travel, this resort was the most ultimate resort experience that I’ve ever had. It’s the kind of place where there are only 7 tables being served at breakfast, and the chef comes over at dinner to check on whether you like your meal. The General Manager stopped by to introduce himself to us on several occasions. You simply don’t get this kind of attention at other resorts.

worldtraveller73

GKK-MLE (Kooddoo Airport - Nasir Ibrahim Domestic Airport )
Maldivian Air
Q2 303 – Economy Class (Q)
Oct 17, 2012
Booked: Dash 8 – 300
Flown: Dash 8- 300

Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. We headed back with 2 other couples back to GKK and our flight back to MLE. Again, the GKK airport was simple.



Check in desk - public side.



Our hand baggage was individually searched by hand by a charming representative of the Maldivian military. There was not a working X-Ray machine for the cabin baggage when we passed through.





Hyatt had a representative meet us in MLE to assist us in getting checked in to our return flight home. Unfortunately, with the Maldivian flight schedule, we had 4 hours wait prior to returning home. Hyatt offered us a tour guide to take us into Male, but we would have had to check our bags at our own cost at the Left Luggage at MLE. Since we had about 6 bags at this time, and they wanted $5 per bag, we opted against it. I think we were simply expensed out by that point. It was a pity Hyatt didn’t offer a service to keep the bags at their kiosk or similar. It felt almost a bit of a gouge after we had paid several thousands of dollars to the hotel for food, beverage and accommodation.

Instead, we opted for a $20 club sandwich at the Aqua airport restaurant. I’ve attached this photograph to show what was the smallest club sandwich ever.



Sunsets not soo good from the MLE Airport Aqua Restaurant in comparison with the others, but still, it's in the Maldives.



Given the costs of wine, we had gone lean on our alcohol consumption at the Park Hyatt. I had read that there was only one bar in Male on the airport island of Hulhumale. (Male is otherwise a dry city thanks to its Muslim population). Given that we still had several hours to kill, we ended up wandering in search of a drink.

Roller suitcases in tow, we walked about 10 minutes across cobble stoned streets through the air cargo ship yard to the Hulule Island Hotel. Turned out there was a short free shuttle, available from the airport (red and white bus). On arrival, the lobby was packed with various flight crews and stewards. After some pleading with the doorman to watch our bags (he was insistent we pay a $6 fee for self storage) and, a small Rufiyaa tip, we made it to the “Champs” lounge, reportedly the only public, off resort, bar / lounge in the Maldives.

Stepping into the lounge, we entered into a different world. It was like stepping into the drinking parlor where you were in your twenties. There were the tacky alcohol posters, a dart board, frosted mirrored logos above the bar, and stacks of expats’ and travelers killing time surfing the next and reading books on wifi and Kindles. We spent the balance of our time here over a San Miguel draft and a Two Oceans White wine while awaiting our return flight. It was a definite must if you are stuck at MLE awaiting for your homeward flight for several hours.

worldtraveller73

Ethiad Airways
Coral Economy Class
MLE-AUH (Nasir Ibrahim International Airport - Abu Dhabi International Airport)
EY 278 – Economy Class (Q)
8:40 PM – 11:55 PM
Oct 19, 2012
Booked: Airbus 320-100
Flown: Airbus 320-200

After a ninety minute stay at Champs, we were dropped off by the shuttle bus driver and headed over to the Ethiad counter. It seemed that everyone else had checked in already, because the place was deserted.

There was a pre-security lounge for Ethiad business, the only one that offered a premium check in service.



Passing through security and immigration, we entered the pre-departure holding lounge and a world of over priced tacky souvenirs. It would only make sense that if the visitors went straight to the resort, that they would also need to get their T-Shirts somewhere. I picked up a $5 magnet. There was also a large duty free area including alcohol available, which the Chinese were stocking up on.





After souvenir shopping, the flight was boarded promptly. The non gate position involved a walk from the gate straight out onto the tarmac to your awaiting aircraft. MsWorldTraveller73 had always been against non gate positions- and my attempts to convince her that they were cool and rare were generally useless. However tonight, she was quite interested at the opportunity to walk underneath most of the awaiting aircraft, as opposed to being in a bus.



Given that most passengers with no where to go, the boarding was complete over 30 minutes prior to departure with the flight departed 30 minutes early. As we boarded, there was a neat misting feature that was underway for about 20 minutes while everyone took their seats, similar to those nightclubs I visited in my twenties.



Meal service was straightforward. I had the lamb with creole sauce. It appeared that the local fish stew or the lam creole did not resonate with many of the travelers as the “penne pasta” was the first item to be sold out. I had the lamb creole – quite tasty.





We arrived 30 minutes early for our transfer process in Abu Dhabi.

worldtraveller73

Abu Dhabi International Airport
Etihad Terminal 3
Pearl Business Lounge.

Our Etihad Plusgrade upgrade came through ($55 per pax) for our connection from Abu Dhabi to Doha, Qatar, which afforded us lounge access at Abu Dhabi. I was really curious to see what the lounge was like, since Ethiad, like it’s sister Emirates, had built their competitive advantage on having many flights arrive in AUH, to allow for connections to another part of the world.

We found the discreet lounge entrance, which was right across from immigration and took the stairs up to the top floor. With a barcode swipe of the boarding pass, we were given access and we entered into the lounge.



We entered into a packed environment full of people wandering around aimlessly. I had read about the Six Senses spa. As part of the business class experience, Ethiad offers a complimentary 15 minute spa treatment to its business passengers. The spa entrance was immediately next to the reception. I stopped in immediately to arrange an appointment since our transfer was only 2 hours. It wasn’t a spa reception like the spas at home, more like a counter.



We were handed a quite worn Doutang menu of the services that they offered. Each service had a description next to it that was 2-3 lines long. It was a bit over the top to read it all, since it was only a 15 minute service and we weren’t picking. (real first world problems here!) We each picked our service, I took a scalp massage and MsWT73 took a back and shoulders massage. There was a 50 minute wait for our treatments (between the time that we booked) and we were given a time to return of 12:40 AM.

Heading into the lounge proper, the layout was initially quite confusing in that the lounge appeared to offer no square angles. Around every corner there were more chairs and seating areas. The size was not too large either, in that I’d guess that the United Clubs in LAX or SFO were larger than this. I was certainly expecting more in terms of size.

The other thing that I noticed immediately, was that the lounge was stuffed full. It was by far the fullest lounge experience that I had ever had. It was so full, that people were unable to find a seat, instead standing by the bar with their bags strewn about the floor. It actually made it really hard to sneak some photographs without irritating people.







Making up for this, was a full service bar serving Drappier Champagne. I can’t think of the last business lounge that I had been in that served actual champagne so this was a plus in my books. There was also a buffet of international foods. The foods were all halal and comprised a strange mix of things that were available. Spaghetti Carbonara is something that I’ve never had in a lounge, and I don’t think that it pairs well with Tabbouleh on the side. By this time, the Ethiad economy meal had long gone, and it was time to re-charge. We dove into Arabic Mezze including hummus, tabbouleh and pita bread over champas.









At around about 30 minutes prior to departure, our flight to Doha went mechnical, resulting in a delay of 1 hour while they figured out what to do. Ethiad ended up having to downgrade the aircraft to a single economy class configuration in an Airbus 319. The lounge staff approached us very apologetically, and disappeared with our boarding cards and passports as they re-arranged seating and our plusgrade situation. The end result was that we ended up being the last ones in the 24 hr lounge at 3 AM prior to our departure. I was able to snap some additional photos of the place totally empty.



Those seats seem more squished in here than in other lounges for some reason... Certainly tastefully decorated, however you happen to overlook that when all you can see are people.

worldtraveller73

Ethiad Airways
Coral Economy Class -> Pearl Business -> Coral Economy
AUH-DOH (Abu Dhabi International Airport – Doha International Airport)
EY 399 – Economy Class (Q)
1:55 AM – 1:55 AM
Actual 3:10 AM – 3:15 AM
Oct 20, 2012
Booked: Airbus 320-100
Flown: Airbus 319-100

We ended up waiting in the lounge until about 10 minutes prior to departure for them to return with our passports. They had offered to accommodate us in business on Qatar airways, but by this point, we just opted to take the economy seats for the 1hr flight. It was the equivalent of 5 AM on the Maldivian time zone and we’d already been through two flights and a boat transfer that morning and were looking forward to getting some rest at the hotel in Doha.

Eventually, at about T-10, our passports were returned. We and one other passenger were led from the lounge to an awaiting bus to be taken out to a non gate position and were the last to board the aircraft.

I slept pretty much the whole way but they did drop off a baguette sandwich for us for this flight.

Of note for those experienced IRROPS with Plusgrade, I ended up having to call the Toronto Etihad ticket office to get the refund of the Plusgrade fee. It was credited automatically on my Visa Card that was on file.

worldtraveller73

Marriot Doha Hotel
Doha, Qatar.
Family package, (rate included breakfast, wifi, upgrade, 8 PM checkout, 25% discount on Food and Beverage): 828 QAR ($232 USD) per night

We ended up at this hotel because it priced better than the Starwood ones and offered a great rate in a good package that was cheaper than many of the other discounted rates. Most of the chain hotels in Doha are not conveniently located, so it's a toss between staying in the Central Business District, at a resort out of town, or out by the airport. Either way, you'll be taking a taxi to the main tourist destinations

We arrived safely in Doha and hopped into a cab to the Marriott Hotel in Ras Abu Abboud neighborhood. This is an older hotel property, but they make up for their age by offering aggressive rates, free upgrades and a late 8 PM checkout with certain rates. Our rate offered an upgrade to the Executive Floor / Lounge which was used quite regularly during our stay.





We spent two days exploring Doha before our flight home. This was mostly because Ethiad only flew to the Maldives from Abu Dhabi 4 times a week, and not on the dates that we needed to make a quick and easy connection home.

In short, I’d highly recommend Doha for a 2 day stopover in your travels in the middle east.

Doha, Qatar

Around town, the city is anchored by the Islamic Museum of Art. The museum was architecturally designed by I.M. PEI, the designer of the glass pyramids of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. As a free museum, it was a nice air conditioned break from the mid day heat.





During our discovery, we explored the wonderful Souq Wahif. I know that some think that a souq is a souq is a souq, but I found this was a much nicer experience than some of the other ones that I had experienced in Dubai and Cairo. What made this place different was the cross section of locals and tourists frequenting the same market.



Local pancake being made fresh on the grill.





There were also many porters manning wheel barrows that were used by the local woman on a pay per use payment system.



Many of the handicraft stores also made their goods on site. Walking down the souq walkways, you could see handicrafts being built on site and jewelery being formed.





Within the souq, we discovered several falconry stores where you could purchase your own falcons. As some may be aware, falconry is a sport occasionally practiced by the wealthy on the Arabian Peninsula where falcons can retrieve objects and hunt for prey. The asking price on offer for these were approximately 9,000 QAR ($3,000 USD). Training took approximately 2 weeks according to the shop keeper for those that were interested in making a purchase. PETA activists will note that these are the untrained falcons - they were all harnessed up to the railings so there was no flying around the store.





There were several sheesa cafes and other locations to get food, making this a great destination to shop, eat, people watch, or just hang out.





We also stopped at an art center within the souq. A reoccurring theme that we discovered on our travels through the middle east, was that Arab women expressed their individuality in modern ways, despite being mostly covered with the wearing of abbeya’s. Matching shoes, hand bags and jazzed up abbeya’s. I snuck a photograph of this one (and my apologies to her if she’s reading) wearing 3 inch stiletto heels while painting a beautiful photo.

worldtraveller73

United Airlines
Economy Class
DOH-DXB-IAD (Doha International - Dubai Internationl Airport Terminal 3 – Washington Dulles)
UA 977 – Economy Class (W)
8:20 PM – 6:27 AM + 1
Oct 21, 2012
Booked: Boeing 777-200
Flown: Boeing 777-200

Our time in the Middle East drew to an end. Heading to the airport, the check in was a mess. There were long lines and only 4 check in agents working hard to fill an entire Boeing 777. Sharp eyed readers will note that this was the Etihad check in desks for our outbound AUH flight.

That’s the err short “Premier Access” line on the left.



The two firsts...



I asked our check in agent for a lounge invitation voucher and she turned us down. “I’m sorry there is no Star Gold Lounge here… but there is one in Dubai.” We were traveling as Aeroplan Star Golds in UA Economy. It wasn’t a disaster since we had experienced the Oryx lounge earlier compliments of Ethiad.

Secondary screening for the USA bound flights in their own separate areas, where our bags were torn apart with a polite thank you.



We boarded and took the ride out to the plane on another bus, the last non gate position of our trip. Once on board, we experienced a 40 minute delay in Qatar due to some radio issues the pilot was having. However, the flight that was scheduled to leave Dubai was scheduled to be late since the crew or pilots scheduled to work DXB-IAD went over shift and needed an additional amount of minimum rest hours. Our new departure time was pushed back to 2:01 A.M. We got Arabic Lay’s potato chips and a Kit Kat just like the last run out between DXB-DOH.

worldtraveller73

Marhaba Pay per Use Lounge
Dubai International Airport. Terminal 3

On arrival in DXB Terminal One, we tried to make the most of our stopover, we headed through security and right to the other end of the terminal to the Lufthansa Senator / Star Gold Lounge. Facing disappointment, we were again denied entry by the dragon: “It’s full”. I’m guessing that this was likely due to the delay of the United flight, in addition to several LH flights leaving at the same time. We were directed across the hall to the Marhaba Pay per use lounge to oversized castle doors that finally opened to us.



After a few phone calls to confirm we were in the right spot by the veiled Marhaba dragons, we were admitted to a lounge that was a strange cross between an Indian and Italian décor. It was pretty compact with stacks of people sleeping in all sorts of positions.







There were small amounts of food on offer (curry and sandwiches) and a small wine / alcohol serving station. You’d probably guess I was an alcoholic with all the mention of the liquor throughout this report, but aside from the airline lounges, the resorts, and the Champs Bar in Male, we didn’t see a drop of liquor available for purchase on the whole trip. This situation was evident everywhere as you saw the Westerners getting one last drink as they got on their flights around the world, even here in the airport.



We headed back to our gate and suffered through the additional US security screening that included a full hand search of all baggage. The women got through this quickly since as in Middle East custom, there was strict separation of sexes and as you can see, there aren't many solo women taking this route.



Unfortunately, now was the time that I needed to point out that there had been an equipment change from the aircraft we had come out to the Middle East on two weeks ago. Tonight, as with our earlier flight, we were on a Boeing 777 with a 2-5-2 layout and no AVOD. Instead it had the awful looping video the older UA aircraft was known for. Instead of sitting directly next to my wife, we were across the aisle. I had next to me a very bitter Afganistan military contractor who was on his way back to the states. Most of the flight appeared to be military and several obvious USMC corps people returning home. There were very few women on board.



As with the flight out, there were two services of food. Nothing really to write home about. Chicken with rice and breakfast with turkey sausage. I thought it was a strange choice of United to cater sausages as a side food considering how it’s traditionally a pork item and Muslim’s don’t eat pork. There were a few concerned questions by some of the Muslim passengers on the flight to the flight attendants about this. The flight attendant’s answers of “It’s turkey sausage” were met with some suspicion.





Arrival at Washington Dulles was pretty uneventful. We used Global Entry being Canadian Nexus Members. I’m still astounded at how few people seem to be signed up for this program. Of a full Boeing 777 aircraft, we were the only two passengers that were using the GE lines.

worldtraveller73

United Airlines
Economy Class
IAD-LAX (Washington Dulles – Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 7)
UA 976 – Economy Class (W)
9:38 AM – 12:00 PM
Oct 22, 2012
Booked: Boeing 757-200
Flown: Boeing 757-200

After the longest concourse walk from one end of Dulles Terminal C to Terminal D with some noticeably absent moving sidewalks, we boarded onto a full plane.

Aside from an entertaining incident with some older senior citizens not finding any overhead bin space for their bags (because they were in boarding group six) this was another pretty uneventful flight. We pretty much slept this whole flight back to the West Coast.

By this time, my tail was getting seriously sore from being seated amid all the economy travel. It had been probably about 21 out of the last 36 hours that I had been crammed into an economy seat- after taking into account all the ground delays in DOH and all the ramp time.

United Airlines
Economy Class
LAX-YVR (Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 7 – Vancouver International Airport)
UA 976 – Economy Class (L)
2:31 PM – 5:14 PM
Oct 22, 2012
Booked: Canadair CRJ - 700
Flown: Canadair CRJ - 700

On arrival at LAX Terminal 7, we wandered over to the familiar United Club. It wasn’t super busy during our visit. We stocked up on some of the usual Copper Ridge wine and I grabbed some Angeleno magazines to read for the plane ride home.



Heading over to Terminal 8, we headed for the usual gate 80 where the Vancouver flights usually depart from. We mananged to volunteer for a seat substitution when they needed to move a family from the emergency exit row.



The flight went pretty quickly, and before we knew it, we were arriving back at our home airport, some 25,869 miles after we started.

Overall, the trip was a wonderful experience in exploring a region of the world which I hadn’t made it to yet. The experiences at the Park Hyatt Maldives and the Qsar al Sarab desert resort were fabulous stay experiences that we won’t forget for a very long time.

Concluding this report, the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates were complete jewels of areas that really resembled buried treasure. The discovery of resorts in the middle of nowhere, gradually sinking atolls on prisine islands, and the wonders of the underwater world in the Maldives, found our fair share of truly awesome experiences. Although it wasn’t the full Sex in the City movie Experience, it was pretty close. I can’t wait until it’s out next time to visit the Maldives. It’s a fantastic place and well worth the time it takes to get there.

YEGflyer

Fantastic trip report - thank you very much for posting!

Orwaid

You have certainly set the standard by which all other trip reports will be measured against.

Fantastic job.

Yoshi212

Pretty awesome trip and a lot of detail. Well done.

Are you sure you went from a 752 to an ERJ-190 for the flight IAD-LAX?