Non Breaking Space

That evening was our appointment with the water sports guy for the tube ride. When they explained the whole funda I was little apprehensive on doing this, but Teju was in not in a mood to listen to me. I’m basically not a person who would enjoy speed thrills and adventures and moreover we were told that the ride can get quite rough and get thrown out of the tube. I was OK with getting thrown into the water as I could swim and moreover life jackets were also provided so that even Teju will be safe. But my concern was about my shoulder which I had already neglected; I was wondering if the impact of the throw would aggravate it. Anyways our tube was tugged on to a speed boat and was pulled towards the deep sea. Once the boat reached the deep sea speed started increasing and it took two rounds around the island. It was literally a thrill ride with all those sudden maneuvers and change in speeds. Luckily we didn’t get thrown out and could come back safe. I was still upset of not doing para sailing

We had to quickly freshen up as our honeymoon special dinner that night was at the a la carte restaurant Rabondhi. We were ready at around 8.15pm and started walking to the restaurant. A walk through the narrow walkways amidst the lush trees inside the resort was something great in the day time, but we under stood that it was also easy to get lost there in the dark. The place was dimly lit and after a point all places looked the same. We couldn’t find our way and that’s when we saw a chef coming that way and we asked him the way to the place. Instead of him just telling us the route he chose to accompany us and drop us at the restaurant door. That’s what I liked in them the most; the hospitality. I don’t think in India I could have expected that kind of a help from anybody; well even I wouldn’t have done that.

A special table was reserved for us when we reached there right on the beach. The restaurant was almost empty as most of the crowd was in Maakana. There was a group of firangs sitting somewhere away but barring that it looked like the whole place was open only for us. The special dinner funda was that, we had to choose one of the two fixed menus. Keeping aside the romantic factor of that candle light dinner, I was quite sure that the food was not going to be anything great for my taste buds. Like I had expected I didn’t understand the menu so I left the decision to Teju. Even she was not sure what to choose so we chose one which had at least some words which we could understand. The guy who served us was a jolly funny guy who kinda understood our problem and was more than happy to help us out. This Maldivian guy was a big fan of India, and his ultimate aim was to come to India, marry an Indian and act in a bollywood movie. Anyways given the ambience and the once in a blue moon opportunity, I could eat the food even though I couldn’t finish it.

We got back in the room pretty late and when we entered the most horrid thing had already happened. The bill had arrived for me to do the full and final settlement and the instructions on when to check out etc. I went to the reception and paid the bill using my credit card, luckily it was the billing date, and booked a wake up call for the next day.

Next day morning it was time to say good bye to the amazing royal island. We once again did a paisa vasool breakfast and checked out of the place. But this time I was not at all excited about the sight of the dhoni coming to pick us up and getting on to the sea plane etc. I was sad. I was going back to the land of crowded roads and IT companies which forced people to work for 5 long days. I was told that we will have to pay airport tax while coming back but nothing like that happened but the only downside was that the security personnel confiscated my 250 ml nivea moisturizer saying it was a potential threat to air security. Wonder why the Indian guys didn’t figure that out. I hated the sight of Indian Airlines once again on the tarmac but didn’t have much of a choice than getting on. Soon we took off from Male but I promised that some day I would come back to catch up with things i had dreamt of but missed out doing.

Well, I’m done. Phew. I know it got a little overdrawn and boring in between but it was nothing but a reflection of my state of mind. Many of my friends did advise me to stop the series but everything that has a beginning should have an end right?

After a sumptuous lunch I decided to take a nap and Teju decided to catch up with a book on the beach couch. Later in the evening we took a stroll along the beach. The idea was to cover the circumference of the island and come back to where we started from.

Our villa was on the north side of the island which had less beach area and some parts didn’t have a beach at all as there were trees outgrown into the water. We had to walk through the water in those areas, took photos and kept on walking till we reached a bigger beach which was at the west end of the island. The beach was called the sun set beach and as we reached it was the sun set time. The view was beautiful and I managed to shoot some nice pictures of Teju who was all awe. The luxurious presidential suite of Royal Island overlooked the place. Sun set beach was an absolute killer place to be in the nights as I later on learnt that there will be barbecue and rave parties happening there almost all nights.

We resumed the walk and through the south side of the island, where the beach was bigger in front of the villas. The water was extremely shallow and people were seen playing water handball. Teju posed for me on the beaches, checked out the tables of the a la carte restaurant, where we would have our special honeymoon dinner and kept walking. When we came back to the point where we started from it was almost getting dark; we had taken more than an hour to cover the island. Snorkeling was still in my mind and I thought that even Teju should have a try. We went and picked up another pair of snorkeling gear from the sports center. That’s when she saw the tube rides and wanted to go on one of them. I was keener on para sailing but Teju insisted on the tube ride and so we booked for a ride for the next day evening.

Next morning right after the heavy breakfast I went straight away into the sea and started my snorkeling session. This time I could get it right and could more easily breathe through my mouth using the tube. I tried doing short distances and found that I was improving. I called Teju into the water and put on the gear and gave her the tips and tricks of how to breathe and go for it. As she couldn’t swim the idea was to put her face under water and walk as there was enough for her to see in the shallow waters itself. It was tough for her as she was initially trying to hold her breath instead of breathing but she ultimately managed to breathe and walk with her head under water. She got so excited that she came out of the water and cried

I saw the Finding Nemo fish

Soon afrer Teju got tired of her walking snorkeling I decided to test my skills again. I gained some courage and I swam towards the deep blue sea. I didn’t use the swim fin as it was not allowing me to stand and walk in the water properly and stuck to my good old water proof sandal. Its important to have foot wear while moving through the coral reef coz if for some reason I had to stand on the corals the sharp surface could hurt my feet. As the water became deeper corals were becoming more and bigger in size, breathtaking a view but a little scary looking to land on. So I had no choice other than keep on swimming. There were lots of colorful fishes among the corals big and small; I even saw an octopus like creature among them. I was told that even baby sharks, which are harmless, were there among the corals. I kept on swimming and at last I reached the deep sea which was really deep than I imagined it to be. I could only see water everywhere and fishes in groups this time. I swam a little further just for the kicks but it was getting scarier and when I looked at the land, it seemed a little far away. There was nothing much to be worried as there was absolutely no waves and no big fish came near the coral reef. I turned back and swam towards the shore but I was not getting content by the view under water. It was a shame that I didnt have an under water camera equipment with me so that I could show the world what I saw. I continued swimming among the reef for some more time. The sun was becoming harsh and towards noon my back was getting a lot of burns so I thought of retiring for the moment. My arms had started paining too.

To be continued…

I woke up in the morning and drew the curtain just to be intimidated by the strong sun which made me wonder what time it was. It was just 7.30 AM and it was already sunny enough for the firangs to be on the beach. Our breakfast time was till 10 AM so I hurried to freshen up and woke up Teju.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I was looking forward to the buffet; I was hungry too. We reached Maakana by around 9.30 AM and as I had expected splendid was the spread complete with a wide selection of breads, croissants, pastries, omelets of choice, sausages, bacon, pan cake, mashed potato, fresh cut fruits, cereals along with fruit juice and tea/coffee. I made up for my previous night’s loss by hogging on everything possible. Teju might have wondered why I was behaving like some one who hadn’t eaten for ages but may be that’s when she noticed that the water bottle we bought the previous night was still there on the table; it wasn’t cleared. We noticed that there was a water bottle on almost all the other tables which they might have bought and was kept there till it got over.

After the breakfast it was time for us to test the sea water. Teju and I put on our swim wear and got out of the villa through the door which opened to the beach. The water was crystal clear that we could see fishes darting across near the shore around us. Teju doesn’t swim and I was advised not to swim by the doctor after my shoulder injury so didn’t want to take a risk. So we were just walking here and there, admiring the beauty and later on retired to our beach couch and did some sun bathing. That’s when I noticed some firangs snorkeling along the coral reef.

Snorkeling is the practice of swimming at the surface of the sea while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. Combining these tools allows the snorkeler to observe underwater attractions for extended periods of time with relatively little effort.

I had read about it as one of the attraction of Maldives and wanted to try it out. I was told that I could borrow the snorkeling gear from the water sport section of the hotel for free. I asked them if I should have any special training to do this and they told me that all I should know was to swim. The guys also gave me a map showing which are all the places I should check out for corals and fishes; he asked me to swim all through the coral reef to the deep blue sea and swim along the edge of the reef to see colorful fishes.

As I had no plan to swim I thought of putting on the mask and just walk in the shallow water looking inside the water. I managed to put on the snorkel by the help of the firang next door. Oh btw this guy was a Russian and he didn’t speak English. So when I asked him how to use the gear he explained to me in actions and demonstrations. I was so happy that I could meet a firang who couldn’t speak English

I went into the water and put my head down and whoa what a sight it was; I saw a fish just infront of me staring at me. There was lot many fishes around me more than I had imagined and the corals which looked like rocks from outside had a charm of their own… like the way we haven seen in TV. The magnifying property of water was adding to the whole effect; everything seemed so big and near you. If that was the case in the shallow water what would it be if I moved more towards the deep sea?

I decided to swim whatever it may happen. Swim through the coral reef to the deep blue sea. I didn’t want to lose the once in a life time opportunity. But there was a hitch. I was not feeling too comfortable breathing through the snorkel tube in my mouth for longer periods. I had to stop every one minute and fiddle with the tube and also clear the water and the mist formed inside my goggles. After an hour’s try I couldn’t manage to do much and most of the time ended up drinking salt water and coughing as the snorkel tube kept on going inside the water.

To be continued…

As soon as we entered the reception, we were given tender coconut water and were asked to relax as they did the check in procedure. I paid the reservation amount as per the invoice using traveler’s cheque. Hasan the guy from the reservation whom I was in touch with by email came and met me and he took us to show our villa. On the way he explained the amenities of the resort, showed us the walk ways, the restaurants and told us the meal timings. He also told that we will get a complimentary honeymoon dinner on any of the day we stayed there at the a la carte restaurant on the beach. However he suggested that we don’t do it that night as he doubted that it might rain.

Royal Island is a resort built amidst a tropical forest on a tiny island. An island surrounded by a crystal clear blue lagoon encompassing spectacular tropical marine life. Maldives is situated in the South West of Sri Lanka, on the equator. Being on the Equator, the country enjoys more or less constant day lengths (6am - 6 pm) throughout the year. The climate is tropical – hot and humid. Maldives is in the tropics which means it can - and does - rain at any time. Those lush, tropical islands aren’t green because they’re being watered, it’s because it rains often. Traditionally the driest time is between October to April with the monsoon season being between May and September. The absolute best time to visit Maldives is January through March. Even during the driest time, it will still rain. Maldives holds the record for being the flattest country in the world, with a maximum natural ground level of only 2.3 m. Over the last century, sea levels have risen about 20 cms. The ocean is likely to continue rising and this threatens the existence of Maldives. So if you are planning to visit the place, do it asap.

Hasan showed us our villa which had a spacious bedroom and a big bathroom with a dry and wet shower area. The villa had two main doors; one opened to the resort walk way and the other to the beach. A bottle of champagne was kept in the room as a honeymoon gift from the hotel. They also gave a 2 litre bottle of water complimentary; drinking water in an island like is extremely dear. I asked Hasan if I could get some Rufiyaa in order to tip the room/bell boys. He told me that even though tipping is entirely according to the guest’s wish the hotel doesn’t encourage it and so I don’t have to really worry about it. He said any other expenses incurrent during the stay can be paid using credit card when I check out. He left after promising that he will be at help if we need anything else during the stay. Teju and I got out of the villa from the other side and went to the beach and marveled the beautiful view. As it was getting dark we decided to retire to our room to freshen up as the dinner time was from 7 PM to 9 PM.

We went to the resort’s main restaurant Maakanaa for dinner where the buffet was being served at around 8 PM. A table was reserved just for us in the restaurant for all the four days we stayed there. This was one good thing coz we always knew that we will get a table anytime we went but the bad thing was that we never got a chance to sit at another table especially the ones overlooking the beach and also the ones near the small fish tank built in the middle of the restaurant. Royal island’s guests were 99% firangs (Yes hot babes) and Maakanaa was the place we could meet all of them. The dinner was a lavish spread but the food was more inclined to the firangi taste. I found it a bit tough initially but I eventually found a small oriental counter which served Indian, Maldivian and Chinese which were more for people like me. So basically there was less choice for country men like me, but if you like continental food you are lucky. We had to order the beverages separately as it didn’t include in our booking. We also ordered for a bottle of water but later we figured out that we had made a mistake. The juice we ordered was good enough to hydrate us and so we had to leave the water bottle almost full cursing ourselves for the mistake. But actually we hadn’t made any mistake; which we found out the next morning.

PS: Did you know that Maldives is the first country in the world to open a virtual embassy in Second Life, the online virtual world?

To be continued…

It was around 1.30 PM local time when we landed in Male International Airport. Maldives is half an hour behind Indian time btw. The amazing Maldivian experience starts at the very outset of the group of islands in sight. When the plane starts descending we felt like its going to land in the water. Male airport is a small island where the runway is just a couple of feet away from the sea. As I was not at all expecting all this jazz I hadn’t kept my camera handy. But I immediately got the hint and as soon as the plane landed I took my camera out of my bag and kept on clicking pictures.

I was under the impression that Maldives was a poor country and there was nothing big I can expect other than the beautiful resort I was going to. But I was wrong. Male airport is small but well maintained, officers are young and dashing, hassle free passport control and baggage handling; any day better than our country. Kuttetan had asked me to buy some Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) from the airport as it could be used to tip the boys in the hotel. But unfortunately the exchange at the airport didn’t accept Indian Rupees (INR). I was furious; Maldives won’t buy a more powerful Rupee? Well later I figured out that MVR was more powerful than INR. USD 1 is approx. 12.8 MVR.

As soon as we got out of the terminal we were shown the hotel counters to go and report. We went to the royal island counter and met the rep who was expecting us. He took our return tickets from us as the tickets had to be re confirmed and endorsed by the airline. He gave me a receipt for the tickets he took from me and also told me that if they lose the tickets by any chance we could claim refund. After that he took us to the Trans Maldivian check in counter and got ourselves and our baggage checked in for our sea plane flight to Royal Island. Sea plane is nothing but a plane which lands in water.

Just outside the airport is the boat jetty which takes the passengers to their respective islands. Maldives is made up of a chain of 1190 small coral islands that are grouped into 26 atolls (80 islands resorts and 200 inhabited islands). The airport island is a part of Male atoll. Royal Island island is in Baa Atoll.

We then got into a coach which took us to the sea plane terminal which was a 15 minutes drive. We were taken to the resort’s lounge which was cool and given refreshing cold towels and fruit cocktail whilst waiting for our sea plane. We were joined by more guests to the resort and then we got into the sea plane by 2.45 PM. A sea plane is a 12 seater tiny aircraft which is noisy, has no air conditioning and so is the cabin hot. The crew explained the route and the safety features of the aircraft showing the card which was in the seat pocket and in the end suggested that we could use the card to fan ourselves. A desi guy who were with us said

What an idea sir ji

After a 35 minute flight where we got to see great bird’s eye views of the ocean and other islands, we landed in the sea and got out to a floating platform in the water. In five minutes we got on a boat which took us to the island and the first sight of the paradise was breathtaking enough to forget all our worries and tiredness. I hadn’t seen such a picture perfect and romantic place before.

To be continued…

I had kept an early wake up alarm on January 24th as our flight to Maldives was at 10.30 AM and we had to report at Bangalore airport by 8 AM. But just as we were about to get out of our place at 7.30 I got an SMS from Air India saying that the flight was an hour delayed.

I always wanted to go to Maldives for my honeymoon as the place had everything which went well with my idea of a relaxed, lazy but romantic holiday; be it the crystal clear water, light blue shallow sea, coral reefs, beaches with powdery white sand, on a tropical forest island resort all at economical rates. Right after my engagement I had started looking at my options of honeymoon and Maldives was on top of my list but to my dismay I found out that it was not as economical as I had thought it would be. I understood that Maldives was a proper tourist destination where the rates are like any other place of tourist interest. Also the more exotic and reclusive the resort was the more you had to shell out.

I didn’t want to settle for a budget hotel just to save money. I thought budget resorts would be mostly crowded by families who do long vacations and I wanted some quality time for us to spend together in a calm and quiet yet a moderately luxurious ambiance. I used HotelsMaldives.com to go through the entire list of resorts and the rates. TripAdvisor was another site i looked at where users post reviews about the hotels they stayed. Tripadvisor is very helpful in figuring out how well the hotels stick to their promises and how worth are they for the money you pay for. It also gives us tips on what to do and what not to, and pointers to be careful about. I went through all those write ups and pictures of almost all middle level hotels and short listed 5. I sent out mails to all of them and three of them replied with rates.

I chose Royal Island Resort and Spa as it had reasonable rates, exclusivity coz of the limited number of accommodations and the sheer beauty of the island. With one look at the pictures I fell in love with the place. One more reason for me to choose Royal Island was coz I could make all the payments on arrival by credit/debit card or by traveler’s cheque. All the other hotels which sent me quotes asked to make the payment 30 days prior to arrival. The guys went out of the way to make me feel comfortable by sending me the layout of the room and also a detail brochure of the resort. I was impressed. I booked a beach villa for 3 nights and 4 days and they confirmed the booking and promised me that a warm welcome was waiting for us.

Air India is the only carrier which operates direct flights to Maldives from India; daily flights to Male from Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram.

At 11.30 AM we were still at the airport lounge sadly munching snacks that Air India provided us as the incoming aircraft from Singapore was getting delayed. There were lots of young couples travelling with us and I noticed that they were also newly married; by the mehndi on the girls’ hands. Thankfully by 12 PM we were called to board and we were soon air borne.

PS: Shreyas says the title of this post reminds him of a third rate pondy flick

To be continued…

And finally I got married on Jan 14th, exactly one month before the Valentine’s Day.

I had kind of started getting the pre marital jitters as the date was approaching and even the ever cool Teju admitted that she was nervous, which made me more nervous. The moment I reached home I figured out that Achan had made arrangement for everything well before we got there, be it guest management, catering, transport, hotel bookings et al; that made me settle down a bit.

On the wedding day I was all numb. Achan had lost it, Amma tensed but still contained but Kuttetan was all calm and relaxed. Everything happened mechanically… me getting out of the car, Arjun and Rahul washing my feet; I walked up to the mandap and I saw known faces and tried to wave to all of them. I have no idea what I felt when I was sitting on the mandap waiting for the bride. At last she arrived and I tied the knot, exchanged garlands, put sindoor on her forehead and we took the pheras…. I don’t remember what was going on my mind then, I just did things which others asked me to do. Everything got finished in just ten minutes and after that I started feeling better. The photo session followed and even though I was enjoying the limelight at the end of it we got tired.

The drive back home was more relaxed. I could talk to Teju, a relaxed Achan and Kuttetan who continued keeping cool, through out the drive. It was an hour’s drive to home and when we reached, Amma and group were ready to welcome us; Teju did the Grihapravesham and by the grace of God everything went off well.

There was a reception in Bombay the next Saturday and after that we both came down to Bangalore on Monday. We tried to be at home to the core, watched TV, talked a lot, cooked, went shopping and also for a movie. Then we left for an amazing honeymoon to Maldives for 4 days. It was a fantastic experience as we were put up in a villa overlooking the beach at the amazing Royal island resort. More about the trip later…

However I had thought that the wait was over but it seems like its not. Even though my wedding was just a month before the Valentine’s day, even this time i will be all alone at my place thinking of world usability day like last year. Teju has left for Bombay as she has to work for 20 more days to complete her notice period before she quits her job and gets settled here. I’m back to my bachelor days but this time I’m missing someone. And so I’m waiting… waiting for her to get back soon for our second innings.

Update: Vivek Machan has another perspective of my current situation. Check it out.

Ajith says…

Statistically every average looking girl in b’lore has atleast two boyfriends and 4 other guys who claim to be her boyfriends ..I don’t want to add more chaos

Remember the fox and the grapes story?

Even I didn’t want to add more chaos and so I’m getting married and the lucky (?) girl Tejasi is a Keralite settled in Bombay. Yeah the car has come and next is obviously the girl.

Oh yes Kasi had also predicted that I’ll get married at the age of 28 and its actually happening on Jan 14th which is just days before my 29th birthday.

So that was what keeping me busy for the last one month; the wedding preps and the shopping (Don’t even think of getting married if you dont have a decent bank balance). I’m going off work and the world wide web for the next couple of weeks to hopefully enjoy a slice of the so called marital bliss.

I need all your prayers and good wishes. Also wishing you all a very happy new year. Will get back with more stories soon…

Long back Kasi had predicted that I will go on to become a very rich man one day to the extent of owning a ship. I laughed at it then; even Kasi did. But he later explained to me that whatever he had said was by his ancient books, but in today’s world the “ship” could be a “big car”.

Whatever it is I have bought my very first car today, a long cherished dream come true. But it’s not a big car yet; to start with I have gone for a pearl white mid sized Maruti Suzuki Swift.

When I came to Bangalore more than a year ago I was thinking of buying a car but then an after thought suggested me to go for a bike as me alone here, a car would be of no use. I went for a bike then but I had decided that I will buy a car before getting married as I didn’t want my wife to take the pain of pillion riding with me through all that pollution. Also people who have pillion ridden with me know that how fantastic were my bike seats for their bums. And now the time has come.

Driving in Bangalore is a pain and I don’t think the car will ever get to run on its 5th gear unless I go for drives on highways. But I’m super thrilled at the moment and that’s enough for me right now.

PS: Btw did you know that the Swift was evolved from Suzuki’s ever successful motorbike Hayabusa?

As a rule almost all mallu non veg restaurants have English names…

Whenever Kuttetan came down to spend time with me, we used to go to the most expensive restaurants and bars and spend a night in the lap of luxury. But this time when he came, even though he was game to adhere to our original plans of going to Leela for dinner, I chose to take him to Clay Pot. Clay Pot is this amazing mallu restaurant in Maruti Nagar which is famous for its delicious fluffy porottas, Chemmeen roast and karimeen pollichchathu. But the best part of Clay Pot is that how much ever Nicky and I hog, the bill amount never touches 200. Kuttetan loved the place right from the jeeraka vellam which made him go to his childhood memories to the tasty coconut oil smelling prawn roast. He also ordered for a couple of appams and kerala chicken curry and as usual the bill came to only a mere 180 bucks.

Most sidey bars have sacred names

Kuttetan was happy and suggested we go to a 5 star hotel to have a couple of drinks. I once again suggested an alternative. Why don’t we buy the stuff and go home and have it. I also promised him to setup a unique ambience at my place by doing some mood lighting, TV on mute, white rum, wine, crystal glasses, snacks and a comfy couch to crash on. We went to Gangotri, a sidey open air garden bar in BTM, to buy the booze but that’s when I remembered Tony.

The last time I went to Gangotri was when Tony was in full form and cried Saamp Hua. He then came out to the parking lot and asked a mallu glass mate to puke and go home. Even though the other guy was telling him that he was ok, Tony insisted that he puked before he went home. That night Tony’s antics welcomed more troubles as two other glass mates claiming to be the other guy’s friends wanted to pick a fight with us. Even now I’m not sure how we got out of that mess that night.

After the garden night, we decided that we will never go back to that place and that’s when we made Aaranya our standard hang out place.

The name of an unknown Pakistani Singer is well known

Last time when we were in Aaranya, Tony wanted to sing old Hindi songs. He teamed up with Sush and went on belting out old Hindi melodies. They were eminently backed up by the vocals of Shreyas, Jai and me. After some time as music became so much an integral part of the night, Rahul jumped into the foray and started singing some song which he claimed was sung by an un known Pakistani singer. Suddenly Tony asked him

Is it Pervez Musharraf?

One name which is equal to a thousand names

Tony is the only person in our office who is known in numerous other names and surprisingly it’s always his surname which keeps changing and Tony is not at all happy about it. He keeps on yelling

Why are you changing my father’s name?

Some names which we gave Tony lately were

Tony Varghese, Tony Kuriakose, Tony Kurishingal, Tony Singh, Tony Ericsson (which also changes to a sexually overtured word at times), Tony Fullfigure (which we suggested if Tony had to start designing clothes) and the ultimate Tony Gaddaar.