Day 1 - Landing at Hulhule!
Short and sweet TR... will let the pictures do most of the talking as it really is a beautiful place.
I had a one-day trip (+ 2 hours) to MLE in September (EDIT: previously this post mentioned this past weekend - shows you how long ago the beginning of the TR was written), leaving SIN on a Saturday night at 20:35PM on SQ452 (arriving at 10PM local Maldivian time which is 1AM Singapore!), and arriving back on Monday morning on SQ451. SQ451 is scheduled to depart MLE at 11:15PM (that's 2:15AM SIN time, for those wanting to do OLCIs asap) and returns to SIN by 07:00AM.
Bear in mind there is only one daily SQ flight to/from the Maldives, and it is VERY late at night by the time you land/check-in to your accomodation (especially if you're not staying at the Hulhule Transit Hotel).
The first section of this TR is mostly airport-related since there has been much speculation about what MLE is really like.
The SIN-MLE-SIN route is served by a B772 (non-ER). For tonight, we had:
SQ452 - Departures from Changi are from T2 to MLE
Above is 9V-SRI? Poor lighting + glare from the departure section = fuzzy photo, but I think that's what was written on there.
Here is a zoomed photo - But it is still fuzzy..
The flight itself was uneventful, and the meal served was probably lacking in inspiration but tasted okay.
Full Menu - Braised fillet of fish with garlic and ginger soya sauce, seasonal vegetables and steamed rice
Landing at Hulhule (aka Airport Island) - The gateway to the Maldives (Step 1)
After you land, you will immediately feel the soft, salty Maldivian night breeze. The moisture really makes an impression as you leave the drier pressurised confines of the cabin and start making your way across the tarmac (fear not ye faint of heart, the walk is at most, two minutes).
MLE - The main international terminal awaits (domestic terminal's next door in another hall).
Welcome to the Maldives - You know you're in the Maldives when you see this cheery wall (Step 2)
Turning to the right, immigration awaits (no photos allowed here). After immigration, the flow of the terminal loops back and all your luggage is scanned by X-ray machines. Since I had no baggage to claim (baggage carousel is directly to the far end on the right side of the hall behind immigration), I quickly walked out...
Through this middle door - Arrivals (Step 3)
Turn to the left - Now facing a souvenir shop (Step 4)
Turn to the right, walk through the Mariyaad Cafe - It's normally quite crowded. (Step 5)
For a quick finish to your Maldivian adventure, turn left - If you're doing a turnaround, you would turn left immediately after the Mariyaad Cafe.* (Step 6)
Now why would anyone want to do that?
Anyway, after finding the Embudu Village counter (where I would spend the one night I was here), I was ushered to the jetty area which is straight after the Mariyaad Cafe.
*For the sake of continuity, the rest of the MLE turnaround (post departure check-in) comes at the end of this report. Look out for Steps 1 to 10 for the complete guide.
Short and sweet TR... will let the pictures do most of the talking as it really is a beautiful place.
I had a one-day trip (+ 2 hours) to MLE in September (EDIT: previously this post mentioned this past weekend - shows you how long ago the beginning of the TR was written), leaving SIN on a Saturday night at 20:35PM on SQ452 (arriving at 10PM local Maldivian time which is 1AM Singapore!), and arriving back on Monday morning on SQ451. SQ451 is scheduled to depart MLE at 11:15PM (that's 2:15AM SIN time, for those wanting to do OLCIs asap) and returns to SIN by 07:00AM.
Bear in mind there is only one daily SQ flight to/from the Maldives, and it is VERY late at night by the time you land/check-in to your accomodation (especially if you're not staying at the Hulhule Transit Hotel).
The first section of this TR is mostly airport-related since there has been much speculation about what MLE is really like.
The SIN-MLE-SIN route is served by a B772 (non-ER). For tonight, we had:
SQ452 - Departures from Changi are from T2 to MLE
Above is 9V-SRI? Poor lighting + glare from the departure section = fuzzy photo, but I think that's what was written on there.
Here is a zoomed photo - But it is still fuzzy..
The flight itself was uneventful, and the meal served was probably lacking in inspiration but tasted okay.
Full Menu - Braised fillet of fish with garlic and ginger soya sauce, seasonal vegetables and steamed rice
Landing at Hulhule (aka Airport Island) - The gateway to the Maldives (Step 1)
After you land, you will immediately feel the soft, salty Maldivian night breeze. The moisture really makes an impression as you leave the drier pressurised confines of the cabin and start making your way across the tarmac (fear not ye faint of heart, the walk is at most, two minutes).
MLE - The main international terminal awaits (domestic terminal's next door in another hall).
Welcome to the Maldives - You know you're in the Maldives when you see this cheery wall (Step 2)
Turning to the right, immigration awaits (no photos allowed here). After immigration, the flow of the terminal loops back and all your luggage is scanned by X-ray machines. Since I had no baggage to claim (baggage carousel is directly to the far end on the right side of the hall behind immigration), I quickly walked out...
Through this middle door - Arrivals (Step 3)
Turn to the left - Now facing a souvenir shop (Step 4)
Turn to the right, walk through the Mariyaad Cafe - It's normally quite crowded. (Step 5)
For a quick finish to your Maldivian adventure, turn left - If you're doing a turnaround, you would turn left immediately after the Mariyaad Cafe.* (Step 6)
Now why would anyone want to do that?
Anyway, after finding the Embudu Village counter (where I would spend the one night I was here), I was ushered to the jetty area which is straight after the Mariyaad Cafe.
*For the sake of continuity, the rest of the MLE turnaround (post departure check-in) comes at the end of this report. Look out for Steps 1 to 10 for the complete guide.
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