In the arms of heaven - Maldives

On our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I wanted to spend a romantic holiday and so we chose Maldives. After doing a lot of research, we booked our mini vacation of 5 days at the Adaaran Prestige Vadoo Resort (“Adaaran”). We were transferred to the resort by a boat from the Male Airport. Adaaran is very close to the mainland so it didn’t take much time to get to the resort. 

We were provided with our personal butler who took care of all our needs and was always available to help us throughout our holiday. The resort is small but has a beautiful ambience and feel to it. For water sports lovers, this is not the right resort as the only water activities that you can enjoy here are scuba diving and snorkeling. We had booked a sunset water villa as we wanted to make our anniversary a very special day to remember. As the name suggests, the villa was on the water with a private plunge pool facing the ocean at the deck. The bathroom had a glass bottom floor from which you could see the fish swimming in the water. They also had an open air jacuzzi. All water villas have a private wooden ladder giving access to the ocean. They also provide free snorkeling equipment in the villas. You can snorkel whenever you want for no extra cost.

The resort staff (especially Mr. Nalaka) made our anniversary day memorable by decorating our room with flowers and providing us a complimentary cake. We went for scuba diving on our anniversary day, which was an amazing experience. The instructor was a professional and she took some great underwater pictures for us. We went at a depth of 13 meter below sea level. The water life and the corals in Maldives are breathtaking. As this was our first diving experience, the trainer accompanied us. I removed my oxygen mask by mistake inside the water and panicked. But due to the intelligence and expertise of the trainer, I survived and was able to enjoy my dive. The total duration of the scuba diving experience was approximately 3-4 hours. For the afternoon session, we booked a couples hot stone massage at the resort. The masseuse were amazing and friendly. They made our massage experience truly relaxing and joyful. The staff at the resort had arranged a special romantic dinner for us at the beach. Due to the rains they had to shift us back to the restaurant, but as soon as the rains stopped the staff rearranged the dinner set up for us. We were really touched by this gesture. 

For the next few days, we tried snorkeling and enjoyed the beach at the resort. We also won some massage vouchers at the traditional Balinese folk night, where the Balinese massage girls performed their folk dance and conducted a quiz. On one other night the resort had set up a free cocktail and snacks party for the guests. We also visited the Japanese restaurant in the resort. This restaurant was specially opened on our request. We had also booked a private sunset cruise which was truly romantic. Maldives is a scenic place with beautiful sunset and coral life. We took some great photos during our trip.

Being a coastal area, most of the food in Maldives is sea food with very few vegetarian options. Despite being vegetarians, the staff at the resort tried their best to provide us with good quality vegetarian meals. The breakfast buffets were sumptuous and the service was fantabulous. I was very impressed with the hotel staff.

The only downside is that there are few options for water sports activities as the resort is close to the sea traffic area. If you are going on a family holiday then you should opt for a resort with more beach and water sports activities. The one thing that put us off a bit was that the resort has strict restrictions on men’s dress code. Men are not allowed to enter the restaurant for breakfast in a vest while women are allowed to wear even bikinis to breakfast. We found this strange but were told that this was mainly done to cater to their Arabic guests. Maldives has a very high number of visitors from the Middle Eastern countries.

Overall, I loved Maldives and would definitely visit again. I highly recommend a visit to the Adaaran for couples who are looking to relax and enjoy a romantic getaway. The hospitality offered at the resort is great and we were treated like a queen and a king. This has been one of the best holidays that I have been to. Maldives doesn’t have much to offer in terms of sight seeing, but it is a great option for a short relaxing break. Visiting Maldives was literally like being in the arms of heaven.

Movie Review of the film The Post (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) 4/5 Stars

The Post is a political thriller directed by Steven Spielberg and the lead actors are Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The movie is based in the 1970s and depicts the true story of the Washington Post’s journalists and the publication of the Pentagon Papers, which were documents regarding secret information about the involvement of the US Government in the Vietnam War. The plot is very interesting and keeps you stuck to your seats. The story telling is amazing and there is a good flow of information throughout the movie. This movie explores the concept of freedom of press and freedom of speech back in the 1970s.

In the beginning of the movie, it is shown that based on the McNamara study the US Government is aware of the fact that the war in Vietnam is hopeless yet they continue to send American troops to fight the Vietnam War. The military analyst Daniel Ellsberg is then shown to be working as a civilian military contractor. He photocopies the classified documents about the poor progress of the ongoing Vietnam war and leaks them to reporters of the New York Times. When the New York Times publishes the story, the Court orders an injunction against further publication of this story. A reporter from the Washington Post tracks down Daniel Ellsberg and gets hold of all the photocopies of the classified documents. The Washington Post has to now decide whether they will publish the entire story or not.

Tom Hanks plays the role of Ben Bradley as the Executive Editor of the Washington Post and Meryl Streep plays the role of Katharine Graham as the owner of the Washington Post newspaper. All the actors have done a great job. Meryl Streep looks charming and has played her character beautifully from depicting the emotions of being dominated in a man’s world and feeling under confident to becoming a role model for women in a man’s world. Tom Hanks is wonderful as always and showcases his flamboyant and dare-devil character beautifully. 

I recommend you to watch this movie if you have an interest in news, stories and drama. For me just watching Meryl Streep playing such a strong character was a delightful experience.

Fear - No More

Sometimes there are such days when you don’t feel yourself anymore,

Your heart is hurting and there is no one to heal your wounds that are still sore,

But your heart knows that nothing can break you down to the floor,

The wounds heal and one day the scars will be gone,

When you feel you have nothing left in you anymore,

When your heart aches and you are left to moan,

But you don’t give up and keep the fight going on,

You are strong enough to get your ship to the shore,

Even if the worst storm hits you, you don’t lose your belief,

Even if everyone leaves you, you know you are not alone,

One day the storm passes you and you heave a sigh of relief,

You only achieve something when you walk fearlessly in the unknown.

(The image of “No Fear” is copied from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/no-fear-limits-excuses-creative-inspiring-572673271?src=DnKbq3sRw7KSMA2IV0skPQ-1-22)

Movie Review - Insidious The Last Key (⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3.5/5 stars)

This movie is definitely spooky and horror. The movie starts with the childhood of Elise the psyche. The movie catches your attention within the first few minutes of the start of the film and makes you not want to move till the end. Elise has a gift since her childhood to feel the presence of dead people and since she has a kind heart she decides to make this her profession. The story starts at the house she was born in and ends at the same location. It has some terrifying scenes and is definitely not for the weak hearted.
Elise and her associates have done a good job and the man who plays Elise’ father is also great.
For those who have seen the earlier series of Insidious May find this one not as good as the first one. It has some flaws but yet it is worth a watch for the sudden shocks and thrills throughout the film.
For all horror lovers, I’d recommend you to watch this movie in the theatre. I didn’t rate it 5 star because for me the first Insidious was scarier than this one.

Dare to dream again

In the sky I see the stars shining bright,

Telling me to close my eyes and dream again,

But inside of me I have lost the light,

And I am too scared to start again,

My heart then says to me that I am not right,

That I should let the fears pass and be a little insane,

You can be what you want to be,

And it is never too late to be me,

Our dreams are what defines our wants,

Our efforts can make it work,

Even if the world laughs and taunts,

Your dreams will work and have perks,

If you have faith in your dreams,

If you have courage to create the light,

Then keep pushing the limits with might,

And don’t give up and keep on the fight,

One day all your efforts will pay,

The sun will shine your day with its ray,

When that day comes you won’t feel blue,

Because all your dreams will come true.