The flight from Denver to Newark was fast and easy! I quickly discovered that compression socks would be an essential for traveling pregnant. We got to use the United Lounges because of Brian’s airline status- there weren’t many gluten free and pregnancy safe dinner options, but we enjoy the relaxing environment. Brian is going to try the shower suites!

We made it to Dubai! Our seats were in premium plus on the plane so they were quite comfortable and had solid amenities. Emily slept for about 8 out of 13 hours, and Brian watched lots of movies.

The airport was big, and we got through security quickly and easily. The Uber ride to the hotel was great for sightseeing the city lights at night. The burj khalifa was sparkling and truly a wonder. The heat and humidity were sweltering immediately upon stepping outside- that will be an interesting adjustment.

We are spending our Dubai stay at the Andaz at Palm Jumeirah- it really is a luxury hotel! The front desk staff was overwhelmingly kind and excited for us to be celebrating our honeymoon here. Our room has 2 balconies with stunning views, and there was a special dessert treat waiting in the room for us. Brian wasn’t used to the fact that they immediately take your bags and bring them to the room for you.

Our arrival was late in Dubai time, so we dropped our bags and went for a walk around the hotel. The lobby is gorgeous with a coffee bar, and the dinner buffet spread looked unreal. We also appreciated having all of the food allergens labeled to make things easier on us. The pool/beach area is absolutely stunning- we were practically drooling over laying on a lounge chair and swimming with such a stunning view. The restaurant by the pool is called la coco and has very relaxed Mexican-California vibes. There is a beach area as well, but there was a clear jellyfish warning sign which Brian wasn’t thrilled about.

After a quick venture, we decided to take advantage of urgently needing showers before bed, which feels weird considering it’s soon early afternoon in our originating time zone. We can’t wait to explore the palm tomorrow with some relaxation by the pool and delicious food!

Our first full Dubai day was spent exploring the Palm Jumeirah where our hotel is located. We started the day early with the breakfast buffet in the lobby, and it was incredible! There was such a variety of cuisines to choose from; from Asian, our normal American staples of hash browns eggs and bacon, a full display of gorgeous fruits, pickled fish, charcuterie, and the list goes on. It was nice to begin the day by fueling. Emily enjoyed the iced lattes and particularly the hummus, Brian loved the full spread!

Once we were full, we couldn’t wait to get out to the beach and pool onsite. We started by dipping our feet in the Persian gulf which was very warm, but the jellyfish were enough to deter us from swimming there alone. We decided instead to claim a few lounge chairs in the shade by the main pool, which is massive. It was so refreshing in contrast to the heat, and has a gorgeous infinity edge overlooking the beach. It also gave a gorgeous view of the mansions on the palm. There were a lot of kids and chaos at the main pool, so we decided to try out the cabana pool which is on the 14th floor of the hotel and is adult only. We were so glad that we did! It was quiet with calming music, a full bar, and loungers under cabanas that were incredibly comfortable. We spent a few hours between swimming in the sun with the breeze and cooling off in the pool and it was a very peaceful start to the day.

Once we had had enough sun, it was time to shower and get ready for the day. The nakheel mall is directly across from our hotel so we made our way over there, and walked around for quite some time. This mall was nice and very similar to an American mall, with more accessible stores including a gorgeous grocery store called waitrose. The produce was immaculately stacked and organized, with an amazing selection. After strolling for a bit we decided to share a small lunch of chicken spring rolls and pho at a Vietnamese restaurant within the mall. It was nothing special, but hit the spot and was a nice reprieve from being on our feet. Without purchasing anything but water and a Coca Cola light, we decided to head over to the Atlantis where our dinner reservation was for the evening.

The monorail station was right inside the mall which worked out perfectly. It was inexpensive, and the train comes every 15 minutes on the dot. The Atlantis aqua venture was the next stop down the line from the mall, so it was a quick ride. As soon as we stepped out of the station to the Atlantis, it was pretty mobbed from the start. There were families everywhere and plenty of nice cars using the valet out front. As soon as you walk inside, everything is immaculate and felt more like a museum than a hotel. There was every kind of shop you could ever need and more, and a food court of sorts with options like burgers, a Gordon Ramsey restaurant, and Ice cream. There was security posted seemingly everywhere, so we couldn’t get out to see the water park without having a pass, but decided to meander around the resort instead to kill the many hours before our dinner reservation.

We accidentally took the long way of walking outside to get to the hotel side of the resort where our dinner reservation was, and it was so incredibly hot (105, felt like 116 degrees F) that it took a heavy toll on Emily’s pregnant body. We sat for a while in the lobby people watching and cooling off, and then made our way to the lobby bar called Plato’s. Brian ordered a Diet Coke and Emily an Orange Blossom mocktail that was delightful. One perk of being in a country that frowns upon alcohol while pregnant is the ample supply of mocktail options. After a nice sit, we got back to strolling around and ultimately decided to get tickets to the indoor aquarium. It was well themed like a lost tomb, and the main attraction was the 11 million litre primary tank which was incredible and could be seen in many spots around the hotel. Once we finished with the aquarium, we sat for a coffee break in an indoor cafe and enjoyed more of the massive fish tank. We were both getting quite jet lagged and hungry, so we decided to see if we could get into our dinner reservation earlier.

Our dinner spot within the hotel was Ayamna, a Lebanese restaurant which was new to us both. The mezzah are shared plates, so we ordered theee to share (hummus, potato harra, and vine leaves) and then also shared a main entree of lamb chops. The potato harra and hummus were particularly good; overall we agreed the meal was an 8/10; nice to have something different than our normal go-tos, but nothing to write home about. They did bring out a complimentary dessert for celebrating our honeymoon as a nice surprise.

Exhausted and bellies full, we took the monorail back to the mall and made our way to the hotel to crash for the night.

Our final day in Dubai started again with the delicious hotel buffet breakfast and going up to the cabana pool for a swim. You could tell it was the weekend as the cabanas became a hot commodity!

This day was intended to be our explore downtown Dubai day, and thankfully much of what we wanted to do/see was in or around the Dubai mall. Waking into the mall was astonishing- we entered in the area with 4 stories of every luxury brand in the world, and it was certainly a busy Saturday for the mall. After a quick walk through Celine and Louis Vuitton (and immediately feeling absolutely peasant surrounded by emirate wealth), we decided to focus more on seeing the sights rather than shopping. The mall caters to the elite to the level that there are luxury golf carts that will follow VIPs around and hold their bags while they shop.

Our first stop was a tip Brian found in his YouTube research- one of the best views of the Dubai fountains can be found on the terrace outside of the Apple Store. Upon first view, it was absolutely stunning. The water is bright blue and all of the buildings surrounding the fountains are immaculate, with the Burj Khalifa towering above it all.

The Dubai mall is a one stop shop for any and all kinds of entertainment for all ages; there is an aquarium, Ice skating rink, movie theater, kid zone, arcade with full rides inside, and even an emirates plane with a flight simulator inside. Walking past the Chinatown within the mall felt right out of a movie or video game. You could spend days inside that mall and not run out of things to do. There’s also at least 3 separate (and very large) food courts with every food you could imagine! Emily was surprised by how prevalent American fast food chains seemed to be…

One of Emily’s favorite stops of the day was into the kinokuniya bookstore- a true heaven for nerds of all kinds! The store was the biggest we had ever seen, and carried any book you could imagine and it’ll multiple languages at that. There was a large kids section with toys and games and books galore, but our favorite part was the cases upon cases of figurines from some of our favorite fandoms. There were at least 9 cases of beatiful figures from Harry Potter, Star Wars, and lord of the rings. We decided maybe one day when Brian has his own man cave in our future home we will stock up! There were many other cases of anime and all kinds of items that made it a collectors paradise. There were several aisles of Japanese pens and stationary, and entire sections dedicated to arts and crafts of any kind. Truly a dream for any hobbyist! Emily would have done some damage if we didn’t have to carry it all in a suitcase home 😊

As the afternoon transitioned to evening, it was time to make our way to the base of the Burj Khalifa within the Dubai mall for our scheduled “At The Top” tour. It began with a standard walk through tour guide listing off facts and timelines about the construction of the building, and once we reached the elevators was when it got really real! There was a counter outside the elevators showing which floor each elevator was on- the elevators can climb 125 floors in a matter of 77 seconds. Although anxious, once in the elevator you really couldn’t feel how quickly it was moving outside of your ears popping, and rather than having a clear view of the speed they had nice fun graphics playing to focus on (I think we would’ve felt sick had this not been the case). Because we booked a particular tour, we then took a separate elevator to a lounge on the 148th floor!

The lounge served tea, coffee, and cookies, and we tried some Arabic coffee which admittedly wasn’t very good compared to the coffee we are used to- very watered down and earthy. We took our time taking in the views from within the lounge, and then made our way to the outside observatory which was incredible but had us shaking a bit (literally, you could feel the building swaying which is architecturally normal, not exactly reassuring at that height). We even got to watch the sunset from the 148th floor which was hazy but wild to see nonetheless.

Once we had had our fair share of the views, we headed down to see the first few Dubai fountain shows. They ran every 30 minutes starting at 6pm, and we ended up staying for two different shows. The music and choreography of the water was incredible, and Brian said that these fountains put the Bellagio to shame. The scale of the sprays was a spectacle and had us both nearly tearing up at the beauty!

Our travel day from Dubai to the Maldives was a looooong one. We left the andaz hotel at about 6:15am, and ubered to DXB to allot for the 3 hours before our flight that was recommended for arrival. We thought this was an asinine amount of time to be early, but figured we didn’t know what we didn’t know and that they just recommend that for a reason. Even with 5 large economy check in counters for Emirates alone, we waited in line probably 20 minutes to get to the desk to check our bags and print our boarding passes. The agent also informed us that we were in for a LONG walk to get to our gate…

Security and immigration was a breeze. The passport check is automated and they scan your face so you just walk right through instantly, and security was just a quick scan of baggage that’s FAR less invasive than TSA.

We made a stop for some drinks and snacks at a duty free store, and then began the trek to the gate which, as the agent had said, was just about as far on the opposite end of the airport as humanly possible and with Emily waddling along, took at least 30 min to make our way there. The airport was nothing special but was absolutely packed everywhere.

Once on the plane from DXB to MLE, Brian was VERY happy to be checking a bucket item list off by flying Emirates. Although we were only in economy, the seats were perfectly comfortable and the service was excellent. Brian particularly enjoyed the in flight entertainment on offer along with the front and underside camera views that we could watch during take off and landing. The flight was a little under 4 hours long and was easy enough.

We arrived in at MLE and after another quick customs, waited for our bags and were welcomed by a representative from the six senses resort. He kindly took our bags for us, and led us to the domestic flight lounge. The lounge was… interesting. We were led into a separate room within a larger lounge, and were the only ones in this separate room that had maybe 15 leather chairs and 2 TVs, and was uncomfortably warm. It was here we were told that our domestic transfer flight would not be leaving until 3-4 hours later, and they would come get us to check in for the flight. We made due by turning down the AC and finding a DC comics movie (Aquaman) to watch with some diet cokes, but overall we’re quite underwhelmed by the “luxury lounge” experience. We passed the time, and then went to check in our bags and get the boarding passes for the domestic flight. The plane was so small that they ask for each person’s weight so that they can seat people in a way that distributes the weight accordingly on the plane. Once that was done and we were back in the lounge, the six senses agent returned and told us that he would need to take us to the medical clinic within the airport because I was pregnant, but did not know much beyond that.

Walking into the medical clinic with no background information was quite scary. It ended up not being a big deal, as in the forms they had Emily complete it stated that the airline required a “fit to fly” approval from a doctor beyond the 28 week mark of a healthy pregnancy, which does make sense. We had to pay $10 for the completion of this form, and the staff just took Emily’s vitals and completed the form that she was healthy and safe to fly. Glad to have this done, we returned to the lounge once again to await boarding for the domestic transfer flight soon after. When we got to the boarding room, we were relieved to find that the manager of our resort was flying back with us as he had been supporting their first day of seaplane flights direct to the resort. Our domestic flight had about 16 people on it, and the plane was hot and smelly. But, it all went smoothly enough and was a quick 35 minute flight.

Once we landed at the kadhdhoo regional airport, we were walked to the one building around which was MAYBE 1500 square feet and waited for our bags to arrive. Surrounded by only locals, this would have been pretty alarming had we not had the resort manager with us to talk to and tell us where to go. The bags came quickly enough and we walked over to the “sense of crossing” speedboat which would take us on a 20 minute ride to get to the resort. We were welcomed with homemade lemonade and a bag for our shoes. The ride was a bit choppy, be we arrived to several resort staff waving us welcome and the bags were brought to our villa for us. We were taken via golf cart or “buggy” ride to our villa for a tour of all of the features and where to find everything, and then were brought back to the Chill Bar to get a much needed dinner. Both of our meals were delicious and a great start to a stay full of food adventures! It was pitch black on the water and arriving at six senses, so we really couldn’t see much of the resort or the sparkling blue waters, but we couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning after a long sleep and soak in all the views.

Waking up in the Maldives was nothing other than pure magic!! We woke up in our extremely comfortable villa bed, and opened all of the blinds to take in the 180 degree breathtaking views. The water looks so fresh and blue like there should be a filter on it, but it is just unadulterated beauty. After a while of taking in the views and further exploring our villa in the daylight, we rode our bikes (a trike for Emily) over to the main boardwalk where all of the restaurants and shops can be found. The resort provides all guests with a bike with their initials on them for getting around as walking down the long jetty’s to each destination would be lengthy especially in the heat of the morning and mid day sun.

Part of the package that our travel agent was able to get for us included daily breakfast at the Longitude restaurant buffet. There are tables and tables of everything you could imagine- fresh fruits, pastries, salads, and the entire wine cellar is converted into a room of charcuterie options. On top of the buffet display, there is also an a la carte menu available with various eggs, coffee, juices, and daily specials. We definitely took advantage of being able to fill up enough to hold us over until dinner time. Emily particularly enjoyed the gluten free eggs Benedict, and Brian really liked the fresh fruits and steak and egg special.

Since it was light enough out now, we were given a golf cart tour of the resort including the main jetty, and where to find the pool and spa. Since you ride your bikes everywhere, there are many designated parking areas and it was good to know our way around to what we were looking for.

After our tour we decided to take our first swim in the Indian ocean! The water was perfectly cool under the beating sun, and the current was mild but still stronger than we thought it might be. It was very nice to be able to throw on our bathing suits and just climb a ladder down on into the water. Emily rigged a floatie by tying the life saving ring rope to the dock to be able to just float and not go off too far. After a fair amount of sun and saltwater, Emily got out of the water and Brian immediately pointed out a 3+ foot shark swimming in the waters where we had just been!!

We dried off for a little while and then made our way over to the pool area to check it out. We didn’t stay for long, but enjoyed some drinks at the swim up bar called “Sip Sip” and stayed cool in the pool. Even with reapplying sunscreen diligently, Emily still managed to get a sunburn under the direct equator sun.

Our first dinner was a Japanese night at the longitude restaurant, where we sat over the water in a very comfy pillowed booth with a clear view of the water underneath our meet. Brian chose to try the omakase menu for the night (which they were able to make all gluten free), and since Emily couldn’t eat raw fish during pregnancy, she was THRILLED that they were able to prepare several sushi rolls with cooked fish. The courses for Brian’s omaskase menu included edamame, miso soup, a tuna tartare hand roll, a plate of various sashimi and nigiri, and finished with a glazed pork chop. It was so much food he was practically asleep at the table by the end of the meal!

Not TOO full. We made our way to the sorbet/ice cream bar that is freely available to all guests. It is open daily from noon -10pm, and you can order from 48+ different kinds of unique sorbets and ice creams to your hearts’ content. This was a perfect night cap to fulfill our sweet tooth before heading back and crashing in the comfortable bed after a day in the sun.

We started our day once again with a delicious breakfast at the longitude buffet- the special this day was a Vietnamese omelette, and we quite enjoyed having unlimited cold brew lattes.

Since we picked up our complimentary snorkeling gear from the dive shop at the resort, we decided to go for an ocean swim at our villa. There wasn’t much to see right near the villa, and neither of us felt comfortable venturing out too far in the open waters, so we decided to just have a short swim instead. And of course, once again, as soon as we got out of the water yet another shark came swimming where we had been and menacingly circled the ladder up to our deck 😳

Not pictured here, but after we were properly dried off, we went to the spa for our complimentary 60 minute couples massage that was included in the package our travel agent put together for us. We started off with a tour of the facilities, and changed separately into our robes before being led to the treatment room. The entire grounds of the spa were perfectly quiet aside from the sounds of trees rustling in the wind and the wildlife scittering about their normal days. The treatment room for our massage was called a “nest” and surely emulated it from the inside. The space was enormous with a full sink and vanity area, two massage tables, a full couch, and a stunning uninterrupted view of the beach and ocean. Brian got their standard massage, and Emily got a pre natal massage- both were indescribably relaxing and much needed. They began and ended the service with a sound bowl, and the time flew by as our masseuses worked out our knotted muscles with a homemade virgin coconut oil. Feeling as though we were just floating after, we were led to the relaxation lounge with another stunning view and were able to order fresh juices to replenish whatever we needed.

Decidedly done with the ocean swimming for the day, we made our way to our favorite spot at the resort- the pool with the “Sip Sip” swim up bar! The pool became increasingly less populated as the afternoon hours wore on, and at one point we had it just entirely to ourselves. We enjoyed a light late lunch with drinks and cooling off with several swims. While sitting at sip sip, we noticed odd looking birds in the trees, which would up being very large bats, that are common in the Maldives and commonly called “flying foxes”. Brian had his fears of jellyfish, and Emily had hers of these absolutely massive bat creatures making horrendous sounds.

We quickly made our way back to the villa to shower and change for the management cocktail hour on the beach where alll staff and guests were invited. They had a gorgeous spread of cocktails and mocktails, canapés, and various activities to choose from. You could get henna or a neck massage, light on fire a paper to release your negative thoughts, and/or watch a local group of fascinating Maldivian drums and dancers. It was refreshing to see just how happy the Maldivians seem to be by nature. We also had the opportunity to experience a bit of Maldivian culture by being provided a Feyli (sarong/skirt wrap) to the reception.

Following the cocktail hour, we hurried again to change into fancier dinner clothes and make our way to the longitude theme night which was a Mediterranean spice souk for dinner. This was our favorite meal hands down through this point in the trip, filled with flavors that were unique and wonderful and would be hard pressed to find all in one restaurant elsewhere. Emily particularly enjoyed the fresh feta greek salad and cous cous, and we both unanimously agreed that the truffle scallop risotto was one of the best things we had both eaten in our entire lives. It was rich, creamy, and cheesy with a subtle note of the heaps of truffle butter, and the scallops were such a nice addition to the dish. We will be dreaming of that dish for years to come! We also thoroughly enjoyed the halvah sweets and hope to be able to replicate it at home.

Wher to even begin trying to describe the most perfect honeymoon day imagineable?

Also part of our package, we had a breakfast spread of our choosing delivered to the villa with champagne for Brian and a sparkling non-alcoholic wine for Emily. It was absolutely picturesque out on our dock and made us both so incredibly happy. The heat got to us quickly from the direct sun, so we brought our remaining items over to the deck daybed in the shade to continue to enjoy. While doing so, we saw LOTS of dolphins not to far from us out having a fun time and flipping out of the water! It was the most unexpected and wonderful way to start off our day.

We wanted the day to mostly be our do nothing but relax day, so we were eager to spend the majority of the day at the pool and enjoying many trips to the sip sip bar. Brian enjoyed his drinks and Emily enjoyed having time to read and journal in the shade. All of the bartenders and staff have been kind and fun to talk to, they really take the time to get to know and remember every guest and their preferences in a depth that neither of us had experienced before. After a peaceful day spent at the pool, we headed back to use the outdoor villa shower and get ready for our special sunset cruise and private beach BBQ dinner that we had scheduled. The resort really has gone above and beyond at every turn to make us feel special and celebrated on our honeymoon.

The sunset cruise took off from the resort beach where we had 2 locals captaining the dhoni sailboat. As soon as we were off, they so kindly gave us a celebratory chocolate cake with champagne for Brian and a non-alcoholic Cabernet Sauvignon for Emily. With the way that the wind tipped the sail heavily towards one side and lowered the boat opposite, it took a while for us to settle in and get comfortable with the large waves that the boat did handle quite well. On the way back from the cruise, the haze in the sky cleared and we saw the most magnificent sunset that lit up the sky orange and purple and vibrant golds that we’ll never forget.

Once back from the sunset cruise, we were led to a private beach for a romantically lit BBQ dinner with our own private waiter and chef. This was a four course meal with an asinine amount of food for two people where Brian had beef carpaccio and various grilled meat tenderloins, and a stunning gluten free torte della nonna that he kindly shared. Emily had a Thai themed dinner with a spicy pomelo salad, grilled beef and vegetable salad, and satay lobster with pork and chicken. We didn’t even come close to finishing all of the food, but we both felt beyond spoiled and special to be having all of these once in a lifetime experiences together ❤️

Our last full day in the Maldives 😕 what a wonderful stay we had at the Six Senses Laamu. We hardly had to lift a finger the entire time; the staff was almost overly attentive to our every need and worry, and making sure our every want was catered to and beyond. We enjoying the breakfast buffet once again- Emily will miss the gluten free raspberry muffins and fresh fruit!

Right after breakfast, we went to the reception office to await the daily Sustainability tour that we had signed up for. We had no idea that the office had such a beautiful library up a set of spiral stairs! Although most of the books were in other languages (primarily German from the looks of it), it was a beautiful and peaceful space to meander while waiting for our tour guide to arrive. Once he arrived, we headed on a walk to meet another couple who would be joining us over by the gardens. While walking, our guide told us about many of the sustainability initiatives that the resort had already implemented as well as emphasizing that they have an ever- growing list of ideas to improve upon as well. Their sustainability team has monthly meetings and they collect lots of data to analyze for areas for improvement. A fact of pride for the resort is being entirely plastic free, and having a full water desalination and filtration system. They charge for water at all of the restaurants, but half of the proceeds go towards finding supporting sustainable water initiatives for the local islands.

We started our tour walking through the immense gardens of primary leafy vegetables and herbs. The resort using their own compost for organic soil for the beds, and the chefs revolve the menus around what is in season and available from the garden. This was evident by how incredibly fresh all of the herbs and salads in particular tasted. They put micro greens and herbs on everything not only for the fresh taste and health benefits, but the various greens have a 4 day turnaround time so they are very sustainable as well. They also had a dark, cool, damp hut specifically for growing mushrooms. The walls were insulated with palm leaf and egg cartons, and the mushrooms grew within pods on shelves over a three month span.

Once we finished with the gardens, we walked further back into the resort to the host area where the earth lab could be found. While not aesthetically pleasing, his explanation of all that they were doing there was fascinating. Composting produce peels as well as the vegetation trimmings, they ground broken glass and made it into things like stools or cement blocks, and he showed us the many ways that every single component of a coconut can be used and how it is one of, if not the most sustainable plant for them. For example, they used the homemade virgin coconut oil as massage oil at the spa; it is also used for sunburns, in many food dishes, and he said he put some in his morning coffee to keep him full all morning long.

Continuing to make our way through the host village, we went through the power room, and the water filtration and refill rooms. The property has old generators that they are in the process of swapping out, but they have a goal to supply 50% of the resort’s power via renewable energy by 2030. They have solar panels where they can have them now, but many of the structures (villas) are not strong enough to support the weight of the panels, and they’re also not aesthetically pleasing for the guests. They are exploring the option of having floating panels in the water. The resort desalinates and filters 100% of their own water, so it was cool to see the rooms where the magic happens. There was zen music playing in the bottle filling room; they had found a piece of scientific literature that said that the calm vibrations of the music remain in the water and can bring peace and wellness (or something like it) to the heart of the consumer… do with that information what you may.

Because we were curious, he also showed us where the host housing and “spice hall” were (didn’t photograph out of respect) and it was all nice enough. On the walk back to our bikes we happily chatted about education in the Maldives (they push for all children to attend 4 year university which is paid for in full) and some of the things that he likes to do for fun. He was especially keen to talk about his growing interests in badminton and learning to surf. We were told that all staff works 6, 8 hour days per week and then can accumulate their one day off per week for a 4 day off stretch in the month. Despite this sounding cruel to us, everyone always seemed exceedingly happy and kind, and appeared to enjoy their work.

We spent several hours at the pool between a little cabana nap, swimming, and enjoying our last few drinks and lunch at Sip Sip- which we were sad to say goodbye to! We had some time to lather our burnt skin in aloe Vera and lay around until our final dinner reservation at the fanciest of the restaurants, called Leaf. They have a fixed menu nightly and the standard fare is a 4 course meal with 3 dishes to choose from for the appetizer, middle course, and main entree, and one set dessert and amuse bouche. Although our options were slightly limited due to needing everything to be gluten free, and pregnancy limitations on needing cooked fish and meat, we still had quite the culinary experience.

Nothing much to report on our travel day from the Maldives to Bangkok- everything went smoothly in the morning for checking out and having breakfast while our bags were brought to the speed boat. When we were leaving our Guest Experience Maker, Hamza, as well as several other staff stood on the docks waving us off on our speed boat ride (sweet, but BIG White Lotus vibes). It was really nice to be on the 20 minute speed boat ride during day light, and far less terrifying. We even got to see a huge group of spinning dolphins along the ride!

A six senses representative helped with the check in and hand off at the Khadhoo regional airport, and the flight went quickly and smoothly. Another representative found us as we landed in Male and helped us to the domestic waiting lounge. Unfortunately our Air Asia flight had been rescheduled for almost 4 hours later than originally planned, so we had about 7 hours to kill before the flight to Bangkok. The lounge was comfortable enough with food, air conditioning, and chairs that we could put our feet up in, so Emily put a good dent into finishing ACOTAR, and Brian watched some Netflix to pass the time. Once it was time to check in for the international flight we were helped through the process and had to sign another pregnancy waiver form confirming that Emily was fit to fly, and before we knew it we were on our way.