1. Introduction
   
2. Positioning flights to San Francisco, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, and Some Dim Sum for the Day
   
3. Cathay’s New San Francisco Lounge
   
4. Cathay Pacific First Class, San Francisco – Hong Kong
   
5. The Wing and Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Singapore
   
6. A Grand Suite at the Grand Hyatt Singapore
   
7. Eating in Singapore
   
8. Dinner at Waku Ghin, Marina Bay Sands
   
9. Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male
   
10. Transfer to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa, Maldives
    
11. Park Hyatt Maldives – Part I
    
12. Park Hyatt Maldives – Part II
    
13. Park Hyatt Maldives – Part III
    
14. Maldivian, Kaadehdhoo – Male
    
15. Singapore Airlines Business Class, Male – Singapore
    
16. Cathay Pacific Business Class, Singapore – Hong Kong
    
17. Conrad Hong Kong
    
18. Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong – Chicago
    
19. American’s Chicago Flagship Lounge and the Final Journey Home

We put on our life jackets and sat down at the back of the boat. We were offered an ipod to listen to but were more than fine (though I felt, again, that a bit nicer boat would have been ideal, as would a bottle of water for the ride).

The boat sped away, leaving the resort behind

After a little bit shy of an hour we arrived at the airport’s boat dock.

Sitting at the dock were the folks who would shortly be our crew for the flight to Male.

As we arrived, a golf cart pulled up to take us the short dstance from the dock to the terminal

Interestingly, there had been two other passengers on the boat that I presumed were staff — either of the hotel, the chain, or were at least not guests. The golf cart took only us and not them, they walked to the terminal under their own power.

The terminal building itself is a small, older structure. There’s the arrivals side with baggage claim, and the departures side. That has a single security screening lane, though it was hardly enforced, they did screen somewhat diligently on the way in but people left the ‘secure’ gate area to go back inside and no one was around to re-screen them when they came back through.

Here’s the terminal

And the day’s flight board

Directly across from the terminal entrance is a small café, though I didn’t investigate.

There’s pay internet available as well, you buy online and text yourself a code.

Restrooms are on the outside of the terminal building, I considered using one before the flight but immediately turned around after walking inside, it was one of the worst smelling places I’d been. So I simply proceeded through security and into the gate area which are already nearly full though it was still about half an hour before flight time with no amenities airside.

Incidentally we weren’t weighed prior to this flight, that’s apparently only something that Maldivian does in Male.

Planespotting, such as it was, consisted of peering out the window of the terminal at our Q400 that would take us from Kaadedhoo to Male

Boarding was called and I snapped a photo of the plane while walking along the runway… as did several other passengers

The cabin was fairly standard for the aircraft type

Service was the same as the flight to Kaadedhoo — a small paper cup with juice, followed by a single candy. After about 55 minutes we landed in Male, and we disembarked at the domestic terminal and waited for our bags. Once we walked out of the baggage claim area we were met by a Park Hyatt representative who assisted with the bags for the walk over to the international terminal.

It was now three hours until our flight to Singapore, and we were really on our way for the long journey home!