While Donegal Airport http://www.donegalairport.ie was voted the most scenic airport in the world for the second year running by PrivateFly, a private jet booking service…
To your hotel when you’ve only got 45 minutes to get to the airport.
OK, that’s not the airport’s fault.
Provide segways
Good for an airport: In Malta
4. Or at least fast and slow walking lanes.
I swear the walkway when you land in Dublin to customs gets longer every time I come through.
See Nos 1 and 3.
Provide some phone points
I’ve found one: An airport plug-in.
5. So that when it all goes Pete Tong you can charge your phone to get on the app…
To rearrange your flight, or, yes it’s old-fashioned but… phone your wife for a confidence booster.
In fact this is Nos 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.
12: Leave a book of Greek poetry
It’s all Greek to me
For those of us who took Ancient Greek at school!
Like they did at Kythera airport in the Attica region from where we visited Aphrodite’s birthplace www.kythera.gr/en.
Turk that
13: Turkish Airlines Business Lounge
On the right track: Istanbul Airport
You can improve on perfection.
Turkish Airlines’ http://www.turkishairlnes.com business lounge in the new Istanbul airport, an ideal hub, though I’d say you’d be tempted to stay in Turkey’s biggest city.
That is if you ever leave the airport with its golf simulator, grand prix games track, banquets of food and drink and cinema.
And much, much more.
I also had the privilege of being shown around TA’s headquarters.
It’s a good drying day on Kuramathi but then every day is… the temperature rarely dips below 28 degrees at any time of the year.
And so I’ve got the spare togs and towel hung up on the clothesline by the outdoor shower.
Wet after my early morning swim in my infinity pool which overhangs the Indian Ocean.
Something’s fishy: Drying day
But how to dry out myself after a Champagne and cocktail-fuelled karaoke and beach party the previous night?
A leisurely one kilometre walk around Kuramathi is guaranteed to sweat off the booze.
And we’ll meet some interesting characters along the way.
Won’t you join me?
My new best friend
Gordon, my house gecko is the first to greet me, dancing around my feet as I leave my room before scuttling off through the reeds.
Somewhere above him in the palm trees a Xxx warbles a morning song and memories of me murdering The Eagles, Elvis and Neil Diamond the previous evening come flooding back.
It’s 8am on Kuramathi which would be rush hour back home.
But here only the occasional electrical buggy bus or old-fashioned staff bicycle passes by on the sandy path while the only jaywalkers you’ll encounter are cooing couples.
Some gentlemen even hold parasols for their sweethearts to shield them from the sun.
My pal Gordon
My own sweetheart is probably wrestling with a brolly back home in blustery, rainy Ireland… the thought quickly passes.
Ne’er a flutter of wind comes off the Indian Ocean.
Bus stop: On Kuramathi
Just as well really as this is a conservative island and it wouldn’t do to have a gust lift up my sarong as I amble along the coast.
Not that you’re likely to see another soul but still.
There’s every chance though that you’ll spot turtles and black finned sharks in the clear blue sea.
Teardrops on the ocean: The Atoll
If you do see a turtle it’ll likely be Selma, who is something of a celebrity on Kuramathi as is her minder, Vanessa.
A German eco warrior and curator at the Island Eco Centre she claimed Selma as her own turtle and named her.
Turtle power
If you can snap a new turtle with your Go-Pro camera you too can get to adopt a turtle.
On a 1.2km island resort repeat with hoilidaymakers, staff, restaurants and bars and all the necessary infrastructure to make an island bobbing along on the ocean to work only the best husbandry will do.
Some waffle about food
Luckily Mother Nature lends a helping hand.
I check out Kuramathi’s living, breathing pharmacy of plants on my Botany walk.
They cater for every ailment and condition known to man and are used in the medications.
They also infuse the dishes you will taste at the half a dozen high-end restaurants around the island.
Chicken lickin’: And I’ve got started on that lager
This being Asia you will get your share of Eastern delicacies at the bars and restaurants you pass.
Tuck in
I have my hosts Farooz and Fern and a host of hospitable and knowledgeable waiters to thank for walking me through their dishes.
My favourite the Malaysian chicken curry, while obviously Kuramathi is a fish-lovers’ dream with the red snapper and scallops also worth a special mention.
I can always do home games in the Maldives
And being Asia you can even order Chinese at breakfast… well, it works for 1 billion Chinese after all.
The European palate is also catered for with a particularly good Italian specialising in risotto on the island.
And you never have to put your hand in your pocket (just as well if you’re wearing a sarong) as you settle your bill at the end of your holiday.
I’m taking a breather at the back
There are three options, B&B, half-board and all-inclusive.
It probably depends on your appetite and your liver, but if you come all this way and can afford to push the boat out I’d say save yourself the stress and go all in.
Howzat!
Back to my morning constitutional and with the breakfast of champions already in me I’m off to take part in the big game.
Buggy driver Renga helpfully gives me a lift to the palm tree-lined pitch and introduces me to Hassan and the rest of the cricketers.
It’s 38 years since I picked up a bat in anger.
My dear Old Dad had high hopes for me and in my maiden school innings I went in to open only to be bounced first ball before surrendering my wicket the next.
To infinity and beyond
I learn my lesson here watching these big hitters and go in at the fall of the first wicket .
I manage to amass a mighty two before being run out picking up a bruise or two diving for the crease.
And footie
Football the next day will be more successful with me setting up the winner.
And by the end of the week my party are telling me that their buggy drivers have been asking if they are here with Jims (sic) who is ‘a very good player.’
‘I’m asked if I would like to come back.
Magical Botanical
‘Does Roy Keane like a crunching tackle?’
Bruised though I am, I have discovered over the years that I am still considerably safer on dry land than in the water.
The ocean is better suited for the turtles and sharks.
Who I fear will only lick their lips at the sight of my blood the next day as I snorkel off the island of Kandolhu.
Too many bubbles
It is one of the five islands on this, the Rasdhoo Atoll.
But the sharks are actually quite tame.
And they are clearly so busy laughing at my flapping anyway to be bothered about nibbling my nobbly knee.
I’m consoled too that I’ll get a warm down later (yes warm down in this weather!) in Kuramathi’s spa.
A wee, wee island
When I say Kandolhu is an island, it really is just a bit of sandbank and floating coral.
Beautiful coral, but floating coral all the same.
And there is just 200mx120m of it.
So it would take Usain Bolt 19.90secs to run the whole island.
Sea plane sailing: With Turkish Airlines’ Onur and my host Brian
Not that that curtails them, there are 30 high-end villas and four restaurants on Kandolhu.
So how did we, and the Maldives, get here?
Well, Kandolhu and Kuramathi are just two of 1,190 coral islands situated in 26 atolls or clutches across 90,000sqkms of water south of Sri Lanka.
Sea planes
I had started counting them as I was flown into the main and only truly populous island Male (133,000).
And gazed down in wonder at these teardrops on the ocean.
Even better our barefoot pilot took us up really close to the islands by then flying down on them on his sea plane.
I need a break: It’s thirsty work
The atolls I am told take up just 10% of the sea mass that surround them, I make a start on drinking the other 90% while snorkelling.
But I did manage to spot me a turtle who, Go-Pro or no Go-Pro, I name Vanessa… or Mother Turtle, my own name for her.
A day and a night
I clearly have a taste for this island life though perhaps not the water activities.
But I will go on to make my own splash on the island and the islanders in the time I’m here.
As a guest of Kuramathi Island resort and Turkish Airlines.
I have flown us here via Istanbul.
It is a 24-hour joyride with all the trappings of business class, and a stop-off in the world’s best business class lounge in Istanbul.
Mother Turtle: With Vanessa
On our last night on the island we take a sunset cruise out onto the ocean before settling in for the night at the Sand Bar.
I fall into the beanbag on the beach where I almost fell asleep the first night.
And order my Kuramathi cocktail and another and another and listen to house band Limestone.
I had heard them on the way back from the football that afternoon where they gave us a sneak rehearsal of the closing number of their set, Hotel California.
Natty: Music on the Maldives
I lie back and look up at the stars while letting the sound of the waves lapping up against the sand wash over me.
The only breaker is Limestone’s natty singer making a better stab at The Eagles than I had done at the Karaoke Bar:
‘You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.’
Including flight, taxis, transfers, full board. Optional basic all-inclusive package. €59 per day. Dine around select package. €99 per day.
Kandolhu Island: From €3995pp. Jacuzzi Beach Villa.
UltimateInclusions basis. for seven nights, prices correct at time of print.
Based on travel in May/June 2018 inc. flights with Turkish Airlines.
Round trip economy class starting price Dublin- Maldives from €748.59; return business class starting price for same route, €2,166.59.
See www.turkishairlines. com, or call: (01) 525-1849. Baggage allowance: Economy class, 30kg + 8kg hand luggage; Business class 40kg +16 kg for hand luggage in total.
*This article was first published in the Irish Daily Mail in early 2018.
Oh fur he’s a jolly good fellow… it’s International Cat Day.
I think you can always judge a person and a society on how they treat their animals.
I was taken on my recent travels in Istanbul by just what a high podium Istanbullers put their cats on.
The Grand Bazaar is an explosion of sights, sounds and colours.
But while I felt prepared for the Turkish dress-up shop, the Turkish delight shops and the rugs and jewellery vendors the book shops were just a little different.
I mean cats really do have the run of these stalls.
But the real Top Cat in Istanbul is Gli who lords it in the Aya Sofya museum.
Yes, Gli has his own official page on the museum’s website which is as it should be as he’s been living there for most of his 14 years.
And it is said that Barack Obama was taken by the majestic moggie when he visited.
Umut Bahceci who runs his Instagram account is the expert on all things Gli whose name means ‘Union of Love.’
Umut told Lonely Planet www.lonelyplanet.com.com that Gli will stand under the Muezzins’ lodge if he wants to be petted .
But if he wants to veg out he goes to the omphalos marble section of the floor.
Gli also likes to chase the light…
In the winter she will stand in front of the projector light that illuminates the nish, the altar, and the minbar, the pulpit because that’s where they warmth is.
This is your pilot speaking… what happened when I took control on a Turkish Airlines flight. In the Travel blog that goes higher and faster. http://www.traveltraveltravel.com.
She’s the Wonder Woman who sews me up and sends me on my way… and very occasionally I come back with everything I left with.
And I’m getting better.
I’m also prompted by RTE reruns of the sumptuous Silk Road by the even silkier Joanna Lumley who agrees about the importance of multi-compartment purses and wallets.
They come in all shapes, sizes and styles (wives and wallets) and all make your life easier.
So what to remember
Your passport obviously. Now you may want to keep it in your inside jacket pocket or perhaps skin tight in your front trouser pocket.
And you will need to take it in and out at the airport but when you don’t need it, it’s best to put it away in the zipper compartment of your folder. If you’re travelling with your partner and your kids maybe put them all in together.
When you get to your hotel room put your valuables in the safe and only take it out if you need it for ID for bars, nightclubs or to get into some sports events.
Your tickets. Keep in another sleeve or compartment. It will be easier to differentiate. Some people (usually younger) are comfortable with having their tickets on their phones but what happens if you run out of battery (Ally?). Be safe do both.
Currency. Save yourself fiddling around in your wallet/purse between euro and a foreign currency and maybe even a third (sterling) if you’re passing through London. Use a third compartment for foreign dosh.
Now you’re on the plane
If you’re on a long-haul flight then you’ll want to keep your vanity case with you… save yourself from having to tap the person sleeping next to you so you can get up to the overhead cabin.
And if you’ve had the good fortune to go Business Class then remember the little overnight bags they give you the next time you travel.
And the earplugs will block out the noise of the snorer next to you.
Overnight bags tend to be the same but different and it’s always nice to find a little new treat.
A little bottle of Eau de Cologne was a particular treat in the Etihad bag I got this week even though I’m the last person who needs it.
Unless you’re just doing an overnighter you’ll probably be taking hand luggage and putting a suitcase in the hold.
Don’t do as I do, but as I say.
Avoid black or blue suitcases, they all look the same on the carousel. Put stickers on it to identify it as uniquely yours, maybe places you’ve been to cheer you up.
Padlock your case up and choose a lock number that’s not 1234 or your birthday or one you might forget.
And always fill out your luggage tag with your address for obvious reasons.
Don’t forget to remember
Make a list. Check it twice and give yourself enough time.
Better if you pack to go home the night before but if you are making the most if your last night on holiday then set your alarm early or get a room call.
Otherwise…
Next week: How I didn’t take any of this advice and some of the scrapes I got into (and out of) mostly because of the saints and saintesses who helped me out.
