Such a beautiful and different view right this moment. I am sitting
in a Maldives beach bar, and have just completed the UNIR write up. It’s been a
really relaxing 5 days out on this Maldives island, listening to the crash of
the waves, and just getting away for a bit.
I was really thinking about how to spend my 5 days. Last
week, I thought it would be one-too-many days – because there might be nothing
to do? So I decided to frame each day with some rest itinerary. And it goes
like this.
Day 1 – Rest and Refuel (aka – Sleep and Eat).
Haha, and so Day 1 was exactly that, and actually, all 5
days were that. I slept averagely 8 – 9 hours daily, and Oura sleep score was
85 and above daily. Haha. It’s so good to just sleep! And Steve says I can
really fall asleep. I even slept at the airport lounge on my way here (oura
registered a nap of 26 mins), and then in the plane too, I slept. And nightly,
once I am on the bed, I sleep. 😊 May this easy-to-fall-asleep trait continue
to be so much a part of me.
And then, of course – I ate and refueled. I have 3 full
meals daily – breakfast, lunch and dinner. And then, I wondered – who created
and institutionalized this global thinking that we have to eat 3 meals daily?
Actually, I don’t really care much about sticking to the 3 meals, and usually I
eat only when I am hungry, and certainly for dinners. But here, in this sunny,
breezy, beautiful island, because all the meals are taken care of, I can hop into
any of the restaurants, and just eat… and drink. So – I must say I will leave
Maldives with a very full stomach (and hopefully, not too big).
I think one of the best meals is the self-concocted muesli-with-lotsa-colourful-fruits
breakkie meal. I also added soya milk to it…. Omg… so tasty and I think I can
eat this often. But when I go back to real life, I know it will be simple
coffee and breakkie only if I am hungry – and which is also perfectly fine by
me.
I think holiday breaks always bring forth a different
routine and rest. So – 3 full meals and lotsa sleep – perfect way to ensure
each day is beautiful. :-D
***
Day 2 – For a moment, I wondered what I did. So good old
handphone tells me what I did.
I was on the stepper for 45 mins, and then we also kayaked. Haha.
Kayaked twice in less than a week. And oh, after another refuelling lunch, we did
a back massage, and then had a romantic grilled seafood dinner on the nearby barefoot-love
island. All thru the trip, different ones at the restaurants would introduce us
to some fancy-themed dinner at this barefoot island – which I think I could
snorkel across. We actually kayaked there in less than 5 mins. And Day 2 – was also
very restful and relaxing. I think, I will call my Day 2 – Release and
Romance (because of the massage, and the dinner? :-D).
看海 - after the oily massage.
***
Day 3 started with me joining a sunrise yoga, and then – it was
only just the instructor and me. Hahaah. Think nobody was cray enough to do
such yoga sessions in the morning, and perhaps most of them go for the sunset
one? Then, I did a 30 min stepper and watched HTCCC – which was hilariously funny.
I love just laying down at this boardwalk beside the beach
to cool down and stretch – and I was commenting to SY that regardless where –
at MR, in AD, or now, Maldives, after a run, we can always stretch and soak in
the sun rays. So beautiful. Just laying there, stretching, cooling down after a
sweat, listening to the playlist.
Day 3 was my first try at snorkeling, and boy – I like it so
so much! I have done snorkeling before, but this time, I really enjoyed it so much
and I think this is possibly the highlight of all the activities. I snorkeled,
then lunch, then tennis (on a rather unkempt tennis court), and then, snorkeled
again. Haha. It is beautiful to see the fishes, the corals – and it was just so
enjoyable to flap gently in the sea and to see fishes swimming underneath me. 😊
I also love the 1.5hrs we had before dinner – just watching
sunset and having an ice-cold beer and NF on the sunset porch. As Joann's son would say - this is life.
So I think, Day 3 would be – Re-energize and Recreation
(because of the new love in snorkeling and the HTCCC). :-D
****
Day 4 – was beautiful! I decided to run and Runkeeper showed
that I did reasonably good – I RAN ROUND AN ISLAND. Hahahah. So funny, when I was
told by some friends that I actually ran full rounds round an island. I thought
I should clock in a run, because 26 Nov is up and coming, and I enjoyed the runs,
seeing people getting out for breakfast, feeling the chill vibe as some start
to go out to the beaches.
And – because of the love for snorkeling, it was run – breakkie
– snorkeling – lunch – pcr – snorkeling -dolphin cruise – sunset cruise –
dinner – zzzz. The snorkeling was really just very addictive. Back at our ocean
villa, I tried to snorkel too, but it was a tad too strong, the waves. So I had
to be just contented with the earlier attempts.
The sunset cruise was nice too – 夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏。Watching the sun
set on the boat deck, was calming and relaxing. These few days though, even
while I was enjoying the sun, sand and sea, I also thought of Josephine,
especially when I could see the dark waters in the night. I said a prayer several
times. It must have been very difficult.
And so Day 4 is Run and Rediscover
(the run, and also rediscovering the joys of snorkeling and the wonders of
nature!)
****
And in the blink of an eye, it is now Day 5 – and it
was sunny when I started this entry, and then, the rain suddenly came. It is a
light one though – I think in another 15 mins, it will be sunny again. This
morning, I was back at the gym on the stepper, and then had the yummy muesli
concoction again. Alas – all good things must come to an end, and we had to
check out at 12pm.
Because there’s about 5 hours till departure, I
decided to finish up with the UNIR report, and while at it – a gin tonic and a pizza
to go along. I did feel productive. It was a good feeling. And then, today, since
early morning, there was already work emails, messages – and all these reminds
me that I have to go back to the work grind tomorrow, which is also fine. I think,
I am in a process to learn how to better manage life – a never-ending one at that.
😊
And this entry – captures this last minute, random
trip that we decided to make time for, only last week. In itself, that is also
a life experience and choice, and I am glad we decided to go for it. Looking
back, it really is worthwhile, enjoyable and exciting.
I decided to call Day 5 – Reflection and
Recalibrate – because it is so nice to just reflect and recount on these
last few days, capturing some moments and emotions, and at the same time, 收拾心情, to return back to Abu
Dhabi. I would like to have a 平常心。 And I believe it was Pastor Tan who preached this
message before. 😊 In whatever, have a 平常心, and
always be thankful and grateful.
