Maldives: Summer - January 2026

I’ve been wanting to visit Maldives for quite some time, but whenever I brought it up to family and friends, nobody seemed interested. Most of them said they aren’t into beach holidays. To be honest, I’m not much of a beach person either—I actually prefer lakes, as the combination of salt, sand, and sun isn't really my favorite! 😅

That said, I do have a goal to visit 100 countries by the time I turn 60. So in early December 2025, when I spotted Malaysia Airlines tickets to Malé selling for just RM1,100 on Traveloka, I immediately asked my new travel buddies if they wanted to go. They said yes, and just like that, we’re off to Malé early on New Year's morning!

There is no need to join any tour company if you wish to visit Maldives. Just buy the plane tickets, book a hotel room and you're set to go. It is a Muslim majority country so you can find halal food everywhere. Malaysians can enter the country without visa but you have to fill online arrival card before you reach the country. 

My share of the hotel cost was RM750 for three nights. So my total cost for this trip was RM1100 (plane tickets) + RM750 (hotel room + buffet breakfast + airport shuttle) + RM400 (green tax, food, transportation and souvenirs) = RM2,250 🤩 

Please note that tourists need to pay green tax of USD6/night if you stay at a hotel on inhabited local island with less than 50 rooms. If not, it will be USD12/night. Collected by the hotel on behalf of the government.

Maldives is affordable if you don't stay in private islands 😋 If you're into watersports and activities maybe can add a thousand or two to the budget. 

Our itinerary was as follows:

1 January 2026  Kuala Lumpur - Hulhumale 
2 January 2026  Hulhumale
3 January 2026  Hulhumale - Male - Hulhumale
4 January 2026  Hulhumale - Male - Hulhumale - Kuala Lumpur
5 January 2026  Kuala Lumpur

My World Countdown:
Beautiful Maldives will be country #68 that I have visited so far 😍 I was hoping to go to a lot of new countries in 2026 to make up for the six year holiday hiatus. Not getting any younger either 😋 Need to focus on my target of 100 by 60 😅

POST MORTEM (Updated on 20 January 2026)

Tour Company:

We went on our own. For me was mostly due to not wanting to spend too much money on a beach holiday. Priority, people 😋 If you follow any tour company it will cost you a minimum of RM4k. 

Another reason was I wish to see how the locals live thus our base was on an island closest to Male, which also happen to be where their international airport is located. Very efficient and convenient for eating and shopping too 😍

Itinerary:

My roommate and I were not into water activities but my two other fellow travellers wanted to go snorkelling. 

It is a lot cheaper to sign up for an excursion after you have landed in Maldives. We initially booked an excursion via Booking.com, which we subsequently cancelled, the cost of the same excursion booked direct at a travel shop in Maldives cost half the price of the travel apps. Be careful however of those selling at the beach (tourist trap), they may charge more than the apps!

When you plan your activities, be mindful of the day, during Friday prayer from 11.30 am to 3 pm public transportation will stop and all government offices and most shops will be closed. So Friday is a good day to plan for private excursions.

We managed to catch locals feeding the stingrays near the fish markets. My friends were commenting, if in Malaysia the stingrays will become "asam pedas ikan pari" in no time. It turns out the locals traditionally did not eat stingrays due to the abundance of other superior types of fish (like tuna) and cultural taboo. Today, stingrays are listed as one of the protective species.

The locals were pretty aloof. Not overly friendly nor generous with smiles, but if you approach them for direction or information, they will help you. 

Having said that, I think their immigration officers were one of the nicest in the world. Very friendly and efficient too. 

First time ever in my decades of travel that I saw at the passport control the officer asked all the group members to submit their passports together. So if there were 12 of you in a group, all 12 will be processed at the same booth. It was a pretty smart move, the officer can then see, assess and interview the group at the same time. Smooth process, super efficient 👏🏻

Airlines:

We flew via Malaysia Airlines. Direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Hulhumale (vice versa). Both return flights were on time.

1 January 2026  MH485    KUL-MLE   10:10  11:25

4 January 2026  MH486    MLE-KUL   23:15  06:50(+1)

Tour Leader: 

Since we go ourselves, we were the tour leaders 😋 Of course I will rate us A++ 😂

Local Tour Guide:

Our tour guides were the internet and social medias 😋

Currency:

Their currency is MVR Maldivian Rufiyaa. On our way to the hotel, our airport shuttle driver asked us if we wanted to buy Rufiyaa. He said to use the Google rate (at that point USD100 = MVR1545). Since we already planned to go to a local money changer near our hotel, we did not commit to buy from him. 

After we checked in, we went to the Aqsa Exchange and managed to get MVR1959 for USD100. Beside the money changer, there is a shop selling the same excursion that we bought (& later cancelled) online for only MVR850 (RM178). Online price was USD85 (RM352).

Bus:

We took their public transport. Very nice and new double decker buses. No cash accepted, so tourists can pay using credit card. One way ticket for bus or ferry cost MVR10 (RM2.10) from Hulhumale to Male. 

Because of the the Friendship Bridge built by China, bus replaces ferry as the main transportation between Hulhumale and its capital, Male so ferry service became infrequent as a result. Therefore, check the schedule if you wish to experience their ferry service. During our ride, only a few people took the ferry, mostly tourists like us 😅

Bus Driver:

The public bus drivers were very all very conscientious 😍 

Hotels:

We stayed at Season Holidays Hotel, Hulhumale. The hotel's location was superb. Ten minutes from the Velana International Airport, walking distance to the ferry terminal. Plenty of bus stops nearby for a short trip to the capital. A lot of restaurants, supermarkets and souvenirs shops surrounding the hotel. It was also facing the sea with access to the local public beach, you can watch sunrise from there.

The rooms that we got was on the third floor with no lift. The size was good but there was no view whatsoever. Just facing a wall 😅 For RM500/night, in Malaysia you can stay at a 5* hotel 😋 The bathroom was recently renovated (I think) but the size was very small. 

Hotel Breakfasts:

The buffet breakfast selection was good. Not extensive but have enough varieties and quite tasty. I am happy if I can have fresh fruits, eggs and a good cup of coffee every morning. So no complaints 😍

Lunches:

We mostly had late lunch due to the heavy breakfast. We shared a jumbo size fried rice at Lanka Cafe, Hulhumale. The portion was so big that the four of us did not manage to finish it 😅 Should have tapau for dinner 😋. 

I had grilled reef fish at the Riveli Beach Club & Restaurant, Hulhumale (twice), the first time tasted better though 😋 We also had an Indian buffet lunch at a food court near the ferry terminal in Male.

Please note that there will be an extra cost of 8% GST and 10% service charge on top of the published price. Not all shops impose service charge though. Lanka Cafe did not add service charge to their bill. I have no problem with Riveli Club charging the extra 10% since we did get good service from them but for a food court to add a 10% service charge for a buffet meal that we served ourselves? What a scam. 

Dinners:

Since we had late lunch, we skipped dinner altogether. Which suits my intermittent fasting routine. Normally if I joined a full board tour I will tend to overeat but for this trip the amount of food consumed was perfect 😍

Rapport With Fellow Travellers:

Went on this trip with my new travel buddies. We first met as strangers on previous overseas tours and ended up as friends. We're all frequent travellers, so everyone understands the joys, challenges and little quirks that come with travelling abroad. That made this trip even more fun and memorable. Such a wonderful bunch of people. Feeling lucky to have met them and I'd love to go on more adventures together in the future 😍✈️

Timing:

Personally I think that the timing was perfect. The sun was shinning throughout the duration of our holiday. It wasn't too hot due to the wind blowing from the sea surrounding the islands. The position of the buildings in Male also helped provide shades to the pedestrians so you can explore the islands on foot without suffering from a heatstroke or sunburn 😋

Overall:

It was a short and sweet holiday. A wonderful trip to start a new year 😍 No fixed itinerary. No need to rush anywhere. Ample time for shopping. Beautiful blue sea everywhere you care to look. A truly relaxing holiday. Highly recommended!

I've uploaded all the daily photo videos of the trip in my IG account mkhasha.n.travels and daily photo videos of the food at mkhasha.n.food 😀 Do check it out.

Hashtags specific for this trip:
#mks2026Maldives #mks20260101 #mks20260102 #mks20260103 #mks20260104 #mks20260105

Njoy!

Vietnam: Winter - December 2025

The year end is here. How time flies when you're having fun. Our last holiday in 2025. After six years holiday hiatus, I managed to slot in six separate trips this year. Hope to do better in 2026. 

This trip is also particularly important for my mom, who recently turned 77, this will be her last organised tour. If you joined a tour group, you need to do a lot of walking. Going in and out of aeroplanes, buses, restaurants and hotels. Not to mention going up and down the stairs and long walk to reach the attractions. So we decided to explore elderly friendly cruises in the future for her.

This trip was a replacement for my cancelled Pakistan tour in May 2025. It was cancelled due to the short war between India and Pakistan. Despite the war, we still decided to proceed but the Pakistan International Airlines cancelled the flight (after a few postponements) a day before our scheduled departure. My luggages were all packed and ready to go when I received a message from the tour company that the flight and tour were cancelled.

One family already left home and were at the airport when we received the news, so they bought flight tickets and went to Istanbul instead. Crazy!

Because of the bad blood between both nations, now the flight time between Kuala Lumpur to Islamabad is nine hours instead of the previous six before the war. Double crazy!

This tour was organised by Kembara Sufi Travel and Tours. Our second trip with them. The price was RM2390 per person for twin sharing (excluding travel insurance). Six days five nights. Full board. 

Our itinerary was as follows:

1 December 2025   Kuala Lumpur - Ho Chi Minh - Mui Ne
2 December 2025   Mui Ne - Bau Trang - Na Thrang
3 December 2025   Na Thrang - Vinpearl Theme Park - Da Lat
4 December 2025   Da Lat
5 December 2025   Da Lat - Ho Chi Minh
6 December 2025   Ho Chi Minh - Kuala Lumpur

My World Countdown:

Both me and my mom have been to Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Ho Chi Minh before. This was our third visit to Vietnam so there will be no increase in our world countdown. Mine remains at #67 and my mom #55.

POST MORTEM (Updated on 31 December 2025)

Tour Company:

Our second trip with Kembara Sufi Travel & Tours. Trusted company. Easy to deal with. Even though the cancelled Pakistan trip was not their fault, they refunded us in full. In my case I chose to replace it with this trip but the price is lower than Pakistan tour, they just refunded the difference, no fuss. Not all tour companies are this good, some refused to refund and insisted that you join their other trips.

Though I have to mention that since this trip is a replacement for the cancelled Pakistan trip in May 2025, they forgot to give our names to the person in charge of this trip. One week before the trip I asked how come there was no WhatsApp group? Then only they realised their error and immediately bought tickets for us 😆

Itinerary:

Fantastic itinerary. Managed to pack a lot of interesting and diverse activities without feeling too rushed. Enough time to rest at night and explore night markets in the cities. My mom's first and last ride in a go-kart 😅

I love the Datanla Waterfall Alpine Coaster. A thrilling 2400m long luge style ride. The coaster lets riders control their speed through lush pine forests to the scenic waterfall. Whoever is in charge of tourism in Vietnam is a genius. Their tourist attractions are top of the world! 

Their immigration passport control needs to be improved though. Snails are faster I think 😋 Their airport needs improvements too, should at least have a working hot and cold water dispenser 😅

Airlines:

We flew via Air Asia. Direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh. No delay going there, a slight delay coming back. Hate it when they changed gate when there is a flight delay 🥴 Luckily this time round the new gate was not too far from the original gate.

01 December 2025  AK520    KUL-SGN   07:50  08:05

06 December 2025  AK525    SGN-KUL   20:50. 23:10

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur around midnight Malaysia time. Coincidentally my niece and her husband came back from London on the same day, two hours earlier, so my sister and brother in law pick us all up from the airport at the same time 😍

Tour Leader:

Our tour leader is a lady by the name of Zarina. Friendly and capable. I will rate her A-. Helpful when needed. Managed the group well. No missing persons despite the large group of thirty eight people. Took enough photos and videos of the group to make us happy 😆

Local Tour Guide:

Our local guide can speak fluent Indonesian. Her name is Yuni. Young and capable. I will rate her A. I never realised until this trip that the ability of the tour guide to communicate clearly in a language you can understand made the whole trip a lot better. 

Before this trip, all the local tour guides spoke in English with local accents. English is my second language, I have no problem understanding written English but trying to understand spoken English in local accent is a challenge I kid you not 😅 Worse when English is not their first language and they spoke in foreign slang. Imagine a Turkish man speaking English using French pronunciation. So "blouse" in English is pronounce as "blaus" but if you use French spelling it will sound "blau zee" 😂

Though Indonesian is not my first language, it is similar enough for me to fully understand and Yuni spoke very clearly like a local. No Vietnamese accent whatsoever 😍

Bus:

A big bus that can fit all forty of us and our bags comfortably. Thirty eight tour members, one tour leader and one local guide. We managed to do a karaoke session during the long journey from Da Lat to Ho Chi Minh. Good entertainment system on board.

Bus Driver:

A young man. Sorry I forgot his name. I don't think he can speak English or Indonesian. So we do sign language if we need to communicate 😅. He drove very well. We went to Da Lat a week or two after typhoon and landslides.There were signs of landslides everywhere but the roads were mostly accessible. There was a stretch that was a bit dodgy but the driver aced it. Well done young man! 

Hotels:

We stayed in four different hotels:

QLi Hotel, Mui Ne

Happy Light Central, Na Thrang

Xuan Hong Hotel, Da Lat

A&A Toronto Hotel, Ho Chi Minh

All hotels were tourists class. Reasonably ok. Hotel in Mui Ne was the best. The worst was in Da Lat. Happy Light was better than Toronto.

Hotel Breakfasts:

This trip is slightly different than my other tours, we did not have breakfast at the hotel. The reason being the hotel did not serve any halal food. So we went to halal restaurants for breakfasts. The breakfasts were good but the portion was extra small.

If you are a heavy breakfast person it barely assuage your hunger. So if you join this trip, make sure you have biscuits or breads to supplement the food given. I think I know why Vietnamese are generally small and slim, they eat healthy food and very small portion 😅

Lunches:

Typical Asian style meals. Rice and multiple side dishes; chicken,.fish, vegetables, soups and eggs. Relatively good portion if compared to breakfast and quite tasty. There is no need to bring "sambal" from Malaysia. Desserts were local fruits. One type, one piece each per meal 😋

Dinners:

The style of meals are similar to lunch but some nights we had noodles and steamboat. Good portion. Tasty. No complaints 😍 I've taken photos of all the food that were served during the trip. You can check them out at mkhasha.n.food IG account #mks2025Vietnam.

Rapport With Fellow Travellers:

There were thirty eight of us. When I first found out the size of the group, I was a bit alarmed. Normally the tour size was twenty ++ or less. Luckily they were all superstars. All are friendly and most importantly they were all very very punctual. Bravo team! Nobody went missing in action either 😆

Timing:

I think our timing was just nice. The sun was shining but it was not very hot. Short burst of rain during the day helps reduce the temperature. We were lucky that the typhoon hit Vietnam a week or two earlier. We were also told that if we came a week later, no more grapes left at the farm 😅

Overall:

Frankly I did not expect that I would enjoy this trip so much. A truly pleasant surprise. No wonder a lot of Malaysians do repeat visits to this country. A lot of interesting activities and diverse tour attractions all over the country. Value for money. Plenty of shopping to do too (Malaysian favourite past time 😋). Highly recommended 😍

I've uploaded all the daily photo videos of the trip in my IG account mkhasha.n.travels and daily photo videos of the food at mkhasha.n.food 😀 Do check it out.

Hashtags specific for this trip:
#mks2025Vietnam #mks20251201 #mks20251202 #mks20251203 #mks20251204 #mks20251205 #mks20251206

Njoy!