宝贝不合作

怀孕在11周到13周之间，就会进行基本的pregnancy screening test和Down Syndrome test。

这些test对妈妈们来说，基本上不是什么复杂的程序。到了医院挂了号，就等验尿（基本上每个月的产检都做最基本验尿程序，只不过第11周到13周的这次是比较详细的）。然后，就验血。

验血没有什么大问题，偏偏本小姐最怕针筒。一听见护士说需要抽三支小管，我就事先告诉护士，我怕怕！怕就怕，痛就痛，不需要害羞说不出。护士很好，跟我东拉西扯，聊天说地，验血过程一下子就过去了。

验血验尿，基本上就是妈妈的身体检查，胆固醇、血糖、血型（我还是刚刚知道血型！），还有孕期荷尔蒙。医院会运用体内荷尔蒙数量，来推断Down Syndrome baby的风险。

抽完样本以后，就等ultrasound了。不过，这一个scan就比较特别，因为是Down Syndrome test，医院要量好多好多东西。而能不能够量就靠宝宝的姿势了。而我肚子里的宝宝，正在耍脾气⋯⋯

不管radiologist怎么照，宝宝都用小屁屁对着她。搞了老半天，radiologist要我坐起来、躺下来、左侧躺、右侧躺、笑！、咳嗽⋯⋯不管我做什么，宝宝就是只让人看屁股！结果，漂亮的radiologist真的没辙了，叫我在医院走走，买点吃的还是喝的，过一阵子才回来。还安慰我，说今早也有一位妈妈也遇见同样的问题。从早上照到下午，什么都没照到。结果大家都放弃，妈妈只好隔天再回医院。

哇！我听了怕怕！我不想隔天再回医院啊！结果一路走到医院外买豆浆，一路用心灵感应和宝宝沟通，拜托拜托，别让我明天再回来，你转过身让我们看看你好不好？～～

不知道究竟是走路有效？还是喝豆浆？还是沟通？宝宝真地转了过来，还翘起二郎腿！

看到翘得高高的二郎腿吗？

所有该做的都做以后，我们就飞到马尔代夫度假。第一次孕吐也就在那周发生，不过为了美景，为了海洋，为了鲸鲨，为了阳光，一切值得！

度假回来，医生要见见我，看看我，确保我和宝宝都没事，然后告诉我们报告出来一切正常！说我从来都不担心是骗人的，虽然没有无时无刻的担心，不过还真的有担心过。医生说没事，就放心了。

当妈妈就是这样吧？宝宝都还没有出来，就有担心的事儿了。

Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort

Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort is located in South Male Atoll.

Maldives consists of approximately 1,192 islands and  they're divided 26 atolls. Some of the islands are so small, they're not inhabited. And most of the islands are so tiny, the resort own the entire island. The island that Holiday Inn owns, is Kandooma Island.

Holiday Inn Kandooma is approximately 45 minutes boat ride away from Male Airport. And the return boat ride for an adult cost USD209! (It costed more than my air ticket)

Anyway, let me try to start this with a proper arrangement.

Service:
Due to my "special condition", I've informed the hotel reception a day earlier and hope that they take note of it. Well, they take more than just a note.

When we arrived in the airport, the hotel was already there to pick us up. They took our luggages, tagged them, knew right away that I have two different bookings (because different room types), and already giving me some privileges, i.e. best spot on the boat, extra caring, more water and more towels :P

During our stay, we complained that there was no wifi signal in the room. We didn't expect anything because we did notice they're repairing the cables in the island. Therefore, when they asked us to call the counter when we're back to the room, we didn't really bother. The next morning, I went to the counter to look for my lost hat, and I mentioned the room number. Immediately the attentive receptionist recognized the room number, and passed us a small portable wifi. Whoa! Impressed!

Besides, on our last day, we were given early check in to the new luxury room, and late check out due to the late night flight, for free! ^^ Can't be more happy than that!

But sometimes they can be too enthusiastic, almost everyday the receptionist would call us in the room to ask if we're satisfied with the room, if we need anything etc. Well, I mean, I would tell you if I need anything... Don't need to call me everyday :P

The Room:
We've stayed in two different types of rooms. The first few nights in Beach Villa.

The very welcoming bed

Coffee counter and the rest

Outdoor shower :)

Coffee counter, with 6 complimentary oranges everyday

Hammock outside the room

If hammock is not your thing, there's also sofa

Outside the room, facing the seaside

The last night, we stayed in Overwater Villa.

The bed and living room

The path that leads to hammock and the sea

The "outdoor" bath tub

Going back to the room

The "outdoor" shower

Balcony

I have nothing to complain about the room (except for the price). The view was fantastic, anytime anyday. If studies show that blue color is good for your eyes, I have the best eyesight for the 5 days stay in Maldives. Everyday we're flooded with different shades of blue.

However, if you ever wanted to stay in Holiday Inn Kandooma, I will advice you not to take the bigger beach villa as shown below.

Bigger beach villa

The space of this bigger unit was double the beach villa we stayed in. However, the ground floor is completely wasted. It is plainly a hang out area, with hammock, sofas, tables and chairs. The upper level is where you sleep. But the effective space was essentially similar to the beach villa we stayed in. Not worth the price seriously.

The Food:
The food was a ripped off too. Because you're totally depending on the resort to provide you food. You have nowhere else to go, unless you go for a fishing trip, which was still, under the resort.

So, we paid for half board when we booked the room. I can't remember how much was that, but it's definitely not worth for what we have eat but that's the only choice you've got. The breakfast was nice (phew..), I liked the breakfast so I normally spend a lot of time in the morning to enjoy the food and fill my tummy.

Kandooma Cafe which we had our daily breakfast and dinner 

However, the dinner wasn't so great. It has its ups and downs. The best thing we had was the Penang Hokkien Mee that the executive chef cooked specially for us. Other than that, I can only remember the Indian Food buffet one of the nights.

There are other choice of restaurants, i.e. the pizza place (I forgot the name), the "atas" fine-dining restaurant, the bar etc. But the most economical was always the buffet.

Overall, we had very pleasant stay in Holiday Inn Kandooma.

There was only one thing that we really have to minus off the point, was the change of service immediately after the check out. Even though with a late check out, we still have to spend approximately 4 hours in the common area. While we're waiting, the weather was so hot I couldn't take it anymore so I asked for water from the receptionist. And guess what, I was asked to purchase from the souvenir store, which costed me USD3 for 500ml!

Bummer!

When we checked in, we're the kings and queens in the resort. When we checked out, even still within the premises, nah..... lady, you're on your own!

This would probably be my biggest complaint over the entire stay. Other than that, it was really a very relaxing holiday, and healthy too!

头晕晕

头晕晕，晕车晕船是我怀胎以来，新加入的身体变化。

农历新年以后，我因为工作的关系，需要到柔佛走一趟。一开始上路，我已经稍微不舒服。到了关卡，开始堵车，我的胃更是快翻了。一旦过了马来西亚关卡，我请同事让我坐前座才稍微变好。

心里一直在想，是不是怀孕了，身体开始不适应才出现晕车的状况？

晕车已经很痛苦了，那趟路程还特别的堵车，来回新加坡柔佛，花了我们四个小时。结果回到办公室，我已经晕陀陀了。

怀孕前的我，可是在车上看书的人。这种变化对我来说，非同小可。

还好，没有晕飞机（摸木！）。

不过，晕船是另一回事。到了马里机场，酒店员工已经准备接待。飞到马里之前，我已经交待过我怀孕的状况。酒店的服务特别的好，已经做好准备特别招待我。可是，再怎么好的招待，天空突然下起雨来，也不是他们可以控制的。

一般从机场到酒店的船程要45分钟，而我们大概用了两倍的时间。不过，我们在船上还不到15分钟吧，开始行雷闪电，下起大雨来。原本平静的海洋突然颠覆起来。我的胃开始很辛苦地撑住。

抵达马里的那个晚上，我们乘搭的船只大概象上图一般大小。说大不大，说小也不小，肯定可以乘载大约15人。

最糟糕的便是GPS在大雨中失灵了，没有了GPS，因为大雨而看不到前方的路，船只无法前行，只好在海中摇摇晃晃。三两下之后，我就开始吐。把我怀孕以来，第一次的孕吐奉献给印度洋。全程，总共吐了两次。

还好隔几天，天气都特别合作，乘船出海不再有状况。不过，因为这些新添加的状况，我也变得比较小心。要是乘车出远门，我会带点酸梅等类的食品在身上，以防再出状况。

先是口味的转变，再来motion sickness，接下来还有什么在等待？

一碗Penang Hokkien Mee

入住Holiday Inn Kandooma的第一晚，我们收到了邀请函，邀请我们到隔天傍晚Diving Centre的Welcome Party。我们在岛上，闲着也是闲着，倒不如去看看那里是什么状况。

我们不善交际，拿着一杯饮料自个儿在那里闲着。可是哦，酒店的员工可不会让我们闲着，很快就一眼被盯上，结果不同不同部门的经理啊等等就来聊天。我也趁机向他们了解马尔代夫。

正当我们准备离去，我们听见有一群人在用槟城的福建华交谈。很好奇，男人就问问他们是不是槟城人，也自我介绍我们都是槟城来的。那一群人当中，有位男士是玻璃市来的，不过从小在槟城长大，算是位老槟城。还有一位女士，甚至是大山脚来的，还同一个Taman，世界真的太小了。

那位男士名叫Vincent Tan。他是酒店的Executive Chef。我们一群人用我们熟悉的语言天南地北的谈了好多以后，我的肚子实在按耐不住，饿了。我们先告辞，然后吃完饭去。

在餐厅那里，还是遇见了Vincent Tan（当然啦！），他向我询问我们坐在哪里，然后为我们碰上一人一碗热腾腾的槟城福建面！

马尔代夫的槟城福建面（iPhone)

还说：“不好意思啦，我没有黄面，用spaghetti代替了！”

哪还有什么不好意思，我们才不好意思呢！有大厨为我们下厨，是我们的荣幸！

就这样，我们在马尔代夫，吃一碗Executive Chef为我们的煮的槟城福建面。

真是爽啊 :)

Sun, Sea, Beach! Glorious Island Holidays at Maldives

Different shade of blue caused by the sudden change in depth of the sea bed

I've always had a love-hate relationship with island holidays. I love the sun, the blue blue sea, the sandy beaches, the relaxing days, the calming sound of waves, the quiet underwater world, and forever busy fishes!

But, my skin doesn't love it so much. Every time I expose myself too much to UV on an island holidays, I come back with serious rashes that eventually leads to MC. Never fails!

However bad the condition is, I still brave myself to go for another one.

Maldives, a place where many claim to be paradise, best spot for honeymooners. A place we know, it's very expensive!

The luxurious over water villa

Nothing seems to beat sunbathing with a bottle of icy cold water

We've got our air tickets to Maldives at cheap. We bought them during MAS promotion, and it was cheaper than AirAsia and Tiger Airways! And that, I swear to you that is going to be the cheapest item for your entire stay in Maldives.

We stayed in Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort which was having some promotion when we booked. However, even with the promotion, it was the most expensive hotel lodging I've ever paid for since I started actively travel. But, if you were to compared with the other highly recommended luxury resorts, Holiday Inn may be one of the cheapest with reasonable good standard and service. (I'll talk about the hotel in a separate entry)

I totally agree with the claim that Maldives is one of the best spot for honeymooners, well, luxurious honeymooners at least.

You wake up every morning, enjoying a nice walk on the island, strolling with your lover slowly to the cafe to have your daily 1-2 hours breakfast. After breakfast, if you have not prepared for a sun bathing or swimming, you might again, make your way back to the room, change and get ready.

Then, you'll be applying sun block (or sun tan for some people) by the beach for each other. You might be reading a book by the beach, listening to music, meditating, sleeping, swimming, snorkeling etc. That might be another few hours of your day.

Swimming and snorkeling at the lagoon

Just find any of the corner to relax

Everybody has a fave spot to read a book

By the time it hit 1-2pm, the sun is scorching hot to stay under it. You go back to your room, enjoy an outdoor shower. Probably, fall asleep again? Or, go to a spa for massage or facial. Or, to gym. Or, to read on your hammock.

Or you can hide in the bushes like these hermit crabs

In the evening, when the sun is kinder. Everybody is out from room again. Some playing volleyball, some swimming, some learning surfing or sailing, some just taking pictures. Then, you'll have another 1-2 hours or even longer time for dinner.

Sail away to the paradise

By the time you go back to your room, you're so relaxed, you might fall asleep before 9pm. And you sleep all the way through until you wake up in the morning, naturally without the alarm clock at 6am to catch a glimpse of the sunrise.

The sunrise

The sunset

It does sound like a perfect relaxing holiday isn't it?

Until you want to join other activities. Every single activities are charged. Snorkeling, diving, cruise to picnic island, fishing, searching for sea turtle, searching for whale shark etc. We didn't join all the activities obviously, but The Man did diving and we went for snorkel with whale shark together. Snorkel with whale shark was the highlight of my trip (will talk about this in later entry), however, the price was USD199 per pax, without tax. After tax, we paid almost USD500 in total for 2 pax. For the whale shark!

Besides, the short snorkel we had after seeing the whale shark was nothing compared to what we had in Sipadan Island. Same goes to The Man's diving trip. Disappointment of lack of beautiful corals and rare fishes makes us conclude that South East Asia still hold better spots for diving and snorkeling. We might be wrong for making this conclusion based on one small island among the thousands in Maldives. But comparing just Kandooma Island and Sipadan Island, Kandooma is nothing compared to Sipadan, underwater.

So I shall say Maldives is only paradise on land. The luxurious hotel that makes you feel like you deserves every single good service they can provide, at a price of course.

My colleague did say something very interesting about luxurious island getaway. We pay to be trapped in the island.

From source

No doubt.

But man, I paid to be trapped and I enjoyed to be trapped. (Sound unreasonably stupid!)

I enjoyed because it's the most healthy 5 days I've been; I enjoyed because it's so relaxing I forgot everything in a further red dot island; I enjoyed because I never get tired of the different shades of blue every single day.

But will I go back again? Well, most likely not. I guess I will explore the cheaper and better spots in South East Asia instead.

频频肚子饿，却不知道该吃什么

每个人对怀孕都有自己的一套。好多不可以吃的，好多不可以做的事情。

可是，一人一套，每人不同，结果听多了就越来越混淆。究竟谁对谁错，谁能说清楚。所以后来，我决定听医生的，当然还有妈妈的。妈妈生了我们三个，虽然没有牛高马壮（基因问题），我们也都健健康康的，妈妈一直以来被姑丈称“铁做”的。所以，依照妈妈的，应该没错。

农历新年回来以后，不知是否新年不停地大吃大喝，把胃口撑大了。回到这里，可痛苦。每两个小时就肚子饿。在这种非常时期，不是说想要吃就吃，太多吃不得的食物。结果，肚子饿变成一种负担。

究竟应该吃什么！！！！

正当胃口渐渐恢复正常，大概是8－9周左右吧，我的味蕾开始出现让人极度不舒服的变化。我的舌尖上，无缘无故出现让人难受的metallic taste。这个taste可让我痛苦了。好多食物吃进嘴巴里，就变另一种味道。好多食物渐渐变得不好吃，尤其好多蔬菜让人觉得难以下咽。但逼于无奈，宝宝健康成长需要蔬菜，我还是逼自己吃。

这味道让我开始嗜甜嗜辣。唯有这两种味道可以帮助掩蔽metallic taste。至于甜食，最有效的便是水果，因此，我变成无水果不欢，每天下午晚上各一种水果，柳橙、苹果、梨子、芒果、草莓、杨桃、香蕉、猕猴桃等等，天天替换，反正家里这少有两种水果，办公室里还有一种。不过，最常吃的还是苹果，最爱。

Fruits! Glorious fruits! (摄于2011年巴塞罗那）

怀孕真的让人变得很奇怪！

除了味蕾的变化，我本身没有对任何食物有什么craving。这也成为我头疼的问题之一。多数孕妇觉得craving造成了麻烦的问题，想要吃某种食物的时候，遍寻不着。而我呢，吃饭时间到了，面对种种的选择，一个都看不上。没有一样特别想吃。结果同同事吃午餐的时候，在小贩中心转了一圈又一圈，看了一次又一次，都不知道该吃什么。很多时候，都是为了吃而吃。

晚餐比较容易决定，总是由雪柜里有什么就煮什么，就不必想太多。 而且，雪柜里的groceries多半是同男人周末一同买的，他已经帮我决定了一半 :)