Last week my ever romantic husband took me on a surprise trip for my birthday. The only hints I had were that I’ll be able to swim, it’ll be warm, and an itinerary showing on which days we’ll fly (which looked quite hectic – a flight on almost every second day).

Sightseeing in Bangalore

Our first stop was a day in Bangalore. You’ll remember that Theo visited the city alone in May while I was in South Africa – so he decided I needed to catch up, giving me a chance to admire the lush gardens, huge statues of Ganesh and Shiva and the impressive Bangalore Palace.

The hotel was magnificent. Built in 1887 midst 20 acres of tropical gardens, the Taj West End looks like a small paradise. The restaurants were equally impressive, with colourful lighting, and waterfalls and greenery. And yet again, as with most of our trips in India so far, we bumped into someone we knew! This time it was the head of Sanlam’s international investments (Hendrik Pfaff) who stayed in the same hotel for business and recognised us.

Dinner was on the porch of the Masala Club, an Indian food restaurant at the Taj West End, surrounded by red lanterns and with rain pouring down on the palm trees just a few metres from where we were sitting.

We decided to try our Hindi on the waiters. Luckily they understood and looked rather impressed! At the end of the evening, filled with Hindi conversation and waiters looking quite impressed with Theo’s romantic birthday present, our main waiter approached with a big, white box. In it was a rich chocolate cake, with complements from the chef, with “Bon Voyage” written all over it!

Mali → Male’ → Maldives!

The next morning we had to get up at 3:30 – complements of Air India. They cancelled the only (confirmed!) flight available to our next destination, after Theo made and paid for all the arrangements for the week. What they didn’t reckon with, was Theo’s German blood that kicks in whenever people or organisations don’t honour their commitments and cost him time, money and comfort. My friend and former colleague, Lucille, had a rather fitting description for Theo in that mode: Bulldog. After many days of heated conversations between Theo and them (from which I was banned to protect The Secret), Air India realised they’ll only be able to move on if they make and pay for alternative arrangements so that we don’t lose out on the original plans and a lot of money. Great for us – but causing interesting travel times!

My next flight ticket said “Destination: Male”. Desperately wishing I had paid more attention in geography class, Theo took advantage of my confusion, asking if I don’t remember this African country, and saying I mustn’t worry, it’s only a stop-over until the next flight to our destination … Well, I might be behind in geography, but there’s nothing wrong with my spelling abilities. That one’s spelt “Mali”! But Theo didn’t budge. In the end, after already being sleep deprived because of Air India, I decided the buggers couldn’t spell either, and left it at that.

As I looked out of the window on our way to “Mali”, I realised the aeroplane started to descend amidst the ocean, with clear, turquoise patches, sitting like large, uneven gem stones in the dark blue water. I turned to Theo with big eyes and mouth wide open, wanting to tell him that they can drop me here – he can go to Mali on his own! But the satisfied grin on his face gave it away. We landed in the Maldives.

There was indeed one more flight, but a much more exciting one with a seaplane from Male to the island Meeru, where we stayed. However, the rest of Theo’s itinerary was a scam (which I didn’t mind at all!), as we stayed on Meeru Island for the rest of our holiday.

The island is breathtakingly beautiful and tranquil, and we stayed in a luxury air-conditioned wooden water villa on stilts in the sea. On the one side of the villa the bathroom led to an outdoor jacuzzi, and on the other side a wooden staircase led from the deck with sun chairs right into the sea, with tropical fish swimming everywhere. Our next six days were spent snorkling, swimming, lying in the sun with a book, walking on the beach and eating way too much three times a day. We were also surprised by a few heavy rain showers that disappeared just as suddenly as they appeared – but at Meeru you just continue walking in the rain, knowing that sometime that day you’ll swim in any case!

We had some great experiences at the spa, also on stilts in the sea, with glass floors so that you can experience the sea life below you while having a Thai massage.

One evening Theo and I went out on a boat for night fishing – and everything you catch, they’ll prepare for you at a small price. With Theo being the fishing expert, my idea was to go for moral support. But, lo and behold, I caught the first fish of the night! Not a very impressive catch (it looked more like a gold fish), but I was still surprised, shocked even, at my accomplishment. After that Theo’s talents took off and he caught two jack fish and a snapper. Loving seafood, I ordered one of the jack fish for my one dinner, and the snapper for the other, which was really well prepared.

On my birthday Theo spoilt me with yet another chocolate cake, and later a fruit basket and chocolate pudding was delivered to my room, with complements from the management.

That evening I was surprised with another massage at the spa, which ended with a relaxing half hour in their jacuzzi outside on the deck, watching the ocean and the rain, pouring down, with a glass of champagne in my hand. For dinner that we went to the Asian restaurant on the island where I was spoilt with prawns, lobster and more champagne. Theo’s original plan was to have our dinner on the beach, but with another storm brewing, we sat inside the restaurant with small waves breaking close to our feet on the undercover deck. Good thing our villa was quite a walk to and from the spa, restaurants and bars – otherwise I would have come back many sizes bigger!

Needless to say, my birthday week was the best ever. And I believe I have the best husband in the world!