Best of the Maldives: Children’s Story – Soneva

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Soneva Jani - lost and found

You might expect the first children’s book in (and from) the Maldives to feature some sort of marine creature, but instead the protagonist is a furry little land resident. Well, resident on Soneva Fushi. Soneva has been home to bunnies not just at Easter (Happy Orthodox Easter today!), but all year round since its beginning.

“Lost and Found in the Maldives” tells the story of a bunny named Benjamin who finds himself on this tropical paradise and it introduced to their own leporine luxury. He gets a tour of all of the intriguing sights of the island. The book is the work of Amie Malmstrom, the sister of the “Eva” part of “Soneva”. Complete with charming illustrations, the book is a lovely way to either anticipate or remember a trip to Kunfunadhoo. And of course, the only place you can get it is at one of Soneva’s island bookstores.

   

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Best of the Maldives: Room Eggs – Amilla

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Amilla - room eggs

Happy Easter! Time for easter egg hunts. And there is perhaps no easier egg hunt in the world than Amilla! Its bronto-sized egg is one of the most distinctive design features in its villas. Not just for its size, but also for its curiosity. The first question one has is “What is that??” Well, I know it’s an egg! But what is it for?? As it turns out it is also a Maldives distinction as probably the most artistic luggage rack! By far the biggest egg we have seen in the Maldives…or anywhere for that matter.

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Best of the Maldives: Cold Brew Coffees – Soneva Jani

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Soneva Jani - cold brew coffee

[photo credit:  Jai Lam]

One doesn’t typically think about a “cold brew” first thing in the morning to start your day. But cold brew coffee is a made by using time rather than heat to coax the coffee flavour out of the beans. Using cold water can take between 18 and 24 hours, in fact! The result is a brew which is a bit lighter, more floral, less acidic and more caffeinated than hot brewed coffee.

Soneva Jani not only offers cold brew, but actually has a collection of cold brew concoctions:

  • Tropical Pandan Brew – fresh banana, coconut milk, cold brew pandan coffee
  • Sparkling Brew – cold brew esperesso, homhade hibiscus syrup, top with tonic
  • Tumeric Latte – cardamon, cinnamon, honey, coconut milk, turmeric, top with espresso
  • Lemon Grass Cold Brew – homemade lemon gress syrup, top with cold brew coffee
  • Cold Brew Latte – cold brew coffee, top with milk
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Best of the Maldives: Maldivian Breakfast – Amilla

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Amilla - Maldivian breakfast

Amilla not only sends you off to dreamland in style, but welcomes you back to the land of your dreams with equal distinction. In particular, it has completed mastered the “Indian Ocean” breakfast vittles’.

The heart here is Maldivian Mashuni. A light pancake, fresh tuna, chillies and coconut morning delicacy of the Maldives. Lori is a particular afficionado and has it at every resort that serves it (which is pretty much every resort). She declared that Amilla’s was definitely up there as one of the top execution.

Then, we move to another breakfast buffet standard – the breakfast curry. In most places, I’ve tried this dish out of curiosity and I do like a curry, but in more cases they just seem like re-heated leftovers from the previous dinner layout. Amilla’s version is light, fresh rendition which really suits the early hour and was especially tasty.

And to complete the Laccadive trifecta, they also serve a Sri Lankan Pani Pol Egg Hopper. A charmingly local (well, nearby) variation on the your morning eggs.

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Best of the Maldives: Sleep Pillow Treats – Amilla

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Amilla - Sleep pillow treats

International Pillow Day today. Just the time to settle in for an extra special slumber. And to help you on your way, Amilla treats its guest to sleep pillow goodies. Each take pillow chockies to a new level made with ingredients meant to facilitate your dozing. Each one includes its own message with a sleep tip, eg. “Increase your exposure to natural light to help readjust your sleeping patterns.”. They include:

  • Tart Cherry Chocolate – Tart cherry juice has been proven to increase the body’s levels of melatonin, a natural hormone which helps regulate your sleep/wake cycle.
  • Roselle Macaroon – Roselle, a type of hibiscus, has many nutritional and medicinal values. This natural antioxidant may help reduce blood pressure and aid in the digestion of complex carbohydrates.
  • Coconut Turmeric Shots – Coconut can help regulate sleep hormones and provides lauric acid, linked to more restful sleep, while turmeric is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.

Sweet dreams!

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Best of the Maldives: Most Unique Time – Maaprolfulshi

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Maldives April Fools

Daylight saving time moved the clocks forward in the UK this week. Other countries have other dates when they adjust their clocks (eg. the USA did theirs two weeks ago). Some countries in the world are even shifted a half hour or even 45 minutes.

The Maldives also has their own set of time variations despite all of the islands sitting on virtually the same longitude (time zones move by latitude). This has created the curious notion of “resort time”. Resort time is an hour different to the main Maldives time which is also known as “Male time”. But some resorts go even further. Nika’s resort time is 2 hours behind Male.

But Maalprolfulshi resort has topped them all by setting its resort time to 37 and half minutes ahead of Male time. The Director of Chronology R.U. Ciddingmee commented:

  • “We at Maalprolfulshi have pioneered the most curious innovations to the guest experience and we feel that this distinctive clock time will help our visitors to completely disconnect with the rest of the outside world not just geographically, but also chronologically. Even if they try to join that conference call with work, there is no way they will be able to figure out exactly when it is taking place so they will have to miss it.”
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