Best of the Maldives: Plastic Upcycling – Siyam World

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Siyam World - plastic upcycling

Siyam World is floating a different kind of “cycling” with their Pllastic Upcycling Center…

  • “Siyam World Maldives has unveiled the nation’s first dedicated Plastic Upcycling Center in collaboration with local environmental NGO CLEAN Maldives…Designed to turn discarded plastic items, such as oil containers, cleaning product drums, and shampoo bottles, into functional products like sunbeds, planters, and outdoor seating, the upcycling center is the first of its kind to operate at this scale in the Maldives at a resort. While other small-scale efforts have existed previously, including one formerly active in Malé and limited facilities elsewhere, this represents a nation-first in terms of scale, circular process, and community integration on a resort island. Beyond resort-generated waste, the facility also accepts plastic from the nearby inhabited island of Kudafari, reinforcing Siyam World’s role in supporting surrounding communities. In a shared value model, 60% of the upcycled items will remain at the resort, while 40% will be distributed by CLEAN Maldives, with both partners committing to donating select products for use in public spaces like island parks, beaches, and communal areas.”
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Best of the Maldives: Water Bike – Grand Park Kodhipparu

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  Grand Park Kodhipparu - pedal water bikes

Another Finally Seen (cf. Even More What I Haven’t Seen – Maldives Complete Blog) with water bikes at Grand Park Kodhipparu. Most of the landscape in the Maldives aren’t big enough for much of a bike ride, but the seascape…that’s a different story.  They are available for 30 and 60 min sessions, it’s available daily between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Pre-booking is not required, comes first – served first.  No minimum age, but children must be accompanied by an adult.  A great way to explore the mill calm lagoons of the Maldivian waters, look through the crystal waters to the marine life below, and use pedal power rather than arms for paddling.

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Best of the Maldives: Private Car – Sun Siyam Olhuveli

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Siyam World - private car

The resorts feature quite a collection of vehicles to transport you around the property (especially the bigger ones). Reethi Rah allowed its guests to self-drive one of their standard buggies, but Sun Siyam Olhuveli’s is stylish Jeep design with plush seats and flashy red colour. It is available to residents of their multi-bedroom Beach Residence and a driving license is required.

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Maldives Vintage Map

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Maldives vintage map

I love me a good map, and after featuring so many here, I felt that I had to have one of my own to grace the walls of our home. There are lots of vintage maps of the Indian Ocean and a number that just feature the Maldives. The one above is the one I ended up purchasing a print of as it seemed to have the most aesthetic charm. If you want one for your own memento (not recommended for modern navigation), and Google Image search can find several for sale pretty readily.

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Best of the Maldives: Cereal Treats – Sun Siyam Olhuveli

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Olhuveli - corn flakes pudding

I was delighted to come across this “Corn Flakes Pudding” at lunch not only because I am an all-day breakfast kind of guy, but also because it evoked a wonderful culinary story told in Netflix’ “Chef’s Table” episode with Christina Tosi. One of Tosi’s famed innovations was “cereal milk” pastries after which her iconic restaurant “Milk Bar” is dubbed (they even have “Cereal Milk Soft Serve Ice Cream”). So I had to ask Sun Siyam Olhuveli’s Executive Chef Didi Hassan when I spoke to him about this concoction to which he recounted the following:

  • “We need to have a kind of crunchy dessert. Kind of like cookies. I didn’t have any options. I created this granola mix with the chocolate. And then the guests were asking for it for three days in a row. “Can I have this one? Can I have this one?” I asked the executive pastry chef to come up with a new pudding. I told him to go for something no regular. Something people can remember us by.”
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Best of the Maldives: Cake Mixing – Sun Siyam Olhuveli

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Sun Siyam Olhuveli - cake mixing 3

“Cake Mixing” is a holiday tradition that hadn’t especially heard of. The closest our family came to it was baking and frosting Christmas cookies, but I guess making fruit cakes is a big thing. Actually, our close friends of German heritage do annually have a big stollen cake mixing (and baking) tradition that we are a beneficiary of by means of an annual fruit, nut and marzipan packed treat every December. It turns out that cake mixing has become an especially popular tradition in India and neighbouring Maldives has picked it as well.

Sun Siyam Olhuveli has featured a cake mixing event at its resort every year, but this year’s was the biggest, most elaborate ever including a celebrity chef leading the way – Charith N Silva who has the YouTube channel ‘Wild Cookbook’ with over 600 videos and is now Sri Lanka’s largest YouTube channel with over 10 million subscribers.

  • “Every year, it has been a tradition in SSOV to do the annual cake festive cake mixing called ‘Rumtopf’. A Rumtopf is a traditional practice in Germany where festive fruit preserve commonly prepared ahead of the holiday festive season. It consists of seasonal fruits layered with sugar and preserved in rum, allowing the flavors to mature over time. During the festive period, the dried minced fruit is served as a celebratory accompaniment ingredient for fruit cakes, baked goods, desserts, etc.”

Sun Siyam Olhuveli - cake mixing 4

Sun Siyam Olhuveli - cake mixing 2

Sun Siyam Olhuveli - cake mixing 1

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