A number of resorts bring the produce of their garden directly to your table and some sit your table in the garden itself, but now at Kanuhura the garden actually joins you at the table. Don’t worry about having someone pass the water as the table includes is very own embedded water feature passing right through it.
What really floats my boat when it comes to this hobby is discovering something I haven’t seen before. Having stayed at more Maldives resorts than anyone in the world, as well as regularly researching and scanning the digiverse for the latest developments, it’s harder to stumble upon something I haven’t seen. By my recent Instagram trawling yielded this nugget from Constance Halaveli. A HamacLand canopied garden raft described as “a cross between a personal island and a private VIP floating lounge”. Complete with his and her hammocks for swaying in the gentle ocean breeze and undulating ocean current.
One of my most frequent FAQs is “why do I do it??” (why put so much time into researching and update the Maldives Complete website). I often respond to people that “Maldives Complete” is my hobby. To which they respond, “Sounds like an expensive hobby.” My response to that comment is usually, “Well, most hobbies are expensive…travel, golf, cars, etc.” Maybe not knitting and jigsaw puzzles. But I came upon a drawing by my friend Hugh MacLeod (above) and I think he captured the sentiment even better. Simply put, immersing myself in paradise 365 days a year makes me happy. J
Today is Train Day today celebrated by people whose hobbies are trainspotting and train sets. My Maldives hobby is a bit like both of those. Like trainspotting, I get a big thrill to find a unique feature I didn’t know about, a missing resort picture or piece of information, or (recently) spotting a fashionable celebrity photo. And the website itself is like my own little train set that I am constantly tinkering, tweaking, adding, perfecting.
It’s also a different type of “training” altogether. I actually first started the site as a sandbox to play with, experiement with and learn new Internet technologies. As the digital world has progressed, Maldives Complete has been the locomotive steaming me through the landscape of new interactivity (eg. porting Silverlight to HTML5), social media (blogging, migrating to WordPress, engaging with Instagram).
Thomas the Tank Engine: You’re a really helpful engine.
Lady: And helping each other, brings to life the magic in all of us.
[In “Thomas the Magic Railroad”, the conductors finally get their supply of magic gold dust]
The Maldives is all about the surface. The nexus of sea and sky in this land of boundless horizons. Where the islands themselves are just inches above the waterline and the reef wonders just inches below. But LUX South Ari Atoll has been pushing this boundary above and below the water taking their guests to new heights and depths innovative ways…
Many of these activities have been replicated and even prevalent across the holiday destination, but as the posts describe, in most cases they were the pioneers to introduce these far flung experiences. LUX is always pushing the boundaries of luxury and perspective.
If you are looking for a passenger seat with a bit more adrenalin, then it doesn’t come much thrill-seeking than Velaa’s new tandem “jetovator”…
“This is a really unique toy as it can be used by two people at the same time, so beginners have it easier than ever to experience this thrilling activity as they can have one of our instructors on the back. It is also a great couple or parent/child activity! Tandem Jetovator is an aquatic toy that mimics the feeling of riding a tandem bike over the ocean. With a top speed of 25 miles per hour, it can fly up to 25 feet or drive down to 10 feet. And for those more experience, it can even do flips and barrel rolls inducing the so loved adrenaline rush. The state of the art toy has twin controls allowing it to be controlled from the front or rear seat and making it more comfortable for first timers as they can feel secure with their partner or instructor on the back seat that can take over the controls at any time.”
No more fears of jet-powered head dunks for novices. Double barrelled rolls!
For fatigue and sun protection, Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru peloton of bikes includes a special child carrier for those who might just find pedalling up and down the sand trails a bit tiring (hmmm…I wonder if they have one big enough to hold me?
If you want to keep from getting pink in a carcinoma-inducing sun over-exposure way, Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru offers private beach huts for guests:
We often struggle with the delicate balance of being as close to the water as possible, but having access to more sun protection than an umbrella and/or palm frond. We find ourselves moving back and forth from our beach perches back to the shelter of our villa set back further. Vabbinfaru provides sort of the best of both worlds with this bonus villas.
Sort of a home away from home away from home.
Danish Liberation Day today. And for those Danes who want to be liberated from the chills of the North Sea, then Canareef has just the sort of sunshine escape to the Laccadive Sea. They have partnered with Primotours to provide a special Danish treat (not the breakfast kind):
Note: If you are interested in more details, see their website, but they only have Danish guests travelling to Maldives so their webpage is in Danish.
Den solrige side af livet!
Maldives may be the best snorkelling in the world (if Calsberg did snorkelling destinations…), and alternatives like Indonesia might rival it, but here are a few places that definitely do not. Here is the definitely Maldives Complete list of ‘unconventional’ snorkeling (shall we say generously) in the world (not surprising at all that 2 on the list are in the United Kingdom)…
With the rising costs and declining reefs of the Maldives, one of the increasingly frequent FAQs is “Is there anywhere else like the Maldives”. In particular, given the Maldives’ distinctive snorkeling, “Are there any places which rival the Maldives’ world-leading snorkeling experience.”
One of the more commonly cited possibilities for tropical resorts with tranquil isolation as well great snorkeling and diving is Indonesia. We recently took a trip to Bali for a friend’s wedding and thought I would add on a week to visit Komodo, Indonesia and check out the snorkeling scene.
We stayed at a lovely 4 star (equivalent) resort in Komodo national park – Komodo Resort and Dive Centre. The pictures and reports indicated that I might have stumbled upon something to rival the Maldives’ snorkeling supremacy. The resort was in the highly rated Komodo Natonal Park which is a protected marine area as well as a national park on land. Roving police come to your dive and snorkelling boats to check that you have a requisite permit for being there (you purchase these on arrival).
The two destinations had some arbitrary subjective differences…
But below are some of my observed comparisons. Admittedly, my impressions are a bit superficial given that I only spent a week there. Still, I did do extensive research to prepare for the trip, the location is reputed to be one of the best in the country (so should show the destination in some of the best light), I spoke extensively to staff, residents and other guests there to compare notes and ferret out more perspectives, and I have the experience of snorkelling all over the world (eg. Caribbean, Mediterranean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean).
Not as good as the Maldives…
Better than the Maldives…
