Best of the Maldives: Turkish Bath – Ayada

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Ayada - Turkish spa

Happy Turkey Day. No, not yet Thanksgiving, but Turkey’s national Republic Day. This is the resort Ayada’s day. Ayada takes is style and motif inspiration from that vibrant Bosphorus link where east meets west.

One eponymous way to celebrate could be in Ayada’s own glittering Turkish bath. You can have an authentic Turkish massage on the central stone slab. Or just melt away in the resplendent sauna which goes up to 50 degrees.

In Turkey, they say “Hamama giren terler.” (“he who enters the sauna, sweats”…sort of a version of ‘reaping what you sow’) but sweating has never been so sweet!

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Best of the Maldives: Watch – Cheval Blanc Randheli

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Cheval Blanc Randheli Hublot King Power

Daylight Savings Time today in the UK and a bonus hour for every one as the clocks go back. In the Maldives, time just seems to evaporate into the sun-drenched ether. But for making transfers, measuring dive time and getting to activities, if you need a chronometer as luxurious as your destination, Cheval Blanc Randheli introduces the Hublot King Power 48MM Oceanographic 4000 (thanks again Francisco)…

“By TLex Hublot have unveiled this, the latest edition of the King Power 48MM Oceanographic 4000, the Cheval Blanc Randheli Special Edition paying tribute to the unspoiled beauty of the Noonu Atoll in the Maldives, where it is exclusively available from Cheval Blanc Randheli. This is at least the 11th iteration of the 4000; in all honesty they aren’t getting any better looking. There’re a couple that I like, such as the Caribbean and of course the original version. Still there’s no denying the hardware itself, this is one of the most technologically advanced divers watches available today. It is water-resistant to 4000 metres and meets with the exacting specifications of the NIHS, international standards of Swiss Watchmaking. Its seal was tested by Hublot in a ROXER tank, submerged and pressurized to the equivalent of 5000 meters. To ensure the water-tightness of the watch and to resist this extreme pressure, its Sapphire crystal is 6.5mm thick and its caseback engraved with the ‘Cheval Blanc’ motif and ‘Randheli’ text in yellow is made of grade 2 Titanium. Further features include luminescent markers in Cheval Blanc Randheli yellow emitting a yellow hue allowing legibility from a distance of 25cm in the dark, an NIHS requirement that all 4000 watches meet. The watch comes with a white rubber strap with a buckle straps.”

Pressure tested to “5000 meters”! The “deep sea” is considered anything deeper than 1800 metres.

As impressive as its specs are, my favourite super decadent Maldives-spirit watch has always been the Choppard Happy Sport (see below). In fact, I first saw it on a billboard at the Male airport. The jewel encrusted fish which float about capture the main event at the Maldives and the option for a simple rubber band captures the laid-back casual ambience of the islands.

 

Choppard Happy Sport Maldives

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Best of the Maldives: Aerial Yoga – Six Senses Laamu

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Six Senses Laamu - aerial yoga

Instead of a yoga matt, Laamu introduces the yoga hammock. How Maldives!

“Aerial yoga is fast becoming the hottest trend in the world of yoga, bringing together stretching, breathing and meditation with gymnastics and aerial arts. Now available at Six Senses Laamu, it uses a hammock, made of a soft and supple parachute-silk fabric, which is suspended from the ceiling and used to support the body weight during a sequence of postures. Aerial yoga shares the mind-body connection principles of the traditional yoga practice, while the weightlessness helps remove compression from the spine and opens up joints, leading to stress and tension release. Additional benefits include muscle strengthening and lengthening, low impact cardiovascular conditioning, increased mobility, deeper body awareness and self-esteem…Performed in a sequential flow to music…classes incorporate levitating meditation, zero-compression inversions, sun salutations, floating savasana and joint opening moves…Certified by Ay Fly Training, the resort’s Yoga Teacher Elle Fernandes is a pro when it comes to tailoring classes to individual needs.”

This description includes one of the most lyrical phrases I have come across (in a world where mellifluous rhapsody is commonplace): “levitating meditation, zero-compression inversions, sun salutations, floating savasana.” Yes, I’ll have some of that, please.

Group classes are $35 per person while private classes are $85 per person.

Popular poses, I would imagine, include the Crane, the Eagle, the Feathered Peacock, the Heron, and the King Pigeon.

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Best of the Maldives: Aqua Yoga – Park Hyatt Hadahaa

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Park Hyatt Hadahaa - aqua yoga 1

Bouncing around in the water takes a more controlled, purposeful and therapeutic dimension at Park Hyatt Hadahaa. Their Vidhun Spa offers its own special Aqua Yoga programme.

The developer and teacher of this innovative activity is spa yoga teacher Deeksha (see photos). Like many activities (especially those that involve a bit of pain and effort), her charisma and energy mutes the discomfort and difficulty. She personally turns the pool into an effervescent jacuzzi of can-do with her bubbly personality.

Water is such an immersive part of the Maldives experience, I love it when resorts take activities into the water. The cool and refreshing water provides a crisp contrast to the soothing heat of the ever present sunshine. But when it comes to yoga, the aqueous venue provides extra benefits. First, the natural buoyancy of your body in water facilitates a whole range of yoga moves for a beginner that would require guru level balance and proficiency to achieve standing on land. Secondly, water provides a natural source of resistance. Instead of bands or other devices to provide strength building resistance, Deeksha has devised a number of gentle movements in the water where the water itself is your resistance.

The whole concept does raise the potential for an entirely new range of yoga moves…

  • Downward Facing Dogfish
  • Dolphin Plank
  • Eagle Ray Pose
  • Half Frogfish

Park Hyatt Hadahaa - aqua yoga 2

Park Hyatt Hadahaa - aqua yoga 3

in water

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Best of the Maldives: Water Trampoline – Kuramathi

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Kuramathi - water trampoline

Sand banks aren’t the only middle-of-the-ocean features that move around the water like some sort of Lost plot. Kuramathi’s “Aquaglide” water trampoline gives guests the opportunity to bounce all over the place too. Also ‘Best for Water Tiggers’, ie. ‘bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun.”

(thanks Paul)

Kuramathi - water trampoline 2

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Best of the Maldives: Private Sand Bank – Jumeirah Dhevanafushi

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Jumeirah Dhevanafushi - private sand bank

 

 

Jumeriah Dhevanafushi offers its some of its water villa guests their own private “plot of sand” bank right in the ocean right next to the villa. However, like much of the organic and fluid Maldives, this sand bank moves all over the place and shifts from villa to villa throughout the year.

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Best of the Maldives: Tapas – Velassaru

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Velassaru tapas

Today is the anniversary of Columbus sailing the ocean blue to discover the “New World” which Spain celebrates as its “Fiesta Nacional de España”. Another “new” the Spaniards have brought the world is spin on bite-sized “nouvelle” cuisine – tapas. It seems like everything in the trendiest restaurants is a tasting menu these days. I’m a big fan of this foodie fashion as a I would much prefer a smorgasbord of tastes than a smothering of serving size. And at Maldives resorts, the ubiquitous buffets do provide a DIY sampling opportunity. But if you want the a true Spanish tapas experience, then you must paseo over to Velassaru who offer a special tapas menu at their Chill Bar restaurant.

Ole!

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Best of the Maldives: Buffet – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi buffet 1

Soneva Fushi turns the buffet into a smorgasbord.

Buffets are one of the resort world’s staples. They can be a simplified logistics way to cater to large numbers and diverse tastes without a massive outlay of service staff or preparation staff. As such, the focus tends to be on diversity and efficiency than gastronomic excellence. Of course, there are exceptions – Bellagio in Las Vegas, Porcao in Rio de Janeiro, Queen Mary all over the place. Soneva is one of those exceptional buffets.

No quality seems to have been spared in the sheer quantity of delectable offerings. The sushi is better than most places in London (I love the fish egg garnish and the pieces weren’t dry as can be the case with many pre-prepared sushi offerings).

Part of Soneva’s secret is taking the notion of a “station” to a whole new level with specialty “rooms” catering to special foods. There a cheese room, cereal/bread & pastry room and of course its infamous ice cream room.

Soneva themselves describe their culinary cornucopia…

“We aim to anticipate our guests’ desires. In the words of Oscar Wilde, ‘Nothing succeeds like excess.’ In that spirit we have gone delightfully overboard for you at the culinary heart of our island. Mihiree Mitha means ‘Here it is’, and almost any dish you crave is here. The day begins with a bounty of just-baked goodies, two dozen imported cheeses, eggs any way you like, a treasure chest of homemade jams and fresh fruits… luscious mango, papaya, passion fruits. For lunch or dinner, choose from the freshest sushi and sashimi, organic salads, wood-fired pizzas, grilled fish, delectable tandoori. For a sweet finish, more than 60 homemade ice creams and sorbets await, including unexpected flavours like honeycomb and rosemary, piña colada and chocolate-lemongrass.”

Soneva Fushi buffet pizza oven

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