For a bathroom that sparkles, not even the most powerful cleaner will get you as dazzling as the The Standard. Their villa water closets feature their own glitterball which radiates as many shimmers of light at the Maldives nighttime sky or the sun-splattered Maldives sea.
Stem cells are truly amazing components of the human body. They are undifferentiated cells that can turn into wide range of cell types (or they can just replicate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell). As a result of these distinctive characteristics, they are seen as the original human cell from which the human organised has evolved. A friend of mine recently had a life saving stem cell transplant where his faulty immune system was destroyed by the doctors and then they introduced the right stem cells to grow him whole new, healthy immune system (forgive the over-simplification).
Soneva Fushi has brought the scientific magic of stem cells to the Maldives offers the first ever stem cell treatments for a range of skin care procedures – Soneva Soul – First And Only Stem Cell Centre In Maldives (maldives-times.com):
The treatments are from Sweden-based Cellcolabs, a biotech company that’s devoted to growing global access to stem cell treatments. Built on two decades of study at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, they specialize in the high-class manufacture of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The procedures include:
The Maldives are famed for their tranquil and shallow lagoons, but The Standard features the calmest, shallowest micro-lagoon in the Maldives. A little tidal pond formed on the main beach. We used to play in these with delight when we were youngsters. If your lucky a few tiny fish will have been trapped in a little temporary beach aquarium.
We are noting a increasing number of plunge pools in villas. Having your own private pool is becoming the norm for the 5-star luxury properties. The plunge pools are actually superb for the younger children (safe and perfectly adequate) and frankly for most adults (who often just want a literal “plunge” to cool off from the heat especially if they have been lying in the sun. Oaga’s plunge pools, like al the rest of the property, present an yet another canvas for artistic creativity.
The Maldives’ underwater spectacle was its first (drawing divers from around the world) attraction and, even with all of the on-land development of spectacular properties, remains one of its top attractions today. But if you don’t want to get wet snorkeling or invest in the training for scuba, the growing fleet of submersibles around the resorts give you a cozy front row seat to all the underwater wonders. The latest launch is The Patina’s two-seater, bubble canopy SEAmagine. The two seater also allows for the pilot to hand the controls over to the guest for the Maldives’ first ever submarine pilot training:
Not only has the Maldives grown as a destination over the years, but the role of women at the destination continues to grow as well. OBLU Helengeli set a milestone in one of the areas most synonymous with the Maldives – diving –
Diving with the Tiger Sharks at Fuvahmulah is a truly bucket list dive experience and several dive companies operate from the harbor right where the sharks visit. After my characteristic research, we chose Pelagic Divers and we weren’t disappointed. Our case for choosing them was…
No sooner said than done, my draft of the recent “Haven’t Seen” post (#21) included the popular summertime game of corn hole. Only for it to pop up at our visit to the The Standard. Sandbags on the sand!
Most luxury resorts in the Maldives provide a creative welcome and they will always have several staff at your departure to wave goodbye as you ride away. But Heritance Aarah is the first resort we have come to with a creative departure ritual. Your host performs a farewell blessing for you and your journey ahead (see video above).
The trademark of this blog has been identifying distinctive features at Maldives resorts. Things I have never seen in my 20+ years of visiting over 120 properties there. In my online research and other world travels, I sometimes I also come across distinctive things I also haven’t seen in the Maldives. This particular item at The Standard, I have not seen in the Maldives, not come across elsewhere in the world, and in fact, didn’t even know such a thing existed. In fact, if you told me that it did exist, I still would have trouble conceiving it. But not as much trouble as I had playing it! In fact, as the video above demonstrates, it seems near impossible to play. And I’ve played a fair amount of table tennis in my time having a table in our basement growing up and in our adult home. Playing it for a little while, I think the objective of the game is not really competitive and getting the ball past your “opponent”, but rather collaborative in terms of striving to see how long a rally can continue before the crazy, three-dimensional randomness prevails.
