Best of the Maldives: Pool Water Volleyball – Club Med Kani

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Club Med Kani - pool volleyball

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace today. As you explore sport around the world, one of our favourite pub quiz questions is “What is the SECOND biggest sport in a country?” That’s because, working in the sports industry as I have been, you quickly learn that there is one major sport in the world that has lots of completely different styles, but only one name – “Football”. Soccer, American Football (NFL), Aussie Rules. Completely different games, but one shared name and all dominant in their countries. So number two is intriguing as well as diverse.

  • Formula 1 – 17 countries (eg. Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, Singapore)
  • Basketball – 11 countries (eg. Greece, Turkey, Argentina, China, USA)
  • Ice Hockey – 8 countries (eg. Sweden, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia)
  • Rugby – 4 countries (eg. UK, France, Ireland, South Africa)

What is particularly intriguing are the second biggest sports that are relatively unique to that country. A few of my favourite examples…

  • New Zealand – Netball
  • Thailand – Kick Boxing
  • Mexico – Boxing
  • Iran – Table Tennis
  • Egypt – Squash
  • Pakistan – Field Hockey
  • Denmark – Handball

All that said, Football isn’t top of the heap absolutely everywhere. Here are a sample of countries where a sport other than Football is number one…

  • Canada – Ice Hockey
  • Croatia – Tennis
  • Cuba – Baseball
  • India – Cricket
  • Latvia – Basketball
  • New Zealand – Rugby
  • Pakistan – Cricket
  • Taiwan – Basketball

The Maldives is no different with Football being the most popular. And it’s #2 sport, at least among the resort workers, the #2 sport is Volleyball (same as Brazil). And in the Maldives, there are all types of volleyball. Most resort staff field serious teams that play other resorts with regularity on some quite sophisticated courts. Maldivians play court volleyball, beach volleyball…and of course water volleyball. And the resort where it is most prevalent is Club Med Kani. Kani’s main pool seems to always have some sort of major group activity going on and volleyball is one of the popular ones.

Ace service!

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Best of the Maldives: Rope Bridge – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi rope bridge

No “Swiss Family Robinson Chic” (with a little bit of “Indiana Jones Panache”) is complete without the treetop rope bridge. In Soneva Fushi’s case, it overlooks the lush tropical canopy leading to its “Fresh in the Garden” restaurant. They also have a more solid sinuous bridge leading to its observatory if you prefer your spectacular view to be upward rather than downward.

Soneva Fushi rope bridge

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Best of the Maldives: Over Water Decks – AaaVee

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AaaVeee overwater decks

You don’t need a water villa to enjoy the over water lounging at AaaVeee. This fresh new face in the Maldives resort crowd has added special decks that any can use for that over-water lounging vibe…

“Perched majestically in 3 sturdy decks above the sea, these 3 nature discovery decks set on stilts overlooking the calm blue lagoon, scenic beach, peaceful islands and the ocean, boasts simply stunning views of dazzling sunsets. You could sunbath on these quiet comfortable wooden sunbeds while chilling with the excellent drinks which we provide.”

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Best of the Maldives: Standard Water Vila Roof Deck – Nika

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Nika - roof deck selfie

As much as people think about the underwater landscape of the Maldives, I enjoy just as much the view down on the mottled blue landscape. So it’s great when resorts offer a slightly elevated platform from which to enjoy the cerulean scene.

A number of high decks are available on resort islands, but Nika’s water villas provide a great platform from the comfort of your own vacation home and smack in the centre of the azure action. I’ve titled it “Standard Water Villa” because Six Senses Laamu also has a water villa roof deck, but it is a significantly higher cost band.

From Carolina Amora’s snap above, it looks like a nice view to me (the ocean looks good too).

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Best of the Maldives: Windows Seats – Virgin Airlines

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Virgin Airline glass bottom plane

With the cancellation of the Sri Lankan Airlines direct service and British Airways curtailing its own London-Male service in the summer months, most UK travel to Maldives has required the tedious stop-over. But the customer-focused Virgin Airways has not only stepped into the breach with its own daily direct service to the Maldives, but it has done with an aeronautic innovation so appropriate to the destination…glass bottomed planes.

Richard Branson himself announced, “The Maldives is a destination renowned for its spectacular seascape. People marvel at its aquatic sights underneath the surface with glass floors in many villas and they do so when they fly above this amazeballs azure archipelago. It is the perfect destination to launch our new state-of-the-art planes which lets every passenger enjoy this turquoise tapestry when they arrive.”

Using the same pressure-resistance, high tensile strength glass that the famous underwater restaurants there use, every seat is a window seat! The scenic wonder is ideal for that climactic arrival to the otherworldly archipelago as the distinctive tapestry of blues emerge in the seascape below. I much prefer these windows-full planes to the windowless planes the industry has been talking about recently. And lest you think this can’t be real, see the full details on Virgin’s website – “Virgin launches glass-bottomed plane”.

Virgin Airline glass plane

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Best of the Maldives: Vintage Cocktails – Velaa

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Velaa - vintage cocktails

Vintages are the marques of distinctive quality for the finest wines, but how about “vintage” cocktails?  Velaa bills them as the Maldives’ “Rarest and Most Expensive Cocktails”.  Starting at $1,230, they would make a Top 10 list in the world are a mostly certainly the most exclusive in the Maldives.   But anyone can throw together lots of expensive ingredients. What I like is their distinctive attention to the story behind each…

“History in a glass – the cocktails celebrate vintages from bygone years – using the finest vintage Ports, Cognacs and Armagnacs, such as Guy Lheraud, Vieil a unique 1930’s vintage as the base liquors for each drink…The dedicated mixology team at Velaa has developed their first-class repertoires for these fine aged cocktails and aim to transport guests back in time to the prohibition years in New York or Chicago.”

  • The Goal of 1934 (USD$2,090) – Inspired by the 1934 World Cup in Italy, where Czechoslovakia lost 2-1 to the host nation in the final. This cocktail is created with Guy Lheraud “Carafe Eve” 1934 and Bollinger “RD” Extra Brut, 1996.

  • A Good Year Cocktail (USD$1,930) – 1930, known as the year of peace and tranquillity, heard BBC Radio from London on 18th April reporting that “There is no news” and a good year for all, uses vintage Armagnac – Guy Lheraud, Vieil Armagnac 1930 and topped with Louis Roderer Cristal.

  • Lucky & Al (USD$6,530) – Homage to the Prohibition era in the US, this cocktail is created with a vintage 1930’s Guy Lheraud, Vieil Armagnac and Salon 1988 Champagne.

  • The Belle Époque (USD$4,285) – A time of peace and prosperity, this era is considered the start of the ‘golden age’ post World War I and is made with a rare Guy Lheraud, Vieil-Armagnac, “Baron Gaston Legrand” 1888 and Dom Perignon Cuvee Rose 1982.

  • Eiffel Tower (USD$2,470) – For 1990, when the Paris World Exhibition celebrated the Eiffel Tower, this cocktail is created with Guy Lheraud, Vieil-Armagnac “Baron Gaston Legrand” 1900 and Dom Perignon Onotheque 1996.

  • Fly me to the Moon (USD$1,230) – Based on the moment when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, uses Vintage Port- Graham’s 1969 or Cognac Guy Lheraud “Fins Bois” 1969 and is topped with Salon 1999 champagne.

So you can toast today’s 127 anniversaire of the Tour Effel’s opening with a double distillation of “drinking stars”.

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Best of the Maldives: Fish and Chips – Amilla Fushi

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Amilla Fushi - fish and chips

Lillian Gish and hairy nips.

If molecular cuisine is the epitome of epicurean epiphanies, then the opposite end of the spectrum would be good old fashioned fish and chips. But in the Maldives, even this austere staple can have an artistic twist.

Amilla Fushi’s has taken a page from one of London’s top eateries, The Ivy, famous for both its celebrity clientele and for serving luxury fish and chips. The Fish & Chip Shop venue is located in the Baazaar eaterie run by leading Aussie chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan on the resort. They serve favourites such as battered or crumbed cod, haddock and scampi, as well as some of the more exotic local fishermen’s ‘catch of the day’.  Complete with newspaper wrapping (though I hope it is The Times or the International Tribune).

Chic Chippie.

 

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Best of the Maldives: Instant Ice Cream – NIYAMA

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NIYAMA - instant ice cream 2

If you can’t find gold, then make it. Instead of a pirate, that calls for an alchemist to magically turn ordinary ingredients into the most coveted taste treasure. That’s what NIYAMA has brought to its resort this past week with its pop-up Chin-Chin ice creamerie…

“Chin Chin Labs, the pioneers of made-to-order artisanal liquid nitrogen ice cream, is conjuring up culinary creations and haute cuisine ice cream at PER AQUUM Niyama from 16 – 21 March. Part of PER AQUUM’s PULSE line-up for 2016, adults and mini VIPs alike will be put under the spell of the ice cream magicians, straight out of London’s Camden Market, as they unveil exotic limited-time flavours at the pop-up parlour on the resort’s new island, ‘Play’. With all ice creams made fresh to order, the exclusive flavours will feature ingredients from the resort Chef’s own herb garden ranging from Roasted Sweet Coconut Curry, Mango & Saffron, Banana Blossom & Jasmine to dairy free options such as Passionfruit & Raw Cacao Nib. Guests can also get involved at the hands-on Nitro Workshops at BLU’s Cooking School on 17, 19 and 21 March. Hailed as the ‘Best ice cream parlour in England’ by The Times and the ‘Future of Ice Cream’ by The Observer in the UK, Chin Chin Labs has achieved a cult status amongst chefs and ice cream aficionados – not to mention children – the world over. Shunning traditional techniques and convention, Chin Chin Labs has been creating artisanal ice creams to order, frozen with liquid nitrogen and billowing with clouds of ‘ice’ since 2010. Having pioneered liquid nitrogen ice-cream as a retail concept, Chin Chin Labs uses liquid nitrogen at -1960C to freeze their handmade bases, which then boils away in a vapour cloud creating fresh ice cream.”

Liquid nitrogen chilled ice cream has been a staple of molecular gastronomy popularised by Heston Blumenthal (his Fat Duck restaurant is a few miles from our house and we have been frequenting it since he first started out). I’ve actually wondered when this culinary chemistry would make its way to this epicentre of epicurean luxury (#34 of ‘Haven’t Seen Yet – part 4’).

NIYAMA - instant ice cream

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Best of the Maldives: Dine Around Tour – Park Hyatt Hadahaa

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Park Hyatt Hadahaa - culinary treasures

Happy Easter! If the Easter Bunny didn’t bring you enough eggs, then maybe you need to go hunt for them. When our kids were younger, we not only organised treasure hunts on our Maldives visits, but we organised Easter egg hunts at our house or church before we tucked into our traditional Easter dinner of roast lamb and Lori’s famous carrot cake.

Park Hyatt Hadahaa offers a gastronomic treasure hunt every day (including eggs, though not the chocolate version), with their “Culinary Indulgence”. For $670 per couple, you are treated to 5 meals (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, evening cocktails with canapés, and dinner) at assorted special locations around the island.

Fortunately, I pilfered a treasure map about from a scallywag rogue indicating where the culinary treats and treasures can be found.

Happy hunting.

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Best of the Maldives: “Glass Floor” – Soneva Fushi

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Soneva Fushi spa glass floor 1

One of the classic “wow” features of the super-deluxe properties are the glass floors in the water villas to peer down on the aquatic playground below. Soneva Fushi’s lack of water villas hasn’t stopped it from it from offering its own version of a truly ‘glass’ floor in its yoga pavilion. Down the centre of the room are glass floor panels. But instead of maritime life beneath, it has a sparkling canvas of crushed glass recycled from the island. It’s like an aquamarine carpet. Just another example of Soneva’s glass ingenuity.

Soneva Fushi spa glass floor 2

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