One of my most memorable exotic breakfast concoctions has been Huvafenfushi’s tropical twist on a breakfast crepe. They also infused their batter with coconut, but then added carmelised banana, palm sugar and lime syrup.
Délicieux!
Best of the Maldives: Coconut Waffles – Vilamendhoo
Waffle, waffle, waffle! There’s a day for everything, it seems, and today happens to be Waffle Day (a Swedish tradition).
I always wonder why more resorts don’t add a touch of the exotic to ordinary dishes. Which is why when I like to fuss over the exotic soupcon added to the soup, or the delicate tropical ingredient added to the delicacy.
One example is Vilamendhoo’s coconut waffles. All resorts have a breakfast buffet and most serve have a pancake and waffle station. Just a touch of coconut turned Vila’s from an ordinary offering to an extraordinary extra.
Läcker!
Best of the Maldives: Bike Accessories – Soneva Fushi
If you you prefer your luxury non-motorised vehicular transport of the self-propelled kind, then you can get no more posh than Soneva Fushi. It comes outfitted with a pouch that includes a face cloth for wiping your face if you get a bit sweaty from the pedalling as well as a handy basket for carrying paraphernalia like cameras or snorkel gear.
But the swishest feature are the vanity license plates. New guests have their initials (see below) and repeat guests and staff have their first names (wherever possible).
Modelo velo!
Best of the Maldives: Wedding Buggy – One & Only Reethi Rah
Do you I do? Time to pop that question with National Proposal Day today. When you start planning you nuptials, you want to book that ideal vehicle to escort you from the chapel. Maybe a posh Roller, or a vintage classic or even a horse-drawn carriage. While the transport is simple, none of those beat the elegance of the paradise surroundings if you opt for the One & Only Reethi Rah wedding buggy though!
“Upper-Crust Married”
Best of the Maldives: Astro-Turf Tennis Courts – Dusit Thani
Happy St. Patricks Day. The day for celebrating all things green. So a tip of the old leprechaun’s hat to Dusit Thani and their brilliant green astro-turf tennis courts. This surface combines the benefits of softer playing and less heat retention and reflection in the bright equatorial sun. A few other resorts also offer astro, but Dusit is the only one with two!
Erin go bright-green!
Best of the Maldives: Jetty Island – Ayada
If the Maldives islands aren’t small enough for you, the Ayada has created its own “Ile de Joie” (Island of Joy) in the middle of its water villa lagoon. It serves as the home for its cheese and wine restaurant.
Over water venues are great for ambience offering intimacy with the water below, but they are all wood and construction and so depart from the natural splendour of the island. Except at Ayada, they have brought the lush tropical nature to their overwater restaurant with foliage, flowers and even palm trees planted on this little culinary cay. A great place to hand out all day long with their distinctive dhoni seats on the deck.
Best of the Maldives: Boat Harbour – Royal Island
The most discreet boat captains moor up at Royal Island. One of the least natural parts of any resort island is the marina. They need some place to park the boats. The marine craft laden jetties here are often the unsightly nook of the house reef.
Not at Royal Island where they have taken advantage of a nearby island with its own cove to park all their boats in their own sheltered mini-harbour (see photo above off shore). As a result, zero boats clutter the shore and a circumambulation of the island is unspoilt by such infrastructure.
Best of the Maldives: Boat Captain – Kurumba
International Women’s Day today celebrates the inspirational achievements of women around the world. One such woman is Aishath Rizuna “Rizu”, the Maldive’s first female boat captain trained and appointed by Kurumba…
Rizu herself comes from a line of strong and active women. Her mother and grandmother are very practical and very sporty. Her mother fixes electrical issues and out swam all the boys while her grandmother still climbs trees…
“From her background, Rizu was born and raised in Funadhoo, Shariyani Atoll. Her father is a fisherman so Rizu has sweet memories about the time when her father taught her how to swim, snorkel and fish in a traditional Dhoni boat. At the very young age of four, Rizu’s father taught her how to drive a small boat, and by the time she was a teenager she was selling small boats in the lagoon of Funadhoo. Rizu’s father (Mohamed Nazim) curiously also worked in Kurumba at a young age thirty years ago and has been a great support to Rizu’s evolving career. We are delighted with the support of our twelve male Captains, who certainly gave her all the necessary help needed for her practical training as well as her theory course. Rizu is still developing her skills and knowledge of the Maldivian oceans, which will take some time. Whilst she will continue her role as Majaa Recreation Supervisor, these additional skills can be used in the future from time to time when guests are looking for a female crew.”
Maldives Complete had the opportunity for an exclusive interview with Rizu. Special thanks to good friend and fellow blogger Eileen Brown who helped with the questions. Eileen herself was the first female to be employed as a Deck Cadet in shell Tankers (UK) Ltd and is currently one of the leading promoters of women in the UK technology sector…
- What is the best aspect of your job? – It’s always been a dream to travel around, being a boat captain allows me to fulfil my dream and that’s the most enjoyable part in my job.
- What were your biggest challenges as you trained to become a boat captain? – The biggest challenge I had was that every single part in the boats were so new to me. I felt like I was back in school, where I had to learn everything from A to Z, but with the help of all the people around me I overcame all challenges and I am so thankful to everyone.
- Were there any physical obstacles that you needed to overcome? – I would say it’s more mental challenges that I had to overcome more than physical ones.
- Did your lack of physical strength hinder you much? – The thought “I am a woman and I can’t do that” never even crossed my mind and most importantly everyone around me never tried to put it in my head either.
- What were the attitudes of your classmates as you progressed through your training? – Very helpful and positive comments from the start, from the moment I told them that I am going to take the training as a boat captain. These comments pushed me forward and it’s always great to know how much people appreciate your hard work.
- Did you have anyone that championed and supported you? If so, was it a big advantage? – Honestly and to be fair I have to say everyone, but I am particularly thankful for the support of my Family, the Kurumba Management team including our Fleet Manager Mohamed Shameem and the whole Kurumba team for being with me.
- Did you encounter anyone that was very against you progressing in your career? – No! Only positive feedback.
- Now you are a captain, what are your plans to encourage other women to follow your path? – Well, it’s a choice. This opportunity came to my doorstep, why would I wait? My dream is waiting out there. There’s always one thing I would like to say now and I will always say it: “follow your dream until you reach it, never give up and take your chances”.
- What next for you in your career after your captain job? – It’s a bit too early to decide anything right now. I am enjoying driving the boats around and working towards my dream, which is visiting each and every island in the country.
Aye, aye, Kurumba!
#PaintItPurple
Best of the Maldives: Reading – Kurumba
International Book Day yesterday. Unfortunately, in this digital age, books are getting to be an ever rarer commodity. But nothing says switch off from the modern world than curling up on a hammock under some palm trees with a good book.
I haven’t seen many resort specific books in my travels. So many books are dominated by pretty pictures of paradise and thinly veiled promotion. But Kurumba’s “The Kurumba Story” has lots of substance about the history and day to day life on the resort island. Most people think that you have to go to a “local island” for a “local” ife, but the resorts themselves are their own significant communities in the Maldives landscape with their own stories and characters.
The book looks back in time over 40 years of Kurumba’s life as a resort chronicling the emergence of this tiny island nation into one of the world’s most coveted tourist destination. It complements the story with an extensive collection of rare and intriguing photos of this vibrant period.
And for some lighter reading, Kurumba also publishes its own Kurumba magazine which again I applaud for focusing more of the intriguing accounts of life in this fascinating part of the world than it does on promoting the resort itself. Their latest issue includes the following articles…
- “Casting Calls” – Examination of the difference between hand line, big game and other types of fishing, traditional and modern.
- “The Tree of Life” – Peon to the eponymous Coconut tree.
- “Raising the Bar” – Staff profile of one of our favourite people on the island, Hillary.
- “Loyal Friends” – Guest profile of a family that have visited Kurumba 72 times (!)
- “Above & Below” – Staff profile of Momo (who did our great manta videoing)
Best of the Maldives: Octopus – Jumeirah Dhevanafushi
Probably the most elusive of the Snorkel Safari Big 5 to bag is the master disguise, the Octopus. My wife’s and my favourite sightings are octopus. We had spotted several on our dives, but hadn’t seen one on a resort house reef for over a decade when we one played hide-and-seek with us in the shallow lagoon of Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu. So we were a bit sceptical when the Jumeirah Dhevanafushi staff were boasting about their ‘resident’ octopus. But they didn’t just say that some octopus could be regularly sighted around the island. They insisted that he could be reliably found at his favourite hovel just under the spa jetty (see photo). Mind you, don’t think you can just walk on the jetty and hope to see him. When we went looking for him on our snorkel outing, we swam right over him without seeing him. It wasn’t until we had turned around that we saw him peeking out of his rocky crevice.
And like the song, thanks to the jetty, his “garden” is indeed “in the shade”!