Best of the Maldives: Video Series – Conrad Maldives Rangali

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Conrad Maldives Rangali youtube videos

And the winner of the ‘Best Online Video Series’ for the Maldives Academy Awards goes to…[drumroll]… Conrad Maldives Rangali

One of the first things I put on the design list for the Maldives Complete Resort Profiles was a link to videos. No matter how professional the sumptuous photography of this colourful paradise, a video is worth even more words than a picture. Even photographer extraordinaire Sakis Papadopolous has started doing more videography in his Dreaming of Maldives portfolio.

At first, I was quite frustrated by the available videos of the resorts. The worst were the pictures-set-to-music (with a bit of special effects thrown in). These slide shows really added nothing (except saving some the mouse clicks of going through a gallery. Other clips were amateur holiday clips that sometimes provided a quite thorough guided tour of the island (for the entertainment or envy of their friends and family back home).

We are starting to see some really comprehensive and well done videos on the web now. Leading the way is Rangali who have introduced their own YouTube channel of nicely done videos of everything from the Spa Experiences to Resort Jobs (subtitle: “From Life As A Submarine Driver To Window Cleaner At The Underwater Restaurant.”)

Sunshine, Camera, Action!

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Colourful Coral Confocal

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Coral Under Confocal

 

 

Before the big ‘Oscars’ red carpet ceremony tomorrow night, a number of the minor categories get awarded – ’Animated Short’, ‘Documentary Feature’…’Confocal Microscopy’.

Right up there with the cascades of flowers, shoals of fish and expanses of sun dappled ocean, the ubiquitous coral reefs are one of the most colourful parts of the Maldive experience. Any snorkeler will have had the chance to see red soft coral, green Table Coral, blue Staghorn Coral, and yellow Fan Coral. But this video of “Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy” takes us deeper into the universe of colours these coral polyps inhabit.

Pass the popcorn.

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Best of the Maldives: Chef’s Table – Kandooma

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Kandooma chefs table

For those who like to get close to the cooking in action, but without actually getting their hands dirty, the ‘Chef’s Table’ is an intimate way to savour the smells and action of a vibrant kitchen operation. Increasingly, top restaurants are exposing their kitchens rather than sequestering them out in some back room separated from diners with some swinging doors made for comedy collisions. Now, expansive set-up counters expose the chopping, a stirring and flame-fired cooking a short glance away from your table.

Kandooma has an actual proper Chef’s Table set in the kitchen itself. It’s not just a front-row, court-side seat, but the whole ambience of the meal changes. You are less of a spectator and more of a participant (but without the hustling and dirty work). The chef’s come over and chat and sometimes show or share something they are working on.

I didn’t get to do the Chef’s Table during our visit, but I did have the treat of one at Gordon Ramsay’s at Claridges Hotel a few years back and it was a whole different dining experience. Kandooma can seat up to 14 and like most chef’s table, the menu is quite customised to your particular interests.

 

Kandooma chefs table 2

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Best of the Maldives: Ice Cream Carts – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives ICI ice crean cart 2

For kids, there is no song so sweet, no sound so pure, no music so adrenalin stimulating as that of the chimes of the ice cream man coming down the street. LUX* Maldives treats all the kids at heart visiting their island with the hot weather joys of the ice cream truck coming down the road with free ICI ice cream cones.

Ring, ring…

LUX Maldives ICI ice crean cart 1

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Best of the Maldives: New Music Tag

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Dreaming of Maldives music

Music.  It’s been a while since I’ve added a new category to the ‘Best of the Maldives’ features.  But yesterday’s Tibetan Singing Bowls inspired me to add ‘Music’.  We have several now mostly falling under the ‘Entertainment’ category.  But, for those audiophiles out there, I thought I now had critical mass to merit its own tag. Here are the pieces to date…

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Best of the Maldives: Tibetan Singing Bowls – Gili Lankanfushi

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Gili Lankanfushi - Tibetan Singing Bowls

 

 

 

And gong goes to…

The Grammy for ‘Best Meditative Inspiration’ goes to…[drumroll]…Gili Lankanfushi. Nominated by Sakis of ‘Dreaming of Maldives’. He featured these ambient instruments in a recent post complete with a video so you can enjoy their soothing tones.

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Best of the Maldives: Chinese Fondue – Vilamendhoo

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Vilamendhoo chinese fondue 2

Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese cuisine is right up there with Maldivian and Indian curries as a common cuilinary feature of Maldive restaurants. In fact, it’s hard to go anywhere in the world without a Chinese dining establishment. I’ve eaten in many and I’ve not yet come across a specialty featured at Vilamendhoo of a ‘Chinese Fondue’…

“Seafood, beef, chicken and vegetables which you will cook in a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of your table. Truly delicious! Choice of chicken, vegetable, tom yam or miso soup. $40.00 Per person.”

Chinese expression for ‘bon appetit’ is ??? (mànmàn ch?!) which translates as ‘eat slowly’ which is easy to do with a relaxed fondue preparing each item individually.

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Best of the Maldives: No Shoes – Gili Lankanfushi

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Gili Lankanfushi - no shoes

All of the Maldives exemplifies ‘no shoes’ natural relaxation. Yes, some of the newer super premiums have introduced a little bit more formality with their posh luxury, but the best still maintain that informal and casual elegance. Dressing for dinner typically doesn’t mean footwear (though we like to freshen up after a day in the sun and salt and put on some of our more stylish attire for our Maldivian evenings).

The brochures and websites emphasize this barefoot ethos, but Gili Lankanfushi hits you over the head with it. The minute you step foot on their transfer boat, is the last step you will take in your shoes. Don your life jacket, grab your tropical refresher and then they hand you a canvas bag with the words on it “No News, No Shoes”. It is a shoe bag to put your shoes in immediately. They will take care of getting them to your room and then the idea is you don’t crack open that bag until you board the boat again on your departure.

I love this explicit approach. Not just because I come from America, the land of explicit directness, but because I think many people do need this direction and even prodding. The Maldives is so unlike any place on earth, many people have trouble accepting that it is actually as laid back and idyllic as it is. They think it is maybe a bit of marketing hyperbole and it takes them a few days for it to sink in that things truly as relaxed as promised. And it’s a shame that in those initial few days they’ve missed out on a degree of relaxation for fear that they were violating some decorum.

No confusion at Lankanfushi. They want their guests to start feeling the sand between their toes the minute they step off the boat.

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Best of the Maldives: No Shoes Commute – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives sandbank

At LUX* Maldives, the streets are paved with silky sand. Not just the pathways, but the major intra-island thoroughfares…across the ocean.

During low tide, one of the longest sandbanks in the Maldives connects LUX* to the neighbouring local island of Dhigurah (the sandbank is in the middle of the bottom of the picture above and Dhigurah would be further down below the edge of the picture). Guests actually need to avoid temptation of crossing it (there is a sign asking guest not to pass) because the local island is Muslim and things like women in bikinis are preferred kept in the resorts. Also, if guest loses track of the tide, then they can be stranded. But, a number of workers are from the island and walk across the isthmus land bridge to work at times.

Best commuter line ever.

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