Maldives QI, Part 2

Portugese Man of War

Question: What is this a picture of?

Answer: A Jelly Fish.

[Soundeffect]: Buzzzz! Wrong. This is a ‘Portugese Man of War’ which is not actually a ‘jelly fish’ but asiphonophore. Siphonophores “differ from jellyfish in that they are not actually a single creature, but a colonial organism made up of many minute individuals called zooids. Each of these zooids is highly-specialized and, although structurally similar to other solitary animals, are attached to each other and physiologically integrated to the extent that they are incapable of independent survival.” In this respect, Portugese Man Of Wars, also know as just ‘Man of Wars’ or ‘Blue Bottles’, are more like coral polyps.

As it turns out, this fact was so obscure that it escaped the Ceremonial Master himself in the first series of QI. Stephen Fry referred to a ‘jellyfish’ as the ‘right class of animal’ as a ‘Portugese Man-of-War’. In reality, Man of Wars are not even the same of the same Order as jellyfish. They are in the order Hydrozoa, while jelly fish are in the order Scyphozoa

Bill: Forget the buzzers. Off the buzzers now. I would hazard a guess and say the, erm, the Portuguese Man-of-War.
Stephen: Oh, now, do you know, I’m gonna give you five points, ’cause you’re so much in the right class of animal.
Bill: Ah! See?
Stephen: It is a jellyfish.
Bill: A jellyfish.
Stephen: Yeah. It is a jellyfish.

Just one of the many fascinating facts we learned about Maldive ocean life during the talk by Marine Biologist Verena Wiesbauer Ali put on by Kurumba.

Maldives QI, Part 1

Stephen Fry QI

In honour of Stephen Fry’s brilliant QI (short for ‘Quite Interesting’) TV comedy quiz show returning to BBC this weekend, we feature a couple of Maldives QI questions of our own…

Maldives Clown Fish

Question:  What common, colourful fish in the Maldives is this a picture of?

Answer #1:  A ‘Nemo’ Fish.?

[Sound effect]: Buzzzz! Wrong. The character ‘Nemo’ in Disney’s filmFinding Nemo’ had three white stripes as a opposed to the single one shown above.

Nemo

Answer #2: A Clown Fish.

[Soundeffect]: Buzzzz! Wrong. You are close in that the term ‘clown fish’ is often applied to all members of the family of ‘Anemonefish’, but not all Anemonefish are really clown fish including this specimen.

Anemonefish are from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae and only one specific species of Anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris, is actually designated the ‘Clown Anemonefish’. The fish shown at top is really a ‘Amphiprion nigripes’, also known as a ‘Maldive anemonefish’.  With its cousin ‘Amphiprion clarkii’ (also known as ‘Clark’s anemonefish’ or the ‘Yellowtail clownfish’), they are the two species of Anemonefish (out of 27 that exist worldwide) found in the Maldive waters.

As it happens, a number of Anemonfish have also been dubbed ‘Clownfish’ in their informal names such as Amphiprion perideraion (Pink skunk clownfish) and the Amphiprion melanopus (Fire or Cinnamon clownfish) as well as obviously ‘Clark’s which I said is known as the ‘Yellowtail Clownfish’. But not this species here. Even Wikipedia describes the terms ‘Clownfish’ and ‘Anemonefish’ as interchangeable, but now you know the real distinctions.

Thanks to Sarah Kompatscher, Marine Biologist at Anantara, and Verena Wiesbauer Ali, Marine Biologist for Kurumba.

Clown Anemonefish

Proper ‘Nemo’ or ‘Clown Anemonefish’

Best of Maldives: Green Cooking– Six Senses Laamu

Six Sense Laamu Carbon Free Dining

If BBQ isn’t quite environmentally friendly enough for you, then maybe ‘Green Cooking’ would be more interesting.

No not ‘greens’ cooking. ‘Green Cooking’. Eco-friendly cooking. ‘Carbon-free Cooking’. As opposed to some of my BBQ’s where there is nothing left of the cooking except for the charred remains of a collection of carbon atoms.

Six Senses Laamu has introduced ‘Carbon Free Cooking’ (thanks Sakis)…

  • “Zero-carbon cooking is the buzz phrase among chefs and diners who care about the environmental impact of the catering industry. The idea that you can cook a meal without contributing harmful greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere – whilst still making it delicious! – presents quite a challenge but is certainly one that will be inspiring Six Senses chefs over the years to come.”
  • “At Six Senses Laamu we have now introduced a zero-carbon menu at Deck-a-dence, our amazing over-water, under-the-stars dining and chilling out decks. All ingredients are sourced from within the Laamu atoll and served raw, so no need for any energy to be consumed in cooking. A truly sustainable culinary experience.”

Just to add to the experience and bring you even closer to nature, Six Senses Laamu serves the environmentally savvy savouries at a special over-water, glass-floored table (see above).

To start with, one way to reduce the carbon emissions from cooking, is to leave out the ‘cooking’ bit.  Or at least the ‘fire’ part.  The ‘cooking’ as in combining ingredients into delicious concoctions can carry on.  Salads and sushi were about the only ‘raw’ cuisine most people will eat, but Cordon Bleu chef Diana Von Cranach has pioneered a whole range of ‘raw cooking’ which she is bring to Six Senses Laamu (and Soneva Fushi) this coming week.  She will be featuring such dishes as “Mixed Mushroom, Oriental Herb & Calamansi Ceviche on Lotus Root, Fresh Living  Coconut & Fenugreek Green Soup with Angelhair Choko Noodles, Living Chickpea Chappati.”

Best of Maldives – BBQ – W Retreat

W Retreat bbq

The recently passed Summer Bank Holiday (UK) and Labor Day Weekend (USA) are traditionally celebrated with a grand finale BBQ (or ‘barbeque’ or even ‘Bar-B-Q’ for you southerners) of the season. And if BBQ is your thing, one the W Retreat’s signature restaurants is devoted to the cuisine of the flame. Dubbed ‘Fire’ in W’s characteristically succinct style, guests help themselves to one of 4 BBQs complemented by a range of side dishes on offer…

  • Mongolian
  • Spit-Roast
  • Grill
  • Tandoori

Like most of the W’s food, everything is prepared to order from a range of ingredients that you customise to your liking.

“Primal meets epicurean with spit-roasted whole suckling pig or lamb and BBQ-grilled marinated meat and seafood. Spice it up with Tandoor-cooked nan bread, chicken, fish or seafood accompanied by a variety of curries. Who’s feeling creative? Mix and match ingredients at the Mongolian BBQ where you choose your fave ingredients. Or opt for the à la carte sharing items like succulent whole fish, mezzeh and meat dishes.”

The central fire pit and pervasive tiki-torches fill the evening with a flickering glow for an ambience as inviting as the savoury delicacies.

W Retreat fire bbq

Best of the Maldives: Nurse Sharks – Dhiggiri

Nurse Shark

These creatures should get an endorsement contract with ‘Night Nurse’, the cold medication to help you sleep. It seems all these Nurse Sharks do is sleep. During the daytime when most dives occur that is.

My wife Lori got to see a couple of them diving Furana Thila from Kurumba. Her log book notes…

“Highlight of the dive was a young nurse shark resting in a shallow cave approximately 1.5 metres long. The mother is often there, but not this time. Saw another resting on the sandy bottom.”

Nurse sharks can be found through out the Maldives. They like caves where they can sleep during the day time. My nomination for the top place to see them is Fulidhoo Caves near Dhiggiri. According to Tim Godfrey’s book on Maldives diving, Fulidhoo Caves is one of 4 cave sites meriting the top 3-stars marks in his ratings and a great place for Nurse Sharks…

“The reef slopes from there to 50 metres with caves and overhangs ranging on depth between 25 and 40 metres. The most interesting feature of this dive are the nurse sharks sleeping in the caves.”

Why Do I Do It?

Kurumba blogging

What is most common question I get from folks at resorts when I visit?

  • What’s my favourite resort?
  • What do I enjoy doing the most in the Maldives?
  • How many times have I visited?

Nope. By far the most prevalent question is ‘Why do you do it?’ Or most specifically, ‘Maldives Complete is obviously the result of tons of work, but you don’t make any money from it so…why do you do it??’ The bigger the fan of the site, the faster the question comes up. The home page and About page both have brief comments on my motivations, but they do focus more on my ‘aspirations’ than my ‘motivations.’

For all those head scratchers out there, here are my top reasons I keep ferreting out the data and pounding out the posts…

  • Blogging Fun – One of the most time intensive and most highly trafficked part of Maldives Complete is the blog. This is not my only blog. I also write on the subjects of ‘Leadership and Management’, ‘Embracing Failure’, ‘Dynamic Work’ and ’70-20-10 Principle’. All of those are non-commercial too (as most blogging is). Not related to my day job, no advertising or other remuneration, not selling anything (though I used to sell consulting services around Dynamic Work). On the occasion of my 600th Leadership/Failure post, I wrote a piece ‘600 Posts Later’ which explained some of my motivations such as iterative improvement, serendipity, purge and process, and handy reference trove all of which apply to Maldives Complete.
  • Non-Zero Chance – As an elaboration of the ‘serendipity’ motivation mentioned above, I later wrote a piece called ‘Non-Zero Chance’ which picked up on Dilbert creator Scott Adams’ explanation for his own extensive blogging. He said ‘I make it a habit to have at least one project brewing at all times that has a non-zero chance of changing the planet, or making a billion dollars, or both.’ Admittedly, the chance of Maldives Complete changing anything or making a dime is miniscule, but it is like a lottery ticket that fuels a bit of ‘just maybe’ fantasy that someday it might turn into something really special.
  • Participate, Not Spectate – I love sports, but to play them not to watch them. I play in a basketball league, coach and row sculls, train at the gym and running. But the latest sport event I watched was years ago. I just prefer to be in the action than watching it. My involvement with Maldives Complete means that when I visit the Maldives, I am not just a visitor here for a few days, soaking up the sun, sights and savouries. I get under its skin. I meet people I otherwise wouldn’t meet and see things I wouldn’t otherwise see. I explore it and then participate in it by promoting it.
  • Perks – Now that Maldives Complete is a serious web site (some authorities on the topic tell me it is the top independent web site on Maldives), the resort owners are interested in helping me with my efforts as they would any publicity. Most resorts have standard protocols for providing ‘media’ with certain ‘comps’ and discounts. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without the support of these concessions. It’s no ‘free holiday’. First of all it’s not free. We spent more money on our most recent trip than if we had simply booked a simple package (because we had such a chopped and changed itinerary). Secondly, it’s not exactly a holiday. Each day we pack up to move to yet another resort to visit, I take a tour, I take photos, I take notes, I write pieces, I meet with people. Very little of the typical lounging by the pool.
  • Transport Me Away – When I am sitting in my den on a dreary, drizzling, chilly British day (as I am right now!), and I bring up Maldives Complete or some email from resort marketing manager sending me some fresh resort photos, and I feel transported away to this tropical paradise at least in my escapist fantasy mind.
  • World Community Service – I come from an upbringing of community service. My father was a clergyman and my mother ran a community centre. Maldives is a strong and vibrant nation, but it is still growing and has lots of development to do for its citizens to achieve higher living standards by conventional measures. Furthermore, the Maldives is on the forefront of driving environmental awareness and changes so supporting the country helps support that cause too. Maldives Complete is a small contribution to help more people find out about the Maldives, visit there to spend their money, and help build the country.
  • Purple Cow Evangelism – I’m a big fan of Seth Godin and especially his notion of ‘Purple Cows’ – ‘remark-able distinctions that unpin all great marketing.’ Maldives Complete is both a chance to practice what I preach and promote the concept (through the Best Of) section.
  • Hobby – Maldives Complete is my hobby. I enjoy technology and coding the web site. I enjoy writing. I enjoy the subject matter. One person commented, “It’s an expensive hobby.” To which I replied, “Many hobbies are. Car restoring, skiing, collecting.” And my wife added, “And I’m delighted that his hobby is the Maldives rather than something like golf.”
  • Ego – Like most creators and their creations, I am proud of Maldives Complete. Though not perfect, many of the things I’ve pulled together with the site and how I’ve done them. I do get a small buzz when the Aquest Stats shows that it has hit a new high for visitors. But the biggest thrill when someone takes the time to email me saying how much they loved the site and how helpful it was for them planning their Maldive vacation. And that fan mail is coming more and more frequently these days.  Smile

In other words, you might say that ‘I have my reasons…’

Best of the Maldives: Fish Feeding – Reethi Beach

Reethi Beach fish feeding

 

 

To feed or not to feed. That is the question of an increasing number of eco-activists. Certainly one problematic area of fish feeding is visitors taking it upon themselves to feed fish bread and other items purloined from the restaurant. This sort of ill-informed feeding can actually be very harmful as it can throw off the diets of these fish in subtle but critical ways. No visitor should ever feed a fish themselves.

However, fish feeding has been a common feature at various Maldive resorts. Typically around sunset, the resort will bring out kitchen scraps of fish and feed them to sting rays, reef sharks and other scavenger fish who quickly learned to show up for this routine feast. These feeding sessions are more informed about feeding the right things to the right species. But does that make it right? Some activists claim that even this apparently innocuous activity can have long term harmful effects on the species and the ecoysystem.

I’m certainly not enough of an expert to assess. Sometimes the argument is simply based on the principle that humans should interfere as little as possible in the natural environment. While I applaud that principle in general, I’m not of the belief that humans should never interfere with the environment. For starters, we humans interfere constantly without even knowing or trying. In order to remedy the environmental impact we humans have we need to muster broad based support for ecological initiatives. Sometimes the best way to muster this political will is to build rapport and relationships between the creatures and the humans. The ‘panda effect’ or ‘polar bear effect’. The more people fall in love with the natural world, the more they will be willing to support efforts to protect it. And seeing these creatures up close through fish feedings can be a way to enhance that affection for and fascination of them.

Fish feeding is done in a variety of ways. Kurumba used to incorporate it into their meal prep so that as they we gutting the days catch for dinner, the scraps were fed to a range of sharks and sting rays (they don’t do it any more). We always remember Filitheyo where they let the guests feed them (supervised and assisted). But Reethi Beach’s feeding time is so popular that it attracts guests from neighbouring resorts. More impressive, is that they have built a special viewing gallery for the comfort, safety and view of the guests.

 

Reethi Beach fish feeding 2

 

Reethi Beach fish feeding 3

Best of the Maldives: Aroma – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru pathway incense 2

Walking along a sandy path under the canopy of coconut tress. Lori and I love our sunset walks around the island when we visit the Maldives. How could it get any better?

Well, that’s what Four Seasons prides itself on. Those little touches that make a spectacle of the already spectacular. At Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, one of the their staff lights torches for lighting (instead of electrical lights) along the pathways that makes them all the more romantic. But that’s not all. He also lights little incense sticks that are put in the sand next to the torches. It gives the evening air a soothing accent making a simple walk to the restaurant or back to your villa even more magical.

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru pathway incense

Best of the Maldives: Iconic Island – Soneva Gili

Soneva Gili - One Palm Island

When people ask ‘What are the Maldives like?’, my first response is always, ‘You know those pictures of a tropical island that is a plot of sand with a single palm tree like in the cartoons? That is the Maldives. Just think of over a thousand of those.’

Well, of course, they are not all that miniscule, but it gets the notion across in a dramatic way. I find that I have to add a bit of hyperbole because most people struggle to truly get their head around the smallness of the islands. When you tell people the islands are small, they think ‘oh, probably takes just a short while to drive around.’ No, it takes a short while to WALK around.

But is there an island that actually fits that iconic stereotype. In fact, I use a photograph of such an island as the background to my About page.

It turns out the name of this dollop of sand is called…wait for it…One Palm Island. Not much in the imagination department, but I guess it is what it says on the tin. It’s just off the ‘coast’ of Soneva Gili about a few hundred yards into the atoll. The Soneva site describes the private dinner you can have there…

“Private dining on One Palm Island. Imagine a tiny strip of sand with one lone palm tree. Imagine the island twinkling in candlelight, surrounded only by the sea and the stars above. A private barbeque dinner on One Palm Island is an experience you will never forget.”

New Yorker - tropical island