If you are looking for a pink accessory for October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month), then one of the most enchanting examples of Maldives themes jewellery I come across is Kuredu’s collection of Oevaali. The manta above swirls as gracefully as its aquatic inspiration. Oevaali are a local Maldivian artist studio who do painting as well (see bottom).
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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month with celebrations and initiatives festooned with the signature pink of the cause. Today in particular is “No Bra Day” declared as an occasion to raise awareness. And with the Maldives fashionistas, the brassieres are often replaced with bikini tops throughout the year. Here is a daily dose of pink for the month:
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Traditionally, groynes (artificial promontories built to inhibit erosion by disrupting the currents which wash away the island) have been quite crude functional affairs, but in recent years resorts have been turning eye sores to sights for sore eyes with an array of décor and uses. Four Seasons Kuda Huraa’s pool featured in Instagrammer Miss Angie Villa’s post is so similar to one in design, that I think it sets the blueprint for someone converting a proper groyne into this design.
International Coffee Day. And really who else could we feature but those boss baristas at LUX (this is the 6th “Best of the Maldives” recognition for LUX just in the area of “coffee”?
This time a shout out to their Coffee Cafe. Take-away coffee from 6:00 am through 10:30 am. This is just perfect for me. I often get up early for the quiet morning time to catch up on some email and web surfing. I like to leave the villa because my shuffling around can disturb Lori who likes to savour her opportunity for a lie-in. But I do want a coffee as soon as I get up. I’d rather not go into a restaurant, but just find some quiet corner of the island to stretch out on. LUX North Male Atoll was about the first island I could easily do this with their take-away service. Also, the more insulate, tall thermal cup keep the coffee hotter than a conventional ceramic cup (and the serving is larger too).
And extra bonus, the café offers 4 types of sweetener (see photo below). If this seems like a trivial detail, then you are not a sweet tooth aficionado like me.
Why add a fake backdrop to your work Zoom calls when you could have the real thing? We’ve all experienced just how far one can go with remote working during the pandemic lockdowns, but Nautilus is inviting folks to go all the way out to the middle of the Indian Ocean with their special offering “Workstation Package”:
With prices starting at 23,250 USD for 7 nights in a Beach House you can also enjoy their Workation sandbank experience – “work for a few hours upon our secluded sandbank with your own personal desk, a shaded sun canopy and portable high speed wi-fi.”
The concept mashes up two of my passions and my most prominent websites – Maldives Complete and Dynamic Work. My founding vision statement for Dynamic Work (at the top of the home page) was “Within 10 years, the majority of ‘office work’ will be worked outside the office.” Which was a actually just about ten years ago. And research has shown that the lockdown has indeed pushed the incidence of remote and flexible working to 50% of the workforce (varying of course by geography, sector, etc).
Before and since, I have walked the walk of flexible working for many years now. And that meant working while in the Maldives (not just the work of Maldives Complete research, but also my day job that pays the MC bills). I was always happy to work for an hour during a day in the Maldives if that hour forestalled crises back at the office and allowed me to linger in paradise another entire day.
Another milestone for Maldives Complete as the Room Type database crossed the 1000 mark. When I started the website, there were typically just a few room types – standard, deluxe and maybe a water villa. A decade ago, I did a piece on Kurumba having the most room type variety (exactly a decade ago) with 8. These days, 8 is the lower end of the average number of room types for a resort. In fact, the fact that over 1000 types across the nearly 160 active resorts means that the average is nearly 7 categories for every resort. Soneva Fushi has 27 room types! Nearly every villa is unique and hence categorized as its own room type. With more and more resorts coming online, it was just a matter of time before this grand milestone was hit.
For the aspiring young footballers, One & Only Reethi Rah offers a special beach football pitch at its kids club. If there is one thing that rivals hours of snorkelling to tire out active youngsters (for that relaxing evening), it’s then running around (on the sand!) kicking their favourite ball.
A bit delayed and with a “new normal” skewed experience, both Maldives Tourism and Premiere League football have recommenced with this weekend being the starting whistle for most leagues like the Premier League. So to celebrate the return of football (albeit with a few safety tweaks), here is the Maldives Complete starting XI…
And the prize for the best football fanatic bed decoration goes to Anantara Dhigu…
If you prefer a more wind driven motif to your land-side maritime motif, LUX North Male Atoll features brilliant red “sails” as sunshades around it villa and main pools which provide a gentle luffing to your lounging. As it happens, LNMA atoll has a special 30% advance purchase offer on now. Sale away!
Your “remote” office doesn’t have to be on the water to be on a boat. If you want that maritime vibe with out the roll of the waves throwing off your Zoom camera, then Jurmeirah Vittaveli’s Five Bedroom Royal Residence with Pool will provide the seafaring atmosphere just close enough to the water to not distract: