Best of the Maldives: Free Diving Certification – Dusit Thani

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Dusit Thani - free diving

If you yourself want a deep dive of learning with your own diploma, then Dusit Thani was the first of the Maldives resorts to offer an official free diving certification. With their $36,000 investment in specialised support and safety equipment

“Dusit Thani Maldives takes pride in launching the first official and internationally approved free-diving centre in the Maldives, an incredible addition to the selection of water sports available at the resort. Free-diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on the diver’s ability to hold his or her breath until resurfacing without the use of scuba gear. Besides experiencing the tranquillity of underwater kingdom, there are various health and fitness benefits attributed to this unique diving activity. Dusit Thani Maldives’s free-dive centre has joined forces with Apnea Total, a globally renowned free-diving organisation. The Apnea Total Free-diving Education System and Standards are followed at the centre and guests will be provided Apnea Total certifications that are recognized worldwide. Resort guests will train under the supervision of highly experienced free-dive instructors who have themselves worked and trained under record-holding free-divers. Additionally, the centre boasts world-class CRESSI equipment and the rental cost of these is included in the course price. The center offers all levels ofApnea Total courses:Free-Diver Basic, Advanced Free-Diver, and Free-Diving Master, each lasting 2 days, 3 days and up to 5 weeks respectively. The Basic course will equip guests to dive safely and comfortably down to 20 meters on a single breath and the Advanced course equips guests to dive down to 40 metres below sea level.”

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Best of the Maldives: Coconut Oil Making Class – Soneva Fushi

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Extracting the very essence of the magic coconut fruit is so easy a child could do it. In fact. at Soneva Fushi, children do do it at the resort’s exquisite summer camp programme…

“We head to the spa, where the spa therapist will help the children make fresh coconut oil using coconuts of the island, the children are given the opportunity to take part in all aspects of making the oil.”

Sounds a bit better than the “bug juice” and frigid lake swims when I went to Camp Belknap as a child. If you want to give it a go at home, I’ve found a pretty handy video guide above.

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Best of the Maldives: Stott Pilates – One & Only Reethi Rah

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One and Only Reethi Rah pilates machine

Versatile athletes need weight training for strength, cardio for endurance and  technique. Pilates is tainted with a bit of a “aging bored housewife” stereotype, but it is great for the flexibility and core fitness needed for top technique in most sports. I have also started practicing Pilates every week with a group of guys in the neighbourhood. And if you want to see a real manly pro then check in with Lindley (photo) at One & Only Reethi Rah who offers “Stott Pilates” instruction. The “Stott” variant focuses on the “natural curvature of the spine” rather than a more straight alignment of conventional Pilates.  Our sessions at home use maybe a ball or a band, but Reethi is kitted out with a number of high-tech specialist Pilates machines for the most advanced workout I’ve come across.

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Best of the Maldives: Walking / Running Path – Kurumba

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Kurumba - running pathway

Olympic Day today. And a particularly timely one with Rio 2016 just around the corner. Elite athletes around world (well, the clean ones at least) will be in the final stages of preparing for their lifetime’s pursuit. A few of my friends in the rowing world will be making the trip to Brazil with Team GB.

If you fancy a bit of chill before the thrill (or you are consoling yourself for missing out on selection), then you can still carry on your roadwork training in the Maldives…at Kurumba. The resort features a handy little running track effectives. A paved pathway circumnavigating the island.

Running on the beach can provide a more exhausting workout, but the unsteady surface can result in a losing your footing and maybe even twisting your ankle (not something you want to either right before your Olympic event or even just on holiday). Many paths in the Maldives crisscross the islands, but Kurumba’s is a handy loop which allows for a convenient circuit just over a kilometre (see above). Some parts pass under nicely shading palms trees and other parts run fairly close to the ocean’s edge for an inspiring seaside vista.

Every time we have visited the resort, we have seen a guest jogging on it. In fact, GM Jason Kruse shared his own run (see above).

Gold medal to Kurumba.

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Best of the Maldives: Golf Analysis – Velaa

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Velaa - golf analysis 2

Golf seasons kicks off with the US Open this week. Lori and I have gotten our clubs out this week and I shot my best ever round. If I want to improve further, it seems like the modern game has become as much science as any art or athleticism. Weight training, nutritionists, sports psychologists. And an entire armamentarium of gadgets to dissect every nuance.

No surprises that the titan of the tees in the Maldives, Velaa resort, has some of the most space age technology available to help with your game. Among their tools is a Science and Motion (SAM) Putt Lab, but the centrepiece is their Flight Scope Doppler Radar. A $50,000 piece of kit. Velaa Golf Pro Frank Murray took me through a few pointers on my swing during my Velaa visit see below) so hats off to him and his armoury or arm analysis for whatever contribution he made to my progress.

Velaa - golfd analysis

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Best of the Maldives: Fly Fishing – Hideaway Beach

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Hideaway Beach - fly fishing

“Fly-fishing may well be considered the most beautiful of all rural sports.” – Frank Forester

If there is anyone who appreciates a little quiet corner of a solitude, it is the fly fisherman. And Memorial Day this week is the start of many fly fishing seasons in the USA (where the sport is biggest). We can all dangle a line off a dhoni, or run a line from a cruise for a some deep sea fishing. But of all the piscary persuasions, fly fishing seems closest to the spirit of the Maldives – mill pond calm water teeming with fish in the tranquil shallows.

The resort for castaway casting is Hideaway Beach…

“We have a plenty of ­fishing points around where you can explore for your own experience both local and international style with the guidance of our local ­fishing guide, who have been trained locally and internationally. Island Hideaway provides a wide range of ­fishing opportunities for fly ­fishing anglers in this nation famous ­fishing zone.”

Fish you can catch include Bone Fish, Blue Fin Trevally, Giant Trevally, Big Eye Trevally, Rainbow Runner, and Groupers.

The prices are $500 for a half day (5 hours) on a ski boat with a local guide (1 or 2 anglers) or $900 for a full day (9 hours). The excursion includes refreshments of fruit and drinks. You can also have a try for bonito fish on the way to the sand bank.

The resort has a designated fly fishing area on the resort (see map directly below), but also offers fly fishing excursions on other nearby islands (see map at bottom).

“Fly-fishing is the most fun you can have standing up.” – Arnold Gingrich

Hideaway Beach - fly fishing resort map

Hideaway Beach - fly fishing area map

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Best of the Maldives: Night Paddling – Six Senses Laamu

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Six Senses Laamu - night paddling

For a more stable aquatic night life, Six Senses Laamu offers night paddling. Just another offering in the surging surf scene where the colourful tranquil lagoons are (protected by the long reef which make for world-class gentle surf breaks) ideal for the more self-propelled version of paddle boarding…

“Billy Rossini, world champion and world record holder in kneeboarding and hydrofoiling, came up with this brilliant idea of how to extend his evenings in the water – LED lights for canoes and SUP’s. We found out about it, purchased the lights, installed them to our vessels and now it is time for you to join the fun – we would love to introduce you to night paddling in the lagoon of Six Senses Laamu. We are probably the first and still the only ones in the Maldives to be able to offer you this new adventure. Take a canoe or a stand up paddle board whichever is more comfortable and stable!! Join us for a tour, and enjoy the feeling to be out there, right when the sun goes down.”

With post I am adding a new tag of “Night” for the increasingly diverse night-time activities to be discovered.

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Best of the Maldives: Qigong – Gili Lankanfushi

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Gili Lankanfushi - Qigong

Qigong Day Today. And before you ask…

  • Yes, that is a real day.
  • Yes, there is a day for almost everything.
  • And yes, a Maldives resort has a special Qigong offering

Gili Lankanfushi specifically…

“Sommai, the practitioner who visits Gili Lankanfushi a few times per year, learned Qigong while he studying in Institute of Physical Education in Thailand and gained more experience as the Qigong instructor while he was practicing it in Vietnam and Malaysia. All the Qigong sessions Sommai is conducting in our Yoga Champa upon the guests’ request and bookings. The free group sessions are conducted on Sundays. The private sessions are possible as well at the rate of USD 90 + taxes per hour.”

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