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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Best of the Maldives: Croquet – One & Only Reethi Rah

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One and Only Reethi Rah croquet 2

Today starts the Ascot Cup Croquet World Championship, but the undisputed Maldives croquet champ is One & Only Reethi Rah. They have their own built-to-purpose, manicured, regulation size croquet lawn at their appropriately named – “The Lawn Club”. It is kitted out with an elegant wooden mallet set (see below). So Reethi’s restaurants aren’t the only place to enjoy a special ‘bisque’, a chilly ‘crush’, or a handy ‘tea lady’.

One and Only Reethi Rah lawn club

One and Only Reethi Rah - croquet

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Best of the Maldives: Pool Water Volleyball – Club Med Kani

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Club Med Kani - pool volleyball

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace today. As you explore sport around the world, one of our favourite pub quiz questions is “What is the SECOND biggest sport in a country?” That’s because, working in the sports industry as I have been, you quickly learn that there is one major sport in the world that has lots of completely different styles, but only one name – “Football”. Soccer, American Football (NFL), Aussie Rules. Completely different games, but one shared name and all dominant in their countries. So number two is intriguing as well as diverse.

  • Formula 1 – 17 countries (eg. Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, Singapore)
  • Basketball – 11 countries (eg. Greece, Turkey, Argentina, China, USA)
  • Ice Hockey – 8 countries (eg. Sweden, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia)
  • Rugby – 4 countries (eg. UK, France, Ireland, South Africa)

What is particularly intriguing are the second biggest sports that are relatively unique to that country. A few of my favourite examples…

  • New Zealand – Netball
  • Thailand – Kick Boxing
  • Mexico – Boxing
  • Iran – Table Tennis
  • Egypt – Squash
  • Pakistan – Field Hockey
  • Denmark – Handball

All that said, Football isn’t top of the heap absolutely everywhere. Here are a sample of countries where a sport other than Football is number one…

  • Canada – Ice Hockey
  • Croatia – Tennis
  • Cuba – Baseball
  • India – Cricket
  • Latvia – Basketball
  • New Zealand – Rugby
  • Pakistan – Cricket
  • Taiwan – Basketball

The Maldives is no different with Football being the most popular. And it’s #2 sport, at least among the resort workers, the #2 sport is Volleyball (same as Brazil). And in the Maldives, there are all types of volleyball. Most resort staff field serious teams that play other resorts with regularity on some quite sophisticated courts. Maldivians play court volleyball, beach volleyball…and of course water volleyball. And the resort where it is most prevalent is Club Med Kani. Kani’s main pool seems to always have some sort of major group activity going on and volleyball is one of the popular ones.

Ace service!

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Best of the Maldives: Water Park – Hideaway Beach

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Hideaway Beach - water park 1

If you need a little help with your leaping, then I recommend a visit to Hideaway Beach’s new water park. In fact, it looks like one of the best places to leap in the entire Maldives. Water trampoline, water slide, water bounce cushion, water climbing walls…

“Consisting of six inflatables such as a trampoline, slide, balance bar, linked by floating pontoons, this will be open daily and is free of charge to all of our guests (both little and grown up!). “

It even includes the Inflatable Body Launcher I called for in “Haven’t Seen Yet in the Maldives – Part 6”.

Geronimo!

Hideaway Beach - water park 2

Hideaway Beach - water park 3

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Best of the Maldives: Indoor Cinema – JA Manafaru

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JA Manafaru - cinema

And the Oscar for the best Cinema goes to…JA Manafaru.

About the only thing at our home that provides an idyllic comfort and relaxation on par with the Maldives is nestling down in front of our in-home cinema. When we hit a bit of discretionary income a few years back, we didn’t buy a fancy car or boat or second home. We installed a quite sophisticated home cinema – projection screen, THX 7:1 surround sound, and custom seating where we could put our feet up. You always get an ideal seat, you can drink a glass of wine and you can pause it if you need the toilet.

Today’s “Best of” gives an Oscar weekend double feature to Manafaru. As it happens, they feature double with two cinema set ups – one in the bar and one in the games area. It includes 10 foot wide screen with HD projection and surround sound.   A number of resorts now have outdoor cinemas where you can still soak up the tropical island vibe while enjoying your favourite flick.  But sometimes a bit of shelter from the elements and a space designed for viewing pleasure is the best cinematic experience.  Also, great inclement weather insurance for your Maldives holiday.

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Best of the Maldives: Olfactory Wine Tasting – Sun Siyam Irufushi

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Sun Siyam Irufushi - Le Nez du Vin

Think your nose knows the notes? Then sniff out Sun Siyam Irufushi’s olfactory oenology offering.

The “Le Nez du Vin” kits by Jean Lenoir provide a collection of the most prevalent aromas, or “notes,” in wines including “fruity” ones like pineapple and cherry, or “spicy” ones like vanilla and pepper (see list below). The resort sommelier introduces the diners to the pure essence and then serves up a wine where that fragrance features prominently. I think all but the most oenological among us have had that frustration of being told that the wine’s bouquet features “liquorice and geranium” and all we can smell is, well…wine.

For the intermediate class, check out Wine Folly’s “33 of The Most Bizarre Flavors Found in Wine” (includes a few you can sample in Le Nez like liquorice and violet). Actually, here are some of the tasting notes for Cheval Blanc’s (the resort and the chateau) 1947…”The huge nose of fruitcake, chocolate, leather, coffee, and Asian spices is mind-boggling.”

Sun Siyam Irufushi - tastng notes

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Best of the Maldives: Thai Boxing – Centara Ras Fushi

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Today is a double holiday in Thailand – both the King’s Birthday, honouring Thai tradition and culture, and Fathers Day. The latter is more than a card occasion and is marked by this official holiday.

Someone who will be marking the day is Prasit Latsila Sujith K.V. from Phuket who teaches yoga, tai chi, and Pilates at Centara Ras Fushi. He also teaches the ideal sport for today – Thai Kick Boxing.

As it happens, Thai boxing skills are typically “passed down through the generations” according to Prasit and he learned the art from his father. He competed when he was young and studied it at university.

Another curious fact about Thai Boxing (or Thai Kick Boxing) is that it is the second biggest sport in Thailand. One of the first things I learned running Piero (sport television graphics) is that “Football” is the #1 sport in nearly every country in the world (“American Football” in USA, “Aussie Rules football in Australia, and “Soccer” football everywhere else). The variety comes in which sport is the second most popular. Motor Racing, Basketball, Ice Hockey and Rugby are the most common “2nd sports”. Thai Kick Boxing is one of the rare solo seconds, ie. the only country where the sport is #2 (another example of a “solo second” is Netball in New Zealand and Squash in Egypt).

Prasit offers regular and requested classes at the waterside yoga pavilion which is part of the resort spa (see photos). A session starts with the “Ram Muay” which is a “show of respect to the teacher” and a warm-up. And today in Thailand, is one big “Ram Muay” for wisdom imparting fathers everywhere.

มีความสุขวันพ่อ

Centara Ras Fushi - thai boxing 3

Centara Ras Fushi - thai boxing 2

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Best of the Maldives: Waboba Ball – Kurumba

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Waboba action at Kurumba

Mill pond flat water. One of the trademarks of the Maldives seascape. Especially in the sheltered lagoons. Just perfect for skipping stones. But the soft sandy beaches of the Maldives are devoid of stones pretty much. Anyway, you find the perfect skipping stone and then it’s gone after a single throw. It sinks to the watery abyss starting and finishing its skipping career in a single moment of glory.

The Australian innovation, Waboba Ball, takes the fun of skipping stones and turns it into a beach game. It is a ball weighted just enough to give it great skipping action. You can play skipping-catch (see above) or compete to see who get get the most skips in a throw.

An ideal Christmas gift for someone hanging around the Maldives shallow waters. Of course, such a great gift is only found in one of the Maldives’ finest stores, Kurumba’s Nala boutique.

Special thanks to my demonstrators Cailen and Keegan Calkin who provide the action demo above.

Kurumba - waboba ball beach

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Best of the Maldives: Activity Schedule – Sun Siyam Irufushi

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Sun Siyam Irufushi - shuffle table

One of the myths I hoped to bust with the “Best of the Maldives” series is that “there is nothing to do in the Maldives.” Well, 1,000 “Best of the Maldives” pieces posted or drafted and I can assure you that there is something for every possible interest and taste. One resort that exemplifies the smorgasbord of offerings is Sun Siyam Irufushi. They publish an Activity Schedule that runs nonstop 7:30 am through 1:00 am. Every hour, every day. It’s great to have lots of equipment and activities on offer, but it is especially inviting when a special slot has been organised when others might be able to join in. I particularly liked the fact that they organised like tournaments and competitions. So if you like table tennis or pool, but get a bit tired of just hitting the ball around with your youngsters, you have to opportunity to be matched up with someone else on the island who also plays a bit more seriously for a more engaging match.

Below is one day’s agenda of activity taken at random from their weekly schedule…

  • 06:30 – 09:30 Sunrise Snorkeling Safari
  • 11:00 – 12:00 Round Ping Pong Competition
  • 12:00 – 19:00 Brewery Day
  • 15:00 – 16:00 Darts Challenge
  • 15:00 – 18:00 Holhudhoo Island Experience
  • 15:00 – 16:00 Body Building
  • 16:00 – 18:00 The Cooking Class
  • 16:45 – 17:15 Introductory Yoga Class
  • 17:00 – 18:00 Family Happy Hour
  • 17:00 – 19:00 Happy Hour
  • 17:30 – 18:30 Beach Volleyball
  • 17:30 – 19:30 Lucky Dolphin Sunset Cruise
  • 18:30 – 22:00 Shanghi Night Buffer
  • 21:00 – 01:00 Mojito Night with DJ
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