Best of the Maldives: Fly Fishing – Hideaway Beach

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

Best of the Maldives: Night Paddling – Six Senses Laamu

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.

Best of the Maldives: Qigong – Gili Lankanfushi

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.”

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

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

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

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!

Best of the Maldives: Water Park – Hideaway Beach

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

Best of the Maldives: Indoor Cinema – JA Manafaru

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.

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

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