Avast me Hearties…swab ye necks of scurvy scum…
Just warming up for tomorrow’s ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’. And the mirror to practice in front of is at Six Senses Laamu where the bathrooms feature treasure chest basins for their sinks. The fixtures, specially made by a Thailand company for Laamu, have a gorgeous old world cachet. The five-star style trend is all contemporary styling, so Laamu’s funky pirate chic motif really stands out.
Shiver me timbers!
And what goes with peanut? Jelly!
It is also a tasty spread for one’s morning toast and a regular fixture on all Maldives breakfast buffets. But Constance Halaveli stands out with 12 varieties on offer including – Passion Fruit, Strawberry, Apple & Cinnamon, Lemon Marmalade, Apricot, Banana, Pineapple, Mango & Papaya, and Mango.
Just jammy!
Warning – Definitely contains nuts!
Happy Peanut day! A great taste served two delicious ways. First peanut ice cream. Growing up in New England I have experienced just about every flavour of ice cream including pumpkin, clam chowder and grape nut. But I have never seen nor had peanut. A natural really. And if that wasn’t distinctive enough, Gangehi serves it with homemade peanut brittle.
Nuttin’ but the best!
What does a professional tennis player coming off the court have in common with a guest arriving at a resort? They both can’t wait to get a refreshing towel and satisfying beverage.
The cold scented towels handed out on arrival is one of our favourite parts of visiting the Maldives. One dividend to our island hopping touring is that we get one of these fragrant face refreshers every day.
But on Kurumba, you can have it with every tide. Twice a day a staff member takes around scented, cool towels to guests on the beach. Also, you can request them at the restaurants and bars.
A most refreshing holiday!
Most resorts have tennis courts, many will provide a player to have a match against, Reethi actually organises regular competitions, but Constance Halaveli provides a tennis referee. And a proper ref chair to sit in (see above). His name is Nilantha Kuarage (not in photo…that’s me) and he can also serve as a coach, teacher and partner too.
The courtside facilities also feature a well equipped “coach”/spectator seat with a parasol shade and cabinet for a water cooler (see below).
The US Open season with this week’s tennis additions has tipped the balance for adding a “Racquet” for racquet sports to the blog category list.
US Tennis Open finale today features two of the stars Djokovic and Nadal who seem to have no difficulty finding each other in the big tournaments in recent years.
While it’s not a problem reading by the beach or going to the gym, finding someone to play against can be a challenge for tennis fans travelling. Sure many resorts will offer resort staff to play, but if you want a full fledged tourney of competition, then you need to go to One & Only Reethi Rah. Reethi feature a weekly visitor tennis tournament…
“Every Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm our Tennis Club hosts a social tournament where guests will compete against each other in mixed teams. This social tournament is a great way to meet new people and discover our tennis facilities.”
No sign up required and complementary. Though watch out if repeat guest, who opened their tennis court, a guy named ‘Djokovic’, is on one of the teams, be warned that he’s a bit of a ringer.
Magic coconuts in the Maldives news this week: “Police summon white magic practitioner to investigate possible cursed coconut” meant to influence yesterday’s long awaited elections. Everything seemed to go smoothly and peacefully which hopefully paves the way for the people’s voice to settle all of the political controversy of the past year and a half.
For some real coconut magic, though, Kandooma architecture is nuciferally inspired reassembling coconut husks.
These dramatic structures aren’t the only soaring design features of the resort which takes extensive advantage of vertical space with not just these massive vaulted ceilings (see photo below), but also tented canopies, a dramatic reception area and a unique tower even.
One of the first things that I do when I arrive at a hotel room is to gather all of the marketing literature sprinkled liberally around the room and move it to some out of the way place. Lots of glossy material with pictures of palm trees and pina coladas that are not that interesting to me.
But Gangehi has created a booklet that was so good I brought it home. It is a guide to the plants and animals found on the resort. Fish guides are quite popular in the gift shops, but this is more land focused. The tropical life on the land has its own intriguing variety, colour and distinction. It’s great to have such a handy guide. You can buy natural guide books, but most cover the entire Indian Ocean and therefore are quite heavy (taking up precious luggage weight). Also, they tend to be so comprehensive it is often hard to find the particular creature you are seeking. Gangehi’s guide is limited to those critters found on the island itself so it is quite concise.
Beach reading!
“I do pottery. I love it. It’s very relaxing; it takes me to another planet.” – Eva Herzigova
Some people think all you do in the Maldives is lie around in the sun all day. And some can’t conceive of wanting to do anything that would require any effort. But another group of folks actually enjoy doing things on their holiday break. Time to do the things they don’t get to do during their busy lives. And some of these “activities” can be quite relaxing in their own right.
One such activity is pottery. Especially, “throwing pots” on a wheel. The rhythmic rotation and the silky wet clay is reported as a very sensual and soothing experience. Perfectly apropos for a Maldives holiday. And the One & Only Reethi Rah has a full pottery studio. Set outside so one can enjoy the beach breezes while spinning or painting your creation, it even features a resident potter, Liliia Lapika Babych (see pictures) who provides classes and tutoring. The studio features pieces created by past guests as well as some of Lillia’s work. You can also make Venetian masks and other items with all of the equipment for glazing, painting and other creative media.
I’m a big fan of bed decorating. The classic motif is the arrange flower petals. Some resort incorporate palm fronds. And Club Med Kani even has towel folding. But Jumeirah Dhevanahfushi blends all three into a stunning bed collage. Compliments of Andy and Linnet who actually were the couple that introduced Lori and I to the Maldives years ago making their first return to the Maldives in over a decade.