Best of the Maldives: Whale Shark Event – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives - whale shark sand sculpture

Forget the 3-days off of Monday’s holiday (Summer Bank Holiday in the UK, Labor Day in the USA), the highlight this weekend is Discovery Channel’s mega #Shweekend! And LUX Maldives is coincidentally holding its own shark celebration of most mega-shark of all – Whale Shark…

“LUX* Maldives will team up once again this year with the Maldivian Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP) and IUCN for the organization of the Whale Shark Festival, to be held at Maamigili Island on the 29th of August. ‘To raise once again awareness of conservation issues and the marine diversity in the Maldives, LUX* Maldives has decided to support the volunteers working for MWSRP in sponsoring the Festival.’ A whale shark replica competition, sea-creatures sand sculptures and painting competition alongside a family scavenger hunt and special ‘cinema paradiso’ sessions with marine life documentaries will be organized. Above all, the participation of highly experienced Maldivian artists including the famous Maldivian singer Unoosha, as guest of honor will permit to add a heart-lighted exposition of the event across the South Ari Atoll, Malé and beyond. Unoosha will be performing as part of the Festival’s Finale and will be one of the three judges looking at costume design, the whale shark mascots and mobile art work created by local island communities.”

If you are planning your own holiday #Shweekend celebration, you might consider a tuna salad on the menu from Marks & Spencer. M&S have teamed up specifically with the Maldives to fund “Project Greenfin” which provides training and other resources to the Maldivian fishing community so they don’t have to rely on any shark fishing for their income and M&S have made a commitment to source only eco-friendly tuna.

Cue cellos!

LUX Maldives - whale shark festival

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Best of the Maldives: Hoverboarding – LUX Maldives

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LUX Maldives hoverboarding

Way over the water active fun with LUX Maldives latest topical thrill. The resort is certainly keeping up is lagoon cred for adventure adding to “hoverboarding” to its slate. Not the Marty McFly “Back to the Future” verion. Actually, a natural extension to the Flyboarding which LUX pioneered (though I see other resorts offering it now). Flyboards have very short platforms with nozzles out the bottom, while Hoverboard have larger platform “boards” with nozzles out the back (you can find a good description of the difference in this article “Flyboard versus Hoverboard”. Expert Hoverboarder and Flyboard Damone Rippy describes the former as, “Hoverboard was more natural because I am a snowboarder and flying on the Hoverboard feels very similar to snowboarding on water…The Hoverboard is used to soar across the water and glide along side things while being able to elevate to a maximum height and do barrel rolls, spins and carve.”

Like a game you would expect to see on the Jetsons. Or should I say, it is like frolicking in the water with “jets on”.

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Best of the Maldives: Catamaran – LUX Maldives

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Of all the yachts, there is a special fondness in our family for the doubly-sleek, but twice as stable catamarans. Our brother-in-law took us on his 30 foot cat the “Nauti-Gail” (named after Lori’s sister Gail) and recently they custom-built a 54 foot floating palace (“Nauti-Gail II”).

Reethi Rah’s fleet has a bigger cat, but I prefer their styling of LUX Maldives’ “Kokomo” which it offers up for cruises with some very experienced hands…

“[LUX] have an amazing Maldivian captain that has been sailing boats for past 20 years (believe it or not there are very few Maldivians with sailing experience!) and he combines the charters with a lot of local knowledge. He teaches guests the basics of sailing, shows guests secret snorkeling spots or shows guests old Maldivian recipes when cooking the freshly caught fish on the boats BBQ.”

Cat fight!

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Best of the Maldives: Video Perspective – LUX Maldives

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LUX Maldives video drone

LUX Maldives could also be dubbed the resort best in the Maldives for “Flying High”. Their latest aerial trick is a remote controlled video camera to provide fresh perspectives on this island gem. The aerial shot is the iconic view of the Maldives’ splendour. The very first picture that I provide in the resort Profiles is this angle. Over time, resorts have added Photosynth montages, 360 virtual animations, and a whole host of tour videos. But this is a first in a truly bird’s eye perspective.

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Best of the Maldives: Bubble Blowing – LUX Maldives

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LUX Maldives bubble blowing

Today is Domink’s day…Guinness World Record Day.

“I once tested the count of bubbles on one breath. I ended up with 42. Since the Guinness world record is stated to be 18 I guess I should submit a video to them.”

Dominik Ruhl, GM of LUX* Maldives, doesn’t (yet) have a video of 42, but he does have this quite impressive YouTube clip of an extra big one (see above). Dominik has the special advantage of his freediving mastery which is primarily focused on breath control.

The dive master at Bathala did an impressive air bubble when we were diving the house reef with him, but that was with a scuba tank for air.

Dominik might not have the official Guinness record (yet), but as far as documented bubble blowing, he seems to be the best of the Maldives at least.

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Best of the Maldives: Custom Mini-Bar – LUX Maldives

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LUX Maldives customer mini bar

When you knock at the door of the LUX Maldives mini-bar today, you don’t have to be content with stale candy corn, apple or a rock. You can customise your mini-bar with your own personal snack-dictions. For example, one couple asked for chilled cucumber for their mini-bar (to put on their eyes).

Treat trick!

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Best of the Maldives: Coffee Art – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives coffee art

Possibly the easiest day to wake up to on the calendar…World Coffee Day. In n aromatic nod to the king of coffee innovation in the Maldives, another distinction brought to my attention by Rik Norton and his glowing review of LUX* Maldives. This example of LUX’s striking coffee art depicts a young lioness greeting us in the morning.

Grande!

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Best of the Maldives: Flyboarding – LUX Maldives

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LUX Maldives flyboarding

What shooting up in the air faster than a lottery winner’s bank balance? Higher than the Chinese visitor stats? The LUX Maldives flyboard!

This activity had been in my draft of “Even More What I Haven’t Seen” until Dolores dropped me a line. It didn’t surprise me though that it would be LUX pioneering with such a rad adrenalin activity. LUX really stands out for its spirit of innovation and adventure. But also, LUX Maldives is a perfect location for it. Their sprawling size means it can be conducted on a discreet part of the island without disturbing other guests. Mind you if I was at LUX, I might shy away from trying it out, but I think it would be a fun thing to watch.

“Designed for active guests, Flyboard combines the excitement of motorized water sports to the, otherwise limited, liberty of movements based on the body balance to ultimately achieve the exceptional sensation of flying over the water.  Flyboard has only been recently launched worldwide by the France-based Zapata Racing Team.  By literally wearing a pair of boots connected to a board, the resort’s guests can be lifted to heights of up to 10 meters thanks to the water jets placed under the board allowing them hover above the surface or to perform spectacular water figures.  Taking the concept of luxury holidays on a lighter note, LUX* Maldives continues to look for original yet daring ways to surprise guests of all ages. ‘Being a water sports fan myself, I immediately recognized the potentials of Flyboard as the wide lagoon around LUX* Maldives is ideal for our guests to enjoy this innovative sport that makes you fly like a bird or swim like a dolphin all in one’ says Dominik Ruhl, the resort General Manager.”

Rocket man with lots of splash down.

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Best of the Maldives: Adventure – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives adventure map

Off on the next Maldives adventure! This year we focus on the North Ari resorts (with, as usual, a stop in a few Male resorts)…

Last year, we visited South Ari which, after the Male atolls, had the highest number of resorts overall and the largest number I hadn’t visited. The next one after that, not too surprisingly, was North Ari. And that is the destination for this year’s Maldives Complete research trip.

Once again daily island hopping to see at least one (if not more) resorts every day. I’ll be keeping a log here with a daily tour report to provide initial impressions and perspectives. I’ll also be paralleling that with a special update on the Maldives TripAdvisor Forum where I am an active contributor.

With Adventure in mind, it seems like a good time to call out one of last year’s resorts who have crafted a distinctive ambience with their flair for creative detail.

The ‘Best of the Maldives’ highlights some pretty esoteric distinctions. Some are excruciatingly particular (like “Longest Left-Hand Surfing Break”). Others are quite vague and abstract (like “Best for Seth Godin”). The more abstract, the more subjective, based purely on some feeling or ‘ambience’ I have identified about the property. After visiting LUX Maldives last year, one theme definitely stuck me about their overall experience – Adventure.

Some would say that any trip to the Maldives is quite an Adventure. But LUX Maldives really amplifies that sensation with so many of its special touches which often reveal hidden surprises scattered throughout the island…

This feel turns the large size of the LUX island into a real asset as it provides an expansive tableau for exploration and discovery.

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Best of the Maldives: Ice Cream’s Cone – LUX Maldives

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LUX Maldives cones

You need a cone for that ice cream.

Consulting the expert on all things Maldive Resorts, Adrian Neville, he concurs “I have not come across home made ice cream cones anywhere in the country. There are a couple of places that sell ice creams in a cone but they are the pre-boxed ones.”

But you can even watch a video of them being freshly made at LUX Maldives here. Of course, only the best homemade ice cream crafted right on the resort will do for such an elegant (and tasty) holder.

LUX Maldives cone 2

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