Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the month “August, 2016”

11 Aug 2016

Kuda Huraa in The Maldives. What is it really like?

Kuda Huraa is a private coral island facing the Indian Ocean and around 25 minutes by speedboat from Male airport. The island contains only the Four Seasons resort. In this short series of photographs one can begin to understand the sheer simple beauty of this island and its changing seasons. It is not only the physical beauty of the island but if there is a better resort hotel in the world then it is well hidden.

Each day a walk around the island before breakfast takes perhaps 15 minutes. The food is beyond brilliant with numerous creations put together by head chef Matt Bilinski. The plate of Dragon Fruit arrived unannounced and unasked for. The bar situated in The Indian Ocean has to be the best bar in the world to observe the sunsets. There are many turtles being expertly cared for in the Turtle Rehabilitation unit before being released back into the sea. The views in these photographs are neither selected nor artifical in any way. This is what the island really looks like.

Kuda Huraa Beach

Sunset at Kuda Huraa

The Infinity pool

Morning arrives at the Infinity Pool

A Turtle says hello

Turtle Sand Sculpture

Kuda Huraa Beach

The Bar at The Four Seasons Resort in The Indian Ocean

Tranquil beach and sea Kuda Huraa

Kuda Huraa Sunset

A typically busy beach at Kuda Huraa

Maldives does have some weather patterns

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DragonFruit prepared by Matt Bilinski

Even Kuda Huraa has clouds sometimes

Posted in maldives, Uncategorized and tagged best resort in world, cheap hotels, dragonfruit, four seasons, four seasons kuda huraa, kuda huraa, kuda huraa photo, maldives, maldives holidays qatar airlines, male, male airport, male maldives, matt bilinski, matt bilinski chef, north male atoll, qatar, vacation | Leave a comment

09 Aug 2016

ECB should review their refund policy for rain. Why ticket sales for England cricket games may decline.

Any cricket fan knows that it only rains on the day that they go to a game. Cricket has always been heavily dependent on the weather and thats the way the game is played. With the advent of the plethora of one-day games many fans choose to watch a complete game rather than a single day at a test match. The problem however is the refund situation. The current crop of one day games are 50 overs per side, so a total of 100 overs in the match.

When things go wrong though, the ECB are not on the side of the fans. The recent ODI versus Sri Lanka at Bristol was a prime example.

IMG_0080 copy Sri Lanka completed their 50 overs and then essentially the rain came down and England batted only a handful of overs before the game was abandoned. Tickets were £55 each and the rules seem rather mean relating to refunds. If 10 overs or less are bowled then a full refund, and if 10-25 overs bowled then a 50% refund. But when as in this case more than 25 overs are bowled then no refunds are made. The weather is not under the control of ECB but refunds are. They could for example give money, or credits for future tickets.

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I was quite underwhelmed by seeing only half a game, with no result, getting wet and getting no refund. Pragmatically that means that next time I may choose either not to go, or buy my ticket the day before having looked at a weather forecast.

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At a time when cricket tickets are less easy to sell, the ECB do themselves and the fans no favours by their draconian approach. A little more generosity and creativity might go a long way to encouraging fans to continue to turn out to watch international cricket.

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