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 tag “maldives”

Reethi Beach Resort Maldives


Reethi Beach is one of the newer resorts in Maldives. For those not familiar with Maldives, they are essentially a series of islands, some of which have been transformed into resorts.

Reethi Beach is a good resort although the complexity of travel in the Maldives means that getting there might take a bit longer than some other resorts. Flights arrive in Male and for some resorts a speedboat transfer is relatively quick – for example one could be in Kuda Huraa in less than 30 minutes. Most, however, require either a seaplane or an internal flight. Seaplanes look incredibly cool but do not come cheap and can add almost £1000 onto a holiday cost.

Getting to Reethi Beach requires an internal flight, then a short bus ride and finally a 20 minutes boat transfer each with its obligatory delay. So upfront I will say that the only negative about Reethi Beach is having arrived in Male at 8.30 am it was near enough 13.00 before arriving at the resort. The rest is entirely positive. If your bank account allows it seaplane is recommended but also remember a 20 kg luggage maximum and 5kg for hand luggage.

Reethi Beach is one hour ahead of Male time so it operates +5 compared to UK. The island takes maybe 30 minutes to walk around on the beaches.

Accommodation is chalets. A few water bungalows. Chalets are comfortable and clean but this is the Maldives so the occasional insect and cockroach cannot be discounted nor frankly prevented. Meals are buffet style for those on all inclusive. The food is superb beyond belief. Plenty of vegetarian options. The weather depends partially on the seasons, but you can reasonably expect 28-30 C sunshine most days, the occasional full cloudy day but rain showers also most days. These usually come and go in an hour. Beaches are idyllic. You can pay for a whole variety more of course including various dining options and range of water-sports. Snorkelling is not so good as some of the other islands but not too bad. Stingrays come right to the sea edge to get fed at 18.00 but also some with either bigger stomachs or cheaper watches come any time to say hi. Three herons patrol their beach territory and allow you within about 5 metres. Maybe less.

Prices in other locations vary enormously but essentially paying more gets you relatively less. I would personally recommend Reethi Beach for most people unless you expect the luxury that you get from other resorts paying perhaps 3-4 times more.

Things to recommend though. Pay for coffee in the Moodhu bar that sits on stilts over the sea. Views are great and the coffee is sublime . Expect to pay maybe 5$ for a superb hazelnut latte .Around the edges of the island you will find huge man-made sandbags that probably contain more rock than sand, to prevent erosion of the beaches and create some quiet little inlets. As with all Maldivian islands probably a week is enough or ten days maximum. After that maybe most have had enough sun, food and relaxing. I would personally recommend Reethi Beach. All the photos you see here were taken by myself in October 2018. Lastly there is free WiFi in public areas and also if you position yourself on the beaches near the bars and restaurants you can access it there too.

The resort also make more effort with night entertainment than many others. Live music, DJs and Quiz evenings are actually not a bad effort considering the geography.

Dragonfruit Yoghurt. But How Many Know What Dragonfruit Looks Like?


Muller light yoghurts are fantastic and they keep on experimenting with new and different fruit flavours and combinations.

But the cover of the yogurt pot gives little clue really as to what dragonfruit fruit looks like.

In reality until I saw Dragonfruit on a Maldives breakfast buffet I neither could have guessed what they look like. Taste wise they are quite mellow and separating the dragonfruit from the pineapple might be a little tricky, or interpret that as impossible.

Looking at them unpeeled and ready to eat, but prepared by an excellent chef, they look not unlike dominos.  So a few photos to show maybe more what they look like in the Maldives with an excellent chef, than in reality how they might look if I prepared them .

IMG_1109IMG_1099IMG_1093IMG_1144IMG_1141

The Giraffe Tree


Here in the Maldives one is unlikely to find any giraffes floating around. The vegetation though suggests otherwise with a number of trees clearly resembling giraffes. Maybe one needs a little creativity regarding the tail and the number of legs but the resemblance is really not at all bad.

The Animals of Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka


Many travellers to Sri Lanka have heard of and visit Yala National Park however far more visit Udawalawe.Udawalawe National Park lies on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa and Uva Provinces, in Sri Lanka 165 kilometres (103 mi) from Colombo. Udawalawe is an important habitat for water birds and Sri Lankan elephants. It is a popular tourist destination and the third most visited park in the country.

Udawalawe is an important habitat for water birds and Sri Lankan elephants.

00005715Bird Painting0000570200005720

The national park was created to provide a sanctuary for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe Reservoir on the Walawe River, as well as to protect the catchment of the reservoir  and covers 30,821 hectares (119.00 sq mi) of land  and was established in 1972.

Other than than the more exotic animals such as elephants , a whole plethora of birds, water monitors and other lizrd creatures seem to appear from nowhere.

00005725000057060000569000005675000056710000569600005643000056620000564000005637

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.

00005520

Kuda Huraa Beach

00005532

Sunset at Kuda Huraa

00005273

The Infinity pool

00005172

Morning arrives at the Infinity Pool

00005225

A Turtle says hello

00005241

Turtle Sand Sculpture

00005496

Kuda Huraa Beach

00005277

The Bar at The Four Seasons Resort in The Indian Ocean

00005499

Tranquil beach and sea Kuda Huraa

00005548

Kuda Huraa Sunset

00005517

A typically busy beach at Kuda Huraa

00005569

Maldives does have some weather patterns

00005580

00005565

DragonFruit prepared by Matt Bilinski

00005250

Even Kuda Huraa has clouds sometimes

Post Navigation

%d bloggers like this: