Nasandhura Palace Hotel Male

... near the jetty were a spa and a fancier restaurant. The rest of the island was given over to spacious one-room bungalows with an outdoor bathroom and shower. One long boardwalk led out into the shallow waters of the Maldives inner atoll and it was lined by fancy water bungalows, available for a mere $200 more per night. The entire island was ringed by (probably artificial) sandy beaches and definitely real coral reefs. Our ...

... Kdyz uz jsme u toho jidla - veceri mame formou svedskeho stolu a cilene se vyhybame ryzi a cemukoli, co vypada nebo smrdi jako kari. :-) Jinak jsou tu vsichni moc mili, nikdo po nas nic nechce a hlavne tu nejsou kravska ani jina lejna. More je pruzracne a teple, plaz cista a bila, opravdovy raj. Absolvovali jsme take 3 potapecske vylety, ten prvni usel, ale nic zvlastniho, zato nas druhy ponor stal za to, prisly necekane proudy a bylo to opravdu vesele, nastesti ...

We were able to keep our hotel room until we left for the airport at three o'clock which is just as well since being Friday everything was closed from around eleven. We followed the sound of one call to prayer then another. never have we seen before people praying on the streets in multiple locations in the one city. When prayers started it seemed we were the only ones not involved. There was no traffic, boats ...

Ah - vacation, finally. The Maldives - small little completely Muslim Island paradise off the coast of India. Was hit somewhat badly by the Tsunami a few years ago, but things have been completely rebuilt since then. However, the highest part of the country is 2m above sea level, so global warming and potentially further Tsunamis could pose a great threat to the country. This part of our trip - let's label ...

... Whilst Ted was just going to chill for the week, me & Danny Boy had booked a weeks worth of unlimited scuba-diving, & quickly decided after chatting to the guys ...

... we might have. At times been inching along at 1.2 knots under sail towards Oman, as we only have fuel for 750 miles - but we also have periods of 20 knot winds when we do 7 knots. Today we received this message from a NZ/British yacht 100 miles ahead of us: 'Hi Andy and Nicky, we were caught in a fishing net last night and had to wait 5 hours until they came to our rescue! A big fishing boat from Iran, They used unlit floating nets 7 miles long, we think for Tuna, and two ...

... guy from the airport. He works in the building I walked out of! We chat and he gives me more info and offers me his phone to call my hotel. Sooo nice! After chatting, we decide, since he is on his lunch break, to hop in his moped and grab lunch on the ocean. Excellent. I actually am terrified of motorcycles but the mopeds are so slow and drivers cautious it is enjoyable noting I hang on to the back of bike and not my arms around a married man!. The ocean overlooked aquamarine ...

... back an hour later. The staff started spraying the steps down into the water (where they cut up fish and such) and first off about 6 huge rays showed up. The sound of the hose on the steps was enough to send them over knowing there should be fish guts spewing into the sea. Once they figured the tide had come in enough the staff went to get a bucket of fish parts and threw some into the water. They also tied a fish portion to a heavy rope and threw that into ...

... on the porch. The kids wanted to go swimming to cool off. One thing about the non-resort islands is that people don't swim much and you have to be careful about where you go, not only watching for undertows but also for sewage that might be dumping into the sea. The chief (careful what you picture - a man in a long sleeved shirt and tie) hired a lorry and we were escorted in the back of the truck (will we ever be able to get them to wear seatbelts again) to a remote beach where the ...

... city) had in store for me. Nor am I sure that I can do it justice with a description. First lets say I pictured a small town, dirt roads, small shops etc. etc. What I got was a 2km by 1km island packed to the brim with a developing and quite lovely mini metropolis. I'm talking televised billboards, gelaterias, fancy surf shops, funky architecture, cobbled streets (all of them) and for some strange reason an absurdly high number of baby supply ...