|
Post by fgrsk8r1970 on May 18, 2013 22:51:31 GMT
Amazing photos of the little crab, geckos and bats ... and of course the birds so basically everything !!! I am looking for sponsors ha ha ha...... Due to my cowboys mobility issues it is a distant dream right now, but i am not one to give up on dreams
|
|
|
Post by lugg on May 27, 2013 12:01:42 GMT
|
|
|
Post by htmb on May 27, 2013 12:14:15 GMT
Your last set of fish pictures made me smile. I hope this trip was as pleasant and relaxing for you as it seems to be through your narrative and your photos. Thank you for sharing this little piece of paradise with us.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 27, 2013 12:45:52 GMT
Ay, yi, yi Lugg ~~ seeing the end of this thread is like having a vision of paradise snatched away! This last page of pictures alone is enough to make me yearn to go there. Undoubtedly "it is really all about the sea life", but it seems a person could be perfectly happy just being on the island & shedding the real world for a while. Thank you so much for sharing some of this glorious experience.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on May 27, 2013 14:56:27 GMT
That was a splendid report Lugg! A lot of things reminded me of Grand Comoros island. The incredible whiter than white sand, the use of the coconut.....I see in one of your photos it is used as a sugar bowl. I still have a coconut ashtray! I spotted another coconut being grown in a tub and used as a room decoration. There is NO good snorkeling in the Comores...... The locals net the reef fish all day long. Phi Phi island in Thailand was quite good but the most snorkeling I have ever done is on the Great Barrier Reef. I loved the incredible sunsets you photographed. Thanks for a really interesting report!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 28, 2013 18:01:38 GMT
These photos remind me of so many different trips -- the restaurant over the water in Pondicherry, India, sunsets in Bali, Indonesia, rooms on pilings in Bora Bora, Tahiti. And I have such fond memories of Dakar, Senegal with its marinated raw fish served in coconuts...
I console myself about my current inability to travel by remembering what I managed to do before then.
|
|
|
Post by nycgirl on May 28, 2013 18:16:09 GMT
Gorgeous photos, as always. A meal at that restaurant looks heavenly. That sunset series is breathtaking. And of course, the marine life is spectacular.
|
|
|
Post by mossie on May 28, 2013 18:31:52 GMT
Very nice. Really gives a feel for the place
|
|
|
Post by spindrift1 on May 28, 2013 21:13:35 GMT
Well, I'm really sold on this island and determined to go there. The sunset pics are spectacular as well as the fish. It's a glimpse of paradise ;D. Thank you lugg....
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 6, 2015 11:56:09 GMT
I revisited this island in August and I have already posted in postcards re the manta that I especially came to see. I thought I would add a few photos by way of an up-date, rather than creating a new thread. There’s little I can add in the way of text as I have already covered most of this tiny island in the previous posts. Leaving Dubai at night, I guess star gazing is not an option here The capital Male in the foreground with the international airport just behind, the area at the rear of this island, near the white tower, is the seaplane terminal Travelling by seaplane gives an opportunity to see the difference between the unoccupied, the resort islands and the domestic islands Below is one of the larger domestic islands Dharavandhoo which has its own domestic airport. This runway can take planes such as the ATR 72-500 , a turbo prop aircraft taking about 70 passengers. Flights on domestic planes tend to be cheaper than the seaplane which only take about15 people, but of course the disadvantage is two check ins and then another boat ride to reach the island itself. Another domestic island A Robinson Crusoe island And a resort island, This time I managed to get some pictures of Reethi island itself as I flew in by seaplane It seems it has got busier since I was here last – there are now 2 terminals
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2015 12:00:34 GMT
Male has certainly changed from when I was there. I think there was only one building that had more than two floors back then -- a bank of course.
Love "terminal 2"!
|
|
|
Post by amboseli on Oct 6, 2015 12:47:15 GMT
Great report that reminds me of my most boring holiday ever. We were in Full Moon Resort (way before it was bought by Sheraton) on Furanafushi Island, North Male Atoll. The only thing I really liked was our over-water bungalow and feeding the fish in the morning. My husband wanted to travel to the Maldives especially for scuba diving (he was an avid diver in those days) but he was rather disappointed, saying that the 'fish soup' of the Red Sea was much nicer. Duh! I'm glad we did a tour in Sri Lanka before flying to Male. That was the nice part of the holiday.
BTW, star gazing is an option in Dubai. The desert is amazing and it's only a 30-40 min. drive out of the city.
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 6, 2015 14:08:58 GMT
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Oct 6, 2015 15:17:14 GMT
So happy to see this updated & that you got to go back in August. Can't believe the first part of the thread was over two years ago, as it is still so fresh in my mind.
Wonderful plane window photos! That second domestic island looks just like a manta. The beach & sea photos are gorgeous and I think the sea defense thing is picturesque. Of course I love the garden pictures. The day bat! I spotted the lizard, but thought it was a frog. What's that thing it's perched on? What an eye you have -- you make the munched eggplant as photogenic as the waxy gold orchid. I had to laugh at the lovingly tended vinca in there with all the worthwhile flowers. Amazing what is exotic depending on ones location. The lampshades are great. There are all kinds of recycling initiatives around here, but I never saw that idea before.
Super report -- thanks!
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 6, 2015 15:19:15 GMT
Sorry did not see your replies earlier K2 and Amboseli. Yes certainly it must have changed - every square inch on Male must have been built on now, they are also extending outwards creating more land in the shallow lagoon, much to the consternation of environmentalists. Amboseli - so I guess you wont go again then Actually I am surprised by your husband's comment - Red Sea is generally better for coral whereas for fish / fish soup generally the Maldives is superior. Certainly my experiences have been so. Thank you Bixa - some more still to come and I must tidy up the broken links in the first thread It was just a piece of driftwood added for decoration I guess.
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Oct 6, 2015 15:34:03 GMT
This is a super report, not to mention the photos. These tropical islands are something else, really put drab old UK in the shade.
I couldn't see the lizard, but did think I could spot an inchworm. The bottle lampshade is a marvellous, out of this world, idea.
Thanks
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 6, 2015 16:17:11 GMT
Thanks Mossie - I am not sure what an inchworm is - ??
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 6, 2015 16:32:39 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Oct 6, 2015 18:17:54 GMT
Some more lovely photos, I particularly like the sunset from water level.
I am indebted to Wikipedia for the inchworm, which is the caterpillar of the geometer moth. They only have feet at each end of a long thin caterpillar, and move about by holding tight first with the back legs, then reaching forward, anchoring the front legs, and then lifting the rear to take a fresh foothold close to the front legs. Then proceed in that fashion, quite comical to watch. Incidentally 'geometer' is one of these Latin constructions.' Geo' for earth and 'meter' for measure, so they are "earth measurers"
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 7, 2015 10:39:52 GMT
Thanks Mossie - I will have a look again to see if I can see it .
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 7, 2015 11:04:57 GMT
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 7, 2015 11:38:11 GMT
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Oct 7, 2015 13:37:49 GMT
Absolutely stunning photos. The last place I'd go for a vacation is a tropical island, but you make it look worth doing.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Oct 7, 2015 13:50:13 GMT
Awwww -- it's over! That was a magical interlude, Lugg -- so beautifully presented. It must have been a real wrench to leave that paradise. Here's hoping against hope that no luxury developer gets its claws into Reethi. The fish photos were as mesmerizing as watching an aquarium. The fish seemed completely unconcerned about the human presence. You really capture the feeling of their movement, from the languid to the speedy. I had no idea that marine clams came in those carnival colors. Along with enjoying the fishies (& turtles & manta) more than once, I adored the blue series. It was a serene way to start the day here, where it's cold and dry right now. Not only is the subject matter beautiful, I think I learned some valuable tips about viewing angles from looking at what you did. This was thoroughly enjoyable and -- sorry to repeat -- so beautiful!
|
|
|
Post by amboseli on Oct 7, 2015 20:02:05 GMT
Amboseli - so I guess you wont go again then Actually I am surprised by your husband's comment - Red Sea is generally better for coral whereas for fish / fish soup generally the Maldives is superior. Certainly my experiences have been so. I think we just had the wrong island, too close to Male. There wasn't a lot of fish. And we had some bad luck that influenced the atmosphere. On our last day in Sri Lanka we were informed that the resort we had booked in the South Ari Atoll was overbooked and they would transfer us to Furanafushi. This was such a disappointment to us. I had spent months doing research trying to find the best resort for our 25th anniversary but it was 'take it or leave it'. This was a package holiday. We don't do packages ever since.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 6:12:36 GMT
This report is really breathtaking. I remember all of those fantastic sunsets (and sunrises) with the huge cumulonimbus but above all the first view of the rings of atolls the first time one flies into the Maldives. Speaking of which, "atoll" is the one word of the Maldivian language (Divehi) which has entered the vocabulary of the entire world.
My island, Bandos, was actually within sight of Male, but there was no lack of fish -- it was like swimming in an aquarium. I don't know if it is still the case, but back then it was totally forbidden for the population to use nets of any kind for fishing. They could only use hooks or spears. One rather unfortunate result of this was that there was not one bit of wonderful seafood served in the hotel restaurant -- just about everything came out of tins imported from Great Britain. The food was my very worst memory of the Maldives, because back then (1980) they could not even imagine that visitors would want to eat anything local other than fruit.
I also recall my non air conditioned room being full of geckos at the top of the walls and on the ceiling. Some people found this unsettling and would try to chase them out, but I knew that they were the best possible mosquito control.
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Oct 8, 2015 18:32:58 GMT
A real tropical paradise, super fish, and those clams were a surprise. Thanks again
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2015 21:37:38 GMT
Oh, and I forgot to mention the absolutely perfect silky sand.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Oct 8, 2015 23:47:13 GMT
Lugg, your photos are out of this world. Absolutely stunning!!!.
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Oct 9, 2015 17:46:43 GMT
Thank you all for your lovely comments. Amboseli - sorry for your bad luck.
|
|