Eriyadu Island Resort

Eriyadu Island Resort is a very simple, cozy resort that I've had the pleasure to visit during my business trips. It's not especially big but all the more tranquil.

It's one of the oldest resorts and it's located a short way from Male, barely an hour by speedboat. The island doesn't try to put on modern appearances, it's more like living in the jungle. Lots and lots of trees and bushes that provide a great degree of privacy.

The island is currently being slowly remodeled. The bar has been improved and the villas are gradually being refurbished with more modern furnishings and appearance. The resort has 60 rooms, usually with two rooms per villa. Which, as I found out on my last visit, isn't the most pleasant experience in the world if your neighbor happens to be noisy.

The resort is located next to a beautiful coral reef overflowing with fish. You can see various species of sharks here, and it's great fun to swim among them (they won't hurt you since they're full to bursting with all the fish). There's also tortoises and scores of various fish. There's shark feeding in the evenings, though it looks more like raven and 'stork' feeding. They just wolf those chicken breasts and legs down.

I arrived at the resort shortly before noon and received a pleasant welcome from the staff and even the manager himself. He accompanied me to the local bar, where I was given delicious fresh pineapple juice and enjoyed the view of the sea. Right next to the bar there is a pool hidden in the palm trees with some recliners. The towels are decorated with flowers. It's a small detail but it made an impression.

Then I had a short meeting with the bar manager and after that I headed for lunch at the buffet. Too bad I stuffed myself with a ciabatta at the airport. But I still ate a bit, even if only to try it. I had a grilled fish with some salad. All the food is served at a buffet and every dinner has a different theme (Maldives, Mediterranean, Chinese, beach barbecue, etc.). Given that this is a relatively cheap resort, the food was much better than I expected. My friends had spent ten pleasant days here and they absolutely loved the food.

After lunch I went for a walk around the resort, to peek into the kitchens, the baths, and the freshly refurbished villas. At the beach I met a "Bob", which is what we ended up calling the local species of stork, or whatever those stork-like birds were. But those are at pretty much every resort and you can get wonderful pictures of them. Much better than you can get of those weirdly squawking chickens that run around some resorts.

Visiting this resort was a bit like going back in time to a more peaceful past. Formal attire is not required, unlike some other resorts, it's tranquil, there's lots of greenery, pleasant sand, excellent sea for diving, and since it's so close to Male, you can just hop over there for a day if you feel like enjoying the chaos for a while.

I spent three pleasant hours at the resort in the outstanding company of the staff; sadly, then I had to head back to Male. I recently found out that despite having a circumference of a mere 5 kilometers, it houses not 80,000 or 90,000 but 150,000 people, 50 of whom are illegals. It's no wonder simply walking or driving around the city is one of the most demanding tasks. But I've grown used to it and I'm starting to rather like it.

More photos:

Centara Ras Fushi

I had the opportunity to visit this resort thanks to my friend, who reviews resorts for travel magazines and airlines. She asked me to take some pictures to go with her review, so I got to come along with her and even get paid for it. What a sweet deal!

Reviewers tend to be treated like kings. Even the GM (general manager) of a hotel will take an entire afternoon to show you around and talk their resort up. Hopefully someday I'll get invited to write about resorts too. We'll see.

The resort is just a few minutes from the airport, the drive took about fifteen minutes. The staff gave us a nice welcome. A moist tissue and a glass of chilled juice seem to be the standard refreshment everywhere. The hotel's manager met us at the reception and gave us a tour. We saw the baths and the diving center, crisscrossed the whole island on foot, and visited a few of the villas as well.

The baths looked very nice. I got to see the couples' room, which had a small terrace with a jacuzzi with bits of orange and small flowers floating in it.

After the tour we were shown to our villa on the water complete with a little terrace with two deck chairs. The terrace afforded us a great view and also features stairs leading directly into the sea. I just had to take advantage of the deck  hairs right away and plonk myself down.

Inside we found a little surprise waiting for us. There was a bottle of chilled champagne on the table, a basket of fruit, and a thank you letter. Unfortunately it turned out it wasn't meant for us but for a certain Mr. Zhao Benshan. The room was small but it was airy and pleasant. I could watch my friend through a small window applying her makeup for the evening party.

After a siesta we went to cool down in the swimming pool. There was a pair of very comfy chairs in it and a water bar, where you don't even have to get out of the pool to have a cocktail. Quite unlike other resorts there was some music playing by the pool. It's aimed at younger couples who want to have fun, socialize, and not be distracted by children.The resort won't even accommodate children under 12 years, which some people will certainly appreciate.

We enjoyed ourselves at the bar for about an hour drinking Sex on the Beach and piña colada.

Now that's what I call a pleasant afternoon.

At around 5 PM we went back to our villa to prepare for the evening buffet.

Centara was celebrating its 5^th anniversary, I think, and there was a buffet prepared for us and the representatives of various travel agencies on the beach. We enjoyed the sunset while drinking champagne, eating hors d'oeuvre, and listening to a very talented band. :)

The evening was concluded with a four-course Thai dinner that looked like this:

• Appetizer 

• Yam kanoom jeen (rice noodle sald with aromatic roast capsicum flavored with shallots and spring onion served with grilled jumbo scallops)
• Poh pia sod (fresh vegetables in fresh rice paper roll sheet)
• Pla goong mangkorn (lobster in authetic Thai herb salad with roast chilli paste)

• Soup
• Tom yam goong nam sai (spicy prawn soup with mushroom in "Tom Yam" flavor

• Main dish

• Pla nueng manao (steamed white reef fish and colorful of vegetables with spicy lime sauce
• Nua san nai yang rad sauce kapraow (grilled Australian beef tanderloin with hot and spicy basil sauce)
• Gaeng daeng sai ( soft and tender chicken in red curry, Thai eggplant and sweet basil)
• Phad pak boong (stir fried morning glory with garlic and oyster sauce)

• Dessert
• Coconut cream brulee gub ice cream cha kiew (coconut cream brulee served with grean tea ice cream)

I definitely enjoyed that a lot. I've been loving Thai cuisine ever since I moved to the Maldives. It's healthy and very tasty. When the dinner was over, we went over to the bar and relaxed in hammocks for a while before it was time to go back to Male. We didn't feel like leaving, but then who would, right?

More photos:
c

Kuramathi resort

Kuramathi is one of the oldest resorts in the Maldives and also one of the largest. It has a capacity of over 600 guests on an island almost 2 kilometers long. There are various restaurants, villas, bars, and cafes. I've had the opportunity to spend a day and a night there, so here's a few of my observations.:)

I arrived from Hulhumale on the resort's own boat, which is used mostly by employees and those few guests who don't feel like paying $280 for a plane ticket or want to enjoy riding the waves at high speed. The boat journey took about an hour and fifteen minutes. I tried to take a nap on the boat like everyone else but I found that difficult due to the bumpy ride. Next time I would recommend taking one of the rear seats, which don't jolt around quite as much, though on the flip side that puts you closer to the three roaring engines. I was given a small, moist, mint-scented towel and some chilled water when I came aboard, which was a pleasant refreshment in the hot weather.

Upon arriving in the resort we were greeted by a group of employees, who smiled and showed us to the reception. In most resorts you get a glass of chilled juice and this was no exception. I just love this refreshment you get when you arrive.

Since I had a meeting arranged with the chef, he came to welcome me personally and he had someone drive me to the villa that I would have all to myself for the night. It would house two and was very spacious and simply designed. It had a beautiful bathroom with a shower, and outside there was a small jacuzzi for two. The bed was far too comfortable for only sleeping until 5 AM, as I would. There was also a couch, a refrigerator, a television, and a stereo. Outside there was a porch with two recliners and a large couch. A path led from the villa to a beach with more recliners.

At noon I went to the reception, where I met Michel, a well-traveled and experienced French chef who's been working at the resort for 10 years now. We rode around the island on a motorcycle, and he showed me everything the island has to offer, what goes on where, and what food there is to be had (about 11 restaurants in total).

Then we made our way to the Palm restaurant, which offers various kinds of pasta, salad, and pizza for lunch. I had mozzarella with tomatoes wrapped in Parma ham with basil pesto and locally-grown salad for starters; an excellent combination. I know what I'm going to make for myself at home. For the main course I had spinach ravioli and a taste of homemade milk, sugar, and raspberry sorbet for dessert. I highly recommend it, it was just unreal.

I spent the afternoon lounging around on the beach to digest my food in peace and get a bit of a tan. There aren't that many opportunities for sunbathing in Male unless you spend your only day off riding around on a boat and snorkeling or lying by a hotel's pool at $22 per hour. Finally, since I didn't have any snorkeling equipment with me, I went to the pool, which was pretty much right next to the beach, and spent about two hours there, from 3 PM. to 5 PM. In the evening my face was as red as a poppy. That's with an SPF 50 sunscreen on, mind you. I have no idea what went wrong. But the pool with its whirlpool and the local birds joining in the bathing was a great experience.

5 PM. saw me on a trip around the island on foot to take some pictures and videos and watch the sunset, which was truly gorgeous, though I have to add it hardly ever isn't at the seaside. The middle of the island is covered in some genuine jungle untouched by people, full of palm trees, bushes, flowers, and giving off the most wonderful, permeating scent. Walking barefoot along the path that circles the island is a joyous experience, even more so if you live in Male, which is all concrete buildings and scooters. The island is almost two kilometers long, so you don't have to worry about meeting other resort guests. I hardly saw any. Only a few exhausted individuals on their way from the beach to their villas.

I hardly saw any. Only a few exhausted individuals on their way from the beach to their villas.

I had a bit of trouble taking the pictures since all of my lenses had fogged up. So if you're taking a camera with you, better leave it in the outside bathroom. Otherwise your pictures are going to be a bit foggy for the next half hour or so. Then the inside lens fogged up as well, and I had to wait for it to clear up.

At eight we went for a dinner in a Thai restaurant that happened to be having a buffet. The chef prepared a Thai soup for me (the name of which escapes me) from whatever I chose from a wide variety of ingredients. Though truth be told I'm not entirely certain what it was I had him put in it. The only things I recognized were noodles and shrimp.

A word of warning for those wanting to order their food in Thai. The word for noodles also has about five other meanings that are distinguished by intonation. If you're not careful, you could order dog or banana soup instead of shrimp. Luckily that wasn't the case for me, but I've heard stories. :))

Then I had a few appetizers, such as spring rolls, more shrimp, coconut pancakes, and some kind of seafood wrapped in dough and fried. There was a lot to choose from for the main course. I fell in love with Pad Thai Gai here, so that was a clear choice for me, and after about 4 months I also had some peppered pork! Finally! Then I had a little taste of duck with pineapple and beef with beans and shrimp with a vegetable mix. Finally a bit of fruit, guava ice cream, and cookies.

To finish off the evening, Michel and I went to the beach bar, where I washed it all down with Corona. We talked about his travels in Asia, and during our conversation it became fairly clear to me that I would very much like to see Asia in this way as well. Now I'm just waiting for a list of places that are really worth it. For example, at the northern border of Laos there's supposedly an area that resembles the lunar landscape more than anything due to all the bombs that were dropped there during the wars. It sounds unbelievable.

While we were talking, a live band played some dance music hits, such as Happy, David Guetta, and such. I found that funny :))

I stumbled into my room around 11 PM and found that the jacuzzi had finally managed to heat up to the 40 degrees I set it to three hours ago, which I found a little too hot after all when I slumped in. I got used to it after a while, but I still couldn't stand it for more than 20 minutes or so. So consider yourselves warned, 36 – 37 degrees Celsius is more than enough.

After midnight I put on a light bathrobe and ran to the beach one last time to try taking some pictures of the stars and play around with the camera some more. It would have been great to have a tripod, but getting one in Male is all but impossible. The brands they have in stock are weird, I couldn't find one that would fit my camera, and they're overpriced too. I'll just open a bank account and order some equipment from the US sometime in the week. Even with the taxes and shipping costs it's still going to be cheaper than buying it here. It's just the one- or two-hour queues at the bank that terrify me, and I keep putting off opening that bank account because of them. I really have to do it, though.

At about half past one in the morning I was in bed sleeping like a baby to the sound of waves crashing on the beach. What a difference compared to the hum of air conditioning units and the buzzing of scooters in the street. What a shame I had to get up at 5 AM, even though the breakfast made the morning a little more bearable. A wide variety of pastry to choose from, and after four months I could finally sink my teeth into some proper bread with salami! At 6 AM I was on the boat again, watching the beautiful sunrise on my way back to Male. I do hope to visit here again sometime soon. :)

More photos: