feeling blue? wanna get of the office?

island_sands · Jun 27, 2004

imagine a week of diving... in this!

Murat · Jun 27, 2004

Where is this place? Caribbean?

island_sands · Jun 27, 2004

Maldives

Hi Murat

it's in North Male atoll, Maldives.. i actually live on this island... we're constructing a resort.

the manta photos in my previous postings were taken 40minutes from here...

Murat · Jun 27, 2004

looks vey nice. What is the population of this small island? What is depth of those light blue regions, shallow?

island_sands · Jun 27, 2004

just went bodysurfing on the outside reef! man, next time i must take my camera... i went with snorkelling gear, and was watching the waves tumble over me.. looks amazing!

the light blue area is anything between 1/2 metre and 2 metres.. the outside reef, where the wave break goes from 1/2 to 12m slope, then drop off to 30m.. then out a bit and then drops off to.. who knows? about 200m i guess.. then there is another shelf that drops off into oblivion.
the inside reef, left of the photo, is about 40 to 50m, with small pinnacles all over the place. you can see one already in the photo.

the island will be 120 rooms, 30 of which are overwater bungalows. there is a lodge with 3 restaurants and bars, a seafood restaurant (with a sushi bar!!), and a Sands restaurant (self-explanatory). there is a Spa, Dive Centre, and also a Kids and Teens club.

the minimum price will be about 600USD per night, bed and breakfast... opening december...

at the moment we are 2000 people working and living on the island.
top left of the photo, on the beach, is the temporary staff accommodation for the labourers, and top-ish right of the photo behind the tree there is a grey line.. those are the executive staff rooms. in the trees on the left side are 50 bungalows (left over from the old resort) which house senior staff.

you can see the beginnings of the overwater clusters already in this photo.

so i see you have now learned how to swim!

tamoshee · Jun 27, 2004

Hi island_sands, hope youre not exploiting this forum for commercial gain that would be terrible because I have a beach house in India, just a little further north up the Indian Ocean that is available for rent for considerably less..... (half teasing!)

island_sands · Jun 27, 2004

swap you anyday tamoshee!! five star resorts are not my scene... i am just helping to build it and i'm... outtahere!!

are you in Goa or India? which part? do you rent it? in all seriousness...

tamoshee · Jun 27, 2004

That was quick.... you attached to you keyboard?
Its in Morjim, North Goa... Towards the border with Maharastrha.
email me ... dedgell@ntlworld.com and I'll give you a web address if you like. Yet another great photo by the way, you really know how to inspire envy dont you! Something Im intrigued by... Under your name island_sands it says staff... what does that mean?

take care, David

island_sands · Jun 27, 2004

Staff means staff writer.. look on DB home page.. you'll see my latest one on scorpion fish. i have also written a few on the Maldives.

heard lots of good things about Goa.. ex portuguese colony? apparently its great fun and quite wild..
some friends of mine went there twice for holiday (apparently you can buy speed in the pharmacy?? lol.

yeah i'm attached to the keyboard.. it's where i spend most of the day at the moment. pretty sad!
although i do try and get out and run on the beach.. this afternoon we went body surfing.. totally delicious.

Murat · Jun 27, 2004

yeah i am still progressing

How long does it take to reach deep water with fins?? We have some places like that here with extreme visibility but fish less:waterwork

How is the fish life there? Is it allowed to spearing? Is this private island, who is the owner? May be i can get a job there

Sorry for too much question

Baur · Jun 27, 2004

Eden is closer than we think...

What central government do the Maldives belong to?

What is the policy of selling land to foreigners (fat chance lol but just for the story)?

miles · Jun 28, 2004

Hiya

Another tuff day at work hey!!!!

Well, its a hard life, but i guess somebody's gotta live it!!!

Stunning pictures!!!! Can just imagine all those monstrous pelagics and billfish just waiting for me...............

Gonna have to come visit sometime soon!!!

Regards
miles

island_sands · Jun 28, 2004

Maldives

Maldives is a republic... it's not owned by any other country.

the land is all leasehold (at least, the islands), although you can buy an apartment in Male' (capital city) if you can afford one.. space is limited (see photo).
even the Maldivians don't own the land... it's all extremely long leases for long periods of time. there are some people who own land from history (ie 200 years ago) but very few now and i think even some of it was seized.

The Maldives is a "democratic" republic (they have had the same president for about 30 years, and no-one has dared to oppose him).
There is a voting system and the same guy gets voted in every year...

There are a few powerful families in Maldives and those selected few are those who "own" islands, ie, pay a small "levy" to the government and stay there for centuries, build homes on them and even hotels (for another small "levy").

Murat, to reach the outside reef it's a five minute swim with fins from the closest point.. spearing is not allowed by foreigners (but in maldives everything is possible if you know the right people).

the large island in the photo is an example of a "private" island... it has had the same "owner" for over 30 years.. and now the hotel company has entered into a agreement with the owner/government and are building a resort... the leasehold is renewable but obviously it's forever. it's complicated but this resort is 100M USD and has brought a lot of revenue for the country, aside it is owned/operated by one of the most powerful hoteliers in the world...

island_sands · Jun 28, 2004

and if you don't want to be close to the city...

you can visit islands like this.. (South Ari Atoll, 30mins by seaplane from Male')

Alison · Jun 28, 2004

I take it those last piccies are from a sea plane, Ive flown over the Maldives a couple of time at about 38,000 feet, they are a true wonder to see like a string of pearls laid out on a blue blanket.
I think living there may be a different story though, it would drive me stir crazy after a couple of months but once your out of there, youve got some memories for a lifetime

island_sands · Jun 28, 2004

yes... actually the word Maldives comes from a sanskrit word which means something like that..
Some scholars believe that the name "Maldives" derives from the Sanskrit maladvipa, meaning "garland of islands ...

it's great working here, you just need to get off the island sometimes.. (even if it's to another island). you need a change of scenery.

when i left here in 2002 i swore i was never coming back.. oh couldn't resist..

Alison · Jun 28, 2004

Originally posted by island_sands
it's great working here, you just need to get off the island sometimes.. (even if it's to another island). you need a change of scenery.

when i left here in 2002 i swore i was never coming back.. oh couldn't resist..

You mad basket

island_sands · Jun 28, 2004

well. i was in grand cayman, great vis but no fish in comparison... and only saw 4 sharks the whole year!! plenty of nurse sharks but no variation.. hammerheads in july (oh... two... wow!) in rasdhoo we have residential hammerheads and the sightings are from 5 to 100 at a time...

then i pissed off my boss by doing a technical course with another company jejejejeje...
so coming back to maldives was easy.. people i know, places i know... and decent marine life.. working with people without holier/better than thou' attitudes and who just want to dive... that's me..
all these techie divers who think that the sun only shines out of their.. regulators... you don't have that here.
in maldives the sun only shines from the sky..

you generally find that ex-pats who live in maldives all appreciate the same thing.

the marine life
the beauty
relatively no stress, no traffic, no cars. just boats.
the culture (tomorrow.. tomorrow..)
and the easy life (no rent, no food expenses, room service and laundry service) its amazing. you leave to work in the morning, you come home, your room is clean, and all your clothes have miraculously found their way from the laundry basket back into the wardrobe all cleaned, ironed, hung or folded.

we all know of or have heard of each other and there is no animosity... people just get one with things, share info between dive centres, sightings etc.

i love it.

Murat · Jun 28, 2004

yeah but this does not took long for 600 dollars per night:hmm

i don't understand if local citizens does not have a land or something where they lives? Are there public homes or something?

island_sands · Jun 28, 2004

yeah. there are 1200 islands in the maldives... 200+ are local islands (local residents), and about 100 are hotels... the rest are uninhabited or have some shacks for fisherman stopovers.

i don't know what you mean by "yeah but this does not took long for 600 dollars per night "... the hotel is not finished yet. we live in 2 room accommodation of 28sqm with a tiny bathroom.. it's tiled and clean but not luxury.

the guest rooms will be amazing eventually. you can see photos taken from the mockup room... at this website
(the lagoon and oceanviews are real

www.oneandonlyresorts.com
(check for reethi rah resort)

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