"Unusual" Maldives

[BraCuru]

I'm planning to write later.
By now, check the pics from Polish forum please:
http://www.kiteforum.pl/forum/viewtopic ... 28&t=61262

[Robsw6]

Looks like the visitor found the areas with "potential for development"!

Similar examples are sadly all too easy to find:
http://listverse.com/2014/08/06/10-outr ... ed-places/

[Peter_Frank]

Awesome jumps in beatiful water Bracuru although a hideous shoreline

Am I wrong, or could it my really best Polish friends from wayyyy back in Portugal
and Galicia, most often the Windsurf World Championships, Magda and/or Mariusz ?




Peter Frank


Estoril back in the days:

PS: Edit - apparently not M or M... But could have been

[Europ2]

Went to the Maldives on Malé the capital island for work for 3 weeks in 2010.

The first thing that amazed me (shocked me actually), was Thilafushi, a 7 km long island at 30min by boat, WNW from Malé, sacrified for garbage storage purpose. It receives 300,000 tons of unsorted garbage every year and creates a "hill". With 3,5 kg of waste per day, tourists (600,000 per year) are the best and worst thing for the country.

So the pictures from Bracurus's first post above are not so bad actually. It represents the difference between a resort island (cleaned twice a day) and a "natural" inhabited one.

Actually before going to such a beautiful area, you don't realize how waste disposal can be a daily problem when you have no land to process it. Now I know.

A country ruled by the Charia.
Second thing that was quite bizarre were the queues of peoples at the Malé northern ferryboat station. There were queues for local people taking dedicated boats for their home island invisible/hidden on tourist maps and queues for tourists waiting to go to the airport or their island resort visible on tourist maps.

Then I learned that this had been decided by the religious authorities in order to separate the local population from the (decadent) tourists. It's pretty clever as you can't plan to visit sthg that does not exist.
So, there were 2 kinds of islands, 2 parallel worlds that would rarely mix although sharing the same docks for a few minutes everyday.

It's only during the last hour of my stay, talking to 2 polish guys in the airport waiting room, that I heard about THULUSDHOO, the Coca Cola factory island where you could find (the last) cheap/basic hotels and places to kitesurf within 30kms/20 Miles/2hrs distance by ferryboat form Malé.

As a conclusion I could add that I really enjoyed my stay with the Maldivians from Malé, some really really nice people = something you can't live if you go there as a tourist.
In the Maldives, the wind is not guaranteed so it is always a pleasure to see kitesurfers who have chosen the right time to go there However, I experienced scuba diving and snorkeling.
I went there in July. I wished I was there in January which has the best possible wind statistics.

[BraCuru]

Am I wrong, or could it my really best Polish friends from wayyyy back in Portugal
and Galicia, most often the Windsurf World Championships, Magda and/or Mariusz ?

That was another icon of the Polish WS and KS scene. I went there with Mariusz Karazniewicz.
He is a boss of SU-2 Kiteboard Factory. One of the first Polish kiters.

It receives 300,000 tons of unsorted garbage every day and creates a "hill".

...not every year?
There are some foreigners living on Thulusdhoo who work hard to educate locals about the plastic danger.
They set up trash bins on the beaches to collect plastics. So far every two weeks locals do a cleaning day:


I am going there next year and believe to see improvements.

In the Maldives, the wind is not guaranteed so it is always a pleasure to see kitesurfers who have chosen the right time to go there However, I experienced scuba diving and snorkeling.
I wished I was there in January which has the best possible wind statistics.

Our stay WG archive:

Wherever you see 15kts I was kiting that day on 7m (with a foilboard or a twintip).
I was there 10 days and used a 10m four days and a 7m six days. 5 up to 6 hours on the water every day.
Constant wind blows non-stop. Day & night. I could compare it with Cumbuco.

More pics (desciptions in Polish here http://www.kiteforum.pl/forum/viewtopic ... 28&t=61262 )

[Europ2]

Youth picts and large smiles on 2015 faces

Aerial picts from personal drones as they are much better than Google Map can change our perception of a place and help to identify areas where you wouldn't have navigated otherwise.

The hydrofoil as an "insurance" against low wind days (not your conditions).

There are some foreigners living on Thulusdhoo who work hard to educate locals about the plastic danger.
They set up trash bins on the beaches to collect plastics. So far every two weeks locals do a cleaning day:
I am going there next year and believe to see improvements.

The trash bins are very important. I remember to have seen used nappies abandonned on the public beaches (Hulhumale). Thiqs has probably changed a lot during the last 5 years.
But essential even if we know that this hard work will finish in Thulafushi hills or Thulafushi lagoon for the months to come
100 to 300 tonnes collected per day = 36,000 to 100,000 tonnes stacked or drowned per annum !

And as per my 1st link above, things have gotten worst since the contract with the Indian company was broken..

Could you tell us more about your accomodation ? 10 days on Thulusdhoo or on nearby islands as well ? One or several hotels/lodges ? Places to recomend or warnings ?
Any things you've already decided for your 2016 trip ?

Any dangers when kiting there ?
Sometimes strong, have the currents between islands been a problem for you ?

[Starsky]

Dude in the middle is flippin the bird!

[Europ2]

Bracuru,
I whish I had tried the Polish to English translation earlier and read p 2 and 3 of your very interesting post on kiteforum.pl as well.
I would have understood your two-fold narrative earlier,
I would have learned everything about your accomodation without asking for it

I cannot access to the (drone) videos. Should one register to kiteforum.pl or could you post the links here ?

ps: I found the following narrative very interesting too because they explain very well the advantages of public transport vs costly speedboats http://www.tripadvisor.co.za/ShowTopic- ... sland.html

[BraCuru]

Thulsdhoo, Cokes, Chickens and neighbor islands from a drone:

I would have understood your two-fold narrative earlier,

To be honest with you first day was rather disappointing.
We were expecting to see clean, beautiful beaches around any island.
Thulusdhoo is not a "resort island".
Our feelings U-turned once we discovered atmosphere in Cokes Beach House created by Lauren & Jerry, familiarised with locals, dolphins & sharks and kitesurfing spots.

BTW. I'm already booking all rooms in Cokes Beach House for two weeks next winter
Already missing it: http://cokesbeachhouse.com/

It looks that majority of my Polish text was translated pretty good
"Unusual Maldives" - Polish to English translation
I will be writing more posts there.

About the inter-island communication.
A speedboat costs 200$ (one way) and would take you from Thulusdhoo to Male in 30 mins. It rides with 30 knots plus speed. The speedboats are various sizes. Might accommodate from 8 to 30 people. All share a price 200$. So it's not so bad if you go with a group.
A public ferry ticket costs 2$ (one way). 90 mins trip. Comfortable boat for over 100 people. Disadvantage of the public ferry is that it runs once a day. We would need to wait 6 hours after a 20 hour door-to-door trip.
In bad weather a ferry might be suspended. A speedboat will run but for 300$.

[BraCuru]