The world's ten smallest countries in terms of area fall into two general categories: European microstates (Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican) and small island nations of the Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Caribbean (Maldives, Marshall Islands, Nauru, ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Maldives
The 10 smallest countries in the world
The world's ten smallest countries in terms of area fall into two general categories: European microstates (Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican) and small island nations of the Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Caribbean (Maldives, Marshall Islands, Nauru, ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Running out of water in the Maldives
Kunahadhoo Island-- On a very hot, very typical, mid-morning in the Maldives I walk the streets of this tiny island just north of the equator.
Most of its 800 residents had gathered at the shoreline to greet visitors from a nearby island. While they focused on a ...Maldives reverses spa ban
Just days after a blanket ban on spa services in the Maldives was announced, the country's President announced that services will be made available to tourists.
Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed said he expects the court to rule that the law is unconstitutional. "We have ...Ten big travel adventures for 2012
A new year always brings new possibilities, particularly in the realm of travel. With 2012 now officially underway, it is time to start plotting our adventures for the year ahead. This year, rather than share yet another top ten list of adventure travel destinations, we ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Protecting the Maldives
Laamu, Maldives-- The recent four-day, ocean-focused conference -- dubbed WaterWoMen by its sponsors, Six Senses Resortsand +H2O-- was a first-of-a-kind blend of water sport activities and intellectual athleticism.
Equal part coming out party for the resort on this ...Waldorf Astoria Maldives launches coral reef regeneration project
The Maldives coral reefs comprise the eighth largest reef system in the world. But active tourism and fishing industries, as well as global phenomena like climate change and El Nino, are taking its toll. And because the islands of the Maldives are low-lying, the coral reefs ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Learning how to breathe in the Maldives
LAAMU, Maldives -- A fast-moving rainstorm blew over the small atoll late in the afternoon, briefly cooling a humid day just 100 miles north of the equator. But within twenty minutes the sun was back hot and bright, the air even thicker with dampness. Aaaaaah paradise!
I ...Conrad Maldives hotel offers guests a chance to spot whale sharks
The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island hotel has announced that it is once gain joining forces with the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme. This unique partnership gives visitors to the resort a rare opportunity to view and interact with those amazing aquatic creatures ...Maldives in Peril: Exploring the island of Maalhos
Late on a Sunday afternoon, hardly a day of rest in this part of the world, the small island of Maalhos is quiet. The men, most of who go to sea each day to fish or work at one of six nearby tourist resorts, are absent. School is out for a week's holiday so kids of ...Maldives in Peril: A Q&A with actor Edward Norton
There was no b.s. in actor Edward Norton's introduction of himself at the recent SLOWLIFE Symposium in the Maldives: "Films are now my sideline," he said. "Waste is my business."
He admitted of course that what he referred to as his "day job" had provided him with the ...Maldives in Peril: An interview with Daryl Hannah
Given her decades of success in the movie business, environmental activist and actress Daryl Hannahcould be lounging on any beach in the world today, drinking rum punches, working on her tan or perfecting her mermaid's kick.
That she recently spent a week in the ...Maldives in Peril: SCUBA surveying with Fabien Cousteau
There are few places on the planet as remote as the Maldives. Landfall is a thousand miles away from much of the long string of 1,200 islands, most of which are little more than thin, uninhabited atolls. Diving into the heart of a Maldivian lagoon it is easy to imagine ...Maldives in Peril: Richard Branson on impacting climate change
I've bumped into Richard Branson a couple times now, in vastly different settings. The first was in the high Arctic village of Clyde River, where he'd come to join his son Sam for a weeklong dogsled expedition. He introduced himself with what he admitted was a weakish ...Maldives in Peril: From the SLOWLIFE Symposium part II
Perhaps the most essential weapon -- or tool -- in affecting environmental change is political will. While individuals can make a difference, and must often lead the charge, for change to stick it demands governmental teeth.
When it comes to the ocean that means ...Maldives in Peril: From the SLOWLIFE symposium
There is no place more apt to engage in heavy-hitting conversation about the future of Planet Ocean than the heart of the small island nation of the Maldives.
It is a place many have heard of but few could pick out on a map. Made up of twelve hundred islands and ...Top ten most crowded islands in the world
From an island microslum in Colombia to a haute enclave in central Paris, the ten most crowded islands in the world bear scant similarities in class or culture. In fact, every entry in the top ten comes from a different country. But being islands, each shares the common ...Budget Maldives: How to find perfect beaches and unbelievable snorkeling on a relative shoestring
The lowest lying country in the world does not offer much above sea level, just 7 feet 7 inches at its highest point. This fine sliver of sun kissed atolls is so postcard perfect it borders on ridiculous. White sand beaches, Kool-aid blue seawater, and densely populated ...Maldives meltdown
As political unrest swept through the Muslim nations of North Africa, even the remote island-nation of the Maldives was caught up in its own Arab Spring in the form of political protest and street clashes.
One major difference: Efforts in the Maldives were focused on ...Luxury resort offers guests daily submarine tours
While Richard Branson races to launch his own underwater adventures, one luxury resort in the Indian Ocean is making it possible for travelers today. The Conrad Maldives, located on Rangali Island, has announced the start of daily tours aboard their private, three-person ...Photo of the day - Maldives arrival
When I was a kid, the Maldives were the stuff of dreams. A colleague of my father's gave me a hardback Maldives-themed calendar one year for Christmas, with glossy photos of atolls peeking out of perfect blue seas in between calendar pages. The sand was so white and the ...
