Feb 13th, 2012 at 9:00AM: In a move surprising those not living in the Maldives -- where most of the recent press has focused on its green-thinking on climate change and carbon use -- the island nation's president, Mohamed Nasheed, has apparently been forced out in a coup d'etat.
Fingers are being pointed at allies of the previous president, Maumoon Gayoom, for orchestrating Nasheed's resignation. It was the Gayoom ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
maldives posts
Bowermasters Adventures: Update from the coup in the Maldives
Feb 13th, 2012 at 9:00AM: In a move surprising those not living in the Maldives -- where most of the recent press has focused on its green-thinking on climate change and carbon use -- the island nation's president, Mohamed Nasheed, has apparently been forced out in a coup d'etat.
Fingers are being pointed at allies of the previous president, Maumoon Gayoom, for orchestrating Nasheed's resignation. It was the Gayoom ...The 10 smallest countries in the world
Feb 1st, 2012 at 11:00AM:
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, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Tuvalu.) Some of these countries are quite new as independent nations: Tuvalu gained independence ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Running out of water in the Maldives
Jan 9th, 2012 at 12:00PM: 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 first-of-a-kind beach clean-up along the rocky coast, accompanied by a drum band and dancing, I took a small walking tour looking for ...Maldives reverses spa ban
Jan 8th, 2012 at 2:00PM: 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 lifted the ban and all the services will be available for tourists," President Nasheed told Reuters today.
The ban, ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Protecting the Maldives
Dec 30th, 2011 at 11:00AM:
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 remote Maldivian atoll just a100 miles north of the equator included were not just some of the world's top water athletes ...Waldorf Astoria Maldives launches coral reef regeneration project
Dec 21st, 2011 at 1:00PM: 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 are even more important as a barrier against sea-level rise and storms.
To do its part, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives is ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Learning how to breathe in the Maldives
Dec 21st, 2011 at 9:00AM: 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 was desperate for some cooling off, having spent the morning learning something I thought I'd mastered long ago: How to ...Maldives in Peril: Exploring the island of Maalhos
Nov 21st, 2011 at 9:00AM:
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 various ages scamper up and down the short, dusty streets. The women of the island of 600 are mostly in doorways or small ...Maldives in Peril: A Q&A with actor Edward Norton
Nov 9th, 2011 at 11:00AM:
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 "storytelling skills" that aid him in his variety of non-acting pursuits, from CEO of Baswood Inc., a green wastewater ...Maldives in Peril: An interview with Daryl Hannah
Nov 7th, 2011 at 10:30AM:
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, much of it indoors participating in a pair of eco-symposiums focused on climate change and the future of island nations -- ...Maldives in Peril: SCUBA surveying with Fabien Cousteau
Oct 21st, 2011 at 9:00AM:
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 you are alone in one of Planet Ocean's most distant paradises.
Yet when I did just that a few days ago, in the heart of the ...Maldives in Peril: From the SLOWLIFE Symposium part II
Oct 12th, 2011 at 4:30PM:
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 things like creating Marine Protected Areas, dictating what fish can be taken when and where, eliminating plastic at every step ...Maldives in Peril: From the SLOWLIFE symposium
Oct 11th, 2011 at 11:00AM:
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 atolls, most pancake flat, the highest reaches no more than five feet above sea level making the Maldives the lowest country on ...Top ten most crowded islands in the world
Jul 7th, 2011 at 12:30PM:
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 thread of scarcity - whether it be land, resources, or housing. In general, these islands are prophetical microcosms for an ...Budget Maldives: How to find perfect beaches and unbelievable snorkeling on a relative shoestring
Jul 1st, 2011 at 2:45PM:
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 coral reefs are de rigueur in The Maldives. It is a different kind of world, a water-world with flying taxis and manta rays ...Maldives meltdown
Jun 26th, 2011 at 1:00PM: 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 pushing out a young, democratically elected president and replacing him with an aging despot.
President Mohammed Nasheed, 44, ...Photo of the day - Maldives arrival
Apr 15th, 2011 at 5:00PM:
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 palm trees were so green. Could any tropical islands be more beautiful than these?
Years later the low-lying Maldives ...Ten great bands that I only discovered by traveling
Nov 12th, 2010 at 11:00AM: To travel is to trade.
From the 15th century Portuguese explorers to the overconfident 18-year old who crosses the ocean with a loaded iPod, travelers are always in the business of exchanging things: ideas, food, fashion, genes and diseases. Music is right up there, and with the ease of the MP3, we freely unload playlists to one another like apples in a market.
When I look over some of the ...
Maldives resort makes mockery of marriage vow renewals
Oct 28th, 2010 at 6:00PM: When an unidentified couple headed to the Vilu Reef resort in the Maldives, they thought they were participating in a traditional renewal of their wedding vows. And to be honest, watching the video above seems to confirm that. It wasn't until the video clip was uploaded to YouTube that the translation painted a different picture.
Instead of romantic reminders of their love and affection for ...Daily Pampering: Making waves in the Maldives
Sep 3rd, 2010 at 4:00PM: Why settle for the beach in your backyard when you can hit the waves on the other side of the world. We found some remote islands in the Maldives that will leave you so zen your family won't recognize you. You might need to cash in a bit on your savings account, but can you really put a price on your sanity?
Here are three great spots for soaking up the sun on the Maldives islands in the Indian ...
