Travelogue Lily Beach - 11. bis 16. July 2009:

After my arrival at the Male Airport on Hulule, I asked for a Maldivian Air Taxi (MAT) at the counter and was brought to the departure lounge of the red and white painted air taxis. All Lily Beach guests spend the waiting time until the departure in the air-conditioned MAT lounge with sandwiches and drinks at their disposal. During this time, the registration form for Lily Beach can be filled out, as well. From Hulule, we were brought to the luxury island Lily Beach, which is located in the south-eastern Ari Atoll.

The Island:
The Lily Beach Resort was closed in 2008 for an extensive redesign, so that the once inornate, though popular island, which was fringed by an ugly mole, was reopened on April 1, 2009, as the elegant, yet Maldivian Lily Beach Resort & Spa at Huvahendhoo Maldives.
Already during the approach, I could see from the plane that the ugly duckling had turned into a proud swan! The biggest part of the mole had gone and the beach was now shored up by transverse footbridges. Only in the eastern part of the island in front of the Vibes-Bar and in the south-east in front of some of the Lagoon Villas, the beach still had to be protected against the at times strong tide by a short segment of the mole.

De Luxe Water Villas:
After a non-alcoholic welcome drink at the reception I was brought to my De Luxe Water Villa No. 313 in a small electronic vehicle. And whilst I was shown around the bungalow, my suitcase arrived, as well. The main room and the air-conditioned bathroom are large and the glass floor, which is filling out almost the whole width of the hallway, looks very impressive, especially at night.
The bungalows are not opened by key, but by a programmable key card. In the hallway on the right hand side there are the main switch for the key card. In between the bathroom and the living room, there's the glass floor and behind it is a desk.
In the living-sleeping room there are a large canopy bed with different cushions, a daybed which can be used as additional bed, a dresser with snacks, a Nespresso coffeemaker, an electric teamaker, and an integrated minibar, which is equipped with beer, non-alcoholic beverages, as well as a bottle of French white and red wine, respectively. On the wall there's a 42 inch LCD TV with satellite reception, and the wall on the right hand side is a glass sliding door, leading onto the terrace.
On the left hand side of the hallway, one can access the huge bathroom. On the left, there's an illuminated cabinet with 4 doors and an integrated safe, next to it, there's dresser with hair-dryer and a large mirror. The toilet and shower are separated from the room by glass doors. Toilet and shower seem slightly odd at first sight, as both are open to one side and only separated from the footbridge by an art-nouveau style grating. On the wall in facing the entrance, there's a 32 inch LCD TV with satellite reception and, as in the living room, the wall on the right hand side is a glass sliding door, leading onto the terrace. The centre piece of the bathroom is a freestanding Jacuzzi and an also freestanding dresser with 2 round washstands, as well as a selection of soaps, shampoos, bath salt, a shower cap, sewing needles and yarn, shaver and shaving cream, toothbrush and toothpaste, body lotion, etc.
On the terrace there's a wooden blind on the left and a 7 sqm fresh water plunge pool with massage function which is integrated in the ground. Through the steady water circulation, no water gets lost and it is approx. 2 ° C cooler than the sea. Every terrace is equipped with 2 cushioned divan beds, a small table and two wooden arm chairs. On the right, the terrace is also protected by a wooden blind and in front of it is a small integrated bench. Moreover, every Water Villa has an own access to the sea and a fresh water shower on a lower level than the terrace. During tide, one can easily snorkel to the house reef from the terrace.

Sunday, 11. July:
After the arrival, I took a refreshing shower, unpacked my suitcase and discovered the bungalow once again; and then - not surprisingly with such a nice small pool on the terrace - I dipped into the blue water of the pool, which gives one the feeling as if the water of the pool and of the sea merge, accompanied by a glass of the great French red wine from the minibar for the inner refreshment. At the horizon of the deep blue ocean I could see the close by neighbouring island Vilamendhoo and next to it the islands Dhangethi, Vakarufalhi, Machchafushi and Maafushivaru. I could get used to that.

Aqva Bar:
In the afternoon I explored the extremely well-maintained island. All paths are strewn with fresh sand , the flowers and beds watered and the countless personnel very friendly and helpful. On the way back I took a stroll to Aqva Bar. As the whole interior of the bar is a non-smoking zone, I wallowed my vice on the terrace, with an iced-coffee in the shade of a sunshade. In front of me lied the large pool and on left of me the children's pool. Every day at 10 p.m. the pool illumination is turned of and at the ground of the pool thousands of little lamps in all shades of colour start to twinkle like the stars in the sky.

Lily Maa Restaurant:
The breakfast and lunch are served as a buffet at the main restaurant Lily Maa, whereas the dinner is - except from BBQ - a la carte. As in most restaurants on Lily Beach, the Lily Maa is a non-smoking zone, but when the weather was nice, I always ate on the terrace. On the dinner menu, there are always 3 starters, 3 main courses and 3 deserts to choose from. Today, the menu said: Starters - 1. Avocado-Papaya-Shrimps-Salad with American and Lime Dressing, 2. Selection of Mediterranean Antipasti, 3. White Miso Sauce with Tofu, Spinach and Mushrooms. Main Courses - Grilled Sirloin-Steak with Red Wine (it almost melted on the tongue, although it was medium done) with Tomato, Broccoli, Rustic Chips and Sauce Bernaise, 2. Steamed Barramundi Fillet, herbed potatoes and Indian Pakora in Mint-Yoghurt Sauce, 3. Grilled Pumpkin with Pistachio-Nut-Risotto with herbs and shaved Parmesan cheese. Deserts - 1. Tiramisu with Orange, Pannacotta and Mocca Sabayon, 2. Almond Frangipane Tartlet, Sesame Ice Cream, mixed berry compote and caramel adornment (tastes fanstastic), 3. Continental Cheese Platter with Walnuts and warm Chapati. I don't want to make anybody jealous, but already after the first dinner it was clear that the Australian chef had created a real star-aspiring restaurant on the Maldives. From the 11 white, 4 rosé and 10 red wines counting beverage menu, I chose iced water and a nice Australian Jackeroo Shiraz. For real gourmets, the premium all inclusive concept of Lily Beach is a dream come true, as there are only high quality and renowned beverage brands and no unknown wines or brandies and except for real Champagne and XO Cognac, all drinks are included, even the sparkling wine.

Ocean-Pro Diving Base:
Before dinner I visited the modern Ocean-Pro diving base, led by Jürgen, and checked in. The diving base is separated by a small path, in between the large, central client room, the office of the base leader and a small roofed area with tables and chairs and a map of the Ari Atoll on the wall. Around the corner there are information sheets and the current diving spot descriptions and behind this, the compressor room. At the end of the path there are the washing tanks and 3 dry rooms for the equipment. Every diver receives a numbered box, containing the diving equipment, which is cleaned and dried after every diving session by the base personnel. Next to the diving base there's a small Jetty for the diving boats.

Internet and Shops:
After dinner I went to the Jetty. On the left hand side of the landing stage, there's the reception and on the right hand side the "shopping center" of Lily Beach: a sportswear shop, a jeweller, a souvenir-shop and a cyber café, where one cannot have coffee, but surf on the internet for free.

The Spirit Bar:
The main bar is located in the heart of the island, next to the reception. In the main bar one can drink all beverages from the long beverage menu, whereas Aqva Bar and Vibes Bar cannot mix all cocktails. Originally, the main bar stays open until the last guest leaves, but since some drunkards overdid it and entered the main bar at 3 at night, loudly yelling, the bar might close a little earlier.

Monday, 12. July:
The breakfast at Lily Beach already begins at 7 and I could always have my breakfast outside on the terrace. Besides the usual breakfast buffet (and dreamlike tender croissants), there are also freshly squeezed fruit juices, fresh fruit and wafers with peanut butter, honey, maple syrup or Nutella. The coffee is prepared freshly for every table. A small coffee makes 2 cups and a large one makes almost one litre. The begging crows shouldn't be fed though, as they can get very importunate otherwise.
Thanks to great photo weather, I could not only take countless pictures and panoramic photos of Lily Beach, but also some movie clips. Afterwards, I refreshed myself with some iced coffees at the main bar. Back at the Water Villa, I accessed the sea from my bungalow and explored the house reef, which was surprisingly beautiful. The roof of the reef runs flat and declines steeply in 30 to 40 m distance from the Water Villas. The contrast of the deep blue open sea let the countless swarms of blue, yellow and red fish shine in the sun. Underneath overhanging corals, lurked lionfish, morays and others, and anemone fish protected their anemones. A tip for all snorkelers, starting from their bungalow: mark it conspicuously, otherwise one does not find his bungalow anymore and might land on the neighbour's terrace, which might lead to misunderstandings.

Tamarind Restaurant:
Also one dinner per week in this speciality restaurant Tamarind is contained freely (otherwise against extra charge), I ate in the Asian Tamarind Restaurant in this evening. 4 tables were built over the sea in 4 little plateaux and a dinner can be romantic particularly here under the free sky. The inside of the Tamarind Restaurant is a non-smoking zone, but you can, however, smoke unhinderedly at the tables in the open area. The meal is excellent but in the Lily Maa main restaurant at least exactly so well. Like in the main restaurant, you gets a cold, damp cloth also in the Tamarind according to the admission for the refreshment. I was still final in the Aqva Bar and enjoyed two exquisite cocktails with the firmament-illumination of the pool.

Tuesday, 13. July:
At 8:30 o'clock, we set off with the diving-boat of the small bridge of the diving-base and drove at the outside-edge of the Ari atoll along southward. The first diving gear was carried out at the White Sands Beyru, the outer house reef of the Diva Maldives resort (former White Sands) and unfortunately lasted with me for only 38 minutes because my Jacket permanently inflated slowly so that I had to drain pressure every 2-3 minutes to not permanently drift to the surface but I had nevertheless after my 20 times vacation in the Maldives the luck to meet my 1st whale shark. We met a couple of white-tip reef sharks, 4 Mobulas, a couple of turtles and last approximately 10 meters of depth, before my air still came to an end, an adolescent whale shark. We spent the lunch break in a protected bay eastern of White Sands and drove to it to next diving Square Dhidhdhoo Beyru where we met some smaller and middle white-tip reef sharks, a great stingray, some turtles and a gigantic, thick swarm of blue yellow fusiliers again. 5 minutes after the beginning of the return journes came the reputation "Whale Shark" and only with mask, snorkels and fins armed jumped we all into the sea and swam to the dark stain in the water. This whale shark was only insignificantly bigger with 4 to at most 5 meters.
After the dinner I watched the fish feeding that starting at 9 p.m. daily at the Jetty in front of the reception. Mainly stingrays but also some mackerels and one of little black-tip reef shark argued over the food.

Wednesday, 14. July:
In the morning still seemed the sun easily through the veiled sky and, at noon, already rained it rather intensely. In the afternoon we drive to the Endiri Thila. On this diving place we does not see any big fish but he nevertheless is spectacularly, then there is "fish-soup" pure to see. Otherwise you sees so large, thick swarms of young and glass-fish nowhere.
During the dinner it started again to rain, however, at only my cigarettes and a paperback were wet on the terrace next morning but the sun blinked by the clouds again.

Thursday, 15. July:
The weather does not mean it well with me because the sky is covered the whole day and it rains repeatedly a little bit. Neither, however, after although there are 4 different iced coffee types in the list of beverages, but no ice coffee Viennese nor ice coffee Italian, I showed the bartender in the Spirit Bar these 2 recipes for him. He wanted to pour ice cubes how usually to this at first again, too, but then, he had understood it anyway and for the end these tasted two iced coffee almost like with us, but only you must abstain the whipped cream on the Maldives.

Beach Villa, Lagoon Villa and Sunset Water Villa:
In the morning I was allowed to inspect and to take of photograph the Beach and Lagoon Villas. Unfortunately, all the 4 Sunset Water Villas were occupied so that I could not take a photograph of there, but I got a photo CD of the reception with photos of these big villas. All villas are established similarly on Lily Beach, only the LCD TV equipment in the Beach and Lagoon villas is a little smaller, than in the water villas and the terraces of the 4 bungalow categories are different from each other. The pool of the Sunset Water Villas is greater, than into the Deluxe Water Villas and the Lagoon Villas have no pool but a hammock sunk in the terrace and the terrace of the Beach Villas offers place for the 2 couches in direction the beach.

Tamara Spa:
I inspected the gigantic complex of the Spa building which is built into the sea and to a lily similar Spa building. Over a bridge, one comes into the range with a big glass plate in the ground, left and right, you comes into treatment-areas and straight ahead to the all around open general relaxing area, from this you comes in the petals, that are 6 further treatment-areas. At the northern top of the lily-bloom (English: Lily) is another single big day-apartment to the relaxes.

Vibes Bar:
After the sundown I went to the Vibes Bar at the eastern end of Lily Beach because the French general manager Jean Francois Debon had invited all vacationists for the "manager cocktail" for 7 p.m. and champagne and little snack meals from the kitchen were sufficed. While the western pool is lying shadowlessly in the blazing sun, the eastern pool is surrounded by old trees with the little child basin behind the Vibes Bar.
During the dinner, this time, it was not served but was grilled, outdoors it began to storm and to pour
but after my daily visit in the internet-café and in the main bar, it was once again beautiful.

Friday, 16. July:
My last day in the paradise and the sky is gray again. After the breakfast I packed my suitcase and depending on the changing weather I relaxed alternating on the terrace or in the room in front of the television set. The takeoff with the seaplane was planned for 16 o'clock, so that I could test some cocktails of the main-bar again extensively from 15 o'clock, but then, it was ready and we had to drive with the Dhoni out to the water-taxi and as the seaplane then rose, shone Lily Beach - the small island, in which I had fallen in love in these 5 days - once again to the parting in a lost sunbeam on ... I hope that the remaining passengers the drops under my eyes for perspiration held ... for perspiration held ...