random travel destinations - the Maldives

Doesn't get much more random than that, does it?

The Maldives, otherwise known as the Maldive Islands or the Republic of Maldives, lies about 430 miles southwest of the island of Sri Lanka, in the Laccadive Sea. The Maldives themselves are, according to good ol' Wikipedia, a double chain of twenty-six atolls running north-to-south over an area of about 90,000 square kilometers. There are over twelve hundred separate islands or islets, of which only about 200 are inhabited.

There's a lively debate on where the name "Maldives" came from. Some say that it's the anglicized form of the Dutch name Maldivische Eilanden, which itself may have originated in Sanskrit. Others insist that the name comes from a passage in an ancient Sri Lankan text, the Mahawamsa, which refers to an obscure island called Mahalidiva, "The Island of Women." The Arabs used to call the place Mahal Dibiyat, the word mahal meaning "palace."

It holds the unsurprising distinction of being the lowest country in the world, hovering at an average of four feet eleven inches above sea level. The highest point on the entire island chain is 7'7" above the water. Let's hope the tsunamis around there never get higher than six feet or so, eh?

Okay, enough with the bloody factoids. Let's get to the rat-killer.

You wanna know why I've featured the Maldives so prevalently on this blog (after such a long absence from these random travel destinations)? Why I want to go there so desperately, when I'm rather leery about the area (those Somali pirates operate not too far west of there, y'know)?

Three reasons.

First, the sunsets.

Second, they've got themselves an underwater grub joint. You can dine 16 feet under at the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, at the Conrad Hotel and Resort on Rangali Island.

Tell me that ain't cool. Go on, just try.

Finally, and this one's the kicker...

Maldivian Air Taxi is the country's biggest air carrier, and one of the most prolific seaplane operators in the world. Close to 500 flights a week during tourist season. I hear their pilots wear Hawaiian shirts and fly barefoot.

And if they hired me, my office would look like this:

Turquoise water, white sand, tropical sunsets, plentiful seafood, and a de Havilland Twin Otter to fly: what could be finer?

For a writer-cum-pilot with itchy feet (like yours truly), that's darn close to heaven.

Ahhhh....

cocktail review no. 41 - Pumpkin Bomb

It's holidaydrinktime again, folks!

Now, just so you're aware, I am not suggesting that you go out and get yourself trashed for the holidays. Save that kind of thing for office parties and raves and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

No, this is just a nice little drink you can sip as you snack on Halloween candy, or while you're stuffing the turkey.

It's called the Pumpkin Bomb.

Lay off the Spider-man references before I king you, jerkface.

Here's the recipe:

• honey or agave syrup
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 ounce Goldschläger
• 15 ounces pumpkin ale
• ½ ounce chopped, toasted pumpkin seeds

Dip the rim of a pint glass in honey or agave syrup. Combine the cinnamon and sugar and coat the rim of the glass with the mixture. Pour the Goldschläger into the glass and top off with the pumpkin ale. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds and another pinch of cinnamon sugar on the head of the beer.

Now, I didn't have chopped or toasted pumpkin seeds—I carved two pumpkins for my Halloween party (a jack-o-lantern and a punchbowl), but didn't have time to save the seeds. The rest of this stuff I had lying around, though. So I slapped it together this evening just for a lark.

And let me tell you, folks, this drink is smooth, sweet, spicy, and reminds you of all the fun things that you've always loved about the fall season: the cool air, the short days, the fuzzy sweaters, the changing colors, the sound of dead leaves, the carving of pumpkins, the baking of pies, the consumption of copious amounts of turkey...the whole shebang. Up top, we have the spiciness of the cinnamon and the sweetness of the sugar on the rim of the glass; the head of the beer provides a foamy and hop-laden overtone before the plunge is made into the drink proper; then we have pumpkin-beer and cinnamon schnapps warring for primacy on top of your tongue. This sequential approach to taste and the absolute synergy of flavor forge a powerful combination. And as you might expect, the nose is positively ravishing. This libation smells almost exactly like pumpkin pie...pumpkin pie beer. What could be finer?

(Yes, a prerequisite for appreciating this cocktail is, of course, appreciating beer. You have to like beer to like this drink. Otherwise you're SOL. So, if you like beer, try this drink. Have fun with it. Expand your alcoholic horizons. Sip a bit of autumn incarnate. If you don't like beer, start, dammit. You're missing out.)

Lesson over. For my American readers, I hope you had a Happy Halloween, and I wish you a gut-busting Thanksgiving. For my overseas readers, stay tuned for my Christmas cocktails, you poor benighted souls. And have a happy Remembrance Day (and Remembrance Sunday).