Last Resort
Brief overview of the Top Maldives Holiday Resorts (Part 1)There are a huge number of resorts in the Maldives to a wide range of tastes and budget. Here we take you through many of the most popular destinations. Angsana Resort & Spa Maldives Angsana is the Ihuru islands (North Male Atoll) is located and a short 14 km distance from the capital Male. The resort comprises 45 villas – some of the nice features of these include, for example roofs, individual private Beautiful gardens and terraces covered. Guests can choose between deluxe beach villas and standard villas to choose on the beach. Ihuru has an excellent reputation for with some of the best house reef in the Maldives and it is a good destination for those who do something, diving and snorkeling. The Angsana Spa offers a wide range at of treatments including facials, massages and various others. Sun Asdu Iceland Maldives Sun Asdu Iceland is a three-star resort with 30 rooms in the Kaafu (Male) Atoll. While it may not be one of the luxurious choice, Iceland Asdu Sun offers the usual range of activities including diving, canoeing, snorkeling, Fishing, and much more. The facilities include a library for reading, where guests can book you from the beach and a video hall and surfing the Internet to read. Bandos Resort Maldives Iceland The Bandos resort has 225 rooms of different types – guests can choose between Standard, Deluxe Garden Villas choose, Jacuzzi beach villas and water villas. The resort is located in North Male Atoll. Bandos was the first time in 1972, although it has since been considerably one of the largest Maldives resorts with facilities for the game has become cope. For example, only some of the facilities include tennis courts, a coffee shop (and five restaurants), a disco and bar, fitness room and sauna, a billiards room, a few swimming pools, a beauty salon and a spa with massages. The diving facilities are good with a diving school offering diving courses. Banyan Tree Maldives The Banyan Tree is another luxurious resort set in the North Male Atoll. The resort offers five different types of rooms, from standard to Ocean View Villas. There is a choice of four restaurants and bars, a very good spa and excellent recreation facilities including diving, snorkeling & call for deep-sea fishing on a few. Baros Maldives Resort Iceland Located in North Male Atoll, Baros is just 20 minutes by speedboat ride from the airport Male. The resort offers three types of accommodation – water villas, villas and luxury villas Baros. There are several bars and restaurants offer a wide range Continental and Oriental cuisines. The recreational facilities Baros are huge, and aside from the standard diving & snorkelling options to virtually all locations offered, Baros offers several additional services – badminton, aerobics and cycling are just a few. Bathala Resort Maldives Iceland Certainly a of the smaller places in the Ari Atoll Bathala is also seen by divers. The 4-star resort with 37 bungalows and is better for those who do not plan to, much to do except laze suitable. Biyadhoo Iceland Resort Maldives Biyadhoo is on the Kaafu Atoll (South Male Atoll) is a four-star resort a total of 96 rooms. This resort is very like a good place for diving and snorkeling considered. Certainly an island for those who are water sports and activities in addition to the spectacular scenery that the Maldives offers. Boduhithi Iceland Resort Maldives The Club Resort-style with 80 rooms is a special Italian favorite with customers. As expected, this means a high number of available activities and all the fine Italian food you can afford. Employees are also predominantly Italian. Boduhithi is in the North Atoll (Kaafu) located and has an official rating of four stars. Bolifushi Iceland Resort Maldives Located in South Male Atoll, about 12 km southwest of times has reviewed this 4-star resort three types of rooms – Boli, Beach Villa and Water Villa. The facilities are good and offer diving, snorkeling, diving and many other activities. There are also good Spa. Club Med Farukolhufushi Maldives Set in the North Atoll, the resort Iceland is very good for diving and water sports. The 4-star resort offers a wide range of facilities and 150 rooms. There are two types of rooms – superior and superior with balcony. The lessons are for water sports such as windsurfing and sailing, while providing other activities: kayaking , Go beach volleyball, soccer, water polo and more. The resort also offers a swimming pool, spa, arts / crafts workshop, a TV / billiards room and much more. Coco Palm Resort & Spa Maldives The five-star resort is located on the private island Duikolu (Baa Atoll) and is about half an hour by sea plane from the capital Male. The accommodation is very luxurious and there are four types of rooms from beach villas to the incredible lagoon Palace Suite. The resort several restaurants and bars, all set in a quiet location and has a highly recommended spa. Activities are also diving with a diving school and many sports including water skiing, canoeing, surf-biking, sailing and much more. Tennis, badminton, volleyball are also on offer and the resort has a fitness room also for the health conscious. Cocoa Iceland Maldives Cocoa Iceland is a five-star resort in South Male Atoll and is approximately 30 minutes from Male via speedboat. The rooms are of high standard and come in various types such as a bed and two villas, dhoni loft suites and dhoni standard suites. The main activities on offer are diving, water sports and island hopping. Dhonveli Beach Resort & Spa Maldives Not surprisingly, "Dhonveli" in Maldian stands for "crystal white sand." This is a five-star resort with five different types of rooms, which lies on the North Male Atoll. The resort has one main restaurant, the Banana Garden Restaurant but also offers a sunset bar & coffee shop. There are more of the usual indoor and outdoor recreational facilities available, including the "Big Game Fishing" and "Adventure cruising". Floodlit tennis, badminton, carom, table tennis are some of the more traditional activities to offer and the resort to a gym and spa. Ellaidhoo Tourist Resort Maldives is on the North Ari Atoll The four-star resort Ellaidhoo. It is quite a distance from Male (over an hour by speedboat although only 20 minutes by seaplane). Ellaidhoo is one of the smaller towns and the whole island is about 300 meters long and 280 feet wide. There are 156 rooms distributed as follows Standard, Superior and Deluxe. The dining facilities include the Restaurant, café and bar Diving & recreation are available and these also island hopping, snorkelling safaris, morning fishing, an excursion to Male and more. There is also a spa. Embudu Village Maldives The four-star resort is located in Kaafu Atoll and put the island is only 300 meters long. It is a very easy-going Feeling on the island. There are 118 rooms divided between standard, superior and water bungalow rooms. As expected, the main activities are diving in Embudu, Water sports and a feast of additional activities usually found in the Maldives reorts. There is a restaurant, bar and coffee shop serves a variety the food and beverage industry. Eriyadu Iceland Resort Maldives Set in the North Male Atoll, is Eriyadu a four-star resort that includes 57 superior rooms only. There is a 45-minute transfer via speedboat from the capital Male. It is a 4-star resort. There is a restaurant, bar and café for guests available and there are good opportunities for diving as you would expect. Filitheyo Iceland Resort Maldives Situated on the Faafu Atoll is a five star Filitheyo Resort with 125 villas of different types. Four Seasons Resort Maldives Set in the North Male Atoll, Four Seasons and a spectacular five-star resort with 106 Rooms of various types (from standard beach villas and beach bungalows with outdoor showers, water villas). The resort offers three restaurants and two bars and some of the features include a healthy selection of vegetarian dishes as well as theme nights. The facilities and leisure facilities are very good – as well as the standard Maldives offers may The guest happiness at the air-trips, catamaran sailing, deep sea fishing and island hopping to try. The resort is a half hour transfer via speedboat from Male. Full Moon Resort Maldives The five-star resort is a full Moon in the North Male Atoll and is a 20-minute ride by speedboat from Male. There are 156 rooms – from deluxe rooms and houses to water bungalows and villas water. The architecture has a very traditional, wooden feel and the accommodation is very comfortable. No fewer than five different restaurants offer a huge selection of international cuisine and keep the guests pallets delighted all time. Also There are three bars and a coffee shop. While most Maldives resorts have their own spas, the Full Moon Spa is actually on a separate island – a delightful Note. A good selection of activities and recreation are also on offer. Hakuraa Club Maldives On the Meemu Atoll lies the four-star Club Hakuura offers on the beach or water bungalows. The resort is located 130 km from Male. A good range of activities and recreation are offered. Halaveli Holiday Village Maldives This is a three-star resort in the Ari Atoll offering a range of beach bungalows. The transfer from the airport is half an hour by sea plane or 1.5 hours by speedboat. Dhon transfers are available but take 360 minutes. It is a main restaurant and a bar with a wide range of cuisine. Adequate Living or recreation and diving are also available. This is a fair opportunity for those on a tight budget that, for a Maldives Experience. While the rooms are not cheap, they are cheaper than the four-and five-star options. Helengeli Tourist Village Maldives Helengeli is a four-star resort, which is based in the Kaafu Atoll. There are 50 beach villas available and offers the usual choice of recreation and activities. Just to name a few, including rent, spa, restaurant / bar, internet, swimming pool as well as dhoni / speedboat / seaplane. There is also a diving school. Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa Maldives Rangali Iceland The luxurious five star Hilton is not for those with a fragile budget! Located in South Ari Atoll, the resort is 90 km away from Male. There are 150 rooms divided into standard / deluxe beach villas, water bungalows, and sunset water villas. The main restaurant is the Atoll restaurant with two open kitchens. The Sunset Bar & Grill is a nice addition on the water with stunning views built on the lagoon. You can even have a private barbeque specially made by a resort chef. Some great recreational & diving activities include swimming, Tennis courts, fitness rooms offered & Spa and a wide range of water and other sports. These are only a handful of the best resorts in the Maldives. While all are prone to mid-to high-end, you can change your choice with the kind of holiday you are interested in further research determined as some is always recommemded. About the Author Papa Roach – Last Resort
Some early scientists relegated women to a category somewhere above monkeys, yet below men, and the poet Milton observed that women are “a fair defect of nature” However these were the pseudoscientific notions about female variability and vulnerability, and were used to justify sexism and discrimination in society. Perhaps out of such frustrations rose the concept of a woman who defied her stereotypical image and donned the garb of someone who is just the opposite of the popular concept, which was more or less forced upon her. The phrase femme fatale is French for ‘deadly women’ and was created to project a social democratic revolt against the oppressiveness of the Victorian age, where women were constricted in a corset and pushed into claustrophobic ideologies and a shrunken introverted world. She took an avatar of a female who has been created to break men’s heart and to lead herself into a sunlight world. These femme fatales are allowed to have it all; power, sexuality, femininity and wealth, but they keep hankering for love and would often face a bad end because they defied the conventions. The astonished man, who had earlier created an ideal woman from his own wishful imagination, suddenly meets someone whom he cannot control or understand. He labels her as the ‘bad woman’; the woman who must die or be banished because she is not the representative of his idealistic image. Women in Hollywood- The femme fatale Disillusioned with men and frustrated of a circumscribed life, this figure of a deadly femme fatale/ vamp- emerged as a central figure in the nineteenth century and became one of the most persistent personifications of modern female. “Who is she?” was the popular query. And the enigmatic answers would be: “She is the woman who never really is what she seem to be” She is the black widow spider who eats her mate alive; she is ungovernable, threatening to male psyche, and a woman who challenges the patriarchal culture vehemently. The femme fatale was a frequent character in 1940s films. Rita Hayworth as The lady from Shanghai (1948) is the most enigmatic example. She embodies the overpoweringly desirable, duplicitous and sexually insatiable femme fatale, who has been represented as a symptom of male anxieties about women. She is a creature who threatens to castrate and devour her male victim. This image of a sexual, dangerous woman is the psychological expression of a man’s own internal fears of sexuality, and his need to control and repress it. The femme fatale’s appearance is always explicitly sexual with long dark or blonde hair worn loose on her back, long, sensuous legs, heavy make-up, sparkling jewelry and revealing clothes, as portrayed in Sunrise (1927). She is the ‘woman of city’, the urban female depicting the sexual pleasures of modern metropolitan life. She represents an open challenge to the post war consensus of women feeling fulfilled only by their roles of wife and mothers. Two of the most powerful screen portrayal, are Barbara Stanwyck’s Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity (1944) and In Hollywood, the femme fatale’s most characteristic role is a nightclub singer on the fringes of the underworld. She traps her victims through seductive dances and explicit display of sexual threat. Watch Ava Gardener in The Killers (1946) playing Kitty Collins as she is first glimpsed by her victim Swede (Burt Lancaster) singing ” The more I know of Love” and you will see how she comes across as the apotheosis of a mythical femininity. She is sexy and feline, and has that dreamlike sensuality about her with her sloe-shaped eyes, curvaceous cheekbones, cleft chin, and full upturned mouth. All these features exude an open sexual invitation, and she is the ultimate femme fatale here. The femme fatale often emerges from darkness into harsh light, or dissected by both to indicate certain instability. The Good -Bad girl However, Hollywood found a way to bring out the femme fatale from the narrow confines of the stereotype seductress who just doesn’t resort to narcissism and duplicity to have her way. The femme fatale is also the beleaguered hero’s helpmate sometimes. She is often shown as supporting him and believing in his innocence, or his ability to solve the problems. The figure of the good-bad girl combines the sexual stimulation of the femme fatale with the fundamental decency of a wife or a lover. She can appear to be cynical, wayward and obsessed with money, but this stems from disillusionment with men and the frustrations of a constrained life. Veronica Lake in The Blue Dahlia (1946) and Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep (1946) are perfect example of the type. They are cool, terse, sexually assured and independent women, and yet remain on the hero’s side. To the hero they offer a slightly mocking image and allow him to feel relaxed in their company, just like they would feel with a male companion. The good-bad girls have the masculine and feminine qualities merged together and although they appear two-faced, like the typical femme fatale, they do prove themselves to be loyal. If they cannot help the hero, they can support him and believe in his ability to solve problems. The best and most complex example of this type is Rita Hayworth in Gilda (1946) The bad women of cinema went through a noticeable transformation over the next decades and the hideously prominent false eye lashes, hard contact lenses, huge wigs, feather gowns and shimmering two piece dresses are replaced by the more chic and contemporary get-ups. They are no more limited to being the cabaret dancers, or a gangster’s moll. The fun, fearless female is played by the female protagonist now, and she has emerged as the voluptuous, deeply alluring and convincingly sexy woman who knows her mind. She is also subtle, clever, sophisticated and extremely patient, waiting for the right time to strike, just like a predator. One of the best examples of such a woman is of Famke Janssen as Xenia Ouatappo in Golden Eye (1995). She is like none other so far. Perceived as a classic representation of femme fatale she is the ‘black widow spider’ woman who devours her mate after sex. She gets her sexual satisfaction by killing unscrupulously. Watch her making love on a yatch, clad in a revealing lingerie and screaming Yes…Yes…YES!!… as she crushes the man’s chest between her thighs during orgasm. Her sadistic sexual proclivities coupled with an absolute lack of conscience make her, the deadliest femme fatale. As Bond says in the end – “She always enjoyed a good squeeze.” Women in Indian Cinema- the image and the body Around two decades ago Indian cinema had these stereotypical heavily made up vamps that always had a bullet shot in their heaving bosom in the end, to justify the popular notion that only ‘good and pure’ women deserve to get the hero. Thus the climax of a film always saw our ‘demure and coy’ heroine snuggling in the arms of the macho hero, while the vamp lay on the ground in a bloody pool, staring up at the hero’s face with life receding out from her blue (contact lenses) eyes. However, over the years the concept went through many changes and now we don’t find these blue eyed, heavily made up and inadequately clad vamps anymore. These days the female protagonists (our heroines) have taken over from those vamps of yesteryears and have gone much ahead in wearing lesser clothes and heavier makeup; leaving the customary vamps out of work forever. Pick up the DVD of yesteryear films and you will surprisingly find the bold and daring dance numbers that appear timeless even now. The women who played the femme fatale roles had a certain body type (read hour glass) and they were always dressed more glamorously and fashionably than the heroine. They were also the best dancers of that era. The soft focus on the nurturer/ homebuilder women The position of women in the Indian film industry was earlier fraught with ambivalence: in those early years of cinema very few women were ready to let their photographed images appear on screen and allow thousands of unknown men’s eyes gaze at their pictures. Most of the women carried cultural baggage of strict religious taboos, which did not allow them to display their bodies to the public. While such taboos have broken down gradually and now girls are queuing up in hoards to take their chance in films, one cannot overlook the fact that the concept of bad girl, provocatively dressed, dangerous vamps came out of such beliefs that an ideal woman has to appear bashful, modest and should be covered from head to toe. She must appear as the virginal daughter who is protected all her life and then given ‘all intact’ to her husband to become a chaste wife, whose raison d’etre is to worship her husband. The Indian heroines played such parts to perfection and it somewhat justified their entry into the big bad world of cinema, in which they portrayed the ‘Ideal Indian Woman’ image to perfection, and thus affirmed that they cannot be faulted by being in films. The ideal woman was conventionally recognised as the picture of ‘oppressed womanhood’ and was reinstated by many female actors of the Indian cinema. The yesteryear Indian heroines played such parts to hilt, and projected the perfect antithesis to those femme fatales who tried to steal their husbands and lovers. Here is a list of some of the bad girls having all the fun: Demi Moore played an impressive role of a sexually frustrated boss in Disclosure (1994) who turns implacably revengeful when Michael Douglas spurns her advances. In Fatal Attraction (1987) the script follows the tale of a one night stand turned sour and Glenn Close comes across as every married man’s worst nightmare, playing the role of an obsessed lover turned psychopath. She managed the role with considerable élan. Though her role cannot be termed as the typical femme fatale, it did throw light on the stormy, mutinous side of a woman who would not compromise on anything if it comes to what she wants. Glenn Close also played the femme fatale in Dangerous Liaison (1988), where her character Marquise De Mertenti is the deadly jealous woman plotting a heartless revenge to get even with her detractors. In Basic Instinct (1992) Sharon Stone was the ultimate femme fatale. As Catherine Tramell, the successful novelist, she eats men for breakfast, and cuts their hearts and balls to pieces, with one leg scissoring over the other. In Body Heat (1981) Kathleen Turner is the infamous Matty Walker, the voracious, crafty and greedy femme fatale, who is a married socialite plotting to kill her husband. Watch her in the iniquitous sex scenes with William Hurt. In Last Seduction (1994) Linda Florentino, as Bridget Gregory is the beautiful and bright femme fatale who has everything going for her except a treacherous mind that would not stop at anything to get what she wants. In 9 1/2 Weeks (1986) when Kim Bassinger arches her back and spreads her legs in the rain in a dark stairwell, her pouty lips and smoldering eyes are the femme fatale tools polished to perfection. Ultraviolet (2006) was a relatively bad film, but watch Milla Jovovich as the ultimate sci-fi femme fatale. With her incredible face, hair, make-up, costume, attitude and a killer body, she is absolutely a drool worthy femme fatale in the film. In Resident Evil (2004) she was the absolute femme fatale, and handles her weapons with deadly authority. Her menacing glare and excellent sword work are something to watch out for in this film. Uma Thurman bristled with untamed rage, in Kill Bill (2003). Consumed with revenge she moved about like a force of nature in action scenes, and despite a subtle lack of physical grace, she handled the fights with much flair. Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft was smart, sexy, sassy and sophisticated in Tomb Raider (2001). She was near perfect in that aggressive and physically demanding role, and despite the laughably fake breasts, she came up topper in the ultimate femme fatale role. Pamela Lee Anderson as/in Barb Wire (1996) prevails over the baddies and gets more naked in the film than she had perhaps been in her entire life taking showers. But she managed to pull off the femme fatale role impressively. In Blade Trinity (2004) Jessica Biel with gun is a captivating sight, and she carries off the femme fatale role with talent and matching physicality. Despite the lackluster action and some atrocious dialogues in the film, she was an enchanting sight throughout. In Underworld (2003) Kate Beckinsale is dressed in black leather, heavy boots, and carries a no nonsense attitude and a gun, with unflinching authority. She projects an ample intensity and cold hatred with a perpetual scowl on her face, and her cold dark eyes, framed with deadly arched eyebrows give her the most effective femme fatale look. |
