Club Med's Faru attracts honeymooners
FARUKHOHUFUSHI, Maldives (JP): Nestled among a string of magnificent low-lying coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, Farukhohufushi island, or Faru, offers a romantic desert island retreat.
It only takes half an hour to walk around the tiny island of pristine white sand beaches.
A Japanese couple was seen having fun creating a sand castle, laughing and teasing each other. "We're traveling here on our honeymoon," the man said.
Another tourist was asleep face down in the sand, his feet flapping in rhythmical movement.
Secluded spots underneath the coconut trees were the most popular among those sunbathers looking for some privacy.
The emerald water was warm and cool, and the fish appeared as if they wanted to play with the swimmers. The sea, rich with breath-taking colors and reefs of all sizes, was perfect for diving. Beginners had no need to worry as a quick course was available. Also on offer, by Club Mediterrance or Club Med, were snorkeling, windsurfing, volleyball, table-tennis, badminton, chess, scrabble and backgammon.
Club Med Faru is offering special packages in cooperation with Malaysian Airlines until Jan. 31, excluding high season. A seven day trip has been set at US$999 per person and US$699 is the rate for four days.
The packages include a round-trip ticket, boat transfer, daily meals, one free dive, departure taxes, evening entertainment, equipment and other activities.
On certain days, guests can take excursions from Faru to nearby places such as Male (the capital of Maldives) and the Blue Lagoon or the islands of Hura, Thulageri or Vabbinfaru.
On Vabbinfaru Island, one can feed stingrays from the seashore. On my trip to Vabbinfaru, I spotted around 20 stingrays swimming swiftly toward the beach. Anxious tourists with food in their hands moved closer to the creatures, not seeming to care about their spiked tails. Smelling the food, the stingrays came right in, almost touching the sand, and grabbed the food greedily from the tourists.
"The stingrays come to the beach at the same time every day and we feed them with restaurant leftovers," a resort official said.
However, he warned us to be careful and recounted the story about one of his guests who had to get stitches after being stung in the arm by a stingray. He couldn't remove the stinger lodged in his flesh. "So, we had to push it until it came out the other side. It was definitely painful."
But the guests ignored him and kept on feeding the stingrays until the food was gone. Knowing that there was no more, the fish eventually left the beach and headed out to sea.
At night, Faru's main restaurant was crowded with guests, who were no longer wearing bikinis, short pants and T-shirts. Five- course European dinners and Japanese food were served.
After dinner, some guests went to dance near a bonfire on the beach. Others enjoyed what I thought was the highlight of the night -- a lively performance by Club Med's gentils organisateurs, the chief of the village and some guests.
The trip to Faru only lasted a few days, but the memory of its beauty could last forever. (ste)