Few minutes before breakfast......

few mnts before my breakfast.... Location: Hulhule Island Hotel.

Its that time of year again! Yes, I'm referring to the month of Ramadans in which Muslims like myself fast.
Yesterday we went Hulhule Island Hotel for Ramazan breakfast.. It was a wonderful day.... i mean sky,clouds,food and almost everything....
One of my foriegn friend ask me all the time, "Why do you fast?" Well most of the time I just tell them that our religion requires us to and thats pretty much about it. But the truth is that its actually a bit deeper than that. Our religion requires us to fast for a certain reason. The reason we fast is so we can see how much we should be thankful for. Meaning, when we fast we put ourselves in the positions of all the poor people around the world who cannot afford food or drink. We actually experience this feeling, not being able to drink, or eat but only till sundown, whereas many of the poor people have this feeling for many days, maybe even a week. This is only them month in which we try and refrain from bad things like...., so it should be good to try and quit during this time if you are capable too. In my own personal opinion I don't see fasting as a burden, I see it as something that will educate me, and teach me to always be thankful for what I have got, because I'm probably a lot better off than other people in the world.

British tourists turn their back on the Maldives

The number of British holidaymakers visiting the Maldives has fallen by nearly a fifth

There has been a sharp decline in the number of Britons visiting the Maldives, according to the islands’ minister for tourism.

Figures from July show a drop of 18.9 per cent compared with July 2007, part of an overall fall of 6.6 per cent in tourist numbers.

This is the largest slump since the aftermath of the tsunami in 2004, which killed at least 82 people in the Maldives and flooded the capital, Male. The decline has been blamed on construction delays, rising fuel surcharges and worldwide economic woes.

The Maldives, popular with honeymooners, usually attracts 100,000 Britons per year.

Abdulla Mausoom, the Maldives minister for tourism, said he was optimistic that the downturn would not last. He added that the number of Russian and Chinese visitors had increased by 63 and 24 per cent respectively over the past year. Last week, tour operator Kuoni named the Maldives as its second most popular destination, with bookings up 20 per cent on 2007.

Several new resorts have opened in 2008, with a further 63 resorts under construction. But a plan announced in June to lease another 31 islands for development will not go ahead, according to the ministry of finance.

source: telegraph.co.uk