Stoner Vacation Spot: The Maldives, Island Nation (Photo Gallery, Video)

Stoner Vacation Spot: The Maldives, Island Nation (Photo Gallery, Video) | Third Monk image 12

The Republic of Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It consists of 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 reefs, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometers, making this one of the most distinct countries in the world.

The Maldives – Surfer Video Diary

We live in a world of matter but matter is just energy and when we see it all, take it all in, there’s something resting between the lines, just waiting to be seen.

It is the spirit of love, the spirit of connection. It found me here, and in my heart it will stay.

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the-maldives-photo-gallery-002The atolls are composed of live coral reefs and sand bars, situated atop a submarine ridge 960 kilometers long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs from north to south.

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Maldives – Cannabis Friendly Islands?

Cannabis is supposed to be illegal in the Maldives, but the majority of the population either smokes brown sugar or hashish oil. Law enforcement usually won’t hassle visiting stoners, but it’s recommended to smoke your stuff indoors at your hotel.

It’s easier to buy hashish oil in Male’ than it is to buy a beer. As a rule if you spot 8 local youths on the street, its more than likely that 7 of them are hashish oil smokers. The best locations for stoners to go to are the famous surfing point on Male’ island and around the carnival near the ferry terminal to the airport.
maldives-photo-gallery-061Summer never ends. The Indian Ocean has a great effect on the climate of the country by acting as a heat buffer, absorbing, storing, and slowly releasing the tropical heat. The temperature of Maldives ranges between 24 °C (75 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F) throughout the year. Although the humidity is relatively high, the constant cool sea breezes keep the air moving and the heat mitigated.
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maldives-photo-gallery-001Crystal clear waters, beautiful white sand beaches, swaying palm trees and amazing dive sites – that’s why the Maldives, is known for being one of the best tropical holiday destinations in the world.

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maldives-photo-gallery-044With an average ground level of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, it is the lowest country on the planet. More than 80 per cent of the country’s land, composed of coral islands scattered over an area about 850 km across the equator, is less than one metre above sea level.

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maldives-photo-gallery-039Each resort in the Maldives is housed on a separate island by itself and offers an exotic blend of modern luxury and isolated serenity.

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The Maldives Documentary – Discovery Channel

Surreal Looking Travel Spots (Photo Gallery)

Surreal Looking Travel Spots (Photo Gallery) | Third Monk image 10

Here is a list of travel locations that look so unreal, you’ll wish you had a teleportation machine equipped with cannabis and shrooms.

Crystal Cave – Skaftafell, Iceland

surreal-travel-spot-crystal-cave-icelandCreated by the awesome forces of the Vatnajvkull ice cap in the south of the volcanic island, the deep blue cave was formed by the glacier meeting the coastline.

The centuries old ice that has come from the slopes of 6,921 feet tall Vrffajvkull, Iceland’s tallest active volcano, has compressed all air out of the ice adding to the texture and color of the cave.

 

Mt. Roraima, Venezuela

surreal-travel-spot-mt-roraima-venezuelaThe mountains of this range, including Roraima, are considered to be some of the oldest geological formations known, some dating back to two-billion years ago. Its near daily rains have also created a unique ecosystem which includes several endemic species, including a unique carnivorous pitcher plant, and some of the highest waterfalls in the world.

 

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

surreal-travel-spot-salar-de-uyuniSalar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat. The area, some 11,985 feet above sea level, is always a tourist playground, with salt hotels and hot springs serving as major attractions.

 

Zhangye, China

surreal-travel-spot-zhangye-chinaEarly landscape formation joined together all the rock layers of colors imaginable in one place, specifically in the area known as Zhangye Danxia, thus achieving what is perhaps the greatest gathering of different pigments in natural stone in the world.

 

The Stone Forest – Yunnan, China

surreal-travel-spot-stone-forest-yunnan-chinaThe Stone Forest is a notable set of limestone formations located in Yunnan Province, China. The tall rocks seem to emanate from the ground in the manner of stalagmites, with many looking like petrified trees thereby creating the illusion of a forest made of stone. 

 

Lake Retba – Senegal

surreal-travel-spot-lake-retba-senegalThe bizarre pink color of Lake Retba is caused by Dunaliella salina, a type of halophile green micro-algae, that is found in the water.  The high salt content of the lake means that not only is there a booming salt collecting industry on its banks, but like the Dead Sea, you are able to float in it.

 

Grand Prismatic Spring – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

surreal-travel-spot-grand-prismatic-spring-yosemiteGrand Prismatic Spring has the distinction of being the park’s largest hot spring. It measures approximately 370 feet (112.8 m) in diameter and is over 121 feet (37 m) deep. A hot spring is an area where heated water can easily rise through cracks and fractures in the earth’s surface.

The breathtaking colors are attributed to the various species of thermophilic bacteria living in the spring. The blue water in the center is very hot, but it may support chemotrophic life – a chemotroph is an organism that uses chemicals for a source of energy. As you move farther from the heat source of the spring, life begins to flourish. The cyanobacteria – aquatic photosynthesizing bacteria – that live at the edges of Grand Prismatic Spring cover the color spectrum including yellow, green, orange, red, and brown.

 

Door to Hell – Derweze, Turkmenistan

surreal-travel-spot-Derweze-TurkmenistanThe Door to Hell is a natural gas field in Derweze (also spelled Darvaza, meaning “gate”), Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. The Door to Hell is noted for its natural gas firing which has been burning continuously since 1971, fed by the rich natural gas deposits in the area. The pungent smell of burning sulfur pervades the area for some distance.

 

The Richat Structure – Mauritania

surreal-travel-spot-richat-structure-MauritaniaRichat Structure is not the site of an ancient meteor crater, as many people originally postulated. These concentric circles are actually alternating layers of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks that were pushed upward in a symmetrical anticline, geologic dome, from below due to a small incursion of magma. The structure is a deeply eroded. The sedimentary rock exposed in this dome range in age from Late Proterozoic (2.5 billion years) within the center of the dome to Ordovician (480 million years) sandstone around its edges.

10 Must See Places Before The Aliens Return (Photo Gallery)

10 Must See Places Before The Aliens Return (Photo Gallery) | Third Monk image 9

There’s a lot of confusion on what the Mayans were implying by ending their calendar on 2012. Were they predicting the end of the world? Or was it just the end of an era? What if Aliens come back disappointed in our lack of progress and decide to pull the plug? If the end is near, check out these must see places while you still can.

1. The Amazon

Regardless of which country you go to to see it–Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, or French Guiana–considering it’s the largest rainforest in the world and houses millions of unique creatures rarely found anywhere else, it’s worth seeing for thousands of reasons. The biggest reason to visit the Amazon is to have the experience of a Shaman guide you through an Ayahuasca journey.

 

2. Antelope Canyon

You might think the Grand Canyon is the only canyon you need to see in the US, but really, consider Antelope Canyon, which is conveniently also located in Arizona. Antelope Canyon was created through rivers and streams eroding the sandstone, and it makes for a wholly awesome experience where you can just saunter through miles of them.

 

3. Bora Bora

Located in French Polynesia in the South Pacific, Bora Bora is well-known as one of the most beautiful islands in the world. With crystal clear waters and awesome accommodations, there’s no way to avoid this one.

 

4. Great Wall of China

Construction of the Great Wall began in the 7th century BC and continued for hundreds of years. It’s the longest fortification ever built, constructed to thwart invasions of Mongolian and Manchu enemies. At its height (well, length), it was more than 3700 miles (6000km) long.

 

5. Iceland

Iceland features some of the most alien landscapes in the world, from huge, partially frozen waterfalls, to the Northern Lights and insane sunsets and sunrises, to miles of barren tundra; not to mention an outgoing population who’s down to party.

 

6. Machu Picchu

Located almost eight thousand feet above sea level in Peru, Machu Picchu is one of the most amazing feats of architecture in the world. While you might think it’s a pretty weird place to put a city, you’d be wrong: most believe it was an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti, who really must’ve need to take some time away from it all. It’s also referenced a ton among Alien enthusiasts who believe that it was one of the spots that Aliens visited in early human history.

 

7. Petra

Built around 1200BC, Petra is an ancient city of Jordan, renowned not just for the fact that it’s entirely built inside “towering rocks,” but for its intricacies therein. The city was able to constructed in the desert because its designers, the Nabataeans, redirected waterways, creating an artificial oasis–the center of their caravan trade, and a fortress.

 

8. Santorini

Santorini is an island off the coast of Greece, thousands of years ago the site of one of the largest volcanic explosions in history. Today it plays home to spectacular views, crazy architecture, and a storied history (supposedly the same eruption that destroyed it led to the legend of Atlantis).

 

9. Stonehenge

Considering all the theories surrounding Stonehenge, it seems pretty likely that it’ll have to do with the apocalypse anyway, so you might as well see the harbinger in person before it all goes to hell.

 

10. Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls, between Zambia and Zimbabwe, is (debatably) the largest waterfall in the world, with a width of 5604ft (1708m) and a height of 354ft (108m), and a much better choice than Niagara Falls.

20 Must-See Places Before The World Ends | BuzzFeed