Here are the Instagrammers I think are worth checking out:
1. @gmr83: One of the coolest people I know! Did I also mention it’s me? I know, I know, roll your eyes Although I do not live in Lebanon but I do post pictures from there every now and then.
2. @karliseverywhere: Â Karl is one of the first people I followed on Instagram and for good reason. His pictures are not only well composed, but his editing style is consistently unique to the extent that you won’t believe some of the pictures were taken in Beirut.
3. @justzhm: Zari is one of Lebanon’s most talented artists and one of the very few people from Lebanon to be featured by Instagram itself! How cool is that?! The characters she adds to mundane pictures transform these shots into brilliant masterpieces.
4. @riseabovelebanon: One of the most unique accounts in Lebanon, capturing bird view pictures of places that we have all been to.
5. @melissahashem and @pamhachem: Two sisters capturing stunning street shots from their daily life in Beirut. Also check out their great feature account @imjustpassing.
6. @lebanonbyalocal: An account that would immediately make you nostalgic to the good old times in Lebanon especially if you are not living in Lebanon. The shots are well chosen and curated and cover everything from food and architecture to landscape and street photography.
7. @georges__chamoun: George has a sharp eye for street photography and architecture, and his shots are well timed and so well edited.
8. @dany_111: Dany posts sea or seaside pictures that will make you want to leave everything and head over to Batroun immediately!
9. @elias.ac: A mountaineering expert so you guess where most of his pictures are taken
Who are your favorite Lebanese Instagrammers? Mention them in the comment section below!
You will notice that the list (which is in no particular order and is independent of number of followers) is eclectic and ranges between food Instagrammers to portrait shooters and everything in between. There are dozens of other talented Instagrammers in this city, so if you know of anyone, please mention them in the comments below!
1. @gmr83: Such an awesome Instagrammer! Of course, it helps that this is also me Yes, this a shameless, yet humble plug! If you are into Dubai’s luxury hotels, landmarks, and panoramic views, check out my gallery as I regularly visit or stay at Dubai’s top hotels. I use a mobile phone camera (iPhone 6, and more recently the Huawei P9) and a Canon 70D for my shots. I edit all my shots on my cellphone, mostly using VSCO and Looksee.
2. @aljvd: An investment banker turned full time photographer (talk about following your dreams!), Altamash is one of Dubai’s finest photographers and people. He has a sharp eye for all sorts of photography from street photography and portraits to panoramic views. In Dubai, Altamash prefers to shoot the famous Dubai landmarks from unique angles, and encourages other photographers to “be different.”. If you are wandering around the city, look up as you will probably spot him hanging out on a rooftop near you!
3. @ajtravel: Very few people make me feel as jealous as I am of @ajtravel’s trips and pictures! Although it may seem that she is in a different country every week (and she probably is – insert jealous emoji here!), she not only takes gorgeous pictures of Dubai’s landmarks, but also runs free photowalks and tutorials for UAE-based ladies. So why not join one of those when the weather cools down a bit?! @ajtravel says that photography is her “means of escaping the everyday norm and challenging my creative outlet with each city I visit.” With the busy lives most of us have, I am sure many can relate to that.
4. @dennisstever: Dennis has a sharp eye for timely shots, especially of the sunsets in Dubai’s desert. His editing style is beautifully unique and captures the atmosphere of his shots very well.
5. @shackette: A Dubai desert dweller and a traveller, Junell can often be found taking beautiful pictures of Dubai’s golden sand dunes.
6. @dxbreakfasts: A delicious feature account for breakfasts and brunches, and if you are in or have been to Dubai, you know that the city loves its breakfasts and brunches!
7. @monkyseemonkydo: I generally avoid Ghida’s account because it makes me feel guilty about how lazy I am! Armed with a GoPro and her iPhone, Ghida uses Instagram to inspire people to be outdoors, which has also helped her emotionally get over a serious hip injury. Ghida also supports the app, Outdoors (iOS), which connects lovers of the outdoors with each other around the world.
8. @nicolas_qn: Nicolas is one of Dubai’s sharpest shooters with a unique editing style in urban and street photography. His shots of Dubai’s rooftops are simply breathtaking!
9. @gibsterg: Aqib is a highly talented videographer, often taking pictures/videos of his friends as well as insane rooftop shots around Dubai.
Who are your favorite Dubai Instagrammers?
I don’t think I ever felt so close to nature as much as I did there. The energizing feeling you get from the fresh smell of pine trees, the beautiful vistas, the roaring waterfalls, and the sense of solitude are difficult to describe. Nature has a special way of showing you how small you are in the scheme of things.
All this would not have been possible without my Serbian guide, Grada, who is not only a passionate nature conservationist, but is also very knowledgeable about history and preservation. You can reach him at [email protected] to book a custom made tour.
Now that I visited the country, I think there are many reasons to visit but here are some that I think stand out.
Have you been to Serbia? What are your favorite things?
PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi is part of the Global Hotel Alliance’s Discovery loyalty program, which includes 34 independent luxury hotel brands in 76 countries.
I am a fan of this particular program even before staying at PER AQUUM because it offers authentic local experiences (around 2,200 of them) at all its properties, which distinguishes it from most of the other hotel loyalty programs out there.
At the end of this review, you will find a list of five reasons why I think this hotel should be anyone’s destination of choice should you find yourself in the Maldives. Heads up, I will be preparing a similar list for the other hotel I stayed in.
So, we arrived in Male, the Maldivian capital, shortly before midnight after a quick flight with flydubai which operates daily flights from Dubai to the Maldives. We were received at the airport by a smiling representative of PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi who escorted us to the boat which would take us to the hotel island.
After a 30-minute drive in what is possibly the fastest wifi-equipped boat in the world (that thing was literally flying on the water!) and an endless supply of deliciously refreshing coconut water onboard, we arrived on the island and were taken to our room which featured a backyard with a pool, an outdoor bathtub, a private semi-outdoor shower, a rainfall shower, and another smaller pool in the front of the house, but most importantly, we were a few meters away from the beach.
As you would imagine at any luxury hotel, the room had all the amenities from a large plasma TV, a Bose surround sound system and iPod music library, personal espresso machine, a bar, and luxury bath gels and shampoos.
In the morning we woke up to discover the island and what the hotel has to offer. The island on which PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi is located is gorgeous and cozy at the same time and is walkable in less than half a day even for slow walkers. There are two types of “rooms” with varying sizes and room numbers – the ones that are on the main island and villas that are located right above the water. For the ultimate exclusive experience, you can always stay on the hotel’s luxury one bedroom dhoni (traditional Maldivian ship).
The hotel offers a full range of activities includes yoga, fishing, dolphin cruises, traditional dhoni boat trips, sandbank snorkeling, and diving. And there is no shortage of dining options at PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi with four restaurants and two bars for cocktails and sundowners.
Oh and believe it or not, Per Aquum Huvafen Fushi has its own time zone that is different from Male and is designed to help guests make the most out of the day. Talk about feeling special!
Maldives may have many options of luxury and beautiful hotels but it is the small things and the personalized experience that make all the difference when choosing hotels. The genuine smile and helpfulness of the staff at PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi were a great complement to the beauty of the island and the resort, whose name (Huvafen Fushi) literally translates to Dream Island – a perfect description in my opinion. During our stay, we were made to feel that we are the only guests on the island and that alone is a testament to the kind of treatment guests receive at PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi.
There are many, many reasons to choose to stay at PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi, but I have prepared a list of the 5 things that we personally experienced and that I believe made PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi a special place. Please feel free to comment below with your experiences!
1. The world’s first underwater spa: Yes you heard me! In case being on a beautiful island is not enough relaxation for you, let your PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi masseuse take you 6 or 8 meters under the lagoon in the middle of a coral garden and surrounded by colorful fish swimming around the 180 degree windows!
2. Coral reef snorkeling: PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi is one of the best places in the Maldives and the world for snorkeling. Regardless if you are a first timer or an expert snorkeler, PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi has you covered with its house reef and lagoon. Prepare yourself for an awesome display by Mother Nature for some of the world’s most colorful fish, (harmless) reef sharks, and beautiful corals.
3. Feeding the stingrays: As a person who dreads the animals of the water generally, I was somewhat reluctant to take part in this activity. HOWEVER, it turned out to be one of the best experiences I have ever had! At around sunset, PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi’s delightful resident marine biologist Beth gave guests a quick briefing on stingrays and how to feed them. Beth has also made up names for each stingray that shows up at the beach along with her professional notes on each stingray’s behavior. Beth then gives you a bucket of fish parts which the stingrays siphon right off your hand! Check out a video below of this exhilarating experience!
4. RAW restaurant: This is a small restaurant set over water. What makes it so special? It serves the most delicious 100% raw food and healthy drinks you have ever had. Have you ever had a raw pizza? No? Prepare to be mind blown by the delicious raw pizza the chef at RAW makes. We also had the Buddha salad and the raw wagyu beef tartar both of which were delicious as well.
5. Complimentary island-made ice cream and smoothies by the pool: What’s the best thing to have after napping by the infinity pool in the middle of the Indian Ocean surrounded by some of the bluest waters in the world? Hello complimentary delicious island made ice cream and sorbet! Or you could go for a signature smoothie to freshen your body and soul.
6. Lonu Veyo Saltwater Flotation Pool: The only pool of its kind in the Maldives is located a few steps away from the infinity pool. This flotation pool allows you to effortlessly float and soak while being surrounded by the crystal waters of the lagoon.
In conclusion, if you look at other online pictures of PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi you will immediately get a sense of how we felt while we were there. Add to that, the wonderful staff – especially Jodi, Nine Two, and Jay – who work day and night to ensure you have the ultimate relaxing experience.
To learn more about PER AQUUM Huvafen Fushi, check their website, Facebook, or Instagram.
You can also follow me on Instagram (@gmr83) for more shots from Per Aquum.
As soon as I heard that Huawei was collaborating with Leica to produce the ultimate camera for a smartphone, I knew I had to get my hands on one. After years of using iOS, this was my first experience with Android and a Huawei smartphone, a brand name that I always admired but from a distance for its ability to disrupt the smartphone market in such a short time.
As soon as the phone was released in Dubai, I immediately reached to Huawei Arabia who kindly obliged and lent me a phone to use on my upcoming trip to Istanbul. Â
First off, I will list some of the general and camera specifications of the P9, followed with my personal experience with it. More details on the phone itself can be found on Huawei’s website.Â
Specs
The P9’s main camera boasts an astonishing 12MP x 2, F2.2 lens with dual-tone flash. Its front camera has an 8MP, F2.4 lens. The fact that it has dual back camera (one for colored shots and another for black and white) means that you can capture more light with two sensors, one RGB and one monochrome. Huawei’s sophisticated merging algorithm intelligently combines the colors taken by the RGB sensor with the detail of the monochrome sensor.
The P9 is a light phone (maybe more so due to my fiendishly big hands!) with its size being 145mm * 70.9mm * 6.95 mm (Height x Width x Depth) and about 144g in weight. Â
Personal Experience
As I mentioned, I took the P9 with me to Istanbul, a city known for vibrant colors in markets and neighborhoods as well as low light conditions inside the city’s many beautiful mosques, not to mention the harsh light in the summer. As soon as I arrived in Istanbul, I decided to focus on using the P9 and kept my iPhone 6 and Canon 70D in my backpack.
The P9’s camera has several features you could choose from for taking pictures:
The camera option that I used the most was the normal (also known as “Photo” on the P9 camera) despite the fact that taking pictures with the HDR feature allowed me to skip a step in my editing process.
Verdict
With its sleek design and colorful screen, the P9 is simply fun to use, which I cannot say about many of the smartphones in the market today. I truly enjoyed its camera to the extent that I am considering switching to it after years and years of being an iOS fanboy. The camera simply blows every smartphone camera I have seen so far out of the park. Â
All the pictures I took below were with the Huawei P9 and are not edited in any way.
And just to show how good the pictures turned out, in two weeks of using the P9, I (@gmr83) was featured by some of the most popular Instagram pages in the region and the world for the pictures I took with it.
Below are some of the features:
And remember to follow me on Instagram (@gmr83) for more.
https://instagram.com/p/BHhPsWoDf_i/
https://instagram.com/p/BHp01H4B5J4/
https://instagram.com/p/BHpNEpVB98u/
https://instagram.com/p/BHmAuSngZyO/
https://instagram.com/p/BHwWK1QDYCE/
https://instagram.com/p/BH6FMBdBXrm/
https://instagram.com/p/BH5-Dt_DlZM/
https://instagram.com/p/BH4GDqbhzXr/
https://instagram.com/p/BH3rEglB2MZ/
https://instagram.com/p/BH2ydrEBzMZ/
https://instagram.com/p/BH2BT4zjW7E/