By Ihor Cap
Some like to eat their Dinner in the Sky but song writers Alan Menken and Howard Ashman from Disney's1989 animated filmThe Little Mermaid, maintain that it is always better “Under the Sea.” I am sure you will not get an argument from America’s beloved undersea cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants about that statement. On April 15, 2005, the world’s first all-glass undersea restaurant called “Ithaa” (meaning “Mother of Pearl” in Dhivehi) opened its doors to the public at the two uninhabited islands of Alif Dhaal Atoll in the Maldives, Rangalifinolhu and the adjoining island of Rangali. Together, the islands form the Conrad Maldives Resort & Spa. A 500-metre (or 1640 feet) footbridge connects the lucky visitors coming from the nearby beach bungalows and spa village to the Ithaa Restaurant. Ithaa itself is located 5 meters or 16.4 feet under the ocean.
This all-glass restaurant will provide you with spectacular views of the reef and marine life below the waves of the Indian Ocean unlike anywhere else in the world while you sip champagne and sample the indigenous cuisine of the Maldives Island’s. Prices can run up to as much as $200 US per person, but where else will you be engulfed with a 180°panoramic view as well as a 270° rooftop view of the ocean floor life. Only 14 people will be treated to exclusive “Ithaa” fine aquarium dining in a tunnel at any given time. The R-cast acrylic tunnel restaurant itself was constructed by M.J. Murphy Ltd. – a New Zealand design consultancy agency. Reynolds Polymer Technology, Inc, an American company in the United States manufactured it.
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Ihor Cap is a web author and father of two wonderful children.