Robinson Crusoe villas at Gili Lankanfushi: Maldives luxury resort! Romantic honeymoon getaway.
I look angry, but it’s only because of the sun in my eyes. In fact, I couldn’t be happier to spend five days in The Maldives with Gili Lankanfushi.
The eco-luxury resort invited my filmmakers and me to capture the magic — and there was plenty of that here. Take my hand, and I’ll give you a tour of our villa.
The resort is inspired by Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. The villas have an over-water design, connected by wooden ramp to a jetty off the island. We had two patios: a sun deck on the roof…
… and a “water garden” below, with steps leading into the ocean. The tide was low enough for us to walk around, and glimpse Nemo-like fish darting through the coral.
The mosquito net is only for decorative effect: there are no little blood-suckers here. The Maldives is wonderfully hot year-round, without humidity. We came in May, and there were clear skies except for 10-minute rainfalls, once or twice a day.
From my desk, I can see my neighbors across the water.
My team and I lead crazy lives, and it was a relief to slow down and breathe. I haven’t felt so relaxed in ages.
I’ve been in decadent bathrooms, but never one like this. An open-air walkway links the bathroom to an outdoor shower with two spouts.
We were enthralled by the marine life around us. There are thousands of species that live in the Indian Ocean, including several types of turtles (this stuffed one was in my bathroom).
Dress: h.NAOTO, from Closet Child Tokyo
Eyelashes: Shibuya 109 in Japan (see photos of the department store)
The open-air dressing room looks like a drawing out of a Tintin adventure comic. To the left of the walkway, stairs lead down to the ocean: an enclosed, private “pool”.
Every attention is paid to detail, such as the driftwood hangars, and ceramic bottles of aloe vera.
A pirate-like rope handrail leads to the rooftop deck. Gili Lankanfushi uses environmentally friendly materials and building techniques, to leave the smallest carbon footprint possible.
The living room floor has a window into the ocean!
Eagle-eyed readers may notice that the salmon caviar tartar is missing from the welcome plate. I couldn’t resist eating it before taking this photo…
V-fingers for my filmmaker Melissa Rundle, who shot the images of me in this post. Can’t wait to show you our video about Maldives travel.
Wouldn’t you like to live the Pirate life? You can learn more about this magical getaway (and plan your own) on Gili Lankanfushi’s site.
Peek at more of the island — including a photo of me failing at tennis — in this post. Next up: wine and chocolate tasting, boating and snorkeling.
What’s your impression of The Maldives? Do you like my Goth in Hot Weather look? I got a bit tanned here…
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Department H Tokyo, Japanese fetish alternative club! Bagelhead & body modifications art exhibit.
Tokyo has many crazy club nights, but which takes the cake? Department H, a monthly party that celebrates the wildest aspects of underground culture.
You’ll see monster costumes, sexy tentacle performances, anime-head masks, drag queens, extreme piercings, lesbian wrestling… read on for incredible photos!
At the entrance, a woman covered in fake blood writhes in this glass coffin — like a scene out of Tokyo Gore Police. Next to her is a realistic, decaying corpse with a very long appendage…
Inside, we met an alien. While I struggled and ran away screaming, Yukiro decided to mount and conquer him.
I wore a carnival type of outfit. No fake eyelashes today; everything’s drawn on with black eyeliner pen.
Striped pastel goth skirt: Peace Now, from Closet Child Ikebukuro
White ruffle top: Spider, Hong Kong
(I kept the same hair that Kukukachoo styled for my magazine shoots.)
Department H takes place in the unassuming Kinema Club (Address: 6F 1-1-14 Negishi, Taito-ku) near Uguisidani station. On the lower level, there are booths that offer extreme body modifications and sell alternative goodies.
Keroppy Maeda, who you may recall from our Taboo bagelhead adventure, is there every month. He invited us to his art exhibit (at the bottom of this post).
While the DJs spun disco, Kanashimi no Belladonna (an old anime inspired by Art Nouveau aesthetics) projected on the backdrop. Then, the stage cleared, and the drag queens strutted their stuff.
Each showed off their handcrafted outfits, which expressed different personalities.
Such as a full body latex suit with green eyelashes.
This strawberry princess worked it to the max: as she walked the runway, her outfit exuded the scent of strawberries!
Hanky-panky and nudity are not a problem here. This is a safe space; nobody ever makes you feel uncomfortable.
Next: girl-on-girl wrestling! In the words of Naomi (who took all these images): “The match usually has two or three judges who are dressed in various monster/sci-fi costumes, and two participants who start out dressed up. However, as the match progresses, the wrestlers are encouraged to remove each other’s clothing as part of the match. It’s raunchy and ridiculous! The “fighting” is more for show than serious but they are very good at faking it.”
Look who joined the party… Jake Adelstein of yazuza memoir Tokyo Vice fame, dressed as a naughty priest. This photo says it all.
Many people cover their faces entirely. Anyone can be in these suits.
Japanese burlesque performer Naomi wowed us with her light-up hula hoop act.
Now that’s a power couple.
Thanks to organizer Gogh (center) for this incredible event, which has been going on since the 1990s!
Department H occurs the first Saturday of each month. Please consult my Tokyo nightlfe guide for details on this and other parties.
Many of Dept H’s regulars took part in an art show, curated by Keroppy Maeda, at Vanilla Gallery in Ginza. This little space often holds underground exhibits, such as one dedicated to burlesque. This one was titled “死と未来 – la mort et le futur” (Death and the Future).
On display were works by eight artists, including Keroppy. He’s currently fascinated by trepanning, or drilling a hole in the skull (a Medieval medical procedure).
Keroppy performed trepannation on an animal skull, and took the photograph on the wall. Behind him plays a stop-motion film of a forehead saline inflation (which he is explaining to his friend!)
Also in the exhibit: photographs of katana, corpses, and post-earthquake destruction. All the pieces reflect the theme, “The reality of death shows truth and the possibility of the future predicts a new vision for humans and our world.”
I enjoyed speaking to the artists about their process. The works ranged from stream of consciousness collages, to mistress photographs, to cultured human skin.
Keroppy Maeda is continuing to push forward with extreme body modifications and art in Japan. I can’t wait to see the projects he takes on next. (See his site for more.)
For more about Department H, see my reports from 2009 and 2011.
Would you attend a nightclub like this? What do you think of Tokyo body mods and underground art scene?
PS: Today, I did something involving bagels in Montreal… did you see it on my Twitter?
LA CARMINA
