This Maldives Resort Sky Guru Proves Wishing Upon a Star Does Make a Dream Job Come True
Photo Credit: Using a laser, the Sky Guru points out stars and planets to Anantara Kihavah resort guests. Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villa.
Skift Take
People go on vacation to get things they can't at home. As the industry recovers from the pandemic, Ali Shameem knows paying attention to the guest experience is essential.
As a little boy growing up without electricity on a Maldivian island 25 minutes away by speedboat from the resort where he now works, Ali Shameem discovered the wonders of the sky that would change his life.
When he was 12 years old, the lack of city lights polluting the air and by using firewood with kerosene to walk around in Maalhos, his home island of 300 people, allowed him to see the night sky in all its magnificence, Shameem said.
It was a combination of those many stargazing nights and the inspiration of his fisherman dad urging Shameem to be one of the “lucky ones in the Maldives to find the North Star,” he said, that led him on his lifelong quest to find the directional star sitting five degrees above the horizon on his side of the world and study astronomy.
Using the knowledge, he’s gained over the years, Shameem has been able to turn what he called a hobby into a thriving career and is creating a legacy he once only dreamed of in his native Maldives at the lu
