Spent eight years in Maldives. Four years at Meedhoo an island in Raa Atoll and Four years at eydhafushi an island in Baa Atoll.
When I first arrived at Male’ International Airport and took the ferry to the main island, I was struck by the colour of the sea, it was turquoise. Later on, while flying in a small aircraft over the islands, I noticed that all the islands are surrounded by a turquoise sea and it becomes blue only after a distance from the island. It is a beautiful sight.
The capital Male’ is clean and neat. Shops close for about fifteen minutes during each prayer break. The big shops allow customers who are already inside to continue shopping during the prayer break, but do not allow customers in at that time. Male’ is an expensive place to stay. Budget hotels accommodate four or five people in a single room, so you have to be prepared to stay with strangers.
Travel from Male’ to the other islands can be tough. If you take a dhoni, which is a local boat, it can take several hours to reach your destination. Speed boats are better but available only to some islands. Small aircrafts called seaplanes are also available. These are meant for tourists and travel to resorts. They can also be used if you are going to an island near a resort, but they will give you a ticket only if tourists are not available.
The locals are muslims and easy going. Their favourite activity is fishing and they have fish at almost every meal. Most of the time, it is tuna. On holidays, they always arrange a picnic to one of the uninhabited islands and it is an enjoyable experience. If you go snorkeling, you can see beautiful and colourful fishes.
Well water is used for bathing and washing. Rain water is harvested and used for cooking and drinking. Maldives has the only Coca Cola plant in the world that uses desalinated water.
There are no arranged marriages and youngsters choose their own partners. In this respect, it is similar to a western society. Women have a greater say and they take active part in public affairs.The favourite sport for the locals is football. They are passionate followers of the English Premier League and the World Cup.
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