The country we are visiting today is The Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean not too far from Sri Lanka – 407 nautical miles to be exact. It happens to be the smallest Muslim country in the entire world with a population of 518,000 people that speak Dhivehi and a little English. The capital is Malé , one of the most densely populated capitals in the world as it is situated on one of the largest of the Maldives islands. The Maldivian currency is the rufiyaa with $15.44 equaling $1 USD. They do accept the US dollar here as well as every credit card including American Express.
Centuries ago, the Sinhalese arrived here from Sri Lanka, then the Buddhists took over for some time. Christianity followed for a short period, but was overthrown and the country reverted back to the Muslim population. What this area of the planet is all about is the water….specifically snorkeling and diving. It is said to be the best in the world. And many resorts have been created on the 26 atolls and 1200 islands in this archipelago. The clean blue and turquoise waters house a myriad of tropical fish to sharks, to 5 species of turtles. Even whale sharks are here. All of these various resorts can be accessed by boat, ferry or airplane. Malé has an international airport, and once you land, you are whisked away by ferry or plane to your destination vacation in paradise.
Here's a bit of info on the food and drink of this area. Beer in Malé is all non-alcoholic. If you wish to have the real thing, you need to go to the airport where liquor is served. We are fairly certain all of the resorts have bars and booze. Coffee is the local's favorite drink such as lattes, espressos, and cappuccinos. Kavaabu is a deep-fried dough ball filled with tuna, mashed potatoes, peppers and lime. It is a popular "short eat" as they call it here. Other short eats are many types of finger food such as pieces of chili-coated fish, fried fish rolled in a batter, and spicy fishcakes. In fact, fish is eaten by 70% of the population.
We had an important reminder in the Daily Newsletter stating that we are visiting during Ramadan. It seems like we were just here, and we were about a year ago. When the 2024 GWV itinerary had to be changed and the Suez Canal was cancelled, we ended up with a stop in the Maldives. More or less familiar with the holiday, we learned more about the local rules. There was no drinking, eating, or smoking in public areas until dusk every day. No bikinis are allowed at the public beaches in Male, only in the resort hotels. Even the men that go to the beach must wear a t-shirt when swimming. We were advised that the ladies should wear blouses with sleeves and long pants that cover the knees. If we had the desire to go inside a mosque, conservative dress was mandatory for all. Can you believe there are "tourist" police that can rescind your visit here if you are out of line with your actions and dress? They have the right to detain you until your last tender back to the ship. Makes us wonder, why are we here again?
One good reason is that there are a few expensive excursions offered today. One went to Bandoss Island Resort for 4 hours and $160. Snorkeling and swimming is offered but no lunch or snack was included. Cinnamon Island Dhonveli was a boat ride to an island with 105 retreats. One non-alcoholic drink was included for a 4 hour tour costing $200. Then there was a 5 star property at Adaaran Prestige Vadoo Resort with lunch for 7 hours and $240. It was a 30 minute ride in a boat to get there. Guests were free to use the swimming pool or snorkel in the lagoon. Lastly there was a two hour stroll with a guide through the capital, but it must have been pulled last minute. We would do that on our own. Did we mention it was going to be a killer of a day temperature-wise? It had to be close to 90 degrees and quite humid most of the day. We were allowed to bring bottled water with us, but nothing else. And with Ramadan happening, there would be no cafes or restaurants opened until sunset or 5 to 6pm. We were advised that while sipping our water, we do it in a way no one could see you drinking. Locals could take offense at that behavior. And for the first time we can remember, the HAL tent was not set up with the water/lemonade station. Last year, the beverage tent with the water was set up with a sheet covering ¾ of it. This year, all we had were the chilled washcloths, which were really nice.
Yesterday, the Captain had said that we may be running ½ hour late due to possible delays in the immigrations check. We did arrive to the bay and the Captain dropped the anchor fairly close to the tender landing onshore. As it turned out, the ship was cleared by 7:30am, and it was a "go" for the tour groups. Tender tickets for most were required, but by 9am, open tenders were announced. People figured out that with the exception of the fish and produce market, not much else was opened that early.
We hung around until 9:45am and had no wait for the tender to shore. The swell and waves were causing some problems boarding…more so when you got on the boat. The first thing you look for is a pole to grab, because without notice, the boat can be jerked sideways. And it's not nice to land in someone's lap. We made our way to the back of the boat holding on to something all of the way. We were glad the ride was only 10 minutes at the most. The good news is that this will be our last tender port for the rest of the cruise. We are glad for that mostly because the guests are still showing signs of the virus with coughing and sneezing. The way the boats are filled, it is a miracle we have escaped the dreaded disease……knock on wood……..
The main attraction for us on Malé has to be the local market which includes stalls selling fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices. The fish market is one of the best we have visited. Once off of the tenderboat, we turned right and followed the seawall to this market. We can say for a fact that this area has to be the most crowded with vendors and locals shopping as well as truck deliveries being made. Add us tourists and you have a beehive of activity. We made a pass through the produce market seeing familiar products like the bananas, pineapples, coconuts, and some very unrecognizable food products. It was dark, crowded and hot in this building, so we went outside to the seawall. It's here that we searched for the sting rays that will congregate here when the fishermen are cleaning their catch. Although they were not being fed, we did see five large rays swimming close to the seawall in search of handouts. It is a hit and miss proposition to get the best photos with the reflection in the water from the sky for instance. We did get some great shots when the sun was obscured by clouds. And as always, when more guests began watching us taking pictures, they gathered close to watch as well. Time for us to leave, we headed for the fish market.
That was located across the narrow street with delivery vans, scooters and cars blocking the way. Our buddy Don said he was almost killed last year by these speeding vehicles, swearing they were aiming at him while on his scooter (disability). Anyway, entering this market, we realized it was a working market with tables of their catch, mostly tuna, and a row of butchers that were busy slicing them up to be sold elsewhere. Staying out of their way the best we could, it was fascinating watching the expertise of the men slicing and dicing. It appeared that nothing was wasted, even the guts were bagged up. We read somewhere that over 100,000 tons of tuna are caught every year here. Twenty percent of the locals are hard-working fishermen, and 70% of the population eat fish as we said before. By the way, we did not see one woman working in this market, although there were some women vendors in the produce market. And all of the women we saw today were covered in the typical black burkas with their faces covered.
We ventured out of this crazy busy section and went to the park across from the tender landing. One of the tallest flagpoles is located here as well as some of the government buildings. Obviously the locals feed the pigeons here, and these were the most common birds seen here beside the black crows. From here we went past the Grand Friday Mosque, stunning with white marble-clad buildings and patio. This morning the floors surrounding the mosque was being mopped by a crew of Muslim ladies…most of whom were elderly.
We did not ask if it was opened for tourists to view the interior, but we saw no one climbing those marble stairs to enter it. We assume the answer was no. Across from this mosque is a new monument dedicated to a recent Tamil War vs The Maldive forces. It is called the Victory Monument. From here there was a park named Sultan Park. It was once part of the Sultan's private grounds and is a shady respite with ancient trees. Benches were here and there under the canopy, but we soon discovered there were "no seeums" bugs and we had to leave. This area is still being re-modeled. There is another mosque, much older near here, dated back to 1656. Also not opened. And don't even think of going inside unless you are covered up. We have seen so many fabulous mosques around the world, we figure most of them are the same inside.
The National Museum is here as well. It has all of the history of this archipelago with artifacts from ancient to medieval periods. Been there, done that, and once again, we are not certain it was opened to the public.
We followed one of the main streets that led to the cross street Majeedhee Magu. Turning left, we follow our steps from last year, passing the major shopping area of the island. There were hundreds of small shops, boutiques, and eateries (all closed). We found it interesting that the men were the most visible in downtown, with very few local ladies out and about. We never saw so many scooters either clogging the streets or parked by the hundreds in side lots. We had to be most mindful of crossing any street here. Some stop, some do not.
At the end of the street was Artificial Beach, which was a man-made crescent-shaped section of sandy beach. This cove was partially blocked off with boulders making a safe area to swim. In the height of the busy season, there are street vendors that provide regional foods to buy. Today, there were none. There were a few people in the water, but we are sure they were from the ship. One lady from the ship went in the water fully dressed. Oh well, she was complying with the strict "proper" attire rule. There is another manmade beach, but it is located on the west end of the island….too far to walk today.
One of us was melting at this point, having to take many obscure sips from the large water bottle we brought in a bag. Walking around this side of the island is nicer. There are waterfront businesses and perhaps towers of condos facing the ocean. Passing a blue- roofed modern version of a mosque, we stopped briefly at the ferry building. This is where you would catch a ferry to nearby and far away islands where the resorts are located.
We followed the narrow sea wall enjoying the breeze, which had picked up by now. What we did not like was the pile of plastic bottles and other floating garbage in these waters. It was the same we saw last year. Since there would be no lunch with beer today, we slowly headed back to the tender landing and the waiting boat.
There must have been 100 guests in line when we boarded the boat. Perhaps some of the shorter tours had come back, or it was simply too hot to stay in town. This is not your typical souvenir-selling tourist town. Bottom line, we feel that we are tolerated as a day guest, but beyond that, we are not always left with the warm and fuzzy feeling of being welcomed. If you came to this area to go directly to an upscale resort, then you would miss this reaction we have been left with. Knowing what to expect from our visit last year, we were not surprised nor offended by any of the older Muslim men that were intimidating back then. Glad to see the island, but also happy to go back on the ship.
We returned by 1pm, and worked in the comfort of our room until lunchtime. All aboard was 3:30pm, when Captain Frank came on and said all went well today. The last tender was loading at 4:15pm and they were pulling up the anchor. Although there would be a lot of boat and ship traffic, there was no need for a local pilot. The Captain would be circling the island with views of several islands and atolls along the way. At one point, a speeding boat appeared to be cutting in front of the Zuiderdam, and the whistle was sounded 12 times. What was that guy thinking? Like we could stop on a dime? Think again….
We now have to travel 1264 nautical miles to reach the Seychelles in two days time. It would take doing a speed of 19.5 knots to arrive on time. The weather would remain the same with 1.5 meter swells and light winds. Temperatures should be in the mid 80's. Oh yes, the clocks will be rolled back one hour to be on Seychelles time. That is nice.
The sun went down where we could not see it. Once again, it simply disappeared in the dark sea haze. Dinner was good with starters of pot stickers, which we have been craving. Very tasty and not near enough of a serving. Soup and salads were served. But we saved room for the sliced tenderloin plate which was tender and tasty. Desserts were one strawberry shortcake, unlike any one we have ever had, and one scoop of the best orange sorbet. They have run out of the fresh berries now.
We doubt a whole lot of folks had the energy for the evening show of comedian Azeem doing a performance "I'm Just Serious". In fact, the dining room looked pretty empty tonight.
Looking forward to two lovely sea days on the way to the Seychelles.
Bill & Mary Ann
