I went to the Maldives for the first time ever last week. Nope, nothing romantic, just accompanying my mom while she went for an Education Fair. Since she was going alone, I tagged along. Before going there, I had to do my research. Duh! But my research didn’t tell me these things I learned when I was in the tropical paradise.
1. There’s more to the Maldives than island resorts.
Yeah, I know. When we first hear “the Maldives”, we often picture those over-the-water chalets with slides going down into the turquoise waters. Actually, there’s much more to the Maldives than just the influencer propaganda that is island resorts. Since I was there on a budget, I got to see the other side of this beautiful country and even lived life the way the locals did.
2. The Maldives is a 100% Muslim country.
Just a few days before I went there, I learned that everyone in the Maldives is a Muslim. Plus, we aren’t allowed to drink or wear revealing clothing there. But what about the influencers who sip wine in their bikinis on TikTok, you ask? The exception is the island resorts. Yeah, those expensive floating hotels are away from the public eye, so technically, they’re swimming “inside” their hotel room.
3. They get Fridays off.
As a Muslim country, the Maldives practices a 5-day week starting from Sunday till Thursday. Their rest days are on Fridays and Saturdays. It makes sense as it’s more convenient for them to perform Friday prayers on their day off. Not knowing this, my mom and I took the bus on a Friday and let me tell you, the buses were unavailable for a few hours until they came back from their prayers. They’re really strict about religion here.
4. You can walk from one end of the island to the other.
The Maldives consists of a group of islands, and I only managed to cover 2 of them this trip. On the first day, we booked a taxi that cost us about MYR8 for a 2-minute drive. While my mom was working at the fair the next day, I decided to take a short walk nearby. It took me about 15 minutes to walk from one end of Male to the heart of the city. That’s how small it is. No wonder everyone here uses a motorcycle to commute.
5. They eat fish all day, err day.
I had a piece of fish (mostly tuna) the whole time I was in the Maldives. Their fish isn’t like our fish here in Malaysia. The texture is more similar to chicken than fish, and I wasn’t complaining. The fish doesn’t have the fishy taste either. This is starting to sound like a food review now. Anyways, the staple diet here is roshi (a chapati variant) with mas huni (shredded fish), which I enjoyed very much.
Overall, it was a really fun experience and I learned so much about this country that I never thought I would have visited.