Maldives Ahoy!!

Hi Guys reporting from Maldives...Day 1. First a bit about the place. In Maldives, one arrives at the Capital, Male, the entry point to Maldives. It is here you are greeted and met by a representative of the resort you have booked in and are escorted there, either by a boat or by a sea plane. The distance of the resort from the airport determines your mode of travel from the airport to each resort, which is either by a Sea Plane or by a boat. Each resort is built on a separate island and occupies the whole island. These are small islands mostly which can be toured on foot within a few minutes if you fancy. Although the currency is the Maldivian Rufiah, the USD rules roost. PEople are appy to accept USD rather than their own currency. Surprisingly, there is no duty free shop at arrival. Reason; its a very Strict Islamic country and getting non Islamic items into the country is banned. Things like Alcohol, Pork products, Dogs, articles of worship like Idols for other than Islam are forbidden and banned.(??) But all resorts have plenty of booze and pork available for the guests at highway robbery prices. (though i didnt see a single dog) Basically the place is a tourist rip off and one pays exorbitant prices for these items, especially liquor. Food is also not cheap. .....Yawn...its late and will post rest of the report with some pics tomorrow. Good night guys. Keep watching this thread.

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