Maldives

Discussion in 'Food & Travel' started by fiddlestick, Nov 12, 2004.

  1. fiddlestick

    fiddlestick New Member

    Jul 17, 2001
    The 4 8 0
    Anyone been to The Maldives? Experiences?
     
  2. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Heaven on earth..... yes, I have been to Maldives. What do you want to know?
     
  3. fiddlestick

    fiddlestick New Member

    Jul 17, 2001
    The 4 8 0
    Anything and everything I guess.
    The old lady really wants to take a trip there this spring.
    I'm not well-traveled in the least and the idea of flying half way around the world to a place where the way you dress in the capital city might offend people is a bit intimidating to me.
     
  4. Thomas Flannigan

    Feb 26, 2001
    Chicago
    I have been there too. It is a beautiful place but very few tourists actually stay in the "capital", Mahe. There are about 60,000 people there, a soccer pitch, and some mosques. Most take private boats from the airport-on an adjacent island-to all inclusive resorts that are gererally the only thing on the island. You cannot bring alcohol in but each hotel has a bar that sells Lowebrau and other drinks at bar prices.
    It is a muslim society but the locals are used to to seeing foreigners so you are not that much of a curiosity. I don't think you can drink legally in Mahe, but you sure can at the resorts.
    I think Kerala, the state in India with Maldivian plane connections from Trivandrum, is more interesting than the Maldives, but if you are coming all that way why not see both. There are lovely beaches in Kerala and some nice places to stay.
    We did a triangle-Sri Lanka, Maldives, Kerala, Sri Lanka.
     
  5. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    I have never been to Male. Nale is an island by itself. The airport itself is actually an island by itself. Every hotels is an island by itself. Basically, you stay in the hotel the entire trip, but mopst hotels have plenty of activities to offer. Basically, it is a place where you don't do anything, but sat around the sea all day. You basically cannot go anywhere because basically you are struck inside an island. I was okay with it because my hotel had about 10 guests when i stayed there. So I went around the entire island as if it was my own. I enjoyed laying on the beach and watch the stars. Okay, I had sex on the beach!!! I do not mean the drink.

    The hotel offers sightseeing trips to male, but I was there for two nights.... I went scuba diving and fishing instead. I can see the third world in Sri Lanka. I was not going to leave my 5-Star hotel for a few hours.
     
  6. Own Goal Hat-Trick

    Jul 28, 1999
    ColoRADo
    well, the maldives are the sponsors of BBC World and according to thier advert which always comes on, says that the maldives are the sunny side of life.

    so i guess the place has got good weather.
     
  7. 352klr

    352klr Member+

    Jan 29, 2001
    The Burgh of Edin
    I've been keeping my eye on this place for the past two years in the hopes of going there someday. Thomas mentioned flying out of Trivandrum, India. You can also get there on Emirates in one stop out of JFK(Dubai). Takes 22.5 hours from JFK. If you have the means or even if you don't, take a look at Emirates First Class on the A340-500, which is what you're on from JFK-DBX. It will definitely make the time go just a little faster. Also, here's a pic of the airport. They're not kidding when they say the airport is an island by itself.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. Thomas Flannigan

    Feb 26, 2001
    Chicago
    I call the Maldives "India Light" or "Scandinavian India" because it so close and the Maldivians look like the people in Kerala. Furthermore, people are put off by stories of India and gravitate to the quiet, malaria-free islands.
    Dubai is a nice place to stop over. It has everything from a superb youth hostel to what many call the most elegant hotel in the world, with a butler for every room. You can drink alcohol and wear shorts in Dubai; it is the Singapore of Asia Minor. There are great Lebanese restaurants in Dubai, and great shopping. They call it Do Buy.
    BUT. You are going to spend at least $160 per night for a double room in the Maldives. Each island has one hotel and usually nothing else. There is no little village or set of local shops to visit. By accident last night I checked a Lakshadweep website that I bookmarked a year ago. It seems that India, seeing the bonanza little Maldives has going, has finally opened up the Lakshadweep group to tourism. Until recently, Agatti, with its $330 dollar a night hotel and beautiful lagoon, was the only Laccadavian destination foreign nationals could visit. Now, several very remote islands are open, including the fabled Minicoy Island, which is part of India but is the only island in Lakshadweep where Maldivian is spoken. It is a Maldivian experience at 1/3 the price. New boats from Kochi set sail once a week during the winter, and it takes 14-20 hours from Kochi. Kochi iteself is an amazing destination. It has the famous St. Francis Church and the oldest synagogue in all of Asia. It can be used as a a jumping off point for the amazing Kerala backwaters trip, with scenery more lush than Bali.
    I like the Maldives. I love Kerala.
     

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