The resort paradise Maldives, unlike any other country on earth, is made up of more than 1,200 islands spanning over 90,000km2. Male, the capital of Maldives, is one such island with an area of only about 2.5km long and 1km wide.
Therefore, many tourists appreciate the excitement of Male as commensurate with the area of the worlds smallest capital. However, for Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thai (29 years old, Can Tho), the days in Male in particular or Maldives in general are unforgettable.
Male's appeal
During the 6 days and 5 nights in Maldives, Mr. Thai and his group of friends spent a day and a half in Male. On the island, the streets are very small, with interspersed alleys. People here also have the habit of traveling by motorbike like Vietnamese people. Therefore, even though he is 4,029km away from his hometown, Mr. Thai still feels familiar and close.
The fish market is the place that the male tourist from Can Tho likes the most in Male: Here, they mainly sell fish and vegetables, fruits, and dried tuna such as maize. From 4 - 5pm every day, just need to go to the back of the market, no need to spend money, I can enjoy watching a flock of dozens of drowning fish swimming around.
However, according to Mr. Thai, this area is close to the market, not clean, and there are quite a few fishermen around, so sometimes tourists cannot find a good location to watch fish swimming.
His group also spent a lot of time traveling around Male Island. Visitors can stop at the Islamic centre, the largest temple in the Maldives, with a simple exterior design paved with plain white marble or visit Sultan Park, a green snail located in the middle of the bustling capital of Maldives.
Mr. Thai suggested that tourists should buy necessary items or fast food at the supermarket on Male Island before traveling to other tourist islands to avoid the high cost.
vibrant islands
The schedule for the following days in Maldives of Mr. Thai and his friends continuously moved to the surrounding tourist islands of local people such as: Villingili Island, Thulusdhoo Island, Huraa Island...
Many tourists often choose to visit Maafushi Island because of its famous beauty. This place is considered the leading local tourism island of the Maldives. But I chose Thulusdhoo. This must be the island where we stayed the longest and also the island with the most beautiful beach I have ever been to. On the island, most of the restaurants sell Italian dishes and local dishes of the Maldives, said Mr. Thai.
From Male, visitors can go to Thulusdhoo Island by government ferry for 1:30 a.m. for 22 Rufiyaa (about 36,000 VND) or take a private private business canoe for just 45 minutes for a cost of 30 USD (more than 700,000 VND). However, Mr. Thai's group chose to take a local boat to transport goods from Male fish market for 40 Rufiyaa (more than 65,000 VND).
From Thulusdhoo Island, the group visited beautiful beaches such as: Dream Beach, Bikini Beach, Sunset Beach. Bikini is the most famous beach on Thulusdhoo, however, Mr. Thai noticed that the sea water is not as clear as the other two beaches.
Mr. Thai shared: "I stopped by Sunset beach in the morning but there were no trees here to cover me, so I was burned by the sun. There are quite a few Western tourists at Dream Beach. I find the sea water at these two beaches clear, with pure white sand, suitable for swimming.
In addition, near Bikini, there is a small mangrove island connecting Thulusdhoo Island with a wooden bridge about 100m long, suitable for watching the sunrise every morning. Right next to it is a small stream naturally created by the flow of water. Mr. Thai likes to lie here soaking in the afternoon because the water is cool and there are no strong waves.
On Thulusdhoo Island, there is also a beautiful check-in photo location discovered by the male tourist, the old wharf. This is also a place to watch the stars and especially watch the nursing shark and drowning fish in the ideal evening.
On Chamgapari Island, Mr. Thai's group went snorkeling to directly admire the creatures on the seabed. Mr. Thai revealed: "The nursing companions here are gentle but they do not automatically swim to tourists. As long as you don't touch the fish, the fish won't bite you. When I dived into the sea, I saw how big and a little scared this fish was.
However, Mr. Thai was a bit disappointed because before diving, the whole group thought they would encounter a herd of 10 - 20 nursing sharks. When encountered in reality, the whole herd of fish only had about 5 - 6 fish, depending on weather conditions and tides. In return, his group unexpectedly admired the pigs up to 3 times.
At the end of the trip, the male tourist also kept a few 1,000 Rufiyaa bills with him because the print on it was no different from a work of dragon and flax art with plant and animal systems living in Maldives such as sea turtles or elephant sharks. 20 million VND, 6 days, 4 people, I find the trip really worth it, not as many people thought, Maldives is luxurious and difficult for me, Mr. Thai expressed.
