For my beach time between the travels in Arab countries of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa, I chose the island of Thulusdhoo. It is conveniently connected with the airport in Male by ferries, it does not have 5-star all-inclusive hotels and it was cheap. The hotels on Thulusdhoo look more like private houses save for a few buildings that are typical hotels. My hotel had just 4 guest rooms, all on the ground level. The beach was two minutes away from it. In fact, beaches are everywhere on Thulusdhoo. It is a small island and standing at the intersection in its center, I could see the ocean in all 4 directions.
Maldives is a Muslim country with all relevant restrictions. On the other hand, over 80% of the country’s revenue comes from tourism. People visit this surfing and diving paradise from all the world. In order to balance the religious requirements with relaxed tourist behavior, the authorities have to compromise. There are rules for the locals and rules for the visitors. Female tourists can walk around in summer dresses, local women are all covered. I happened to be in Maldives during the Ramadan and food during the day was served only to tourists. Thulusdhoo has a dedicated beach called ‘bikini beach’ where visitors can wear swimsuits but not anywhere else on the island.
Tropical fish are plentiful on Thulusdhoo. There was no need to take the boat to some place. Snorkeling was good in the shallow waters of the bikini beach or just outside the breakwater. So, I spent leisurely mornings and evenings on the beach and hid in the airconditioned room during the hottest hours. To my surprise, I discovered 2 small factories on the island. One makes cardboard boxes, the other is the Coca Cola factory, the only one that produces it in Maldives.
After 6 days of doing nothing, it was time to hit the road again. Thulusdhoo did not have early morning ferries to the airport. I had to move to a hotel in Male the night before my departure. This gave me an opportunity to see Maldives’ capital city too.
Male is very different from the rest of Maldives. Land is precious there. Therefore, all buildings are high-rise and the streets are so narrow that only people and motorbikes can squeeze through them. A few main roads are wide enough for cars. As the result, the city swarms with motorbikes. There are thousands of them running around and parked in the most incredible places.
I returned to Abu Dhabi, took the bus to Dubai, and stayed there for a night before departing for my probably most adventurous destination so far, the Central African Republic.