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MALDIVES · Asia

Malé: The Chaotic, Colourful Capital

LEletizia13 ·18 photographs ·10 Aug 2016 – 11 Aug 2016 ·2 days
Where
Malé
When
10 Aug 2016 – 11 Aug 2016
2 days · trip of 2016
Who
Let13 · @letizia13 · Roma
How
Travel diary
The story · 1 days

We could not imagine our trip to the Maldives without a stop in the capital, which usually remains unknown to all those who are welcomed at the airport and transferred to the dream islands without even a glance at the reality of a country far removed from that unrestrained luxury. Malé feels like Asia, overrun by scooters and people, with an incredible population density. Nothing here is designed for tourists, not even its colourful and chaotic local market. Otherwise there are not many attractions, but an atmosphere that needs to be breathed in. If you get the chance, do your shopping here... and bargain down to the last rufiyaa!

Day 18 Oct 2016

Maldives, Here We Come!

It's dawn when we take off from Dubai bound for Malé. Our flight, purchased online at an exceptional price, is Qatar Airways with a brief stopover in Doha. Perfectly on time we land in Malé at 3:30 PM local time. Just seeing from above the colors of the ocean beneath us already makes us dream... With the intention of not skipping the capital, we booked through booking one night in Malé, choosing from the various reviews the Laze Hotel, which provides free transfer to/from airport/port. Despite this guarantee, as soon as we exit the terminal, we're the only ones left alone...in fact they haven't sent anyone. We call them from the information office and they again guarantee that they will come to the port. We take the opportunity to change money into local currency and to buy the voice and data phone SIM, notably convenient for calling Italy.

And finally our Maldives begin, at the local ferry terminal bound for Malé. The ticket costs about 1 USD per person. Already from afar the capital appears as a continuous cluster of colorful houses and after about 10 minutes we're there. Indeed after another quarter of an hour of waiting this small van from the Hotel arrives that takes us to the

Bye Bye Malè
Bye Bye Malè

The journey's photographs

18 photographs · click to open them full screen

▶ Slideshow
Malé from aboveThe ferry terminal at the international airportMaléMalé near the marketLocal MarketCovered market with banana and papaya stalls, people walking through the aislesMaléMaldivian dhoni boat with national flag, laundry drying on deckFish MarketFish MarketCoral stone tombstones and carved mausoleums at a cemetery in Maléman walks across the colorful tiled courtyard of a green mosqueWhite monument with flags in Malé, colorful mosaic tile plaza reflecting sunlightTourist in front of Jinnah's white marble mausoleum with flags in KarachiRound medallion with red crescents and Arabic calligraphy on carved white wallWhite minaret with golden dome among green trees, colorful mosaic tiled courtyardMotorbikes lined up on the sidewalk in front of shops, people walkingBye Bye Malè

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