#tropicalstateofmind

Journal log of Maldives trip 🇲🇻

Day 1

After 28 hours of traveling, we finally are getting ready to land at Male airport. The view of the ocean and the islands from the sky are absolutely beautiful just like the pictures on google that I had been looking up for nearly 15 years. Once we land, we walk right off the plane onto the ground and are directed to the immigration lines. The AC doesn’t work that well in the buildings and there were a lot of people waiting in lines so it was quite hot. The lines didn’t move too fast, we waited about 30-40 minutes until we got through. After grabbing our luggage and meeting up with our friend who had just gotten in before us, we had a few hours to kill before our boat comes to bring us to our island. This is where it got a little stressful. My initial thought after listening to a bunch of other peoples experience traveling to the Maldives was that most places accept cards. That wasn’t necessarily the case. We wanted to take the ferry into Male so we could explore and grab a bite to eat while we kill time but the ferry only accepted cash which we didn’t bring with us. We were directed to an ATM that we could withdraw money from our bank accounts, but would give it to us in Maldivian money and charge a fee. After 15 minutes of figuring out how to work the ATM and conversion of currencies, we were finally able to get on the ferry. When we got to Male, we chose this restaurant called Lemongrass which was absolutely amazing. Danny & I ordered two large meals and 2 drinks and after 6% tourist tax and 10% service charge, it only came out to 16 USD and we were able to use our card. Super cheap and easy! We took the ferry back to the airport and waited for our speed boat to take us to our island. I’m not sure why I thought it was only a 45 minute boat ride but it was actually 2 hours. When we arrive to our island, our Airbnb host greeted us and showed us around the island. I think this is where I started realizing I was in a bit of a culture shock. The island wasn’t exactly as luxurious and lavish as I was expecting and I think this triggered my anxiety a bit. It was super dark outside so it was hard to see but a lot of the buildings and houses were slummish like. The good thing is that everyone is super nice and there is no crime. So there’s no worries about being in danger. Just not in luxury. The Airbnb is smaller than expected. I also thought that it would be directly on the beach but it wasn’t. It’s a little more inland. I’m feeling extremely out of my comfort zone and a little bummed about the quality, but I’m happy I have my friend and Danny with me (and that this place is super cheap so we can spend money on other things and activities) so I’m hoping tomorrow when I see things better in the sunlight and when I see that crystal blue water, I will start to feel better.

Day 2

Woke up early today at like 7:30am (which never happens) but we did go to bed early around 9pm. It was pretty dreary and rainy so I was concerned that today would be a let down but it most certainly was not. We started the day with breakfast being made by our Airbnb host and Danny and him bonding over music, ukulele, and guitar playing. We all took turns talking about our life and where we’re from and more music interests lol. After breakfast, our host showed us around the island again but this time in daylight. The island is only about a mile long with a population of 1,000 people. There is a small school, small hospital, doctors office, 2 restaurants, a dive center, some shops, a mosque, police station with only 5 police officers (they said there’s no crime so they haven’t even seen the officers in about 2 months) and even a court house! It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before. When we get to the beach, we are stricken by the beautiful swing set that sits deep in the oceans sand bar. We decide to go back to change out of our pajamas, grab some lunch, and go back to the beach. When we get back, the host sets us up to do some snorkeling. Since the weather has been kind of bad, the water wasn’t all too clear but we still saw some coral reefs filled with fish. After snorkeling, we make our way to the swings, and I have to say this was the best part of the day. The side of the beach with the swings is the clearest of the waters. We took turns taking pictures of each other and just hung out having a great time. It even started to rain and we were just loving it. For dinner, we went back to the same restaurant we had lunch at and was once again amazed by the quality of the food and the price of everything. I have to say today was much better and I am learning a lot about the Maldivian culture and the people who live on the island.

Day 3

Wow I can’t even describe how incredible today was. Definitely what I needed to feel this trip was successful. The sun was shining all day, water was calm, and I am officially sunburnt even with all the sunblock. We went out on the catamaran to an inhabited island with an abandon resort on it. We started snorkeling in the crystal clear water off the coral reef garden and saw tons of fish including eels, clown fish, and angel fish. After snorkeling, we went back to our island and went paddle boarding. The sun took a lot out of me so I ended up passing out around 6:30pm. I am feeling a lot more comfortable in the environment and our hosts including the local Maldivian people are quickly becoming like family.

Day 4

Another amazing day and the best one yet! Today we went deep sea snorkeling and saw 2 huge manta rays, 2 sea turtles, and a bunch more fish. Even thought I saw a sea cucumber?? Lol. (Just fact checked and yes it was indeed a sea cucumber) It was truly magical to swim next to these creatures in my mermaid tail. Complete dream come true. I thought I would be extremely scared but nope. All I felt was tranquility. I never swam in the middle of the ocean with my mermaid tail (only on the beach not out deep) Of course if you know me, you know that I love the water and will literally stay for hours on end so everyone had to literally tell me it’s time to go. Can’t wait to go again tomorrow and hopefully see some whale sharks.

Day 5

Best day out of our stay. Every single day has been slightly better than the last. Today we went back deep sea snorkeling and saw even more manta rays and sea turtles than yesterday. This is by far my favorite part out of the entire trip and what I truly think the Maldives is all about. Still no whale shark sightings so that will have to be another adventure for another time. I’m feeling extremely humbled from this entire vacation. Sometimes, things don’t always turn out the way you expected, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. I’m very happy we chose to stay here and that everything turned out the way it did. Our hosts honestly made this trip for us. They were there for us from start to finish and handled all of our excursions and activities. They helped us with whatever we needed. We got the full TRUE Maldivian experience. Not what you seem on Google or Instagram from influencers posing on their glass bottom water villas. If we would of took that route, it would have ended up being a 5k-10k trip rather than $500. Going home from a long vacation with money still in the bank is a great feeling.

Tips/Advice for anyone wanting to visit the Maldives:

1. Bring 👏🏼 Cash 👏🏼 I thought everywhere took card but lots of shops and water sport owners only take cash and it’s very hard to work the ATM’s plus they charge you a fee. And then use google money converter.

2. Bring lots of sunscreen 100 spf

3. Bring bathing suit cover ups. They have designated bikini beach spots but when walking the islands and around locals it’s illegal to show too much skin (Yes even in 90 degree heat on an island)

4. Bring bug spray. Some parts of the islands have mosquitos. Just like Florida.

5. Alcohol is illegal, so don’t even try to bring it. The resorts are the only places they can sell it.

6. Do the deep sea snorkeling. Don’t be afraid. There wasn’t anything harmful there in the water. No jelly fish. No sharks.

7. Get a layover flight in whatever country your airline is stopping at. You’ll get 2 trips in 1.