6. Live the Maldivian life

Live the island life of a Maldivian for a few days. I have been wanting to make a post about this for a while but I couldn't get the right words until I found this brilliant video that shows perfectly what you can find on a local island.

It shows a person riding through the road near the beach, relaxing near a freshwater lake right next to the beach (that's right, its a freshwater lake at 0:15), relax at home on the traditional Maldivian swing, having lunch at home and then go have a coffee at an open air restaurant, etc. It also shows the traditional Maldivian house made using corals.

You can find these usually on all the local islands except the freshwater lakes, which is found only on a very few islands. The location on the video is Addu Atoll, the group of islands on the southern most tip of Maldives. These islands are connected through bridges for most of the part so you can ride through the islands on wheels. There are resorts nearby and also an airport called Gan International Airport where you can take direct flight from Male'.

5. Mas Kaashi (Fish 'n Coconut)

Sounds something like Fish and Chips, but this one is completely different from the Famous English meal. This is one of the favorite snacks of the Maldivians. It is a combo of fresh cut coconut flesh, dried tuna, sour mango, salt, chili, onion, garlic and black pepper. Sometimes you can get Rihaakuru as well (the dark brown stuff on the top left corner of that tray).

Just make your own combinations and eat different ingredients separately or together to get your own taste. If you like spicy use more chili. It could go like this: have a piece of dried tuna first and dip a piece of sour mango into rihaakuru and eat it, then dip a piece of coconut in salt and chili then eat it while you still have the mango. Then have onion, garlic and black pepper based on your choice. The mixture of ingredients will give the taste. People here eat it like crazy, non-stop until the whole tray is finished and then order some more.

It's available at small stalls (Gaadiya) in the Boduthakurufaanu Magu, starting from the south-east corner of Male' near Raalhu Gandu bus stop and all the way through this road till the west of the island. The gaadiya's usually have seats where you can relax while you enjoy Mas Kaashi.

4. BBQ at the beach.

Have a BBQ at the beach. And I'm not talking about an arrangement done by your hotel or resort. This is your own BBQ with the stuff you buy from the local market at your own convenience and become your own chef. To make it more interesting you could even BBQ the fish you caught.

People living in Male' usually BBQ in the nearby 2 island's Hulhumale and Villingili. Hulhumale has a the most popular BBQ spot with a lot of barrels which we use as grills. Also the BBQ spots have shops nearby selling the necessities for the BBQ.

We thought of taking a photo of a nicer looking barrel grill, but why hide from reality? This is how it looks and this is what you get there. :-) If you're lucky you can probably get a good grill. One thing I have to note here is that people from nearby islands come here for BBQ every single weekend. Therefore by any means, avoid having BBQ here on Fridays and Saturdays (our weekends). It's going to be completely packed and even if you do go on weekend then go before 3:30pm to get a hold of a nice grill. Also beware, this is not a luxurious BBQ. This is where you have a casual BBQ and have fun playing around. Bring a ball or a Frisbee if you will.

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3. Hedhika (Maldivian short eats)

Now that you've done your snorkeling, it's time you eat. And by eat I don't mean your lunch or dinner. This is the traditional Maldivian evening (late afternoon) tea. Go to any local restaurant and ask for "Hedhika" and a black tea or coffee (black tea is the tradition though). The best time for this is around 4pm when it's fresh and hot. Anything after 6pm is not recommended, unless you're desperate :-).. My personal favorite hedhika is Gula and Egg Cutlets :-)

2. Photo Flight

I thought of posting my own picture here, but why put a crappy picture when there's this awesome video that explains everything.

Take this low altitude sea plane ride to capture beautiful pictures of the islands and the lagoons. These planes have untainted glass with large windows perfect to take really good aerial photos of the islands. A photo flight costs around USD837 per trip as of today, but it may change anytime. A single trip can carry a maximum of 17 pax, which means the more people you have in your group the cheaper it can be. This could be one of the best souvenirs you can take back.

1. Snorkeling

THE most important thing to do in Maldives is snorkeling. Going to Maldives and not snorkeling is like going to Australia and not seeing a kangaroo. There's too much beauty under the sea for anyone to miss. All of the resorts in Maldives have in-house reef where you can freely do snorkeling at your convenience. Most of the tourist hotels and resorts in Maldives will provide snorkeling trips to nearby coral reefs as well.

The Maldives

Usually the first impressions people get about the Maldives is beautiful, relaxing and expensive. Yes those are the taglines sold to get people to visit our country. But the truth is there are much more to our natural beauty and culture and sadly tourists don’t get the chance to experience the colorful life shaped by our everyday young folks.

Diving, snorkeling, water sports, sun tanning are not the only things to do in the Maldives. And you actually don’t need to go to an expensive resort to get that done. And you wont find what real Maldivians do, eat or like in those resorts. We got local food like Hedhika, which is a must try for any person who loves good food. Don’t just go for a walk on the white sandy beaches like the romantic movies tell you, but go for a walk on the Reef crest as well if you are up for it. And instead of lying down on some beach to tan your body, bring a Frisbee or an empty coconut shell to dig and bury yourself right in there like how we do.

So if you are looking for something offbeat and want to try something differently in the Maldives, well you might have come to the right place. Enjoy a slice of Maldivian life the way Maldivians do.