The Maldives is well-known for its splendid resorts, turquoise waters, and amazing beaches. Nevertheless, there is another face of the country that most of the tourists do not know about. Away from luxury resorts, local islands feature a unique lifestyle of Maldivians living slowly and peacefully.
I began my trip in Malé, the capital of the Maldives, where I took a speedboat to Huraa Island. After about 25 minutes on the water, I arrived on the island with a population of around 1,800 people. Unlike resort islands, Huraa offers a kind of community complete with guesthouses, shops, beaches, and small streets with houses.
I traveled across the island on a bike as it was the best way to see the island since Huraa was small enough to be crossed in about 15 minutes. Cars are quite rare, while bicycles and small electric machines are common. People greeted me wherever I went.
One of the most fascinating places was a silent beach that was blessed with extraordinarily clear blue water. The surrounding area was covered with coconut trees and provided a view of the open sea. What’s interesting is that an ultra-modern hotel was located nearby, highlighting the sharp difference between local island life and the experience in the hotel.
Local islands also revealed signs of ecological efforts. Coral restoration cases could be seen near the shore, thus showing the effort to restore the coral reef destroyed by the tourism and ecological impact.
The following day, I took a local ferry to another island Thulusdhoo that had around 2,000 inhabitants. The ride was another chance to get to know more about the island life. An island tour guide explained that most of the islanders were engaged in tourism and businesses related to it. He said that even though he saw the same picturesque views every day, he considered Maldives a calm place to live.
Thulusdhoo was somewhat different from Huraa. There were more foreigners on the island, and it had football fields, volleyball grounds, shops, mosques as well as places to live.
Food was an exciting part of my journey across the island. I bought a caramel pudding from a home industry shop and had my pudding near the sea. Moments like that provided me with a perspective that would be incomparable to one I would have from having dinner in a luxurious restaurant.
Thulusdhoo is home to a peculiar attraction, namely, Coca-Cola factory. This is, in fact, the only Coca-Cola production facility in the Maldives, as it uses filtered seawater in its production.
Another exciting thing about life on the Maldivian islands is the concept of local and tourist beaches. As Maldives is a Muslim country, tourists are allowed to wear swimsuits on tourist beaches, whereas on local beaches it is not really acceptable according to local culture.
I finally got to see the beautiful sunset I was planning to see while I was finishing my trip. Standing on the beach and observing the transformation of the sky was the final lucky coincidence of my journey.
Thus, the visits to Huraa and Thulusdhoo showed me the Maldives from the angle that luxurious resorts cannot provide.
