By Ian Lloyd Neubauer
Things can get a little tense on the idyllic Indian Ocean archipelago.
It’s the destinations most people avoid that I’ve found to be the most rewarding: countries like Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Burma before the tourism boom. So when I finally succumbed to my girlfriend’s pleas for a holiday in the Maldives – the Indian Ocean archipelago home to some of the world’s most exquisite tropical resorts – I made it my business to fly in a day earlier to get to know the capital Malé.
Utterly remarkable when seen from the air, Malé is a floating city of that rises Atlantis-like from a turquoise ocean. Home to 115,000 people, the 1.77 square kilometer blip of land is one of the most densely populated places on earth, yet visited by next to none of the million-something tourists who flock to the Maldives every year. Add a bustling fish market, centuries-old mosques, a national museum, and spicy Afro-Indian street food, and Malé had the makings of a superb travel destination.
To make the most of my time, I got in touch with a tourist guide in Malé asked him to show me the sights. Joe, as I’ll call him, said he’d be delighted and offered to meet me at Malé International Airport on nearby Hulhule Island on the morning of my arrival.
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