My Stint In The Wonderful Maldives.

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It was an unexpected journey, after a long period of attending interviews after interviews. I got selected as an English teacher in Shaviyani Atoll, Republic of Maldives on 6th January 2006. The beautiful island nation came to our view as the Indian Airlines flight landed on the floating runway of the Hulhule international airport. The major attraction of the island is the cool, friendly behavior of the people, besides the small islands surrounded by corals and the clear, blue sea. I stayed for nearly a week in the capital Male and gained a firsthand experience of the different lifestyle of those wonderful people.

People are generally lucky, though Maldives is not a developed country. Tourists from Europe and other Asian countries and from Africa and the America visit Maldives to experience the beautiful location of the island resort. The sea around the islands is very clear near the beaches as coral reefs prevent the waves from striking to the shore. Snorkeling is a very popular activity and you can see many sea animals live, among the multicolored corals. Male town is very neat, and very sophisticated like cities in other parts of the world.

Food consists mainly of tuna fish. Almost all the snacks contain fish. As a vegetarian, I found it difficult to find suitable food, but one Indian restaurant named Athama Palace had good vegetarian food.

After finishing the joining process, I was taken to Shaviyani Feevak island on boat. The island and the school were very nice. People were friendly.

Every Saturday, a boat goes to Ha Dhal Khulhudhufushi, an island town, about one and a half hours of boat journey away from Feevak. I fell in love with Khulhudhufushi at the first sight. Shops, open air restaurants, internet cafes and a hospital and a lodge. The place found a place in my memory as I took a stride along the sandy roads of the comparatively large island. Khuludhufushi is known for its strong women who are often the masters of their homes. I would like to invite all the travel people to have a day's stay in Khuldhufushi. The Hanimadhoo air port is very near.

Maldives is small with just over 300,000 people. But they are different; they are cool and not affected by the changing fortunes of the life. They are happy and satisfied with whatever they have. Visit Maldives whenever you get a chance.

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