After checking out from Mövenpick Resort and landing at Velana International Airport around 5pm, we had a ton of time to kill before our flight back at 11.40pm. As a result, I thought it’d be a good idea to slot in a tour of Malé to check out the local sites and scenes.
I initially enquired with the resort reception staff about how to get a local guide but they directed me to check with the resort representative who would receive us at the airport. This representative then made swift arrangements and we were promptly introduced to Ibrahim, our guide for this private tour of the city. It was nice that he spoke fluent English too.
We were informed that there was no fixed price or locations to visit, that we could just let him know what we’d like to see. Payment wise, we were simply expected to tip him according to what we saw fit and to cover all his expenses during the tour, including transport. The resort reception staff did mention USD$20 as a ballpark figure so we tipped him an equivalent amount in rufiyaa when the tour concluded.
- Inclusions:
- Malé city walking tour
- Spent: Rf300
To get to Malé city, we could either take a 10 to 15-minute ferry ride (USD$1 for a one-way trip) or a 5 to 10-minute taxi ride (up to USD$15 for a one-way trip). We opted for the ferry as it was cheaper and we didn’t have to contend with the long taxi queue. The frequency of the ferry rides seemed to be every half an hour, so it was pretty convenient too.
Malé is a very small but densely populated island as all the major schools, universities, healthcare facilities and other key services are based here. The first location our guide brought us to was a local school. He shared that the very first school was opened back in 1927, and that secondary school typically takes place in the mornings while primary school runs in the afternoons.
Next, we visited Old Friday Mosque, the oldest mosque in the country built using coral stone some 400 to 500 years ago. Almost everything, except the corrugated metal roof, is in its original condition. The coolest thing we learnt was that this entire structure is assembled using interlocking construction techniques. Once the centre building block is removed, all the other blocks can be taken apart intact and then reassembled somewhere else!
Then, we headed to the gates of Muleeaage Palace, the official residence of the country’s President and his family. Even though it didn’t look heavily guarded, we were told that security personnel were mostly concealed and poised to fire if the need arose. Needless to say, I had one too many intrusive thoughts about getting shot as I stuck my hand through the gates to take this photo.
After that, we visited the Victory Monument, also known as the November 3rd Memorial. It was built to honour the martyrs who gave their lives in the fight against Sri Lankan insurgents and other rebel Maldivians back in 1988.
In particular, Corporal Hussain Adam was said to be absolutely instrumental in that fight as he bought his fellow soldiers precious time to launch a successful counterattack, but this unfortunately came at the expense of his own life. As such, the current police headquarters is named after him as a tribute to his bravery.
My husband asked to stop by a souvenir shop so our guide brought us to Shop Number 4 (yes, that’s the actual name of the shop). Looking at the items for sale there, they seemed like the sort of stuff you could get in Bali or Bangkok for cheap, so I unwittingly let my guard down (bad move!).
The shopkeeper handed us a basket and started recommending item after item, some of which we genuinely needed, such as a cotton hoodie, as well as magnets and pouches for my husband’s colleagues. However, other items like tea and a wooden cylindrical puzzle (that eventually broke when my husband was fiddling with it at home) weren’t exactly essential but I didn’t think they’d be too expensive to include anyway. Our final bill for everything, even after an extensive period of haggling, came up to USD$130, a mind-boggling price for such low-cost items!
Furthermore, he wrapped our items in newspaper before handing them to us (which I immediately tore apart outside the shop). I then realized there were two items missing, so we went back in to retrieve them, along with many apologies from the shopkeeper that he’d accidentally missed out on packing those items in. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt this time, but safe to say, we’re never buying souvenirs from these shops ever again.
Our last stop was for coffee at a pretty cafe as my husband needed his caffeine fix. We sat on the second level where it was open-air and a lot dimmer. My husband had a Lavazza coffee with milk (Rf60++) while I had a milk tea (Rf35++), neither of which tasted very good. We treated our guide to a drink of his choice too (he opted for what my husband was having) and we had an interesting chat about his country’s politics. He also shared that tourists need to be careful as there are many scammers posing as tour guides at the various entry points to Malé.
As it was getting close to our flight check-in time (9.30pm), he brought us back to the airport via the same ferry service. We said our goodbyes, took a parting photo and thanked him for the time he spent with us.
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. Ignoring the fact that we paid an exorbitant amount for inexpensive souvenirs (which was totally avoidable had we been more vigilant and assertive), everything about this tour was quite intriguing. Our guide, Ibrahim, was friendly, knowledgeable and spoke English fluently. We got to visit some key landmarks in the country that were of historical significance, where he shared stories and nuggets of information that we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise if we had explored the city on our own. We also gained a unique sliver of insight into the country’s politics from a local’s perspective. It was a decent way to spend our long wait time (approximately 4 hours) before our late night flight.
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
Dania Experiences 