In the morning we woke to grey skies once again. We headed off for breakfast and the rain came. Luckily were had put our coats on as it was spitting when we left the room. By the time we got to the restaurant we were soaking wet as it had turned into a down pour. I was soaking wet from the knees down. Once the rain had stopped it didn't take long to dry.
We headed back from breakfast to the villa and decided to have a quick snorkel. Two hours later and we were out of the water. The marine life around the villas was spectacular. I spent my time trying to find Nemo, but to no avail. Nemo remains lost. Now that I've had a look at what is below us, it is no wonder our feet were a bit tender when we had been standing on the bottom. There are broken bits of coral everywhere. It really was amazing down there. I am looking forward to going back for a snorkel some time soon.
We headed down for an early lunch before we boarded our boat to head into Male. Another spectacular meal. I cannot fault the food here. The chef at 24 Degrees is pretty good. Tonight we have an Asian themed dinner which should be enjoyable.
Upon our arrival in Male we were greeted by our guide Abdul Razzag and given our complimentary coconut drink.
Were were split into groups for our tour and I am assuming it was by the language spoken, as were were grouped with a Lebonese couple who were from Dubai and spoke english. We did a few hours of walking today. It was a very slow pace and very laid back. We visited the following:
The New mosque and Sultan's garden with the old Palace Building which until recently housed the museum. This building has been heritage listed and as yet there are plans for it.
The new Museum cost $4 US to enter and we had a look around. Abdul said there would be a guide to take us around but she was more of a guard than anything else. She just stood and watched us making sure we did not touch anything. Interestingly, all of the exhibits were not in any sorts of enclosures. Very tempting to touch. There were no photos of anything inside the museum allowed unfortunately.
We moved on to the oldest mosque in Male which was made out of coral stone. In front of the mosque was a cemetery which had different size and shaped headstones that differentiated between men, women and children.
The President's Palace was right in the middle of everything in Male. There was more security at the Department of Defence than appeared around the Presidential Palace.
The Fish Market supplies fish all caught within a few kilometres of Male. There was a lot of yellow fin tuna. You chose the fish you want and they clean it on the spot.
The Fruit and Vege Market with all locally grown produce.
We dropped into a cafe which was your typical tourist type cafe for a quick drink. Then Abdul took us to a supermarket so we could buy some items. The essentials were purchased. Some cans of soft drink, Natural Confectionary Company lollies and Clinkers. Then of course, the souvenir store was a must! Resort prices successfully avoided. A great day was had by all.
Upon our return, a wedding ceremony was taking place in reception as the weather was a bit unpredictable.
We had a nice stroll along the beach as the sun set on another day.
We were invited to cocktails in the Presidential Suite which was extremely luxurious. It costs 3 times as much per night as our villa! It contains 2 bedrooms, pool, deck with beach sand, a huge net suspended between the deck which acted like a giant hammock. We had a chat to a number of the staff and sat around admiring the magnificent venue over a few glasses of wine.
A major down pour saw us finish the night off while eating dinner and Hussain picked us up and drove us back to the villa - another day in paradise!
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Location:Male, Maldives
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