Get Even More Visitors To Your Blog, Upgrade To A Business Listing >>

Life of an expat in Maldives

What does one do when one gets to live in one of the most exclusive and expensive travel destinations of the world?

One definitely feels extremely lucky, that’s for sure! And then one welcomes her readers to share this journey in the lovely Maldives!



We have reached here around 3 weeks back. For some bureaucratic reason, there is a delay in our joining and we’re basically enjoying a vacation here, for free!

Now, before I came here I did lots of research on lives of expatriates here in Maldives. In addition to taking help of the internet and googling a lot, I also asked my friends and acquaintances who used to live and currently lives here (there are quite a few actually).
So, somehow I felt that I knew the country far better before I even stepped foot here. 

Our flight landed at 9 Pm and after completing the immigration process we came out of the airport at five to ten. A representative from our hospital came to receive us and regretfully informed us that all shops will be closed within 5 minutes and the last bus also leaves then. So, neither can we buy a sim card nor afford to lose the last bus.


Velana international airport is attached with Hulhumale Island by a strip of land, through which our bus started to move. The night was dark and windy and it was drizzling outside. I was hungry, tired and extremely tensed as we still have not find a way to call back home and inform our families that we have reached here safely. So, it was impossible for me to enjoy the journey or even look at Road outside. Anyway, we reached our destination in Hulhumale where the hospital has provided us an accommodation.

It was a three bedroom fully furnished 
apartment which we would share with another Bangladeshi doctor and his family. Our fellow housemate saved our life by not only providing us foods but also lending his phone. My husband tried to start unpacking but realized how unrealistic he sounded after a couple of minutes! We went to bed as early as possible (one o’clock in the morning) and woke up at six as we had to report to our workplace that day.


The first shock came when I looked outside my window in the morning. It was still drizzling though the sun was also starting to peek behind the clouds. The immaculate roads, the greens, the rows of houses, the complete planned way of the neighborhood took me aback! l had this notion that cities were usually dirty, crowded and only the ancient, old ones are beautiful. Hulhumale proved me wrong! 



Our hospital is located in Male, the capital city of Maldives. We have to take the bus, then ride on the Ferry and finally take a taxi or walk for thirty minutes in scortching heat (and/or pouring rain!) to reach our destination. 
The second shock came when we hopped on the bus. The roads were simply pretty. That's the only way I could describe it for I'm in lack of words here! And then, such impeccable schedule were maintained by the bus and ferry, it again made me speechless.
The roads were almost empty with mostly motorcycles and a few taxi and private cars. After we crossed the residential area (within 2 minutes), there seemed a lot of construction work going on. 



I was simply ecstatic during ths ferry ride. I've always loved riding water vessels. Since my childhood, we often visited our country home at Barisal by ships from Dhaka. The ferry terminal reminded me of those days. The particular smell when metal comes in contact with water...the wind, the sound of waves and the rocking of the ferry transported me into my childhood.

After reaching at Male, we took a taxi and had our first taste of the capital city. All my research online and offline could not protect me from another shock! Male was.... dense. It had narrow alleys, small sideways, packed with buildings of different designs, extremely crowded and just filled with motorcycles. It seemed that the city had more motorcycles than humans. Though I come from an equally crowded city (actually far more), Male seemed beautiful. The jetty, the greens on the main road, the magnificent mosques and other government monuments had a calming effect on me. However, I changed my mind, when the taxi entered into the small paths and we had to wait in traffic jams! Didn't think I would have to face that monster in here too! Anyway, the roads became clear fast and we managed to reach our destination in time.
As Maldives is an Islamic country, all the local females cover their head. Doesn't matter what dress they are wearing, they always cover their arms and legs. No bikini, alcohol, pork or pornography is allowed here. However, the degree of female empowerment one will see here is astonishing. Women are working equally along with men, driving motorcycles or scooty, participating in all sorts of day to day work and roaming around frearlessly. I have never felt more safe or independent in my life. There seemed to be no catcalling or harassments except a few curious stares (which I'm sure was from people of other nationalities and not the local ones).

The Human Resources department let us know that there were some formalities still unfinished and we had to wait a couple of days to start working there. Though I was very frustrated initially, the environment there felt quite soothing and it soon calmed my nerves. I felt that one can both work hard and maintain a slow paced life here (which is actually an ideal lifestyle according to me). 


Now, all I have to do is wait and see how this life suits me. My childhood dream (or life goal to be precise) was to live in a beach town in a white fenced small house. At least part of my dream has come true, and who knows, may be its better to leave in an apartment than a house! As I was walking through the jetty all I could think about was how I can come to beach anytime I want. It doesn't matter whether we live in a house or an apartment, the beach will always be the same. :) 




This post first appeared on Girl Into Adulthood, please read the originial post: here

Share the post

Life of an expat in Maldives

×

Subscribe to Girl Into Adulthood

Get updates delivered right to your inbox!

Thank you for your subscription

×