All work and no play, makes Jack a Dull Boy. Now nobody wants to be a dull boy (or girl), right? So what do one do in Male city for play? There are quite a few options.
1. You can visit the cafes and restaurants. Male city is literally swarming in them, however I have only a couple as my favourite.
2. Have a swim in the artificial beaches (there are two in Male) or in the swimming track. The sea water is barricaded so the waves are not able to crash on the shores (hence the name is artificial beach), so you might not feel like swimming in the sea.
3. Visit the nearby resorts for day trips (some offer a discounted rate for locals and expats). This can be quite expensive. Obviously Maldives has resorts and hotels of various budgets and you can get cheap snorkelling trips to 5000 USD spa sessions all in here, it all depends on your choice. But common sense depicts that you can't afford weekend trips to resorts more than once a month, and that too will create a big hole in your wallet.
4. You can go to movies. There are two cineplexes, one in Male and another in Hulhumale, Hulhumale one is a bit better.
5. Sit in the beach and do nothing. I used to like this one but as I said the Male beaches can get a bit crowded and the only natural beach nearby is in Villimale. Still it's one of the best ways to pass time. Extra benefit: completely free!
5. Obviously you can stay at home and watch TV or browse internet (which I personally prefer after 9 hour long shifts and housework)
There are two phone companies, Dhiraagu and Ooredoo. In terms of services, both are same. Internet is quite fast but costly. Two gb mobile data costs around 15 usd. Dhiraagu routers has different costs for locals and expats.
Rajje online is another company which offers fibre optic broadband but is only only available in Male and there service is extremely slow (they took 5 months to give a connection at my home) Currently I am using Faseyha home broadband by Ooredoo. This one is portable, just recharge, plug in and use. So, we could use it in every place we stayed but I'm not sure about its coverage in other islands.
Medianet is the only cable TV provider company. Their rate is reasonable but it is more expensive in Male than Villimale. When we asked the reason behind this, we got "everything is expensive in Male" as reply. Another one is Dhiraagu TV which has around 30 channels. But as we never used that one, I'm not sure about the service.
6.Love clothes? Makeup? Shoes? Not much luck in here. There is no brand stores (other than the duty free of airport). Few shops sell original perfumes, watches and some makeup items. But the collection is so few and price so exorbient, you'd only want to buy if you are desperate. I'd depend on online shops. But Amazon doesn't ship in Maldives and though ebay and alipress does, its not the same thing.
I'm still in search for online brands that deliver in Maldives (with free shipping obviously).
Alcohol, pork and sweamwear is strictly prohibited in Male. But I use neither of those (not even swimsuit). So I am not missing anything. And I know lots of expatriates who complain about lack of night life in here. To be honest, I have experienced night life only during traveling to other countries and while I enjoyed that I didn't have clubs, karaoke or Discos growing up at my home country. So, I dont miss those amenities in life.
But if you think that this are important parts of your life, and the entertainment available in here is not sufficient enough for you, may be you should reconsider moving in here!
1. You can visit the cafes and restaurants. Male city is literally swarming in them, however I have only a couple as my favourite.
2. Have a swim in the artificial beaches (there are two in Male) or in the swimming track. The sea water is barricaded so the waves are not able to crash on the shores (hence the name is artificial beach), so you might not feel like swimming in the sea.
| Male Swimming Track |
3. Visit the nearby resorts for day trips (some offer a discounted rate for locals and expats). This can be quite expensive. Obviously Maldives has resorts and hotels of various budgets and you can get cheap snorkelling trips to 5000 USD spa sessions all in here, it all depends on your choice. But common sense depicts that you can't afford weekend trips to resorts more than once a month, and that too will create a big hole in your wallet.
| My weekend trip to a nearby resort. |
4. You can go to movies. There are two cineplexes, one in Male and another in Hulhumale, Hulhumale one is a bit better.
5. Sit in the beach and do nothing. I used to like this one but as I said the Male beaches can get a bit crowded and the only natural beach nearby is in Villimale. Still it's one of the best ways to pass time. Extra benefit: completely free!
| Sand on my feet, best way to relax. |
5. Obviously you can stay at home and watch TV or browse internet (which I personally prefer after 9 hour long shifts and housework)
There are two phone companies, Dhiraagu and Ooredoo. In terms of services, both are same. Internet is quite fast but costly. Two gb mobile data costs around 15 usd. Dhiraagu routers has different costs for locals and expats.
Rajje online is another company which offers fibre optic broadband but is only only available in Male and there service is extremely slow (they took 5 months to give a connection at my home) Currently I am using Faseyha home broadband by Ooredoo. This one is portable, just recharge, plug in and use. So, we could use it in every place we stayed but I'm not sure about its coverage in other islands.
Medianet is the only cable TV provider company. Their rate is reasonable but it is more expensive in Male than Villimale. When we asked the reason behind this, we got "everything is expensive in Male" as reply. Another one is Dhiraagu TV which has around 30 channels. But as we never used that one, I'm not sure about the service.
6.Love clothes? Makeup? Shoes? Not much luck in here. There is no brand stores (other than the duty free of airport). Few shops sell original perfumes, watches and some makeup items. But the collection is so few and price so exorbient, you'd only want to buy if you are desperate. I'd depend on online shops. But Amazon doesn't ship in Maldives and though ebay and alipress does, its not the same thing.
I'm still in search for online brands that deliver in Maldives (with free shipping obviously).
Alcohol, pork and sweamwear is strictly prohibited in Male. But I use neither of those (not even swimsuit). So I am not missing anything. And I know lots of expatriates who complain about lack of night life in here. To be honest, I have experienced night life only during traveling to other countries and while I enjoyed that I didn't have clubs, karaoke or Discos growing up at my home country. So, I dont miss those amenities in life.
But if you think that this are important parts of your life, and the entertainment available in here is not sufficient enough for you, may be you should reconsider moving in here!
