Pa(ride)se in Maldives
This is not how I imagined the main island of the Maldives - Male. In my head I had images of a place perversely called "paradise", although to describe an island with azure water and green palm trees in this way is idiotic. On the one hand, I felt disappointed when, instead of golden sand, I smelled exhaust fumes. On the contrary, I am extremely happy when I discover the other side of places loved by the masses while traveling.
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The island of Male is pure chaos. The sidewalks are extremely tight and hundreds of motorcycles spew smelly exhaust fumes, making more noise than in New York.
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After walking around the entire island, it turned out that there are only a few slightly quieter areas. In these places time slowed down a bit, people rested and had fun.
Although the resting man draws attention, this was the first place where I noticed a large number of Nestle advertisements, aimed mainly at young people. "Milo" is a chocolate drink, described everywhere as one that "allows you to go further and get more". In Sri Lanka, advertisements for this product are everywhere - on billboards, shop windows and signboards.
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The main part of the island seems to be constantly spinning around its own axis, especially since it resembles a circle/ellipse. It's hard to find people who shift down a gear for a moment.
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The very well-maintained, guarded park is full of greenery, which the island simply lacks. In the second photo, a reptile is climbing the leaves - an inseparable element of everyday life as such animals are everywhere. They can be found in bushes, on sidewalks and in rooms.
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There are really few places on this island where you can go rollerblading without fear.
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The only fragment of the beach that we managed to find. Late in the evening people came here to rest tired from the heat.
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