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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There are really few places on this island where you can go rollerblading without fear.
The only fragment of the beach that we managed to find. Late in the evening people came here to rest tired from the heat.
