I’ve spent the last week in the Maldives. I was mostly in Malé with my partner, but also visited Villingili.
Malé as the capital isn’t really a destination for tourists; it’s more the transit point for foreigners to hit up resorts on other islands. I only saw a handful of white people willing to go beyond the confines of their hotel.
This made it a real treat for me though, because I got to see a side of things I wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s a completely different vibe.
I started the trip quite cautious. On our arrival we were stared at, and followed by a man, who kept at us for blocks and blocks until we got to the hotel. I was all too aware that being gay is punishable in the Maldives with 100 lashes and 8 years imprisonment, that there is no religious freedom, and they follow Sharia law.
The streets appeared chaotic at first to this North American accustomed to roads having stops/traffic lights/lanes, but as the days progressed I got habituated and relaxed. I was followed three more times while walking solo, but it didn’t feel unsafe, more like trying to get me into a shop where they would get a kickback. I felt pretty comfortable, though there was some things I couldn’t do safely – such as go for a swim as there’s no change rooms I could use as a trans person in this country that has very strong ideas on women’s appearance. Nor could my partner and I show affection in public. Nor could we access certain spaces given our “immodest” clothing.
Our queerness had been a limiting factor as well during the planning process; it was more convenient to fly through Qatar to get to the Maldives, but, as being trans is illegal in Qatar, we couldn’t risk making that the transit point in case the subsequent flight was cancelled and we needed to enter the country for a hotel.
The weather in Malé was amazing. Consistently 30⁰C in these late November/early December days. On one of my walks I ended up watching a surfing competition. On another, I enjoyed freshly made mango juice (there’s mango trees everywhere with cute fruit bats). On another, I was at one of the beaches where a pregnant cat chilled. We also took a submarine ride, going a hundred feet below to the sea floor, for an hour.
Despite the weather, the city did feel a bit dull, to be honest. This main island is so compact – walking the circumference is less than 5km – which means every bit of space is occupied. There’s very little in the way of open spaces or outdoor spots to relax on the entire island. You’ll have the university building here, the presidential home there, the foreign office here, the counter-terrorism center there. Very few third spaces. The sidewalks barely fit one person and the narrow streets were occupied by tens of thousands of mopeds whizzing by. After having walked the island end to end, East to West, North to South, it got a bit old.
Things are better on the other islands. If you visit, go to the other islands. You won’t regret it.
I found prices varied greatly; from the astronomical $36 for two milkshakes at our hotel in Malé, to the $4 for the best damn meal I’ve had in a year at a restaurant for locals in Villingili. The ferry between islands was $1 but our hotel charged $200 to extend our check out by 6 hours. This disparity hints at what people actually make versus the income of the tourists.
One thing that really cast a shadow on the trip was all the pandemic-related complications.
Maldives required we do a COVID test within 72 hours of leaving, plus submit documentation to them, plus submit this to the UK government as we were transiting through, plus submit it to British Airways. All went well except for British Airways, whose automated system refused our tests on account that our booking didn’t include our middle names and the test results did. We re-uploaded a few times, but each time it was refused, and then it was travel day. There was no remediation steps provided, no phone number to call, nothing. I had called BA; they said to get tested again with a different name, but, with a day left we wouldn’t get the results in time. Nor would they change the booking to include the middle name because we booked through Expedia. Calling Expedia, they said BA shouldn’t have issues. This left us screwed. We eventually devised a solution that was perhaps not ideal, but given that both the Maldives and the UK had accepted our documents, and we were out of time, was a last resort. It worked.
On the way back, we had to find out how to get a PCR test to satisfy Canada’s restrictions. We got a test. Then we needed to get another, because it had to be within 72 hours of the last leg of the flight to Canada, not the first – we had missed the window by an hour. Then the Omicron variant news hit, and Canada started to close international travel from countries and announced it was going to quarantine all inbound travellers. Meanwhile we needed to submit our documentation to the Canadian ArriveCan plus Air Canada. ArriveCan only let us put one address for the quarantine plan, meaning I’d be stuck at my partner’s if the new policy went in effect. The way back was stressful because if any flight was cancelled, we would be screwed, because our PCR test would become invalid and we’d be stuck in another country. In the end, we had our negative PCR test and Arrive Can receipt was validated in the Maldives when checking in, then in Turkey when transiting, then the vaccination status was validated in France, then in Canada they checked ArriveCan but it was a breeze. Scan our passport in the machine and we were out in under a minute.
COVID-19 introduced so much anxiety for what would really not be a big deal in pre-pandemic times for a Canadian passport holder. Cancelled flight? No problem, just get the next one booked and grab a hotel for the night. With these PCR test requirements though, and their short validity period, and the Hodge Podge of systems involved to vet them, it just makes travel really miserable. Plus the whole Omicron thing threatening our passage back with no notice was pretty unwelcome of a surprise.
It’s unlikely I’ll do another trip like this until these measures let up. I’ll travel across Canada and the US, but for anything else, forget it. The US has announced though that they are imposing, with no notice, that non-American travelers will need to get a PCR test done from the day before before going. Considering the results take up to 48 hours to get in, this sounds like a logistical nightmare, so even that’s in question.