Breakfast was included at the hotel... Cereal and toast! Suprise, surprise! After downing a good helping of toast I sat and had a chat with Nicole and Paul about everything... life back home and life in the Maldives. The one thing I learnt over the course of the month was that nothing in the Maldives makes sense. Once you accept that, things aren't so stressful and it's a pretty good place to be.
By 9:45am we were on the shuttle bus back to the airport to say goodbye to the others who were catching the early flight and dump our stuff before checking out Male' again.
Our time in Male' was spent walking, shopping, walking, shopping, eating, shopping and walking. In the heat it was exhausting! After browsing through some souvenir shops the others decided to try bartering with the shop assistants. The shop keepers seemed to enjoy it, and they did lower the prices for us when we said that we had been volunteer teaching for a month. The artificial beach was interesting to say the least, and the fish and produce markets were well worth the visit.
We left Male' at around 5:00pm and ended up camping out at a cafe/restuarant next to the airport for three hours before retrieving our bags and checking in. The relief that I felt when I saw BNE on my suitcase was immense and very unexpected. Despite the fact that I thought I didn't want to go home, deep down I obviously did.
6/02/2012
The next day or so was spent in transit.
The flight back to Brisbane was tedious, but the seeing the city from the air was exciting.
Volunteering in the Maldives is a once in a lifetime experience and, despite the confusion and frustration, I am so glad I can say that I've done it. If you are prepared for the heat and the beautiful sea breezes, the repetitive diet and the generosity of the locals, the frustration of a class not listening to a word you say and little heads popping out of doorways to watch you walk past, the expanse of litter, the beauty of the water and 'island fever' you will grow to love the place.
The 15 or so other Australians you spend the month with will only make your time better.
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