Maldives Ho!

Okay, you will say i am a complete bitch when i tell you that I am going to the Maldives and that the picture above was taken there.

Then again, i live in Malaysia and the resorts here look like this

but i hardly see them now, do i?

So, before you all cry that I am SOOOO Lucky (which i am, really) and i'm just there for a holiday, let me stress.

THAT, up there, is what a RESORT looks like. I am NOT going to a resort. I will be going to a tiny island called Kendhikolhudhoo that is 6.5 km wide and 4.8 km long (according to Wikipedia).

[Think about that. The highway between Ipoh and KL is 50 times longer.]

The distance from the airport to Kendhikolhudhoo is over 100 km and i will be traversing that on SPEEDBOAT. Haha.. Last time i was seabound i puked for an hour each way out and back. So yes, motion sickness pills are definitely packed!

Anyway, I am still thrilled about getting to travel and I feel it is my solemn duty to impart some newly-gained knowledge about the Maldives. I present to you,

10 Fast Facts about the Maldives

1) The Maldives is just South of Sri Lanka. (haha.. will you think me blonde if i said i didn't know that before?)
2) The national currency is called the Rufiyaa, made out of 100 Laarees. Today it is roughly 13 Rufiyaa to a US dollar.
3) To become a citizen of the Maldives, you MUST be Muslim.
4) The country consists of 1,190 coral islands - 202 of which are inhabited, 87 of which are exclusive resorts. Its total of 300 square km puts it at #8 on the Smallest Countries in the World list!
5) Work days are from Sunday to Thursday and weekends are Friday and Saturday.
6) With 10.97 divorces per 1,000 of the population per year, Maldives is #1 on the Highest Divorce Rates in the World! (Note that 2nd is only 4.63/1000 of the popn and USA is the 3rd)
7) Back in the day when cowry shells were a form of currency, the Maldives literally had money washing up on their shores!
8) If we don't stop emitting greenhouse gases, rising sea levels may cause the whole of Maldives to be submerged!!!

So i couldn't find 2 other facts that were extremely interesting. Oops.
In any case, hope you learnt something new! I promise to take photos and I hope I get round to posting them up. And for those who do care, please cross your fingers for good weather while i'm there. =)