Originally Posted by
roadwarrier
Thank you again for an awesome read! Amazing photos as usual.
Thank you,
roadwarrier
. I thought I would struggle to take interesting pic's for this trip, e.g. how many times can you take photo's of palm trees and sandy beaches, but it was quite a delightful and photogenic piece of paradise
.
Originally Posted by
rimoabdallah
Been reading all of your reports religiously. Awesome report, as usual. Any chances you'd like to explore Alexandria, Egypt? (Yes, FZ does have a direct flight DXB-HBE) Would
love to show you around!
Thanks,
rimoabdallah. I spent 2 weeks in Egypt back in 2008, but definitely have to go back sometime
.
Originally Posted by
farbster
Terrific report. Nice to see a visit to the Maldives that wasn't to the Park Hyatt.
I wonder if allowing the locals to open up guest houses has made much of an impact on the local economy. Sounds like a great idea. Hopefully they won't run into problems like Mrs. Pattmore...
Many thanks,
farbster. I'm not much of an economist, but the employment benefit was very much evident, with all our dive guides, hotel staff, shop workers, speedboat drivers etc. all local Maldivians. And the transport seems to be much improved too, i.e. the locals pay a cheaper rate than the tourists on the new speedboat ferry, and much quicker and more frequent than the govt run, once a day ferry from Malé.
Maldives will always be popular for its all inclusive 5 star islands, but catering to lower budget travellers is an easy way expand without cannibalising the resort market.