There are a few things you are going to want to know before you get here &
There are things you will need to know once you are here. Resource Guide, Male Map, Restaurants
I highly recommend the Lonely Planet Guide book. Also a former expat who wrote a pamphlet, ' Welcome to Male''
Before you arrive you will need a few things beyond the swimsuit and toothbrush. Check out: What to Bring & What to Do
The local Currency is the Maldivian Rufyia 1USD=12.75MRF
The Dhoni boat from the airport to Male' is $1 or 10/MRF.
Shopping is tricky, there is no store that provides one stop shopping. Shopping page
forget fresh milk.
Agora is the newest and closest thing to a department store.
There is STO, Red Wave, Lily F&B, Sosun Store/plaza.
Fantasy is expensive but gets things in that others don't have.
Baker's Fantasy is new and has some quality bakery items.
Cosmopolitan supplies resorts & has quality beef, if you have a pork permit they can bring it in for you.
Shopping times are variable. most places are open at 830- lunch then open in the afternoon and then 8pm -11pm.
Stores must close for Prayer Calls. Prayer times are 5ish, Noon, 3:30pm ish, Sunset and about 7:30pm varies with the sun.
you can get the times for each day by texting the word 'prayer' to +131 on your mobile phone
Friday is the holy day, government offices are closed Friday & Saturday.
Banking; There is an HSBC, State Bank of India, Bank of Ceylon, Bank of Maldives and Western Union.
Visa, Master card and Amex have limited use here. It's mostly a cash society.
So bring enough to tie you over until your first paycheque.
Internet, there are lots of Internet Cafes but they are very slow.
you can call from a landline and dial 126, user name: user, password, free. Charges per minute are billed to the phone.
you can buy dial up access cards; PrePaid dial up cards can be bought from Dhiraagu 200, 500, 1000/MRF
Boadband: 2 choices Dhiraagu uses ADSL or Focus Infocom/ ROL cable internet
The speeds aren't quite what broadband should be. Good news, They are laying a fiberoptic pipe from Sri Lanka.
It should be up and running by 2007.
Telephone, Country code +960
Landlines available from Dhiraagu.
Mobile Phone available from Dhiraagu and Wataniya
Long distance charges will be as high as $5/minute.
You can use Skype on the computer and it is very cheap. there are other VOIP( Voice Over the Internet Protocol) providers
including Vonage which make the world smaller and cheaper.
You can SMS/ Text message to and from most countries now from the Malidves.
Clothing, There are lots of taylors that can make stuff for cheap.
Register your presence with your Regional Embassy; Australia, Canada