Buying corals and certain sea-shells might be no problem in the Maledives, BUT as soon as you are taking them into your homecountry it might be illegal and quite expensive when they catch you.
I also would NOT trust any of these so-called "customs-certificates" that allow exportation of these things, for your local authorities at home these papers dont mean anything in most of the cases and you will have to pay a high fine AND your souvenirs will be taken away as well !
Updated Aug 22, 2010
Dont enter any of the mosques in the Maledives, because all of the mosques are off-limits for non-muslims and the local authorities are obviously quite strict about that. So I took my photos just from outside,thats interesting as well and taking photos of the building itself is not forbidden.
When taking photos of local people, especially women its eighter best to ask beforehead (and most probably might say NO!) or do it in a way that nobody recognizes.
Updated Aug 22, 2010
As i said before, watch out for these guys. They are really hard to get rid of. At most places -they know you aren't interested and walk away. Here they keep following you and trying to talk to you. They speak many different languages, such as Japanese, German, French, Italian, Russian and some others-so don't try pretending they don't know your language. Odds are-they do.
Just be firm and say not interested. They approach you as soon as you get off the dhoni and will continue throught the city. Once you are off the main streets-you hardly see them.
Written Apr 15, 2005
It's a Muslim country. Don't bother trying to have ONS with the locals. You'll get deport if its found out by the police.
Written Jun 29, 2003
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1 Review and 456 Opinions Awesome,awesome,awesome! Just go and enjoy heaven on earth.
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Reviews and photos of Male Island attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Male Island sightseeing.

It's a Muslim country. Don't bother trying to have ONS with the locals. You'll get deport if its found out by the police.
18 members live in Male Island

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I've got some interesting experiences in Male Island. I'd love to share with you the 22 tips I've written, the 96 photos uploaded, and 0 travelogues I've created.
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Capital Island of the Maldives

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Maldives - where diving dreams come true! Famous for its beauty both above and under water. Before you can experience such underwater beauty, all visitors usually need to visit Male, capital of...
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I arrived on Male from India by ship. Sailing across the many islands we reached the capital island and threw anchor, since the main commercial port was not able to accommodate a ship of our size. In...
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