Unexplored Maldives...The best spots!

It's been such a busy year! Here's one of my recent articles about some of the less well-known spots to visit in the Maldives, hope you enjoy it! This includes a magnificent shipwreck, an enchanted lake, a WWII military base, a mini Garden of Eden and a breath-taking island of black and white pebbles. (That's right, not every beach in the Maldives is made up of pure white coral sand - OK, 99% of them are, but that's what makes this one so special!)

Know your employment rights! One of the least sexy (but most important) considerations for expats

Today I'm writing about one of the least sexy things about being an expat - employment rights. Wait, bear with me! You'll never realise just how critical this is until the day something goes wrong...

When you move overseas to start a new job your mind is always buzzing with a multitude of questions – Will it be as good as I expected? Is it really what it looks like in the photos? Will I like my colleagues? Will my colleagues like me? Will they have slides and a Starbucks just like at the Google Headquarters? (Maybe that's just me). But it seems that very often a pretty important question gets forgotten amidst the giddy whirlwind of relocating to a new country for work: Do I know my employment rights in this country? For sure, this question won't seem too pressing as you gleefully bounce off to your new office, full of optimism. And it’s certainly a far less sexy conundrum than ‘do I have enough bikinis with me?’ and 'I wonder if flip-flops are acceptable for business meetings' (The answer to the latter: Yes, in the Maldives, but definitely a big no-no in Sri Lanka!)

Probably wouldn't wear these in the boardroom

Now I’m not going to pretend for an instant that I know everything about being an expat or indeed employment law; all I can do is speak from my experience of having lived away from Britain for the past six years and what I have witnessed during this time, which has made me realise just how important the issue actually is. I’m not saying every foreign employer is out to screw you over. Far from it. But as a newcomer to a country you're in a vulnerable position when you don’t have any ties and you don’t yet know how things work, so there could be some unscrupulous employers who could take advantage of that. (At this point I’ll also like to emphasize that we definitely get dodgy bosses in the UK too, although I was lucky enough to work with some wonderful ones!).

So what can you do to protect yourself from getting exploited or illegally sacked? Well, ‘scientia potentia est’ - knowledge is power! Equip yourself with some basic knowledge about your employment rights, so if something in the office starts to seem a bit fishy (and I don't mean the fridge) or your boss tries to make you do something that just doesn’t feel quite right, follow your ‘spidey-senses’. And subtly let them know that you are aware that it isn't right; see if they take the hint. If the country you work in has an Employment Act, then it was put there for a reason: to protect all workers, local and foreign alike.

I'll use the Maldives as an example, being as it’s where I've spent the majority of my expat life (so far). I managed to get hold of an English translation of the Employment Act of the Maldives which I posted on my website in its entirety after reading some comments in expat forums which indicated a lot of confusion from expats about their rights. (Be warned, it’s quite a lengthy document!).

Before I continue, I have to say the Maldives is a brilliant place to do business. There are so many creative and imaginative people to work with, and a great spirit of entrepreneurship - almost everyone living there has an idea for a start-up. However, just like absolutely any country in the world, sometimes people get mistreated by their employers. (I’m not going to go into the issue right now of the exploitation of Bangladeshi labourers as it's frequently covered in the superb Maldives Independent).

Here’s an example of something I witnessed. I had a friend (a marketing manager) whose company retained her passport for the whole duration of the time she was working for them; almost a year. Now in case any alarm bells aren’t going off in your head, it is totally illegal in any country in the world for your employer to retain your passport for any period longer than is necessary for doing something administrative, such as processing your visa. In a nutshell, they tried to force her to sign a contract which would cut her salary in half (again – totally illegal). Being a gutsy girl, she decided to stand up for herself instead of running away, and went to her consulate for advice. Naturally, the officials were really sympathetic and got involved in helping her. The case concluded (out of court) with her passport - and the passports of all Filipino workers in the Maldives - being returned to them. A massive success! But having had such an upsetting experience in the Maldives, she decided to head off to a brighter future elsewhere in the world. 

I've also known of expats being illegally sacked then bundled onto planes the next day to be deported  before they have time to think, let alone protest. And on one occasion a Welsh friend was tricked into thinking he had to leave the country because his dodgy ex-boss had paid someone to attend a fake 'reconciliation meeting' so they could frogmarch him to the airport and send him home. The same guy came back a few months later to start a job with a new employer, where he worked happily for the next couple of years. He said he had appreciated the impromptu free ticket home and his mum's home cooking, but he always had a funny way of looking at things.

They should have rolled out the red carpet for him, really

Now it's worth pointing out the Maldives Employment Act was introduced in about 2009, so I'd be surprised if any employer tries to claim ignorance of it in 2016 - which of course is no defence in law anyway.

If you find yourself in a pickle, then get your embassy or consulate involved as soon as you can; it offers a level of protection. And if you are involved with legal proceedings against your employer then you have a right to stay in the country you were working in, whether your visa has been cancelled or not. You usually need to write to the Immigration Controller to explain that you are involved in a legal case which means you have the right to stay in the country. As such, your visa is informally ‘frozen’, so even if your employer cancels it you have a right to remain while the case goes on (at least, that's how it works in the Maldives).

In the Maldives, the Employment Tribunal is free and is highly-regarded for not being corrupt (always a bonus!) as well as for taking the cases seriously. The downside: Everything is conducted in the local language; from the paperwork you need to fill in to file the case, right through to the actual hearing in the courtroom. Plus if you bring any witnesses they will need to swear on the Quran. Testimonies from non-Muslims are not considered 'official testimonies', but they will 'unofficially take them into consideration'. If you don’t know how to speak and write in Dhivehi, you need either a lawyer (or a good friend, depending on how serious the case is) to help translate and guide you through everything.

However, you do need to weigh up whether it’s all worth the fight or not. I admire anyone who stands up for their principles, but you do need to ask yourself if you are prepared to commit the time and effort into pursuing the case. If you do stay and fight for your rights when you believe you have been wronged under the law of the country you are working in, then good for you - by standing up for your rights you’re helping to protect future employees from getting treated the same way. Employers will certainly think twice before doing the same thing again after being dragged through the Tribunal.

Beastie Boys/Hiphopgoldenage: They knew how to fight for their right (s)...

So, in summary, here are my top tips, which can be applied to working as an expat in any country:

Always find out your rights by reading the Employment Act of the country you're working in as soon as you can 
Remember your employer can never keep hold of your passport, wherever you are from – this is totally illegal

If you have problems, ask your embassy or consulate for support and advice

Find out if there is an Employment Tribunal, and if you can, how transparent it is

Share your problems with your friends – this stuff can be very stressful! 

…And finally some highlights of the Maldives Employment Act (edited a bit to fit in this post!):

• An employee shall not be dismissed from employment without showing appropriate cause

•  The employment agreement can specify a term of no more than three months' probation

• Employees shall not be required to work overtime except unless this has been agreed in the employment agreement. Any work carried out over time shall be subject to time and a half or time and a quarter

• An employee required to work normal hours on a public holiday shall be paid at least an amount equivalent to half of the minimum wages earned on a normal day of work in addition to overtime

• Where the employee does not conform to work ethics, the employer has the power to impose appropriate and reasonable disciplinary measures: verbal warning, written warning, suspension for less than 14 days, or possible demotion. The employer has to prove you breached work ethics or neglected your duties, and show he gave a verbal warning then a written warning before dismissal.

• Complaints may be lodged at the Tribunal by any employee concerning the fairness of the disciplinary measures imposed against him/her.

For the full Maldives Employment Act, click here. 

It was my job to review $4,000 per night resorts...The good, the bad and the ugly sides of life in the Maldives

It’s been almost a year since I left my home and friends in the Maldives. Now there’s a sentence I could never have imagined writing 10 years ago, as I fought for my life at the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery in London. Perhaps it was my experience of being paralysed from head to toe by Guillain-Barre Syndrome and learning to walk again that inspired me to get out there and try to wring every last drop of excitement and adventure out of life. 

When you’re flooded with an overwhelming appreciation for simply wriggling your toes for the first time in months, or taking a tentative breath without a ventilator, the concept of ‘living in the moment’ isn’t too hard to get your head around. (Eckhart Tolle has this covered better than I do!) But I don’t like to linger on it too much, in fact I rarely even tell anyone about it. Mostly because I don’t want to think of myself as a victim. It changed me internally forever and I have taken some very positive lessons from it, the biggest one being to suck the marrow out of life.

I’m trying to seek out an extraordinary path and not fall into the trap of mediocrity or complacency. I hate how pompous that sounds when I read it back to myself (well, I suppose that’s always the danger with personal blogs…) but I know there’s so much more I want to achieve. And I know it requires continuing to push myself out of my comfort zone. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many amazing places (and because I know there are so many more out there still to see!) but I don’t feel completely settled anywhere yet.

At 16, the French Riviera - the bright, sunny home of the impressionist artists I admired so much - seemed like the ultimate destination for me, and I finally realised this dream last year. But since then I have explored more of the world, from Europe, to Asia, Australia and North America...And I’ve found that wanderlust is one condition you can never entirely rid yourself of! What’s more, now l’m looking at this region through adult eyes, I can safely say Somerset Maugham completely nailed it in one sentence: ‘The French Riviera – a sunny place, for shady people’. 

But back to the Maldives, and my somewhat neglected little blog. I was so busy writing articles, scuba diving, organising social events (OK, and being paid to write other people’s blogs) that I barely had time to touch my own personal blog. However, the past year in France has offered me the opportunity to reflect on my time in the Maldives. Right now, I’m based in Nice and it’s the breathing space I needed. A much-desired dose of the First World after living on an isolated island in the middle of the Indian Ocean for almost six years. Alright, where I was paid to review $4,000 per night resorts.

So of course all my new friends in France always ask me incredulously ‘And you left the Maldives – why?’. Well, of course I know how ridiculously fortunate I was to be able to do all the things I did there. Especially since I left the UK at the peak of the economic crisis, as friends and family were being made redundant, and being a freelance journalist in London was even harder than ever, with budgets being cut and publications going under left, right and centre.

Suddenly I found myself learning to scuba dive, swimming with whale sharks, booking private islands for parties with my friends, helping cover the 2012 coup d’etat, observing a fledgling democracy descend into chaos, spreading news about how to navigate 1,200 islands as an independent traveller in a country with only a basic public transport network…I had some of the most incredible experiences of my life in the Maldives. I also met some of the warmest, friendliest, most adventurous and fascinating people in the world amongst the Maldivians and 

expats I befriended there.

It was a massive learning curve, suddenly finding myself working in a country I had never visited before, adapting to the local customs and culture, trying to figure out the best way to dress in the city in order to avoid being stared at (it turns out there’s no simple answer to that!)…Bali, it is not. And perhaps unsurprisingly, a certain percentage of the population is actively hostile to decadent little expats setting up shop there.

There was little in the way of entertainment, save endless hours in coffee shops and watching DVDS, so we made our own fun...

And we REALLY had fun!

I did not ever live at a resort, I've just been lucky enough to have been able to review about 75 - 80% of them (so far). Everyone at home seems to think all the expats in the Maldives live in straw huts and sip cocktails on the beach all day. The reality could not be further from this. These are some
significant downsides to living in the Maldives, which people going on holiday to the perfectly-manicured resorts with all the comforts of home would never get to see. The overcrowded and polluted capital city (where most expats are based) is basically the opposite of what you picture the Maldives to look like: More than 100,000 people packed onto a 2.2 square kilometre island. Concrete high-rise blocks completely devoid of architectural inspiration. It makes Tower Hamlets look pleasant. Rats, cockroaches, mosquitoes. One cinema. One museum. Until recently, just one (artificial) beach where you can only swim fully clothed, due to cultural sensitivities in this 100% Muslim nation. (Most tourists aren’t even aware of the state-enforced religion, as the laws are different on resort islands to the island communities). 

Poor nutrition - due to most decent produce being redirected to resorts, and lack of space for large-scale agriculture. All the veg needs to be flown/shipped in from other countries before languishing in some kind of fruit and vegetable graveyard in the shops. (I got used to cutting about a third off anything I bought because it was rotten). Poor health: Dengue fever, fungal foot infections due to humidity, UTIs from dehydration, ‘tropical flu’ (I don’t know the real name but you lie in bed sweating for about 3 days and feel like you’ve been hit by a bus). 

Desalinated shower water which makes you hair slowly fall out. Too much tuna in everything you eat in the cafes which I swear makes everyone eventually go a bit bonkers due to the mercury and plastic particles. Fully-grown expat guys who don’t seem to realise it’s not Ibiza and they’re not 18. Wrestling with trying to convey the sights and colours of the islands without despising yourself for using clichés, but eventually being forced to type the words ‘azure’ and ‘turquoise’ in reference to the water a thousand times more than you would ever have wanted to…(I’m still haunted by ‘sparkling lagoons’ and ‘powder-soft sand’, although those day-dreaming of the Maldives from somewhere grey lap it up, and let's face it, they do sparkle, and yes it is that soft!). And then the little things you take for granted at home like being able to cook a spaghetti bolognese in your kitchen whilst drinking a glass of wine – which is totally illegal in the capital city. The wine I mean, obviously. And let’s not even speak about bacon smuggling.

Admittedly, some of those things I mentioned are weightier than others. And I have to reiterate how grateful I am to have experienced everything I did there, good and bad. I tell anyone who asks me that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say was the best of times and the worst of times. The euphoria of jumping off the roof of a boat into the sea with your friends; bouncing on a bed with a bottle of champagne at Four Seasons (in a villa that would have cost the equivalent of my monthly salary if it weren’t a work freebie); and the feeling of absolute isolation and blackness whenever things went wrong so far from the usual support network I have at home. I am not Maldivian but my life there and the people I met became part of who I am now.  

However, ultimately, as a foreigner, I am not allowed to purchase property in the Maldives (the only exception is certain ‘timeshares’ at designated resorts - and sadly my name isn’t Roman Abramovich!). I cannot ever become Maldivian unless I convert to Islam (with the law as it stands) and that’s not about to happen. And to be honest, having lived in London for 10 years and experiencing all the effervescence of its theatres, live comedy, art galleries, museums, bars, nightclubs and fashion (oh God I missed shopping!), I could never see the Maldives as somewhere to stay forever. 

The same goes for most of the expats: A significant proportion arrive in the Maldives and stay for only somewhere between 1 week and 3 months before bailing (having realised it’s not exactly Koh Pha Ngan, and yes it is a lot tougher than they had bargained for). The majority tend to stay for an average of a year; sometimes up to two. Then
there are a tiny percentage who are in it for the long-haul, but they are mostly the ones who marry Maldivians. The numbers tend to fluctuate from year to year - sometimes a heap of expats arrive, other years just a slow trickle. So after one of the most recent mass exoduses, I found just myself and a handful of friends remaining in the Maldives, such as the brilliant journalist JJ Robinson (who has recently been speaking at the Hay Festival about his book on political turmoil in the Maldives; less well-known for stealing my Milo chocolate powder and eating it raw with a spoon when we were flatmates).

But eventually even JJ departed to become editor of Himal Southasian journal in Kathmandu (after 5 years); my Thai best friend headed off for a new life with her fiancée in Australia (after 7 or 8 years off and on), my Californian best friend found a yoga instructor course in Costa Rica beckoning (after 4 years)…And by 2015 there were very few ‘long-service medal expats’ left in the Maldives. My remaining close friends were some Maldivians (who ended up relocating to some far-flung resort islands to be butlers and guest relations officers), and a rag-tag assortment of foreign seaplane and wheel plane pilots who were for the most part A) Extremely kind and welcoming and B) Largely batshit crazy. I’ll never forget persuading them to dance on the wings of the seaplane for my YouTube tribute to Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ song. 

I rarely write about about personal things, not even on Facebook, but this post will be one of the very few occasions. Partly to explain my shameful lack of activity on my blog, and also to explain my backstory. One thing I know for sure, the Maldives is still part of my life. I’m genuinely honoured to be flown back to the Maldives to be ‘writer in residence’ for the Kurumba blog, to write magazine articles on diving, and hopefully to soon work on a travel documentary, amongst the other things I have on the go.

So I will be there again from time to time to update people on what’s going on, and continue to write about the things I know and love. My Maldivian friends very rarely ever say goodbye to each other, because everyone knows they will eventually run into each-other again on the island. And as the world seems to get smaller every year, I think that’s really apt.

Gordon Ramsay reported to be considering new Maldives restaurant

According to tourism blog Maldives Finest, Gordon Ramsay proposes to open a restaurant on the experimental multiple-hotel island development of Thumburi. 
I'm yet to hear this from another source but the same post quotes Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation as the source (The MMPRC company is basically the tourist board and operator of Visit Maldives). 

If verified from the celebrity chef's team (and if it actually comes into fruition) this is fantastic news and could encourage some exciting competition amongst Maldives' top resorts.

In my opinion it is a brave choice to pick Thumburi as it's a new concept in the Maldives. Thumburi will be the country's first island to offer more than one resort in one place. Until now there has been just one resort per island with no local communities sharing the island (only staff and guests).

By contrast guesthouses and 'city hotels' are located within island communities where different laws apply with regards to alcohol and pork consumption and the wearing of bikinis (they are banned in inhabited islands, except for resorts, only with the small exception of some islands offering small private tourist beaches where you can flash the flesh).

Thumburi will integrate several resorts, hotels and guesthouses and since no communities live there the special legislation which permits liquor, pork and yes, skimpy swimwear has been applied to this island just like it has on every resort island in the Maldives. Alongside the tourist accommodation there will also be shops, restaurants and scuba diving centres.

While this concept is new to the Maldives it is of course a very popular concept to have a variety of accommodation and services combined together on other tropical islands (albeit larger ones) across the world such as Koh Phi Phi, Phuket, Langkawi and Mauritius (although they also have communities living there too).  It'll be really interesting to see how Thumburi develops.

Beyond the beaches: Historical finds in the Maldives

There's a lot more to Loama Resort Maldives than meets the eye! (Although it's pretty easy on the eye, isn't it?)

The Maldives is better known for its beaches than its historical sights (and let's be honest, rightfully so) however it brought a ray of sunshine into my day today to read some ancient baths had been uncovered during construction of a new resort at Maamagili in Raa Atoll. Thankfully the resort, Loama Resort Maldives, recognises not just the historical significance of this discovery but also the appeal it will hold for its visitors and hence has decided to preserve the 'vevu' as it's known in the local language (Dhivehi).

It's too easy to write-off travellers in the Maldives as only being interested in getting a good suntan (or more recently perhaps taking as many trophy photos as possible) but in fact there's a significant percentage of tourists I've come across who are eager to learn more about the country's culture and history. This isn't just limited to the guesthouse patrons (who shouldn't be pigeonholed either). Just chat to any Maldivian resort butler or F&B attendant about how many questions they get asked about their home country by curious guests. Look at the number of cultural excursions that get booked up at resorts motivated enough to put them on their programmes. And think about the number of guests who eagerly gobble up Maldivian cuisine on 'Maldivian night' and are enthralled by 'bodu beru' (traditional drumming) performances.

As it turns out, the 'vevu' at Loama dates back to the Maldives' pre-Islamic era, so that's pre-1153AD (when the Maldives converted to Islam). Before 1153 The people of the Maldives were largely Buddhist (with some Hindus also). There are several Buddhist stupas (an estimated 59 according to historian Hassan Ahmed Maniku), ruins of temples and other archeological remains lying under mounds of sand and vegetation on other islands in the Maldives.

Returning to the recent find at Loama, announcing the news on the Facebook page the resort said;

"Vevu were used as public baths and later for ablution. Sandstone used in the construction of Vevu points to the pre-Islamic period, and the symmetry of the two wells suggest it may have been part of a temple. 

"Vevu are constructed by layering sandstone blocks approximately a metre below the water line till about half a meter above ground. There is an octagonal ledge cantilevered at low tide level for people to access the well."

It's appropriate the resort's slogan is 'Yesterday's heritage, today's culture'. According to their website they seek to promote Maldivian history and culture, promosing guests: 

"A nation’s culture is best reflected in its people’s way of life, and this is what the resort seeks to capture in all its natural glory. Watch the artisans of today bring age-old craft to life, experience ancient rituals and customs first-hand, and immerse yourself in the old world of Maldivians going about their daily routine, untouched by the passage of time."

It genuinely sounds intriguing to me. I've noticed an increasing number of resorts in the Maldives cottoning on to the demand for cultural activities just over the past five years; Dusit Thani's 'artisan village' and the mini-museum at Velaa Private Island to name just two recent examples. As a history-lover I say hooray for that. The Maldives has a fascinating (albeit fragmented) cultural heritage to discover if you dig a bit deeper.     
   

From the archives: Interview with world champion freediver Sara Campbell

Today I read a superb article by journalist James Nestor about what happens to your body when you dive into the sea. James described very eloquently the physical and psychological effects of triggering the Master Switch of Life (mammalian dive reflex). As someone who tries to spend as much time as possible either on or in the water it was of particular interest; spending much of the year in the Maldives I have daily access to some of the best diving in the world. 

I'm currently an Advanced Open Water Diver and without a doubt will continue to work my way through the PADI system, although I'm not about to ditch travel journalism for a new career as a Diving Instructor! However, free-diving is something pretty different. As James explains in his article, when you dive without compressed air your body's natural instinct kicks in with an incredible ability we've had lurking inside ourselves as part of our physical constitution for millions of years. This allows professional free-divers to dive to depths of 300 feet.

Last year I was lucky enough to be able to interview women's world champion free-diver Sara Campbell about her career. She was in the Maldives to take part in LUX* resort's Underwater Festival; a showcase of diving, free-diving and underwater photography.

This is the interview, published in Fah Thai magazine (Ink Media) also with a scan of the original version below.

Meet Sara Campbell, a record-breaking world champion in the extreme sport of freediving.

Imagine holding your breath for
three minutes. Now imagine doing that at
an ocean depth of 104m. Record-breaking
world freediving champion Sara Campbell
did just that two years ago, earning instant
international acclaim. In April, Campbell
will detail the techniques behind the feat at
the spectacular Underwater Festival at LUX*
Maldives, where she’ll share the spotlight with
the makers of the acclaimed BBC documentary
series The Blue Planet. We spoke to her ahead
of this maritime extravaganza...

Why are you taking part in this festival?
I was excited by the opportunity to develop
a programme for budding underwater
cameramen that includes relaxation, breathing
and breath control. And of course, the fact that
it’s in the Maldives was a bonus – a part of me
still thinks those images of turquoise waters
must be Photoshopped!

How critical is marine conservation in Asia?
It’s a tragedy that such little care and
consideration is given to the health and
sustainability of our oceans. They’re treated as
playgrounds and dumping grounds. Unless we
stop our destructive behaviour there’ll be no
beauty left in our oceans in a very short time.

The Maldives hangs in the balance, doesn’t it?
There’s a lot of conservation work going in
the Maldives and this is partly because of its
enviable position as a place with a rich and
diverse ecosystem. From turtles and corals
to whale sharks and mantas, there’s a lot
going on and this is positive for the islands.
Ecotourism is growing, but there’s also the
ethical question surrounding bringing tourists
into these areas.

So how are you planning to spend your free time
in the Maldives?
I’d love to dive with mantas and whale sharks.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we get
lucky during the festival!

Is freediving something anyone can try?
Yes, freediving is for everyone. If you can
breathe and have a reasonable ability to swim,
you can dive. It helps if people are naturally
calm in the water, but there really are no
prerequisites to getting under the water.

How did you first get under the water?
I started freediving when one of my yoga
students needed a buddy to “safety her”. I fell
in love with the peace and with the happiness I
got from diving. It’s the perfect combination of
meditation and physical challenge.

And you became a record-breaker...
I set all three deep world records in under
48 hours in 2007 and it was a very surreal
experience. It came as a complete surprise to
everyone, and I was no less in shock. I was a
bit overwhelmed by the attention and didn’t
really feel comfortable with it. I had just
been doing what I loved to do, so was a bit
bewildered by all the fuss.

Have you ever panicked in the deep?
Not really. I felt a bit stressed on a dive to
around 55m once, and when I tried to figure
out why, I realised it was simply my mind
playing tricks on me. I also realised that this
happens to us all the time in life, and from that
moment on I vowed never to allow that to
happen to me in the water again.

Finally, Sara, what motivates you?
My motivation is the pleasure I gain from
diving and teaching. I don’t have any goals at
the moment, just to keep on sharing what I
love. What comes after that? Who knows?
The Underwater Festival runs from 15-21
April. www.luxmaldivesresort.com 

Making a video documentary about seaplanes

Think Associates asked me to team up with them this year to write the script for a documentary about seaplane operations in the Maldives. I was really excited about the project because I love to learn about new things and expand my skillset as part of my work as a travel journalist.
The Maldives has the largest seaplane operations in the world with a vast fleet of Twin Otters and crew from around the world. The video covers all aspects of TMA's operations in collaboration with the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority.

I'm thrilled to have had a wonderful response from Trans Maldivian Airways staff about the video, which has already had more than 3,000 views.