The Republic of Maldives, is a collection of 1,200 small coral islands in the north-central Indian Ocean, with only 200 of them being inhabited. Famous for luxury bungalows on stilts over stunning clear water, no natural point is higher than 1.8 meters, and there’s a population of less than 600,000. The country stretches 820 km from north to south, and more than and 130 km from east to west, covering a large swath of ocean. Put on a tropical shirt and let’s discover the Maldives with travel writer Tom Masters.

Geography best appreciated from the air (Courtesy of Tom Masters)

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The Grand Friday Mosque, Male (Courtesy of Tom Masters)

Guest Intro – Tom Masters

Originally from London, journalist, travel writer, and worldly gentleman Tom Masters has covered the world and then some. Based out of Berlin for more than a decade, he specialises in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Latin America. He’s also interested in human rights, ecotourism, ethical travel, and languages, of which he speaks five: Russian, German, French and Spanish and English. He’s written books for Lonely Planet, covering countries from Turkmenistan to Cuba, worked as a documentary producer for the BBC, Discovery and joins us online from Berlin.

Tom looking for Dolphins (Courtesy of Tom Masters)

Listen to Episode 140: The Maldives with Tom Masters to hear Tom answer the following questions:

  1. So how did you get into travel writing?
  2. Is it Mal-deeves or mal-dives?
  3. What first brought you to Maldives and what was that experience like?
  4. Give us an overview of the country and atmosphere.
  5. What are the people like?
  6. What’s Maldivian food like?
  7. What are the top natural attractions?
  8. It seems like a place where reality might not live up to expectations?
  9. What will it deliver that people have in their minds?
  10. What will visitors be surprised by?
  11. Is it still possible to enjoy watersports without staying in a resort?
  12. How long does one need for a trip and give us Tom’s dream trip based on that length of time.
  13. Is there a best time to go? Or is it paradise year round? Is there a surf season or a Manoa day season, etc?
  14. Your website is called Ambiguations. Very interesting title. Why that?
Local food at a typical Maldivian tea house (Courtesy of Tom Masters)

Links:

  • Tom on Instagram
  • Tom’s website – Ambiguations
  • Learn more about Scott and Trevor:

    Theme Music by Jamie Ruben

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