Maldives was a long-awaited vacation. Though I've travelled within Bangladesh, this was my first foreign travelling experience. Planning out my endeavors was what kept me up the week prior to my journey. But while it was beautiful beyond my expectations but what I found much more interesting was something else entirely. We arrived at male in midnight. The first thing I noticed out of the airports was the taxis. While inconsistent shapes in taxi is common everywhere, Maldives was something else entirely. We boarded a minivan like taxi & while speaking with the driver I understood that the country is truly tourist driven. Maldives has quite possibly the least amount of locally sourced goods & most locally made items are souvenirs. While chatting we arrived at a small motel, as we only planned to stay in Hulhumale for a day. The motel was a business owned by a Philippines, which was the first of many encounters of foreign business owners. But then as I started interacting with more "locals" I realized something which I witnessed throughout the trip. As I was entering my room, I realized the employees speaking about something. What surprised me wasn’t what they were saying but the fact that it wasn’t in English & I understood their conversation entirely. They were speaking in Bangla! And the dialect confirmed that they were indeed Bangladeshis. I asked as it was fascinating to hear my language in a foreign country & they were so pleasantly surprised by the situation. As I told my aunt about how I found Bangladeshis she smiled & said, "you’ll see soon." I knew of immigrating workers from Bangladesh is huge in numbers as I had to do comprehensive study about it in university. Being an undergraduate of economics I learnt about the numbers & conducted studies but putting faces on those numbers for the first time in my life occurred in Maldives. As I strolled through Hulhumale before departing to Rinbudhu, I found Bangladeshis in nearly every other shop, working. Even as we boarded the boat to Rinbudhu I was surprised to find many Bangladeshia. Some who even came to lead the way for us. I felt like I was getting very special treatment. I realized why it was so, when I arrived at the island. The small clinic in which my cousin worked in was the only place for medical attention for 8 of the islands surrounding it. That was one of the instances where I understood how truly remote the islands of Maldives was. While I would say that it almost felt like a local area of my country perhaps in a different dimension due to the presence of so many Bangladeshis, I must also mention the locals of Maldives. The first adjective that comes to mind when I think the locals is, laid-back. They live a simple life that's far different from the fast-paced city life I'm used to. Locals are seen in groups playing card games. Their main mode of transport are scooters. They are very particular about religion & superstitions. After sunset children weren’t allowed out. The environment itself was amazing. When I was told that we would be taken for snorkeling I was ecstatic. But it wasn’t the equipment heavy exercise I anticipated. In fact, all I had were some goggles & him guiding me underwater, but it was breathtaking, nonetheless. The roadside was filled with coconuts fallen off trees. Saltwater fish were caught fresh & made into jerks. The island was small, so it felt like every house had a beach in their backyard. There’s swing-sets & tables made for leisure at every corner. Male was where I experienced the busiest part of the country. But what interested me the most was during prayer time every shop is closed for the same amount of designated time. Despite coming from a Muslim majority country myself, I was surprised to see such a well-constructed system for prayers. As my final thoughts, seeing what I once read about happening before me, whether it’s deep diving into the pristine blue ocean or seeing faces to the numbers of immigrant workers, I realized that life should be lived through first-hand experiences of different cultures & communities.