Four ice cream scoops + two smoothies, a 280 RMB "sweet shock" 🍦

When we wandered Male’s downtown, parched and sweaty, a corner dessert shop with warm lights acted like a magnet—ice cream scoops in the glass case piled like little snow-capped mountains, mango-yellow, coconut-white, and chocolate-brown (jostling together), while a blender nearby “hummed” away, making familiar avocado smoothies that glowed bright green. My travel buddy smacked their lips: “It’s hot, let’s get something cold?” Little did we know, that offhand comment would become the day’s most “painful” decision. 🍨 First taste the sweetness, then get “jolted” by the price We didn’t look closely at the menu when we walked in, too busy staring at the ice cream case, salivating. The clerk, a local guy in a straw hat, grinned and recommended: “Coconut is our signature, and the avocado smoothie uses fruit that just arrived today.” We ordered boldly: four scoops (one mango, one coconut, one strawberry, one chocolate), two avocado smoothies, thinking “how expensive can it be, really?” The ice cream arrived looking stunning: plump little spheres, coconut-flavored with faint shreds of coconut, mango with a tangy freshness, each scoop sitting on a thin, crispy waffle crisp that “crunched” when bitten. The avocado smoothies were even better—thick enough to coat the glass, each sip full of creamy fruit, with ice blended so fine it tasted like “melted green ice cream.” We praised it as “worth it” while eating, until the guy handed over the bill. The number on the bill was 595 Maldivian Rufiyaa, with “16% tax included” noted beside it. Pulling out our phones to convert the currency (1 Rufiyaa ≈ 0.47 RMB), the air went silent after the math—595 × 0.47 ≈ 280 RMB. My buddy nearly spat out their smoothie: “What? Four scoops + two smoothies would cost at most 80-100 RMB back home!” The guy, as if reading our faces, shrugged with a laugh: “Maldives, you know?” 😏 A “hidden rule” of resort destinations, and unapologetic “pricey ruthlessness” We should’ve seen it coming. Maldives’ blue comes gilded— the clearer the water, the whiter the sand, the better it hides the “fangs” of its prices. A bottle of water by the road costs 10 RMB, a simple fried rice dares to mark 50, but when the sweetness of the ice cream hasn’t even melted on your tongue before the bill’s number stings, you can’t help but think: “These prices are really ‘ruthless’.” My buddy held up a melting coconut ice cream, chuckling: “Look at this scoop—it’s barely ping-pong ball size; four together are smaller than one cone back home. The smoothies are good, but two of these would buy three big avocados where we’re from.” That said, they still slurped up the last drop of smoothie—after all, the mango sweetness, coconut fragrance, and avocado creaminess are “Maldivian flavors.” Leaving the shop, the sunset stretched our shadows long, and the ice cream spoon still had chocolate sauce on it. Suddenly, it felt like Maldives’ “ruthlessness” lies in this contradiction: it lures you with its most tempting scenery, then tells you “happiness has a price” with the bluntest numbers. This 280 RMB sweetness isn’t “worth it,” but it’s a note in the travel diary: even eating ice cream can feel like a “resort-exclusive” ritual—even if your wallet winces a little. #Maldives #Male #MaldivesPrices #TravelTrivia