Maldives

We have been having a heatwave here in England for... umm.. I can't even remember how long for now, it must be at least three weeks or that what it feels like. I know I shouldn't complain because normally I'm too cold, but it's getting rather uncomfortable when I can't sleep properly at night (even with a fan on in my bedroom and the window open) and I'm constantly tired. If you close your eyes you can almost imagine being in a tropical paradise :p I wouldn't say no to a calm beach like this!

This postcard is from a friend, his mum had a stack of postcards from different places that he found when she passed away... This is one of them. I don't know whether she actually ever visited the Maldives, probably. She was such an amazing woman, I miss her.

The Maldives remained largely unknown to tourists until the early 1970s. Only 185 islands are home to its 300,000 inhabitants. The other islands are used entirely for economic purposes, of which tourism and agriculture are the most dominant. Tourism accounts for 28% of the GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes.