Advantages to Uligan: 

	Lovely anchorage with clear water, good snorkeling, long pretty beach
	On direct route to Oman or the Red Sea
	Streamlined clearance procedure (compared to Male)
	Fuel is readily available and delivered to boat
	Picturesque village

Disadvantages to Uligan: 

	Diving is not allowed
	Provisioning is very poor
	No Internet, restaurants, or other urban amenities
	No parts or repair

Advantages to Male

	Nice city, with all usual urban amenities
	Parts & repair facilities, including refrigeration & mechanical
	Dive boat packages
	Provisioning is very good, though expensive

Disadvantages to Male

	Anchorage is about 5 miles from city
	Clearance & fueling are logistically more complicated than Uligan
	Male is a couple hundred miles south of direct route from Thailand or Sri Lanka to Red Sea

Entry

On arrival at the anchorage, fly the "Q" flag and call "Uligan Customs" on VHF channel 16.  Clearance takes place on the boat and is in 2 parts: (1) first, a "security clearance," during which two nice gentleman do a very polite search of the boat; and (2) afterwards, officers from customs, quarantine, and immigration visit simultaneously for clearance paperwork.  You will need 5 copies of your Crew List.

Firearms

Firearms must be declared during the security clearance and surrendered for storage ashore until one hour before departure.  You will need a list of firearms with make, model & serial numbers; plus an inventory of ammunition.  The security officers seemed to be saying that we would not be allowed to retrieve the firearms on departure unless we had a license for them.  We explained that because licenses are not required in the USA, we did not have one.  Then luckily we remembered our New Zealand "tourist firearm license," and the officers were happy with a copy of that.

Flare guns count as firearms, and they must be declared; but they can remain on the boat.

Anchorage

Anchorage is on the west side of the island outside the lagoon.  We anchored in sand in 60 feet of clear water at approximately 07deg05'N, 72deg55'E.  All along the edge of the fringing reef, the depth rises to 15-30 feet in sand, and several boats were able to drop the hook there.  There is a marker at the dinghy entrance to the lagoon, and a dinghy dock.

You can jump right into gorgeous water right off the boat, and the fringing reef has a large quantity of ocean life, including rays, turtles, tuna, lionfish, huge groupers, and varieties of reef fish I have never seen elsewhere.  The coral  has still not recovered from El Nino bleaching.

Rules

Rules of behavior for visiting yachties are these:

	Visitors may not have local people come onto their boat or come alongside their boat unless prior permission is obtained from customs by written request.
	Shoregoers must be properly dressed (long walking shorts OK for men and women, sandals, clean neat shirts, no tanks or halters or swimsuits).
	Anchor lights are mandatory between 1800 and 0600.
	No shore visits between 2200 and  0600.
	No SCUBA diving.
	No taking alcohol ashore
	No giving anyone any gifts whatsoever unless customs sees the gift in advance and approves it.
	No visiting any other atolls or islands without a cruising permit, which can be obtained only in Male.

Fuel

To get diesel fuel, contact AMSCO on VHF channel 16, or go by the office ashore.  You must submit a written request addressed to Uligan Customs requesting permission for AMSCO to deliver fuel to your boat.  A one-sentence hand-written letter is sufficient.  Take it to AMSCO, and they will submit it to customs.  If you need a lot of fuel, or if there are many boats in the anchorage, plan to wait a day or two for delivery, which will come in 5-gallon jugs.  We used our Baja filter.

Ashore

The pristine little Muslim village of Uligan is home to about 450 people.  There are a couple of very small food stores, where various basic items are available on a random basis.  It is possible to have laundry done.  I sent in sheets and towels, and they came back not as well-rinsed and well-dried as I would have done myself (but on the other hand, I got to go snorkeling instead, so what the heck).  Although there are no restaurants as such, a traditional dinner can be arranged a day in advance, as can a longboat trip to another atoll (with permission from customs).  The village residents keep a very tidy town.

As for Islamic-related issues, village women wear very nice colorful punjabi-type outfits (pants covered by flowing long short-sleeved tunic top) and do not necessarily cover their hair.  If you are a western female, and especially if you have blonde hair, expect the men to do a whole lot of annoying staring, but -- unlike in parts of Malaysia and Indonesia -- no hassling.  However, I felt more . . . circumspect in long pants and a loose tunic top than in shorts.