Malta - November 2016

Looking up a destination with a warmer climate is all I need to end this Autumn, and after a glimpse on the world map, this Mediterranean island of Malta with the average temperature of 20°C is absolutely the perfect and ideal destination for my next vacation.

5th November 2016

Without many flight options from London Heathrow, the 11.25am departure time is just the perfect one. The in-flight safety video of Air Malta featuring the animated knight is rather cute and creative. However, their online web check-in service was incredible…and incredibly slow where it took me almost 2-3 minutes to load each and every page in the step-by-step check-in process.

After the 3 hours and 10 minutes flight duration, I am feeling the heat of 21°C blowing straight onto my face once I stepped out of the airplane. I am all excited to switch-on my holiday mood and leaving all the hassle and stress of life behind. At the arrival hall after crossing the border controls, my name could be easily spotted on a white paper held high by the driver. The driver was again surprised to find me without any additional baggage since traveling light has become one of my common practice where I have only a handbag and a laptop sized bag pack with me for my 5 days and 4 nights journey. The service that I’ve booked is supposed to be a shared transfer, however I was lucky to be the one and only guest at that hour hence I get the privilege to occupy the whole vehicle for myself. At the cost of €16.00 for a return service, this is absolutely a great deal and the most convenient option for a carefree escape. 

The Preluna Hotel & Spa appears to be quite rundown and way below the 4 stars standard, however with their great services and excellent location, there is really nothing more for me to complain about. Not having a tight schedule, I spent my evening sauntering at the Tigné Point in Sliema and walking to and fro St. Julian. The Seaside Promenade Walk with the 2km pavements having an unobstructed open sea views is excellent for an evening stroll.

One of the down-side is definitely the fact that most of the restaurants were only opened at 7.00pm and therefore I am often in a starved and desperate situation looking for food to fill my all-time famishing stomach. Being an absolute seafood lover, the “sea food platter” on the display board of the restaurant - Paul's Seabreeze immediately caught my attention. With the price of €20.00, I get to enjoy the tiger prawns, mussels, clams, squids, salad and chips.

The “guessing game” seems to be something on-going because many of the locals (in the restaurant, at the ticket counter and on my way to Gozo) are trying hard to guess the origin country that I came from but none of them guess it right…lol

6th November 2016

It is quite rare that I will be up early for breakfast during holidays, and this is as well my first time taken by surprise where the serving of breakfast was 15-20 minutes late. The foodstuffs served at the breakfast counter was somehow average, but at least they took the effort to serve something different everyday which is definitely a plus point.

In these Maltese islands, public buses is the most common way of getting around. However taking this form of transportation is somehow a nightmare because of the massive crowd and as usual, there will certainly be some assholes amid the multitude. Planning for the right timing is crucial because the bus services to certain places comes only once in an hour, just like this one towards the Blue Grotto.

I always have the illusion that I have landed somewhere in the middle east because of the vast extents of desolated grounds and the design of the houses which were built solely from the limestones (exactly like what is shown in most of the documentaries). After spending hours at Blue Grotto and the coastal town, I picked a nearby sea-view restaurant that serves the local dishes, including the Maltese Rabbit Stew for lunch. Being fully refreshed by the meal and drink, I continued a 1.7km walk to the Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Temples which are the megalithic temple complex surrounded by an archaeological park.

 

After leaving the museum, I was in a dilemma between a 25 minutes wait to get back to Valletta or a 45 minutes wait heading towards Mdina. But at the brink of my patience and physical strength, Valletta rises above the other hence bus 52 is my final decision. Arriving at Valletta in 30 minutes, I simply mooch around the town going through the alleys which eventually leads me to the Waterfront. Taking a lift ride at €1.00 (first time having to pay for the use of an elevator), I reached the top of Upper Barrakka Gardens and spent quite sometimes there relaxing while waiting for the sunset.

7th November 2016

While searching for something exciting and extraordinary to do in Malta, I came across this package from Viator costing £82.20 that comprises the two ways hotel transfer, a set lunch, the quad-bike and helmet rent, and the ferry + speed boat rides between the islands.

This quad-bike tour is definitely the highlight of my trip as I enjoyed very much this new and exciting way of exploring the island of Gozo. Our tour guide - Mark is an excellent instructor. Together in the tour is a couple from the States and 4 of us in one group is just the perfect number for this excursion. While completing the safety agreement forms before we hit the road, the guide just could not believe my age and even uses the calculator to confirm once more making sure that I am above the age of 21. I just have to thank him for making my day because I am already so far away and above that minimum age…lol

Learning to handle the quad-bike itself is fun but on the other hand it consumed much physical strength hence this full day tour wasn’t as easy going around the town, the narrow alleyways and some uneven paths. The views of the island are amazing and breath-taking, we could as well see some local architectures and better appreciate their indigenous cultures. We ended our tour around 5.00pm and gathered ourselves at the jetty waiting for the remaining participants who went for the jeep tour. Our outing is supposed to include a short visit to the island of Comino, but unfortunately the surging waves and bad weather interrupted our plans and we could only take a quick glance at the Blue Lagoon before returning to the main island of Malta. Inside the speedboat with a group of strangers, the ambience was surprisingly harmonious where everyone were laughing, teasing and helping around while we were continuously hit by the waves and splashes of water along the way.

The L'Artist is one of the highly recommended restaurant by Tripadvisor where their delicious food comes with great services. After a long day-out, I certainly prefer to dine-in at this nearby restaurant with my favourite seafood platter and with a glass of white wine to wrap up the day.

8th November 2016

After a sufficient amount of time spent dawdling in bed, I finally get myself ready to kick start another day despite that the weather wasn’t looking great. Even though I have seen enough of the cathedrals and churches in Europe, yet I still spent €10.00 to enter the St. John's Co-Cathedral hoping to appreciate something different. I would praise that this is a splendorous cathedral made of gold, with each and every corner exquisitely built and furnished. After getting myself some souvenirs in central Valetta, I still have plenty of time and therefore decided to visit the old city of Mdina. While I was wandering around looking for the right platform and the right bus to Rabat, there is this kind soul who approaches me and directing me to the correct bus service thus saving me plenty of time and effort.

 

St. Paul's Catacombs is a wide archaeological site with multiple entrances to the underground crypts. With the entrance fee of €5.00, one could spend almost half a day visiting and admiring the crypts. However I was deeply disappointed because the one and only catacomb with the real mummies was closed! Looks like I am lacking the luck in greeting the mummies after all.

Since I have specially booked myself a sea-view room this time, there is no reason for me not to enjoy sitting at the balcony with some snacks and delicacies. On this last night of my trip, I ordered some sushi for take-away so that I could comfortably relax and enjoy my dinner in the hotel room.

9th November 2016

Since the pick-up shuttle service will only arrived at 2.15pm, I have requested an extended check-out hour so that I could spend longer moments in the room until 1.00pm. I was somehow grateful that the internet service on my mobile device has a sudden breakdown and disconnecting me with the cyber world during my last hour’s walk along the coast, I was therefore able to pay more attention to my surroundings and better appreciating the scenery and delighting myself in the sea breeze.

The shuttle service was very punctual and I got picked up on time to the airport. I have a sudden crave for KFC since the night before and without a second thought and further hesitation, I walked straight towards the counter of KFC at the departure hall and surprisingly that tasted so good and I love those crispy hot wings.

In general, the people in this island are warm, lovely and kind. There is hardly any communication concerns because almost everyone speaks good English. Most of the people enjoyed a simple lifestyle and are less obsessed with the luxury goods, and most of the vehicles are second-hand cars imported from Japan. This is especially a great reminder for those who lives in large cities (yea…I am just one of them) that a simpler lifestyle does not generates less satisfactions and happiness. Looks like my list of the re-visiting countries has continue to grow, as I would definitely love to return to this wonderful island again in the future.