 Ancient Temples, Liars, and Cheats |
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Today was a busy day. After breakfast at my hotel, consisting of two buns with jam and butter, a piece of Laughing Cow Cheese and tea made with chlorinated tap water (the free breakfast at my hotel), I caught the bus out to the Blue Grotto. It's a place to get a twenty minute boat ride to see some caves with really blue water. Not as impressive as the caves and waters of Comino, but still pretty cool. The only bad thing was the leader of the tour group who was trying to have his tour people fill up all the boats, even though they weren't necessarily the first ones in line. A bit of pushing, and I finally got on a boat (he had already had about ten people cut in front of me when I decided I'd had enough).
And now for the liars and cheats. First of all, let me say that taxis in Malta are the biggest rip off ever. They don't use their meters, so you have to haggle for a price. That's one thing, but the taxi drivers here will tell all sorts of lies to get a fare. As I was leaving the Blue Grotto, a taxi driver said that it was 4 miles to the temples, and they closed at noon (it was ten past eleven), so I wouldn't get there on time. Good thing I knew he was lying on both accounts, so I said no. But I think he conned a couple of other tourists five minutes later. I can't believe the number of tourists who use taxis in the first place, when the buses are pretty regular, and very cheap!
I did make it to the temples in plenty of time, as it was only a 25minute walk from the Blue Grotto, and the temples were open for another four hours. These temples pre-date the pyramids in Egypt, and are pretty impressive--some of the blocks of limestone used to build them are enormous, and some of the original carvings are still there.
When the sun shines here, it gets hot, and it's very bright too, especially because all of the buildings in this country, no matter how old, are made from the same 'bleached' limestone. So when I finished at the temples, I was ready to head back to Valletta for a nap before night two of the fireworks.
The fireworks were really good again, although I think they did have some technical difficulties, so a couple of the 'shows' were a bit tamer than the night before. Still, it was good, and tonight was the celebration of the first anniversary of Malta's accession to the EU, so it was interesting to be here for that too.
Part of trip: Malta 2005
2 Comments - Add Public Comment or Send Private Message
September 1st 2005 - Claude: Liars, Cheats and Honest People
I was very upset to read what you had to say about taxi drivers and other persons involved in the tourist business here in Malta. Not because this is not true but on the contrary because such people make a very bad name for us Maltese and the country. As a Maltese person who also depends from the tourist trade i am appalled by the behaviour of some.
On the other hand i read through other parts of your journal and was pleased to note that you had many positive encounters even with maltese people. I assure you and your readers that the maltese people are warm and welcoming and are always ready to help. Of course we have others who do not care and some who look at tourists and only see money but that is just the few i repeat.
I noticed that you really liked Marsaxlokk (the fishing village) and that's excellent because its where I used to live and i agree with you that the place is charming.
On the other hand you really missed out on diving... Especially when you knew that the blue hole in dwejra gozo is one of the most beautiful dives in the world... Maybe you should visit again and we could go diving there.
Regards
Claude Sciberras
Since I've been back, I've heard/read comments other travellers have made on the Maltese people, and it is indeed unfortunate that the dishonest ones (which are everywhere) leave such a strong impression, like they did on me. There were definitely many more Maltese people I encountered who were friendly and helpful.
As for diving, I was raised in the middle of the prairies, where the nearest ocean was a fifteen hour drive away and the freshwater was too cold and murky to inspire any diving. I debated for a long time whether or not to try diving in Malta. In the end, it just didn't work for this trip, but if I am ever back in Malta, I won't miss the opportunity again!
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