Blogs from Malta, Europe - page 19

By Laurent Rueff “Merhba! How are you guys? Its good to see you again!” That is the sound that resonates all over the place when some of my Erasmus-friends and I are entering our local pub called “Band Club” situated in the quaint town of Balzan in the middle of Malta. The warm-hearted gestures and kindness offered to everyone, not just in Band Club but also around the entire island is simply impressive. While we Swiss usually react reservedly to anything or anyone new, the Maltese culture opens up itself for everything and everyone. On this small and uniquely placed island situated between Europe and Africa which seems to represents more nations than the football world cup, there is an amazing sense of cosmopolitanism due to the diversity in cultures without any sense of racism. Of ... read more

While Richard is slaving away at work each day and Catherine has gone off to Sweden for work - I decided a little side trip to the smaller island of Gozo would be just the ticket - so a hasty search on Booking.com came up with a real bargain ...how could £18 a night including brekki be anything but a miracle for me - as you know always looking for value for money on my travels. This time I manged to pack my stuff for 3 days into my little rucsac - I must be getting better at this packing lark!!! and off I went to get the bus to the ferry . A word here about Malta busses - yes they run all over the islands but I have to say the timtetabling is not ... read more

After choosing from a huge range of internships of AIESEC and getting rejected by some of them, I finally made up my mind and chose Malta. I took a late flight from London to Malta with Air Malta airline. On that night at the Heathrow airport, the staff didn't let me check in because the name I put in the booking form is different from the one in my passport (I booked the ticket the night I finished final exam. I was exhausted then I put Perry on it -_-)'') I did panic. Fortunately, after arguing for half an hour and I managed to prove I am Perry. They finally let me get on the flight. I got on the flight with relief and great excitement as I didn't have any idea about how Malta looks ... read more

The Marfa Peninsula is Malta's final flourish before dipping beneath the water of the Comino Channel. Some of Malta's best diving spot are found along its northern coast. As it happened, i bought a snorkel for 10 euros only and I can't wait to try it! So, I planned to visit Ahrax Point which is at the extreme northeast of Malta (Lonely Planet rates Ahrax Point as the top-one diving and snoekelling point and highly recommends to visit). However, after I got to Cirkewwa and asked the drivers there, I found there are no buses to get to Ahrax Point at all. What I can do is to walk there. I gave up walking as it is too far away and I had to improvise at that moment. Finally I changed my plan to Paradise Bay ... read more

Geo: 35.84, 14.54The Hypogeum - one of Malta's most famous historic sites, and considered by many to be a can't-miss attraction. But as far we were concerned today, it was a bit of a "meh" attraction, hardly worth the effort and advance planning required to obtain tickets. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Hypogeum is the fact that it dates back to 3600 BC, and that the people of that time had the knowledge to create this necropolis so far underground, digging it out of the rock. But as far as the site itself, there really isn't a whole lot to see, as it's quite compact and the light levels are kept low for preservation purposes. Again, the best part was the historical significance, but having to book several months ahead to ensure entrance during ... read more