Blogs from Malta, Europe - page 2

We had heard that there's an excellent market in Floriana on a Sunday, but despite asking several people in the hotel, we were at a loss as to exactly where it is. Most people seemed to think that we were after some local fish market, which, quite rightly, they thought was a bizarre thing for us to be asking about. Eventually one of the receptionists told us that it was at the park-and-ride, about 20 minutes' walk away, so we looked that up on Google Maps and set off to find it. What we didn't know is that the market finished at 11.00am, and we arrived at 11.30am to find everyone in the process of clearing everything away. It was a lot of walking in horrendous heat for no reason (although we did get to see ... read more

Following my walk around the rim of the fort yesterday (see ), I thought I would get up early again and head back out there to see whether it would make any good photographs. It didn't. I was very disappointed as all the floodlights that illuminate all the walls had been turned off. It was dark and bland. Not only that, but I needed the light on my phone in order to see where I was going. When I could, I climbed some steps back up to the streets and tried out some other locations. I did manage to get a good photograph of the Victoria Gate (stealing the composition from a postcard I had seen) and I also eventually ended up at a location that I had been to a couple of evenings ago (see ... read more

I did my usual and got up early for the sunrise. I had checked in advance and there doesn’t seem to be an iconic sunrise view in Valleta, so I walked along the east side of the city looking over towards the three cities on the other side of the bay. I couldn't find a good view, which wasn't helped as some of the locations I thought might work were not accessible. I couldn't get one view I had seen of the Siege Bell War Memorial from the Lower Barrakka Gardens as the gardens themselves were closed. I relaxed by the bell to wait for the sunrise, but that was also a disappointment as it was almost totally obscured by the hazy sky. The east side of Valletta seems to be mainly made up of huge ... read more

World Cruise 9 Posted Thursday 6th April. Due in Malta tomorrow, Good Friday. Thursday 16th March Port Klang for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia is half on the Peninsula and part on the island of Borneo. Port Klang is the 7th largest container port in the world. The port is 8 miles from Klang town and 25 miles from Kuala Lumpur on the Malaysian peninsula. Klang is on the Klang River in the Klang valley with a small Palace, industrial and commercial. Kuala Lumpur is the political and commercial capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya is the administrative capital. On 31st August 1957 the British Flag came down and the Malaysian flag was flown in Independence Square to signal Independence. Sights in KL are the King’s Palace, the National Mosque, one of the minarets is 240feet tall, the Railway ... read more

Valletta is an impressive city of lovely pale sandstone which has been quarried on the island for centuries. Due to its strategic position in the Med, it has been invaded and taken over many times from the early Phoenicians to Napolean's army. Eventually the Brits chucked the French out at the Maltese request, and it became independent in 1964. They still drive on the left and all speak English, though Maltese is a strange language of Arabic origin. They are of course proud of the fact that King George bestowed the George Cross on the island for the gallantry of the whole population during the 2nd world war. We stayed at the Domus Zamittello which is a lovely family-owned palazzo on the main Republic Street. The taxi driver dropped us off at the main square and ... read more