Malta - a place I wouldn't mind calling home

The end to a travel-ful year.....

I have been very lucky to have been able to travel to so many places in 2013. But just before the year comes to an end, I felt that I needed to cram in just one more short break. It's the most last minute holiday that I have ever booked (1 week prior to travelling), but I'm so glad I made that impulsive purchase because it has been a fantastic holiday.

Armed with just a backpack and handbag so as not to go over Ryanair's hand luggage restrictions, I set off on the third solo trip of my life. I chose Malta because I wanted somewhere relatively cheap, safe enough for a lone female to travel on her own, a place that does not charge for single supplement and easy to travel around. Malta ticked all those boxes.....and more!

The main 3 Maltese islands consist of Malta, Gozo and Comino. Equipped with a DK Eyewitness Travel guidebook from Morley library, a stack of bus timetables obtained on arrival at the airport and a tip off from David to avoid Popeye Village, I set off with my trusty 2.60 Euro day bus ticket for my day out in the cities.

First stop was Valletta, the capital of Malta. I couldn't have planned things better. As I walked down its main high street, Republic Street, I stumbled across the National Museum of Archeology. Perfect! That was on my list of things to do. With photographs of the 'Sleeping lady' and 'Venus of Malta' securely stored in my camera, I continued down the street. Before long, I was greeted by an unassumming building with the sign 'St John's Co-Cathedral'. Fantastic! That's a second tick on my to do list! When I first read the guide book, I was rather hesitant about visiting yet another European museum and cathedral. However, I'm so glad I handed in my 5 Euros for entry into the St John's Co-Cathedral. I have no idea what's the difference between a cathedral and co-cathedral, but the inside of this building was very ornately decorated and extremely atmospheric. I am no art critic, but I did think that the oil painting 'The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist' by the Italian artist Caravaggio looked amazing.

It doesn't take much to confuse me. As I exited the cathedral from the back door, I had lost all sense of direction. Hence I trusted my legs to take me wherever it so wished. Trust me to stumble across a pastizzeria (a place that sells pastizzis (the Maltese equivalent of a Malaysian curry puff or British cornish pasty) and pizzas) and subsequently the Barrakka gardens with a panoramic view of the Grand Harbour.

Due to my small lie in and extended breakfast, by now, I was running out of time to cram in Rabat and Mdina. Rush, rush and onto the bus I went. The tourist information operator suggested that I visit the WWII shelters, St Paul's grotto and catacombs in Rabat. The only problem with visiting Malta off season was that I had the whole place to myself. My heart sank as I heard a couple walking out of the catacombs, as it meant that I would have to venture it on my own. With a big gulp, clammy hands and a pounding heart, I tried to be brave. I walked down the endless alley of WWII shelters buried underground only to find a dark, narrow, winding path leading to the catacombs. I marched ahead with renewed confidence, peeked my head round the corner, stood amongst the catacombs and scuttled off as the audio aid mentioned that one may still find the odd pieces of bone lying about. I thanked my lucky stars that I hadn't paid the 5 Euros for entrance into the main sections of the catacomb but instead went for this mini version which included entry into the grotto and WWII shelters. Whew! Why do I do this to myself? And pay for the experience?! I vowed that from now on, I will avoid anymore visits to places of the dead in this holiday! That's the Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum struck off my list! I'm not going to book in advance and pay 30 Euros to scare myself!

The Mdina, or otherwise known as the old capital of Malta or 'Silent city' is a pretty medieval walled town. Its location at the top of a hill gave it commanding views of the farmland below. I worked my way through its narrow high walled streets bathed in the yellow glow of its street lamps as the sunset in the distance. Being the kiasu (literal translation: scared to lose) Malaysian that I am, I decided to take a different route home. Why tread on the same path back to Valletta and then change buses to get to Sliema when I can take the X3 to Bugibba/Qawra, and then bus number 12 to Sliema; and hence cram in seeing yet another place (Bugibba/Qawra)? Anyway, so that's what I did. Only thing is, it was so dark outside, I couldn't see any of what must have been stunning views of the beach front of Bugibba. Oh well, I sang Moonriver to myself whilst chomping down bite size pieces of the Maltese honey ring (a round Christmas sweet pastry filled with the usual suspects of Christmas spices - cinnamon, clove, orange peel, aniseed) as I walked down to the bus stop to catch my connecting bus. (In case you are wondering why singing to myself seems to be a common theme in my blogs, it's because my piano teacher Gill said I need to practice for my aural Grade 2 exam).

Downing my breakfast in 10 minutes flat (a great feat for me!), day 2 was an early start as I needed to rush for the infrequent one hour bus ride to Cirkewwa to catch the 9.45 am ferry to Gozo. Politely turning down morning coffee with an overtly friendly elderly Maltese gentleman from Naxxar sitting next to me on the bus, I quickly walked around the Cittadella in Victoria (the capital of Gozo) whilst chatting to 3 Manchester university students from Malaysia. Then I headed to Dwejra to see the Azure window and Fungus rock. At the last moment, just as I was waiting for the bus back to Victoria, I even managed to catch sight of the greenish Filfola lizard (Maltese wall lizard).

Unfortunately, coming off season, there were no ferries to Comino, so I'll have to forgo seeing the Blue lagoon. Not a great sacrifice, but it would have been nice to have been able to make the visit. Instead, I replaced the afternoon itinerary with a bus ride to Ramla Bay. Not a bad substitute. Apart from a dog walker, I virtually had the whole beach to myself......for a good few minutes anyway! After a few attempts at hiking up to what I thought was Calypso Cave, I gave up as the trek was overgrown with weeds. As I waited on the beach for the bus, a conversation with a local security guard revealed that I had been barking up the wrong hill! Calypso Cave is at the top of yet another hill on the other side of the bay! Oh well! Never mind!

Despite the relatively short distance to Hajar Qim and Mnajdra temple, day 3 was to be an even longer day due to the few bus changes that I would have to make. I grabbed a boiled egg and a strawberry jam sandwich from the breakfast buffet to be consumed at the bus stop. The two Neolithic temples are situated by a hillside overlooking the sea and Filfa island. What a beautiful location! It was in the museum here that I was harrassed by an attention deprived cat. We danced as the little feline followed my every move - left, right, forward, backward, round and round. Perhaps unlike all other Maltese beings, this cat didn't speak English - because I said out loud "I'm sorry, Cat. I know you want me to play with you, and I really don't know why, but I don't like cats.", but it didn't get the message. When I tried to ignore it, the little ball of fur came closer and nudged against my leg! Even my steel-like aversion to cats dissipated as I laughed at this feline creature that wouldn't leave me alone. After I pressed the green light switch that demonstrated the stream of light passing through the miniature model of the temple during the Summer Solstice, the cat followed suit with its paws pounding at the light switch. Perhaps the museum attendant heard my cries of laughter as it wasn't long after that he came equipped with a packet of crisp to lure the cat out of the museum. Despite all that, I did manage to learn a bit about the method of corbelling used to create the roof of the temple structure and get my black khaki trousers covered in dust from taking a self-potrait whilst sat by the doorway to the temple.

I very nearly scrapped the idea of going to the Blue Grotto as I'm sure I have seen something similar in the past. And it didn't help that if there were no boats going out that day, I would have had to wait an hour for the next bus. However, I am so glad I bit the bullet and went for it. The coral blue water in the grotto was stunning. What a mesmerising colour! If we had more time, it would have been possible to dive in for a swim. It was so tempting!

Next stop, Marsalokk - a sleepy fishing village to the south west of Malta island.  I took the opportunity to sit back, relax and watch as the blue and orange striped fishing boats bobbed in the harbour whilst devouring a grilled lampuki accompannied by Maltese roast potatoes and bread soaked in Spanish olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Not wanting to rush on my final half day prior to the journey to the airport the next day, I decided to cram in one final stop. Senglea and Vittoriosa. I hopped onto bus number 203 (as bus number 3 didn't turn up when it was supposed to). I had a whistlestop tour of the Vittoriosa marina, St Lawrence cathedral, Inquisitor's palace and Fort Angelo before rushing back to Sliema's Diplomat hotel for its Maltese buffet spread accompanied by 'traditional' Maltese music. After a deep conversation about religion and life, I made my way back up the Marsamxett harbour to my hotel for a leisurely time before my departure the next day.