Malta - I am home!
Trip Start
Sep 15, 2007
1
29
Trip End
Oct 17, 2007
Sliema,
Malta
Monday, September 17, 2007
Like so many Australian's these days it would seem, I am first generation "Aussie". Both my parents were born in a tiny European country called Malta. Situated in the middle of the beautiful Mediterranean sea, somewhere south of Sicily and north of Africa
View of Sliema from my balcony.
. That is normally enough for people outside of the USA to get a good idea of where it is. The thing most people struggle to comprehend is how small Malta is, especially those that have lived all their lives in great southern land. For the record Malta is a mere 316 sq. km and has a population of around 400,000 people with the capital Valetta being just 1km long and 600 metres wide. That is a bout the size of 10 football fields and yes that is the capital. Everyone has a sense of belonging with their homeland, a connection, and even though I was born in Australia, love the country and possess a deep sense of pride in my nationality I also enjoy a similar connection with Malta. I guess that is an advantage of being born of migrant parents after they migrated! Beyond this I also gain a certain level of pride from the fact Malta is so small and unique, having to explain to someone about a country they have not even heard of when discussing your background has a certain exotic flavour to it, and is also sometimes a good conversation starter with the ladies. :)Without going into too much detail, my life had taken a few twists and turns the last 12 months. Nothing out of the ordinary and not anything that everyone hasn't gone through at some stage of their lives, but I did find myself taking a step back and considering where I was in my life as a result
View of Sliema from my balcony.
. I am 36 years old and I have enjoyed an extraordinary life up to this point. I am always one to say I have been blessed in many ways with the cards I have been dealt in life, so even when things are not the best I tend to remember that and not complain. Anyway there I was sitting down at work one day when I just got up, walked downstairs to the Flight Centre office on the ground floor of our building and booked a trip to Malta on the spot. A one month trip, paid for immediately so there was no turning back. It was done, and I was returning to Malta for the first time in 30 years.After the euphoria of booking the trip had resided somewhat I went back to normal life as I was not scheduled to leave for 10 weeks after I had booked it. It was just how it turned out with the Rugby World Cup on in France at the time and ticket prices being a little crazy as a result. That period from booking the ticket and flying out was great however. There is a special feeling you have inside of you whenever an event looms on the horizon that you are looking forward to. The feeling provides a positive slant on everything you do during that time, and the Malta trip was no different for me. In the 10 weeks from booking the trip to actually flying out of Sydney I did a lot of research on Malta and its rich history, spoke to relatives in Australia who had been there recently and also made contact with relatives who lived in Malta
View of Valletta from my balcony.
. I had a lot of things planned and by the time the trip came around I was really looking forward to it.Without wanting to state the bleeding obvious Malta is about as far away from Australia as you can get. My flight was Sydney to Bangkok, to Dubai, to Cyprus and then Malta. 27 hours travel time, 30 if you count the 3 hours I had to wait in Sydney airport before the flight took off. I never quite understand why they insist you get to the airport so early before your flight is due to leave with International flights but that is another story. I was among the 99% of other travellers in the world flying economy class and for the entire trip except for the last leg from Cyprus to Malta the plane was relatively full. Which meant there was no chance of stretching out on the vacant seats next to me (as they were not vacant). Sleep deprivation was the order of the day and I was in a zombie state when the Emirates flight EK107 touched down in Malta's Luqa airport. I had managed to make the trip as pleasant as possible with watching movies and reading a book I picked up at Sydney airport. It was David Beckham's life story. A riveting read I am sure you would agree! Well I am a "Becks" fan and the only reason I am actually admitting I bought a David Beckham book was that he mentions Malta several times in it! Yes! He holidayed here every year for 6 years in a row during his early Manchester United years, and he even brought Posh Spice with him once or twice
More views from my balcony.
! Manchester United team mate Gary Neville actually bought a holiday house here. In the book he describes Malta as a wonderful destination and one of his favourite holiday spots in the world. I was flabbergasted. Any doubts I had about coming back to Malta had been blown away by none other than David Beckham. ;)Despite the length and uncomfortableness of the journey I was in a elevated state when the doors to the plane opened allowing me to fill my lungs with Maltese air for the first time in 30 years. I remember pausing at the last step on the plane's staircase before stepping on Maltese ground, it was a good moment. I felt like I was home.
It is a little surreal visiting a country that for all intent and purposes is foreign to you, however you look, feel and have the mannerisms like the local people. I think it is the same for them, they can recognise I am Maltese however something is different about me. Anyway that was my first observation. I hopped in a cab and took a ride across the Maltese country side to my hotel. My driver was a weather beaten Maltese man in his 60s. He was a 100% clone of most other Maltese men of similar age. A very warm, friendly and unassuming man. He was Maltese! I booked 2 weeks accommodation in the Sliema Hotel. I found it in the Malta & Gozo Lonely Planet guide book and it was perfect
My hotel.
. I followed the book's recommendation to pay a little extra to get a balcony room facing the harbour and a very good move that was indeed. My view was fantastic with a chance to step out of my room 5 stories off the ground and take in the sites of Malta and the capital Valetta that was just across the water. I found myself just standing on the balcony taking in the sites for a long time when I first arrived. The people, the boats, the cars, the buildings, everything. I was home and it was good to be back. After some time had passed standing on the balcony I eventually broke from my reverie. I showered, got dressed in board shorts and a singlet (it was 29 degrees out and a beautiful day, I had left behind windy and cold conditions in Sydney so this was like heaven), grabbed my camera and went for a walk. The first thing I did was buy gelato ice cream from a street vendor, walked along the water line, found a good spot and swam in the Mediterranean sea. As far as holidays go, that was a pretty decent start. I then kept walking along the coastline around Sliema, past the Tigne peninsula until I found a local swimming spot where the coastline was lined with outdoor cafes. There were large LCD TVs at most outdoor cafes where the locals would be watching football matches from Italy and England. Now that was something I was going to enjoy whilst in Malta, not having to get up at 3am to watch my favourite premier league teams in action! I found a nice looking pub after some time, settled in and watched Aston Villa vs Manchester City, live at 3 in the afternoon! :) A quick look on the menu and I spotted the traditional Maltese dish of Ricotta Ravioli with tomato based sauce and ordered a big serving. My mum used to make this years ago and it is one of my favourites.
After a few hours my jet lag was catching up with me. I know that the best way to combat jetlag is to try to sleep at normal times as soon as you can at the country you are in. However at 5:30pm it was already 1:30am for my body clock, I had hardly slept on the plane for the previous 24 hours and it was starting catching up with me. I managed to stay awake until around 7:30pm local time but that was it, I was gone. I fell asleep moments after my head hit the pillow.
