It is hard to put into words how much love I have for this little island nation of Malta. It all started in 1994 when I went on a not very necessary EF English language trip. I ended up returning in 1996, and then again a year or two later. In the late 90’s I did an internship with a class mate at a radio station there and we both ended up returning after graduating and living there for 6 months.
I had my first experience of living on my own here, Mu first love story, Met lifelong friends, and my love of travel was awakened here. It’s been 18 years since I left Malta, and I always knew I wanted to return, so when I found a return flight for less than half the cost of a monthly buspass, it was a nobrainer.
I arrived late Thursday night, took a bus and a short walk to my hostel Inhawi and settled in.
The next morning, after a complimentary breakfast at adjacent restaurant Rocksalt, I set out to rediscover the island with both nostalgia and curiosity. I took a short walk along the boardwalk to Sliema before boarding a local bus to take me to Valletta. After a brief pitstop at South Street to fill my battery, empty my bladder and fuel up on coffee, I headed to the one place where I knew not much could have possibly changed, the fishing village, Marsaxlokk.
18 years ago, this is where I would go to get away from the nightclub scene and find some quiet. Aside from a lot more tourists, a few market stands where vendors sold anything from olive oil to tacky knick knacks, the place was more or less exactly how I remembered. I spent a while walking around the harbour and shooting some scenic pics before settling down at a small restaurant situated a bit away from most of the tourists and ordered a light lunch. The waitress, Jun was Romanian and we chatted a bit in between her trying to get more customers to the restaurant. Now I really want to go to Transylvania!
On my way back to the hostel, I decided that it would be nice to take myself out for dinner and a movie, and since I was alone I decided to see if I could conjure up a date from Tinder to keep me company. I quickly matched with 3 different guys and one in particular seemed promising. We decided to decide on a time and place once he got off work.
I had originally planned to take a quick nap before dinner but when I got back in the room, a Dutch woman started talking to me and she seemed nice at first. About 10 min into the convo, I realized she was never going to stop talking my ear off. She even continued talking as I went into the bathroom. I had just given up on my nap, when a black woman I had seen earlier in the hostel and in our room came back in. We immediately hit it off and I asked her if she was up for an evening adventure to the club area of St Julians a short walk from the hostel. She kept me company while I had a most forgettable pasta and a few drinks.
Once it was time to meet my tinder date for a movie, she decided to walk me there but would head back to the hostel since she had already seen Star Wars and didn’t want to sit through it again. We walked to the movie theater and waited for what we soon realized was a major catfish.
As we walked back passed bars I had worked at, in search for a place to have one last drink to process what had just happened, we ran into two British girls who soon became our companions for the evening. Several drinks and a few bars/clubs later, we called it a night and headed home.
My last day was uneventful but very nice. I accompanied my new friend to her apartment she had rented for her Erasmus semester at the university of Malta, met a nice Colobian guy at the bus stop who ensured I got to Valletta when the bus we were waiting on didn’t show and had a $2 lunch consisting of 4 pastizzis and an apple juice before boarding a bus to the airport.
Overall, it was a very nice getaway to a place that is and will always be very dear to me. I hope to return to Malta sooner than later as I still think it is one of the best places on earth.
Recent Comments