Malta: First 3 Days

This post covered the first three days in Malta.

I had always wanted to go to Malta. One reason is that a childhood friend once spent two years here. Her parents started a Chinese restaurant business in Malta back in the early 1990s, but returned back to China when her grandma thought they were working too hard. Another reason for me to see Malta is because of its beauty that I kept hearing about while traveling.

Malta reminded me of Cyprus. Both were occupied by the British so they drive on the left side of the road. There were also many roundabouts, which would drive me nuts if I was on a bicycle.

I didn’t get the 7 day bus pass at the airport because it doesn’t cover ferry fares. It won’t matter for me anyway since I’ll probably spend the same amount by buying on demand during my six days in Malta.

My hostel for the first three nights was at the Windmill Hostel on the southern edge of St Julian’s. I had to walk on the side of a highway for several minutes to get there from the bus stop, which didn’t feel safe. However, I met some interesting people at the hostel. There was a traveling couple named Noah and Shanie. They are from New Brunswick, Canada. Noah is an electrician and Shanie is a real estate agent. They told me Malta is their favorite country and it’s their second time here during their trip.

On my first night, I joined hostel guests and the manager, Kenny, for a hostel BBQ. The next day, I walked from the hostel to the nearby Sliema neighborhood following the coastline. It was a beautiful morning walk seeing the blue waters and the sunbathers getting a tan. Then I took a ferry to Valletta, which is the capital of Malta.

In Valletta, there is the St. John’s Co-Cathedral and the Upper Barrakka park with the cannons. Supposedly, they fire off the cannons at 4 PM everyday. I was too early for that so I enjoyed an excellent smoothie at Oakberry Açaí before taking the gondola to the Three Cities.

The Three Cities are Birgu, Cospicua, and Senglea. Actually, they are just three neighborhoods that are connected to each other and are much less touristy than Valletta. I walked to all three neighborhoods and stopped at the Gardjola gardens for a view of Valletta.

The following day, I decided to take the bus to Mdina, the old capital of Malta, and also walked to the neighboring town of Rabat.

In Rabat, I paid to get in the St Paul’s Catacombs. It’s a network of underground tunnels that was also used in WWII. It was much cooler in the catacombs, but the crammed spaces made me feel claustrophobic.

Mdina is a small walled city. I ended up walking on every street there and paid to see St. Paul’s Cathedral and its church museum. The view from Mdina overlooking the northern part of Malta is quite good. I spent about three hours in Rabat and Mdina then took the bus back to the hostel.

Yesterday, it took me about five hours to take the bus to the Cirkewwa Passenger Terminal, then the ferry to Gozo, and two more buses to the Trigoria guesthouse in Sannat. I’m staying in Gozo for two nights then going back to the main island Malta for another night before I take the plane to Wrocław, Poland, on the morning of June 2.

Beach goers in Sliema