I didn’t do much research before going off to Malta. It came up pretty suddenly – I only booked the flights about ten days before I went and there was quite a lot going on in early January so I didn’t do a lot of research which meant that a few things caught me by surprise.
3-pin plugs
I should have realised this one. Cyprus uses the same 3-pin plugs as the UK and given that they’re both Mediterranean islands who are members of the Commonwealth, I should have at least thought about it before packing my European 2-pin 3-USB plug. When did I realise? While I was sitting in the airport flicking through a guidebook. I had to buy an adapter at the hostel to use plugs I use at home.
Buses
I knew there were buses in Malta. It was how I planned to get around. I just didn’t realise things like how many buses there are, how well-connected they are and how many transport pass options there are. Of course, there was the time I got the bus to Valletta – ten minutes away – via San Gwann, which took the best part of an hour. But other than that, the bus network in Malta is brilliant, second only to Switzerland in how well it all works. My only criticism is that they could do with having their air-conditioning turned up a bit.
Maltese language
Given their history with England and English and Italy and Italian, what I’d heard from the people at work who live there and the fact that Italian was the official language until 1934, I assumed the Maltese language was a bit like Cornish. A minority language that people learn for national pride rather than one that’s actually used in everyday life. And it turns out that’s not true. There’s a reasonable amount of signage in English but as far as I could see, everyone speaks Maltese and English is a lot less widespread than I’d been led to believe.
Right hand drive cars
Another one I should have realised, the same as the plugs. Malta drives right hand drive cars on the left side of the road, just like at home, just like in Cyprus. I didn’t hire a car; I never planned to hire a car, this little detail affected me in no way, I just didn’t realise it until I was there, getting on a bus.
Military history
I dropped history as soon as I could. Once I left primary school and we stopped doing “the Tudors”, “Invaders & Settlers”, “the Victorians” and so on and just ploughed on with three years of “causes of WWI”, I lost interest and the only history I’ve managed to become interested in since then are the Vikings and the early English kings – Æthelred and his line. And of course, I hadn’t done any research before I arrived so I had no idea, really, that Malta had a long long history of being invaded and I definitely didn’t know it was so heavily fortified.
People don’t get out of your way
I don’t want to go and say the Maltese are rude but if you walk down the street and two or more people are standing there chatting, they won’t move over to let you past. At first I thought that was just what happened when you approached a group of half-drunk men in the evening but it was every day and every demographic. They look at you as if you have no right to even be walking down the road let alone hoping to get past a human obstruction and while it’s no big deal to step into the road or round parked cars to continue your journey to the corner shop, it was something to get used to.
The shops don’t open on Sunday
We have Sunday trading at home and my mum is convinced that no shop on the planet opens on Sunday but there was nothing open on Sunday. I had to go out on Saturday night to make sure I had enough juice to not drop dead of heat exhaustion and dehydration on Sunday before I got back on the plane.
Everything is done with cash
This is a cashless world. It’s 2019. Everyone takes cards. I don’t really carry cash. I don’t very often bother going and exchanging currency before I go places because I’ll bring most of it back. But Malta really isn’t big on cards. I had enough Euros left over to survive my first day but when I couldn’t buy a ferry ticket to Gozo on my card, I realised I was actually going to have to go out and get cash and that’s just not a thing I’m used to needing to do.
The heat in January
I knew Malta and the Mediterranean were hot places but I figured it couldn’t be that hot in January. People have continually told me “Oh, it wasn’t that hot” but I was there and I know my own heat tolerance. I was there three and a half days and I spent the entire time drenched in my own sweat. I nearly collapsed standing at the bus stop in the early morning sun. I got burnt sitting on the boat on the Sunday. It was hot. It was only January. I now know there’s no time of year when it’s going to be cool enough for me to go anywhere really hot. If I ever want to see the Pyramids, I’m going to need a space-age coolant suit.
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