I Followed The Gremlins Back To Malta From Prague and Warsaw – Here’s What Happened!
If you have read some of my other blogs then maybe you will know – a few times I’ve gone away now with a group from my local area that I call the Gremlins. The Gremlins in WW2 were said to tamper with aircraft and make flying unsafe. Someone we both know (me & the Gremlins) said one day something like “if you don’t want things to go wrong don’t fly with the Gremlins”, and the name has kind of stuck with me ever since.
I’m not sure how they all feel about this name – I’ve never actually bothered to ask them but yes anyway so – I Followed the Gremlins Back To Malta (kind of).
It was another Impulsive drunken decision. And I say this because the night before I booked the flight that I wrote about in my last blog post – About How I Woke Up Back in Gibraltar.
I really can go a bit nuclear when drinking. It was not that I didn’t have the money to pay for this but in truth it was really money I should have spent on other more Important things. As I sell on eBay this should have been used to restock my inventory but I figured life is for living.
Malta is somewhere I feel like I haven’t quite finished exploring yet (prior to this trip and even now) and for months I had been hearing about the Gremlins coming back here – and how much they didn’t want me there.
I was sick of hearing it – it was like a group of 5 year olds saying I couldn’t play with their ball, and I just thought, in the end, that they can’t stop me from from going if I really wanted to.
So, I decided that whether they wanted me there or not, and even if they decide to NOT give me the time of day, once I got here (which they basically did not) then I would still come for my own trip. This was not something they had any control over and I wanted to make a point of this.
Although, it was not that I didn’t see where they was coming from. Last time I was there with them in Malta It is fair to say that I caused myself (as well as them) a lot of problems.
One of them was I almost had Disco Dave thrown out of his hotel (I was led to believe) because I went into the hotel, went for a swim and laid back on a sun lounger thinking I would meet them when they come out, but before they did I was escorted away by security and I give them Disco Dave’s name. He was furious, and this was before I lost my phone, found myself without anywhere to stay and had my nightmare of a trip to Budapest on the way back.
Also, my next trip away with the Gremlins that I went on (I didn’t write a blog about our holiday to Santa Ponsa, Mallorca) it was even worse. I lost my phone (again) and my only bank card ended up with someone I met from Senegal. I was so angry with him when I went get money out and he tried to withdraw 400 euros that I told him to F off and walked away without my card.
It was like a horror story. After this I had nowhere to stay, no money and I was a total mess. I think I must have been out on the streets for 3 nights in a row, and the only thing I ate in this time was an apple. There was one point I thought I could walk to the airport and walked for miles up a motorway before deciding to turn back around.
I was proper screwed – spending days getting burnt in the sun and going from place to place just to ask for a drink of water. I got back after missing my original flight and was very lucky that I was able to use my credit card to get on another.
I had to ask another friend, a London taxi driver if he would pick me up from Gatwick at midnight. I was just so glad for it all to be over but after this I didn’t really want to go away with this lot again. They should have at least made sure I was alright but none of them did.
Maybe I am right or maybe I’m wrong but they got a good shouting at on one night I will say that. This time I was asking for help – I had my laptop and I was trying to arrange to get someone back home to send one of them some money for me.
But just as I was doing this they all got up and walked off. Like was they not even listening to me? – I ended up sitting on a bench and even a young boy with his mum was worried about me. I saw them afterwards and just started shouting. To think they was mad at me for this lol
I mean I would rather leave that all in the past but yes anyway so after all THAT the idea of me travelling to where they were going AGAIN was NOT something they was really happy about.
To me really – the whole thought of it I suppose you could say “why did I still do it?” –
They didn’t help me last time when I was in trouble so what would make this time so different, but YES STILL I decided to do it.
I Followed The Gremlins Back To Malta
I went to Malta the last time with my mother back in June 2024. My first time here was with my nephew in 2020 and then there was my last trip here with the Gremlins in 2022. This was my 4th time here in 5 years.
The last time in 2024 I think was maybe one of my favourite times. I remember sitting at the Victoria pub in Valletta thinking how much I would love to just go home and come straight back.
I mean really and truly I could have gone any other time when the gremlins were not here but after a night out with one of them (Irish Rob) – who might I add was the one that arranged this holiday – I decided that I would show them what I thought about them not wanting me to come.
I wonder if he would have just stopped bringing it up then maybe I would not have bothered, but I suppose it was in my head before this and this was why I decided to just book my flight.
There was 2 things actually that I really wanted to come back to Malta for.
*If you read My Giants of Malta Blog post I’m sure you will see what my fascination is with this country.
So, this time around I booked tickets for tours of both places. I was so excited to go but unfortunately I never actually, in the end, got to go to either. One of them was cancelled and the other I booked on the wrong date by mistake (for a month after I left lol).
My Travel Plans For This Trip
Originally when I booked the flights I was going to fly from Luton with a stopover in Warsaw, Poland. It was an early flight to Poland. I had to get to Luton for 8AM and by public transport this would have no way been possible on the day.
This kind of bugged me so after a dream I had about going to Albania first before Poland I decided to book a flight for 3 days before also from Luton but going to Prague, Czech Republic.
I looked at a few countries/cities to go to before this – Krakow, Vilnius and Riga were all considered. Places I want to STILL go to at some point, but I ultimately decided that on the 31st I’d fly back to Prague – just 7 months after my last stay here and for my 5th time.
The flight I found was for £31 from Luton Airport at midday on the Saturday and it was Ideal really. Although, it was a lot of trouble to go through in hindsight. It would have made more financial sense to just get an early morning taxi to Luton for my original flight.
This would have saved me money on hostels and from the very long coach trip from Prague to Warsaw, approximately about 12 hours away but this was for the best in the end, as I will soon tell you about.
I left to go Prague, then to Poland and this was quite an adventure.
Why I Followed the Gremlins (My Lame Excuse).
Now, so I say “I Followed The Gremlins Back To Malta (kind of)” because I actually got here before them. Technically I guess you could kind of say they followed me out here. I was here first and I’m sure this makes no difference to them but this was what I did and this will be another very long blog about how it all went down. My time in Prague, Warsaw and Malta.
My last blog post was a 45 minutes read and I’m sure this one will be just as long. Apologies in advance if you feel this is a bit too overwhelming but I hope you feel it is worth your time to read it all, and you can enjoy my story.
I’ve had a lot of people say I should keep a travel blog and to be honest it is nice to write my story whether it is read or not. Some of it is a laugh I think (most definitely) and this trip certainly had its moments and it did NOT begin in Malta.
My First Day/Night Back In Prague
Prague is a very special place for me. I have some great memories of my times here and I’m sure this trip will NOT be the last I come here. I was actually thinking this time round that it would have been nice to come here again and stay sober. This did not happen.
But I say this because the last time I was here I never drunk any alcohol and I think it made my experience much better. It is hard to say really what my best time was coming to Prague. I mean I’ve done different things on different trips such as the ghost tour and going up the towers near the Charles Bridge. There’s been the days out at the zoo and the boat trips – it is really hard to say.
This time I drunk pretty much the whole time I was here. I suppose this did stop me from doing a few normal things such as tours etc. but visiting the different bars in Prague is kind of an experience on its own.
The first bar I found, funny enough, was when I got off the plane. They had a bar just minutes away from the door going into the airport from the runway. I stayed here for maybe 2 hours, and my reasons really were pretty pointless.
My excuse was charging my phone and working out what to do next, and how to get into Prague City Centre. Incredibly all the times I’ve been here and I couldn’t work this out. I even got on the wrong bus and ended up god knows where.
I felt so stupid because wherever this took me was not the city centre. I must have just choose to get on a random bus hoping for the best. Much like I did in Skiathos (A Greek Island where funny enough I also followed some of the Gremlins too). Here is when I ended up in mainland Greece at night because I got on the wrong boat during a tour lol.
This time it wasn’t that bad really mistake-wise as I fortunately found a Holiday Inn near by where I got off the bus – which I was able to order an Uber from.
I got to my hostel around 9pm. It was a pretty cool place with a bar. So I just kind of decided to drop off my bags and carry on drinking here rather than do anything else.
The NOT so funny part was when I had my phone on charge. It was just sitting on the top of this thin wooden board with a massive gap in front of the wall. It was stupid to think really I could just leave it here because obviously I knew if I dropped it down the back of this board, in front of this wall, then it would not be easy to get back out.
To my horror this is exactly what happened. The weight of my phone dethatched itself from the charger cable and it fell down the gap. I tried climbing behind and I was able to get in this gap but there was barely any room for me to move.
It really felt like it would just be stuck down there with no way of getting it out.
The staff seemed like even they wouldn’t be able to help me but then an Asian guy at the bar went and got a screwdriver. There was a vent at the bottom of the wall and by screwing this off he was easily able to get my phone out.
What a relief – THIS would have ruined my whole trip on only the first day. I’m really not sure what I would have done if he didn’t help me. It was like he was sent from God. I didn’t try to hug him but I could have because he really saved the day for me.
It was back to Plan ‘A’ after this. I was thinking about doing a few different things in Prague but I ultimately decided I wanted to go and see the Gorillas at the Zoo.
Revisiting Prague Zoo
Well what can I say – last time here (around 7 months ago) I absolutely loved it. This was my 3rd time coming here and the last time I remember the Gorillas were so great to watch. I couldn’t believe how Intelligent they looked – I was totally amazed.
I really wanted to get on a video call with my baby niece so I could show her. She loved seeing me (bless her) with the Barbary Macaques In Morocco – so this was my thinking. Although, Prague Zoo is NOT just about the Gorillas. It is pretty amazing just to walk around it and up the mountain. You also have other animals like the Honey Badgers, Polar Bears, Orangutans, Pangolins and Tasmanian Devils.
The honey badgers were so funny. The last time I was here they was really showing off in front of me. This time they wasn’t like this so much. It was a very busy day and it was a school holiday (I think) as there was a lot of families here and I think they was a bit shy with so many people about.
On this day I see that they had a counter which said there was over 9K visitors. I would never have guessed this many would come here in a single day but apparently so – this is what it said.
Seeing The Gorillas Again At Prague Zoo
The Gorillas were again quite entertaining to watch. I unfortunately didn’t get through to my niece on the phone as she was sleeping but I still got a good few photos. I didn’t take too many really. I’d kind of felt like I was just taking the same pictures as before but I got maybe 10 photos of the Gorillas.
So, the day out in general could have been better. I only got a glimpse of the Tasmanian Devils, even though I went back about 3 times. The Orangutans weren’t really doing much exciting either and the Honey Badgers I think didn’t like all the people here so they kept running off and AGAIN I never see the Polar Bears.
Also, there is a dark room that has a big kind of rat marsupial walking about free. I would have liked to gone and seen this animal. The last time I was here I actually stroked it when it come up beside me. I remember the first time I see this animal it scared the life out of me but when I went back as I knew what to expect it did not bother me at all.
I really was slacking on this visit. Last time I must have seen almost everything here but this time I wasn’t giving it the same effort. I was drinking even whilst I was here – it is not good. I’d definitely suggest doing this sober although if you do want a beer you can get one here.
I left Prague Zoo just before it closed (around 5PM) and from the McDonalds after I got off the tram (or bus I can’t remember) got a Bolt Taxi back to my hostel. I stayed in for the night after this. I wanted to get some writing done on this trip so this is what I did. Although VERY frustratingly nothing actually saved – I last hours of work (teaches me for being boring).
So, I was actually only originally going to spend a day in Prague because I wanted a whole day in Poland but as they would not let me cancel my last night at the hostel I decided I would stay and go see the Marshmallow Men.
My 2nd Full Day In Prague – What Happened?
My original plan on this day was to leave and head straight for Poland, but as mentioned above I decided to stay for another day. I was glad I did – one day in Prague is just not enough. Two isn’t really but I was happy just to have this day to go on the boat.
In the morning – really there was only one thing on my mind – go to see the Marshmallow Men on the Charles Bridge and book the Prague to Venis boat trip.
Last time I was very surprised to see the wild beavers on the river bank. This was the main attraction for me. My 1st time I did this boat trip I never knew they had Beavers here so I was quite amazed when I did see one.
Also, you get given these really nice chocolate gingerbread cakes on the boat too. I will have to find the shop that sells these next time I come here because they are delicious.
So, I was not disappointed this time around. I see several Beavers throughout this trip. Although I never actually got any photos whilst on the boat. Just a photo of the Nutria (River Rats) on the banks.
I thought these were Beavers at first but I quickly realised after they were not.
After this – I think I will quickly add this in here. I went in the Charles Bridge Museum. The Interesting thing about this was Inside is an Armour shell of one of the Knights of Malta. I never even knew this but Prague and Malta have a lot of connected history.
>>>Read More About Prague & The Knights of Malta HERE<<
Very Interesting but getting back to what happened during this visit. What I really wanted to do was to actually go and see the Wild Beavers here close up.
About 2-3 hours after the boat trip I decided to leave the Irish Times pub and cross the Charles Bridge to get to where I knew the Beavers would be on the river banks.
Unsurprisingly they was right there. The exact same place I see them the last time I was in Prague. There was a woman here with her little girl feeding them carrots. I think they hang about here as they know the tourists will feed them.
They are not intimidated at all. I’m sure ANYONE if they really wanted to could come to this same places on the river bank and see them, and even feed them like the woman did with her little girl.
If you do go to see the Beavers another thing I found out was crossing over to get to this part of the City was pretty cool as well. I’ve walked up the Charles Bridge enough times before but never actually crossed over to see what’s here. This time I did and I would certainly say it is totally worth doing.
There is a Gingerbread shop here which is one thing I noticed. I think this is where you can buy the cakes from the boat – and also there are lots of other quite charming shops and buildings. It has that traditional kind of archaic vibe where it is just nice to see.
Next time I think I will try to stop for a drink here (if I am even drinking). I would rather check the places out here than the usual places I go to before crossing the bridge. I mean, I suppose it’s easily done – I probably wasted a bit too much time at the Irish Bar (The Irish Times).
Definitely, I felt I stayed in here too long but it is not a bad place. They seem to always have live music on which is pretty cool.
My Last Night In Prague
So, I got very drunk on the night after all this. It was bad because I got right near to my hostel and I decided to walk all the way back to the Irish Times because I left my bag with my magnets and postcards in. It was bad because I just ended up in another pub, then another and then another.
Although, I did stumble upon The Astronomical Clock on the way. This is always great to see and I think if I hadn’t gone and seen this I would have been disappointed.
You can’t go to Prague and not see this. It is basically their main landmark. I can’t believe that I wasn’t really thinking about going to see this. I was just getting carried away in the various bars and pubs here, and didn’t even think about it.
The Oktoberfest Pub was the main one I think I stayed at the longest. I didn’t get out till late and the worst part was the metro (underground) was closed.
Not sure why because remember years ago using the metro all the way through the night. Basically, to the next day – I think maybe this could be a new thing or it might have just been the day of the week or something.
I used the tram to get back in the end. It got me back quick enough but the bad part about it was that I had to be up early in the morning to get my coach to Poland.
I really wasn’t doing myself any favours but STILL I got to Warsaw the next day and it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Getting The Coach To Poland
This went a lot better than expected. It was a long trip and my concern was what I’d do with myself for 9+ hours on the coach but it was fine. I had a bit of trouble opening the toilet door which the staff on the coach was laughing their heads off about but besides this it was hassle free really. I actually quite liked it just looking out the window and seeing the Polish countryside.
They had a vending machine for food and drinks as well. This was my saving grace I think because I had not eaten before I left and I was definitely hungry. They even had alcohol on the coach for sale but I figured after the embarrassment of not being able to open the toilet door I did not want to be going back and forth to pee lol
I initially wanted to get the night coach so I could sleep on my way here. I thought it was just going to be a long boring trip where I would be better off just sleeping the whole way through. It was not as bad as I thought. Poland is a beautiful country. Lots of countryside, and forests.
It is a bit like the UK to a degree but a LOT less developed.
Also, I googled what animals etc. you could find here in Poland. This was a surprise because I didn’t realise that you have Bears, Wolves, Elk and Bison all living in the wild forest.
I was looking out the window hoping to see something after reading this – I mean – I doubted I’d see anything. I suppose you really would have to go right into the dense forest but I think I did see a Wild Boar which was pretty cool.
So a good place to visit if nature Interests you I would say. I see there is a nature reserve you can go near Warsaw but this time I had no time really to do much except spend the night here and go to a couple of places to eat/drink.
My Stay In Warsaw
My first night in Warsaw I ate in a couple places. I had polish dumplings at one place and a Salmon salad at another. It cost me around 50 euros with my drinks.
Quite expensive for 2 small dishes but I was pretty hungry so I just went for it.
I was actually quite shocked at the prices because I always had in my head that Poland is one of Europe’s cheaper countries but I suppose it was just the places I went to. Also, the fact that Warsaw is a capital city. Budapest is quite similar – it is cheap in a lot of places places but in certain areas it is not cheap at all.
It was a bit different in the morning actually. The bakery I went to – here I paid 5 euros for a bottle of water, a chicken sandwich and a cheese, bacon turnover with Asparagus. That was cheap I thought and more in line with the prices I expected.
I had a bit of an incident after this. A very Important lesson learned. So, I ordered a Bolt to Warsaw Airport. It was NOT a pleasant experience. The driver cancelled my fayre on the Bolt app when I got into the car and he drove me to the wrong place.
Not anywhere near the airport and then he was demanding cash because he cancelled my payment on the Bolt App. I did not have any cash on me and he was getting very angry – I thought he was going to hit me at one point. Thankfully he left after this happened – swearing his head off but he should not have cancelled my fayre and god knows where this place was he took me to.
I fortunately managed to get an Uber after this to Warsaw airport and had no issues whatsoever. I did message to the driver first that I had no cash and needed the payment to be taken on the app. He had no problem with this.
It was good to actually get on my way here after this but actually something did happen on the way that made my decision to fly to Prague all worth the extra trouble.
So, I got a text from Trip.com saying my original flight I was supposed to get from Luton to Warsaw was delayed by 10 hours! from 8AM in the morning it had changed to 6PM at night. If I had stayed in the UK to get this flight as originally planned I would NOT have got my flight to Malta. I can Imagine the Gremlins would have been laughing off their chairs if this had happened but this is the thing about me I am a big magic.
I had a feeling that I should make my way to Poland another way. The dream I had about going to Albania on the way was kind of like a premonition. I mean maybe it was on my mind because I wanted to spend a bit more time in Poland but this dream I think is definitely what convinced me to change my travel plans.
The funny thing for me was thinking that the gremlins tampered with the plane from Luton thinking I was getting on it to stop me from coming to Malta. I was already 2 steps ahead lol
I definitely see the funny side because on the day I was supposed to be here I actually was! Just to think If I had missed this plane I probably would have never ended up coming to Malta. The gremlins can try but they will never be able to stop me lol
Getting Into Malta After My Time In Warsaw
I got into Malta from Poland at about 8PM. It was pretty easy after this, like it always is In Malta. I got the bus and headed straight for the hostel in St. Julians.
The Hostel Malti the name of the place is called. It is a bit of a walk getting up to the Triq. Birkarra area where it is but I got here quickly enough.
The place I never realized till after I got here has the same owners as the Marco Polo Hostel where I stayed a couple years back. That is a pretty mad place to stay but the HosteI Malti is a lot quieter.
I could have gone to Marco Polo for a free drink as a welcome gift as part of my booking but I really didn’t fancy it. I was a bit boring really that I didn’t try to be more social here because another Hostel Malti with Marco Polo does is free daily tours.
I am still getting WhatsApp notifications showing what all the guests are getting up to on these tours – I really think I missed a trick here.
Besides this – it was a good stay – Although one complaint I did have was once again I was stuck up on the top bunk. This caused me a lot of hassle having to get up and down, and on my first night it was the worst because I was woken up several times by a room mate who didn’t like my snoring.
I felt like punching him in the face – I was exhausted from travelling to the other countries. The reason I probably was snoring was I was deprived of sleep I needed the rest. He was out of order. I was glad he didn’t stay any longer after this 1st night.
Maybe my snoring scared him off and actually I had no more problems after this besides getting up and down from the top bunk, and losing a magnet I got from Prague.
Visiting The Bird Park and Sliema
The first main thing I did on this trip was to visit the Bird Park just past Bahar Ic Caghaq and the Marine Park. It was a small place and I wasn’t in here for long but it still was cool to check out.
My highlight was the Parrots and Cockatoos you see when you walk in. I’ve never heard a Parrot say more than one word before but this one said “Hello, How Are You?”
I had read some not so great reviews about this place prior to coming here. I’m glad I didn’t let this put me off because I didn’t think they was doing too bad a job here. The thing is that I don’t think some people understand is a lot of places like this are rescue centres.
They aren’t just in it for the money and it does take a lot of work looking after so many animals (or in this case birds) I thought maybe they might have been a bit understaffed here but I was happy to visit and spend some money to help towards their project.
It had quite an interesting mix of birds here. There was Owls, Vultures, Storks, Cranes, Peacocks and Flamingos – 2 different species I think. One from Chile and possibly the ones from Africa.
I was not here for long but I’m glad I went. Especially to see the Parrots and Cockatoos at the start. That was great hearing them talk. Parrots are probably my favourite birds especially when I hear them talking.
Now, I probably should have stayed this side of Malta with St. Pauls Bay, Popeye Village etc. but I kind of just wimped out. Instead of exploring the country further up I instead just got the bus back to Sliema and sat at the restaurant / bar by the beach.
There are a lot of beaches in Malta actually, and if you head up this way St. Pauls Bay is quite nice. I should have really come here Instead but I went back to Sliema and I spent quite a bit of time just sitting relaxing here, and drinking my beers.
I felt I was kind of wasting my trip a bit because I was drinking a lot but I suppose just looking out at the sea on a nice hot day isn’t so bad. Plus I see a lot of lizards running around AND you don’t get these in England lol so I think these are pretty awesome to see.
It was a funny coincidence actually because the book I was reading said something about Lizards and using them whilst tripping on drugs to guide you to knowledge lol All very strange but STILL reading this book was a big part of this trip (not trip trip) away.
Day 3: Reading My Book and Briefly Meeting The Gremlins At The End of The Night
On this morning I made a point to read what I could of a book I brought with me that I was really getting into during my stay over here. It is called The Teachings of Don Juan (a Yaqui Way of Knowledge) by Carlos Casteneda.
I started reading this on my first night in Malta and I really found it quite fascinating.
The book is about Carlos Casteneda, a Peruvian born anthropologist and writer, and his real life experiences spent with a Mexican Yacqui Indian Don Juan Matus. It is an incredible account as all this seemingly true. Even the talking lizards and the people that can turn into animals.
I’d definitely recommend reading this book. I am so glad that I made the time to read it but getting back to my story. Now, so besides reading the book I started my day having breakfast at the Dubliner Pub in Spinola Bay.
I stopped here most days during my stay in Malta and on this day I stayed a bit longer than the other days (mostly because I was drinking). In my head I thought I will give it a few hours and I will see what the Gremlins are up to.
What a waste of time – so, I spent a few hours back at Sliema Bay (again) after this and then I see on Facebook they was in Valetta. Really they said enough times they didn’t want me on there holiday but wow when they said they didn’t want me to meet them – I did NOT take this well.
I put on one of their Facebook posts that I would see them in Valletta and I got a reply saying NO. Like would I even have been that much of a problem it was just horrible.
I was very upset by this. As much as I said I’d just get on and do my own thing STILL I had come all the way out here they could have at least said OK come to Valletta and we will tell you where we are BUT NO. It really annoyed me because they are nice enough when they see me down the pub but when I follow them to another country – what a bunch of XXXXX
I got the same cold shoulder the night before and they will probably say “all is OK between us” because I did see them (not all of them) in Paceville at Hugo’s Bar later that night. It make me feel a bit better about the whole situation but I still think they are very childish.
*Note if any gremlins are reading this – I hope you haven’t got your nickers in a twist. Oh wait I mean I hope you have but moving on.
I guess I still had a nice week away but when people act like your friends and then don’t want you meeting up with them – even though your miles away from home its a bit horrible I think but STILL this was my excuse to come to Malta and it was a good week otherwise speaking.
What I Did After The Gremlins Left
The next night I got drunk AGAIN over Paceville. The night before I had some real trouble finding my way out of here and I did exactly the same again. On one of these nights I can’t remember which there was a group of girls jumping in the water for a swim. They did not stick about when I went to join them but I was having a right laugh running down the beach singing the 90’s Baywatch theme.
Its pretty wild in this part of Malta – I ended up in a bar next to the Museum of Illusions – it cost me about £28 for 2 cocktails in here but it was a good laugh. My 2nd drink they put a joke bug in here – It was pretty lame but it did make me laugh.
The next 2 days after this I was recovering from being drunk and just floating about between St. Julians, Paceville, Sliema and Valletta. Really I felt these days were such a waste but STILL I can’t complain Malta is lovely just to be here.
On my last day after this – I wanted to do something before I left to go back to England. I decided to get on the bus towards St. Pauls Bay and possibly the ferry port that goes to Gozo or maybe Popeyes Village but I wimped out AGAIN and took the easy option of going to the Marine Park.
So, being my 4th time here I really didn’t enjoy it as much as my 1st time or even my 2nd time. I made my way to Popeye Village after this, thinking I might get in for the last hour it was open for.
I got right near the sign post but I spent so long looking for it I gave up. Instead I stopped at one of the hotel/restaurants for a Maltease Platter and 2 for 1 Cocktails.
I had a bit of trouble after this. I kept missing the bus so I started walking and when I did get the bus I ended up all the way back in Valletta. This was funny because I see here there is a sign that you can go to Gozo from Valletta. If I had of actually known this I could have come here Instead of getting a bus journey with 22 stops.
I had the impression you had to go right to the other side of the Island which I actually did. To think I could have just gone to Valletta and I’d have actually got to go there.
Although, I really am glad I got to see a bit more of the other side of the Island. One thing that I would have liked to explore that I see on the bus was Wignacourt Tower.
I felt like last time I was in Malta I wanted to come back again and now the feeling is still the same. There is still so much that I’d like to come and see here that I haven’t on my last times coming here so this will be something I think for the future.
So Was It a Good Trip or a Bad Trip?
I can’t really moan at the gremlins too much because I said I would do my own thing here and for the most part I did have a good time coming here.
It was a good week and other than my two trips that were both cancelled It was good to get some more roots down here. The Gigantia Temple and Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum will be high on my agenda when I come back.
This was my big excuse to come to Malta so this kind of was a let down for me but it means I will take that bit extra care with booking again.
ALSO, I never went to Gozo. I’ve been to Malta 4 times now and never been here. Next time I will know that I can go from Valletta which is much quicker than riding a bus for 44 stops to the other side of the country.
I spent a long time on the bus finding that out but the other side of Malta – Melihua and St. Pauls Bay has some good places to explore as well – this would be something else to come back for, and Popeye Village I have got to come here as well.
And I think if I stay at the Hostel Malti or Marco Polo again I really should take them up on their daily free tours that I shamefully never took part in.
I see that you can buy a 7 day Tour Pass as well to get in a lot of places in Malta. That would be something else too but then – is 7 Days in Malta really enough?
I thought this last time but it was much better staying in an AirBnB then top bunk at the hostel. I think it is cheaper too if there is more than 1 person so I think if you are reading this and you want to do this then see if you can find a travel companion (not a gremlin) if you want to have this experience.
Maybe, for me, this will be the plan next time. I really want to see as much as I can. There is a lot to see in Malta so I would say go and come back and try to do as much as possible!
In Conclusion
So I will know finish up this blog post here. I apologize for any Gremlins feelings that might have been hurt after reading this blog post. I’ve been to Malta now almost every year since 2020 – 4 times in 6 years. I know should be going to new places but Malta is quite special to me so I think if I can I should try to keep coming back.
On a final note I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and if you would like to buy Teddy a Coffee for his next trip you find my link HERE<<
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Keen traveller and digital nomad looking to share my stories from my international trips with my faithful companion Mr Bean 2.0 (Alex Chivers).
