By Angele Spiteri Paris and Stefanie Eschenbacher
Under the guise of my Russian alter-ego (that somehow proved to be quite convincing, despite my black hair), I roamed the streets with my trusty cohorts – Ben, the photographer and Stefanie, a German student, who helped make our tourist act more believable.
Starting off in Valletta, we decided it would be best to visit the Tourist Information office. The employee, who was chatting on the phone as we walked in and then waited for around 15 minutes, soon made up for the initial bad impression she had given us.
She spoke fluent Italian and French to the tourists ahead of us and was very friendly and helpful. When we asked her how to get to Hagar Qim by bus, she took the time to explain where we could find this bus in the somewhat confusing terminus.
Our next stop was the Archaeology Museum in Republic Street. We were all very impressed with the exhibition put on by Heritage Malta, called Roots of a Nation. The exhibits were properly labelled and the play of light was very effective.
We then decided to buy something from the monti, to see whether the sellers would accept Euros. Speaking in heavily accented English, I asked a man selling belts how much two 50c belts would cost. That day, he should have charged us E2.65, but instead asked for E2.50. True, it is a small amount of money, but it was still appreciated, since it is always believed that market traders rip tourists off.
Our excitement at having found someone honest was soon deflated after a run-in with taxi drivers. Adopting my Russian persona, I asked how much it would cost for us to get to Sliema.
The price, Lm6, was acceptable, but we were planning to go to Sliema by ferry. I then asked the taxi drivers from where we could catch the ferry.
One claimed there was no ferry and that he would take us to Sliema for Lm5. He told me the ferry only goes from Sliema to Valletta because in Valletta, “there is no one to take the tickets.”
This seems to show how desperate this driver was to make a sale that day. We managed to take the ferry from Valletta to Sliema with no problems, proving the taxi driver completely wrong.
We went on to visit Mdina and could not resist Fontanella’s cakes. The service was not as fast as usual and I, being Maltese, obviously realised this.
On the whole, the experience was enlightening. I got to see Malta through a fresh perspective, since we often take the beauty of the island for granted. We were treated well and were not overcharged, which was interesting to discover, because we often hear horror stories of tourists being charged 50c for a chocolate bar!
Although I could not get the full touristic experience, and there were so many locations we did not visit, I came to one certain conclusion at the end of the day – being a tourist is tiring!
And now for the real tourist’s experience…
I (Stefanie) think that variety is the spice of life and that is why I decided to spend some time in Malta (which is so completely different from Germany).
I had already been here two years ago and I really loved my stay here. But a lot of things have changed since I left. Fortunately, the good things have remained, such as the charming inhabitants.
Everyone here is still very welcoming, which makes it much easier for me to adapt. To be honest, I am a bit surprised because the locals do not treat me as an annoying foreigner, or even as a troublesome tourist, but rather as a friend.
You can get almost everything here and you pay with a smile. Even when you get lost (and I have to admit that this happens quite often to me, because the narrow streets and alleyways are really confusing), you find someone who helps you or even gives you a lift.
Even though I did not come here to be a tourist, I had the opportunity to see some of Malta’s tourist attractions. On our little investigative journalism assignment, I was even able to see how the Maltese people regard and treat tourists.
We also went to the Torture Instruments exhibition at Vittoriosa, and the descriptions of the exhibits were translated into perfect German, which in other countries is not always the case. The bus we were on during our day out was a new one. Although they are friendlier to the environment, I feel that some of their charm has been lost. The old ones were more like a museum on wheels.
I have realised that the Maltese in general have become much more environmentally aware. Two years ago, walking on the pavement, or rather, stumbling over heaps of rubbish, was a risky business. Not only the streets but also the beaches and magnificent landscapes are much cleaner now.
I even noticed that there are more new cars on the roads and therefore less exhaust fumes pollute the air. Cars... that reminds me of another thing – the traffic seems to be absolute bedlam and chaos. It is always a relief to me when I manage to cross a street without causing an accident. Do people here actually know that cars have indicators?
When Maltese people speak I also get the impression of chaos. This is because in a simple discussion everyone talks at the same time, so often they do not listen to each other. They usually talk very loudly and very fast. For me, as an outsider, it always sounds like a fight!
After listening for some time, trying to separate Maltese and English words, and trying to find a way to escape from what I think will turn into a fight, it turns out to be just a conversation about whether boiled eggs are better for breakfast than scrambled eggs.
[email protected]
[email protected]