The 2008 Trip
This time I went with the Mrs (of course) and a couple of friends who'd been foolish enough to say they were thinking about a holiday in Malta, and did I know anything about it? They took the attitude that if I didn't mind being an unpaid tour guide, then they would be quite happy to tag along.

I'd already decided on the timing - the start of the winter season; that way I could book a four star hotel at a reasonable price. The hotel criteria were simple, it should be close to the sea, close to the bus routes, not far from a large town or city and no steep hills between the bus stop and the hotel. I also ruled out new developments and known noisy areas like St Julian's. The hotel I'd found in 2004 suited the bill exactly, to my mind it is one of the best and nicest hotels I've ever stayed in (and the bus stop is just 50 metres from the lobby). I did check-out booking the flights and hotel independently but in the end I found that Chevron Air Holidays, who I'd used in 2004, could book the flights and hotel as a package somewhat cheaper than I'd managed to achieve. So that was decided, the Waterfront Hotel at Sliema and direct flights from Heathrow by Air Malta. Then I spent some time on research, checking out things like the cost and timing of weekly bus tickets, and what attractions you needed to book in advance.

One thing I didn't do was hire a car. They're cheap, but it's not worth it the way the Maltese drive. If you intend to get about, take a bus. I've talked about Maltese buses before, and although some of the older ones have now gone to the scrap yard in the sky, there's still plenty of antique specimens around to make the bus trips eventful and enjoyable. Don't ride the new ones, they're much less fun. 

The Weather
Pam asked after the weather - an innocent enough question. In the last write-up, I said the weather is pretty good in November and up until this last trip, I guess I was pretty much right. However, Malta does have a 'Winter', and it normally starts around the third week of November. Last year it started early, the 9th of November actually (or the 3rd day of my holiday - whichever ...) and the weather changed overnight. It was cooler, the skies became a bit overcast, and there was a tendency towards rain. Nothing too dramatic the weather was still very pleasant, not cold, just a chance of getting wet. The rain comes in two kinds, thunder storms which are quite dramatic but don't last more than hour or two; and, well, light showers, which are quite warm and not at all unpleasant, but they do hang around for a half a day. 

The Journey ...
... was uneventful! Pam and Mike turned up on time, the mini-cab to Heathrow got there with no problems, check-in was a bit of a drag (no change there then), the flight was pleasant and comfortable and (again) on time. The 'Arrivals' terminal at Luna was now finished and very nice to. A mini-bus picked us up and delivered us to our hotel in Sliema; and I was stretched out on my hotel bed by mid-afternoon, just five hours from leaving home.

Familiarisation
The next day was 'familiarisation', or in my case, checking that nothing too drastic had happened over the last four years. Well one thing had changed, Malta had joined the EC and the currency was now the ubiquitous Euro. I had thought this change would have caused a general increase in prices, but not a bit of it. Despite the Maltese Lira no longer being legal currency, everything was dual priced (by law) so the locals could 'police' any 'accidental inflation'. If the price in Euros was say rounded up, then the displayed price in Lira also went up - amidst cries of 'foul' from the populace. It worked, which explained why bus fares were 47¢ and had not been rounded to 50¢.

Updated: 09/02/09