Malta Diary - Day One (25/7/06)

5:22am Home - Well I'm up, showered, dressed and ready for the off. Bags are packed & double checked. As far as I can think of I have everything I am likely to need. I'm catching the 6:47am train to Exeter St. David's station and will most likely have to catch a taxi from there to the airport. A shame that I couldn't get a lift down, but work scedules for family & friends wouldn't allow it. I'll likely set off for the train station in about half an hour or so. My heart is beating a lot faster than usual, thumping out an insane rythmn behind my ribs.

I'll be sure to take some money out of an ATM on my way through town. I have some on me anyway, but better safe than sorry. Not sure my bags are the right weight, but I can't take any less than what I am, so I'll have cash on me in the event there is a fee to pay. Part of me is terrified that my ticket etc won't be at the airport for me and that I'll be back in this room tonight. Ohhh my paranoia is having fun with me today!

6:15am Taunton Train Station - The sun is out, so the walk across town was very pleasant. I've bought a return train ticket for just 8.47. I might need to revise my opinion of rail travel. Dad thought it would be 12 pounds or more. Good thing I thought to bring a couple bottle of cold water with me, as the cans here are 70 pence and no doubt they'll cost more at the airport. I had the remains of last nights pasta bake for breakfast (I could hardly leave it sat in the fridge for a week), but I'm thinking I should have brought something to eat mid-morning. Ohh well.

8:35am Exeter Airport - So far so almost good. My trip has been spoiled only by the con artist I met on the way down here who got 30 quid out of me. Quite what I was thinking when I lent him the money on the promise of "I'll be back in a couple minutes with the van" I don't know. Still he lives in Taunton, works at scaffolding and drinks in the Coal Orchard. I'm sure I'll run into him again soon enough. He was going to give me a lift to the airport, in the end I got a taxi which cost me 14 pounds (including tip).

The airport is very nice and I am writing this sat in the Departure Lounge. I leave these shores at 10:10am, and after the morning I've had I can hardly wait to put Britain behind me. Facing me as I sit here is a large (and very gaudy) boutique selling perfume, sunglasses, alcohol and tobacco at Duty Free prices. I've browsed the shelves and spotted a few things I wouldn't mind, but I'm not going to spend any more money here.

4:30pm Maritim Antonine Hotel & Spa, Mellieha - I'm here and I have a stinking headache despite taking 3 Nurofen's already today. My room is very brown and seemingly it has no power. There is also a very annoying sound of dripping water, but as far as I can tell it is not coming from my en-suite bathroom.

My Room

It is very hot here and very dry. On the drive in the minibus across Malta I got the impression that the entire island is being reconstructed. I've never seen so many large cranes and roadworks in all my life. The view from my window is across flat rooftops and down into a narrow side street.

The View From My Balcony

I've yet to explore the hotel. I think I'm going to have a nap first and see if I can shake this headache. Then I'll see about learning my way around this place. The in-flight meal was delicious, chargrilled chicken with risotto. A shame that if my headache remains I'll likely be seeing it again a lot sooner than I would have liked!

9:30pm - Well I wasn't sick so that's a plus. Slept for 4 hours or so and then got dressed and set off to explore the Antonine. There's quite a bit to the place, which is oddly on both sides of the main road (Gorg Borg Olivier Street), the two halves linked by an underground tunnel. The hotel has a bar on my rooms side of the street which I visited before coming back to my room. Bar 120 is quite nice, though the lack of a jukebox was strange. I had a pint each of Cisk (a local slightly sweet lager) and Kinnie (the very strange yet kinda moreish local soft drink made from bitter oranges). On the other side of the street are all three pools (1 is on the roof), a buffet restaurant (Les Jardins) where I had dinner and also a pizzeria (The Al Ponte), where I woul;d have had dinner if I'd found it first. I've not yet found the cyber cafe. I'm sat here writing this watching BBC World which is the only english channel on the satellite TV (or at least the only one I've found after surfing though 50 channels).

There is a minibar in my room, but I doubt I'll be making much use of it as the drinks from it cost extra. Ohh and the power is on, apparently I need to slot my door opening card into a receiver inside the room to switch on the power while I'm in there. Would have been nice to have been told that when I checked in. Breakfast starts being served at 7:30am, so I'll be getting up early for that. I think I'll go explore the big red castle on the ridge, which overlooks the far end of the town tomorrow. Nite World.