Neither exotic nor homey - Malta

You go to places. You have expectations. You do extensive planning, spend ridiculous amount of money to take cattle class in shit airlines to reach your dream destination. And bamm, in a split of a second you realize it was a bad bad choice.

I thought to myself, maybe I need to scratch below the surface to find something interesting but all I could find is yet another destination invaded by the Russians and British in their ever longing quest to find places to soak in the sun, but instead making the island into gloomy, expensive and dysfunctional place. An island full of under-staffed restaurants serving large portions of everything, liquor shops advertising discounts for students, do as-little-as-possible hotel employees, self-claimed universities trying to teach English to everyone including the Brits and realtors luring those fat rich brats to expensive sea-facing properties. Oh I forgot to mention about the silent city of Malta where you can visit the dungeons, probably an inspiration behind “Fifty shades of Grey”

Yes, I’m indeed talking about Malta. May be i gave up too early to bother to look at the hidden charm and beauty of the world's smallest state.

If you are one of those tourists who would like to visit every UNESCO heritage site on this planet, you will not be disappointed as Malta has quite a few of them. If you are interested in history, once again Malta will be of deep interest as the island has been reigned by many empires and rulers before gaining independence in 1964. Malta is also a favorite destination for hollywood and its several mega-budget movies.

People who read my blog may have realized that I travel for food, as food not only defines the culture but also the character of a country and its people. Malta supposedly has some really good Maltese cuisine if you can find one. Apart from that you can find many self-acclaimed world’s best Italian, Mediterranean and Chinese cuisine, and indeed they are the worlds best if you have never stepped outside the Maltese island.

If you do happen to be on this island, some of the good restaurants you should try are Gozitan (just wear your patience hat as you will have to wait for a long time for your food) and Gululu. There are some other decent restaurants such as Tarragon, Blue Elephant and de Mondion but be prepared for some serious harm to your wallet.