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Welcome to my travel log! You will find here a lot more than in the travel reports, stripped from political correctness. Enjoy! 
May 02, 2003 02:00 PM Malta's 7,000 year old monoliths
The next stop in the plan was the monoliths, which make Malta stand out in the history of all European civilisations. These monoliths have in fact been declared to be the oldest free-standing man-made structures on this planet. Fairly enough, but I was wondering what would they say about the Sphinx in Egypt. Recent calculations have been disputing that the magnificent lion can be as old as ten thousand years – about three thousand older than those Maltese monoliths. The Maltese would then reply that these are just speculations while the age calculations of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra are not ambiguous.
Well, nevertheless they are quite intriguing. They are believed to be Megalithic temples. I have not spent too much time around them and have not read much about them either to find out how certain the science is about the origin of these stones. This is one of the secrets of the history of our planet.
Since they are believed to be one the oldest places on this planet, if not the oldest, UNESCO included them on the World Heritage List in 1980.
The site is tiny and to spend 15 minutes around them is more than enough. They are located quite picturesquely on a slope and when standing by them, the sight towards the sea is breathtaking, so may be it makes sense to linger about a bit longer and soak in the gorgeous view and the ambience of the unknown.
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May 02, 2003 02:00 PM Malta's Blue Grotto
I was interested in visiting the Blue Grotto and possibly the seven thousand year old monoliths. So, I stepped outside the city walls looking for the bus stop and found a taxi stand. I was contemplating for a minute or two and then decided to take a taxi back to Valletta, which was maybe 7 km away.
I stepped into the sky-blue fifteen year old Mercedes and stated y direction. the taxi driver without spending too much tie on breaking the ice comes with this offer – why don’t I take you on a trip to several places around the island for half of the day and you pay me 20 MLT.
Well, I thought that would be very convenient and comfortable. I said yes and there I was on a ride to the Blue Grotto. I was however on a ride to hell. The cabbie was actually quite three sheets to the wind and made me quickly realise that Malta is very close to Africa, which was so evident in the driving style.
Well, there was no style to it whatsoever. The guy, in his late fifties (maybe he was thirty year old and just the overuse of alcohol made him look like he lived through a lot more in his life) drove like crazy. I did not have any chance to see if the indicators were working or not. There were never used!
Aggressive overtaking third in a single lane does not even begin to describe what I was going through. I did try to enjoy as much as I could but something tells me that I would have enjoyed a lot more had there been safety belts in the car that I could use. Or safety belts of any kind actually.
At least he knew where to go and I was at the shore waiting for my boat to the Blue Grotto in no time. The boat arrived promptly and it was very small and wobbly. It was actually smaller than the waves around it. I loved it! However that was the only thing that I loved about the Blue Grotto escapade. It is actually a kind of tourist trap. It is very small and uninspiring. The water is truly blue, but not extraordinarily blue. I would have not been such a big trap if the trip was longer and if it was possible to swim there.
Allegedly, the depth of the grotto was well exceeding seven meters, which was surprising because the crystal clean water did not give away its depth at all. There are a lot people doing this trip, which is a good business for the local fishermen, who created a cooperative, provided the boats and share the earnings. Many of them would want to take a swim in the grotto and linger little bit longer. This however would not make this place attractive anymore due to the overcrowding.
When I came back from the boat, I found my tax driver sitting in a bar opposite the parking lot drinking whiskey. He actually offered me one as well as soon as he saw me, but I decided to have a beer instead. Then he took a double whiskey for himself anyway.
I had mixed feelings then – I wanted to get on the road again before the sunset and see a lot more, but I was not prepared to die in Malta in a drunken accident. What to do, what to do, what to do? I was sipping my free beer quickly hoping it would clear my mind a little. It didn’t.
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May 02, 2003 02:00 PM Marsaxlokk (MT) - a colourful harbour
Somehow, the completely inebriated driver knew that I wanted to see the lovely fishing village Marsaxlokk. He suggested we went there.
It was a funny feeling that it took just seven minutes from the Blue Grotto to the village. Despite the in-car feeling, I thought I liked it. I don’t know if it is normal to do the distance in seven minutes or not. I just don’t want to know.
But there I was rolling like a rocket into this tiny harbour. Happy I arrived. In one piece! No, happy I arrived so quickly. I am so used to travel by air that I am getting impatient during the travel. I just cannot wait ‘til I get there. It’s bad, I must getting old. In the past I did not mind that I was taking three days hitch-hiking from Szczecin to Paris. Or that the train trip between Kiev and Poltava could take the whole night and most of the morning. And that is in a single country. Yeah, yeah, but again that was back in 1985 (and again in 1987), so deep in the XX century, when these things were still allowed.
The harbour line, just by the water, was occupied by the handcraft sellers. They were just packing up as the sun was, how to say that… already after dinner, and that includes wine and cheese. It was not getting dark yet however, not for another hour and a half. The merchants had something in common: the table clothes and al sorts of nuts in solid syrup. I had to get one. The nuts thing of course.
The other side of the harbour line, the line of buildings along the waterline, were households, shops, absolutely nothing I can think of and restaurants, possibly bars. I did not check that. Oh, but some of the restaurants gave it away as they had tables lined up and some of them put tables across the street to stand by the water’s edge.
I was not sure what to do in this very small village. There was nothing else there but an unlimited number of colourful boats and very smelly fishing nets. Decision was therefore easy: to take a stroll along the harbour watching the boats, boatsmen, and soaking the smell of the fishing nets. Ough, yeah and the, uhmm…, the smell of fresh flesh of fresh fried fish and local beer, which were adored by a couple of dozens of people. I was wondering how much beer they had to down to kill the smell of the fishing nets. They were sitting calmly at the table along the walking path of the harbour. I have to say that I did not necessarily envy them.
I must have spent about an hour walking along the path and admiring the colourful boats and the great number of them. My driver was patiently waiting for me in a bar whose owner he must have known very well. The majority of the boats were painted fabulously in the same pattern and very similar way. It was interesting to see that, although it gets a bit boring after a while, as the variety is not great. I noticed many boats that could be best described as dead boats of dead owners. They were half-submerged in the water and the word ‘neglect’ would not be fully describing the state of them. The conclusion was therefore safe to make that the owners of these boats must no longer be.
There was not much happening there and I decided to get moving. But before I got on the way, I had to allow my driver to down another glass of whiskey while I was strongly encouraged to have another local beer. Then, the owner of the shop decided to close his establishment.
I ordered the plastered driver to take me to my hotel. Although I knew that I wanted to just get rid of him and begin my evening plan. It included primarily the picture taking of the Valletta’s skyline from the Sliema side. It was almost 8pm on the 3rd of May and the sun preparing to bed was providing the best light for the photos.
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May 01, 2003 02:00 PM Valletta (MT) - UNESCO listed capital of tiny country
The capital city of Malta is not big. I should say it is rather small, in fact. It is situated on a narrow peninsula and the town is build around one main street going through the centre of the peninsula. The peninsula is about 700–800 meters wide and 2200–2300 meters long. Valletta sits on approximately one half of the peninsula and its suburb city of Floriana on another.
The entire city is fortified and therefore it is impossible to get lost. There are no modern buildings within its walls and this is what makes this place unique. No wonder that UNESCO included Valletta on the World Heritage List already in 1980.
Valletta has amazing magnetism that attracts hordes of people. They get bewitched instantly by this medieval city, which the Knights of St John built in XVI and XVII centuries. Although there have been some buildings added in the XVIII century, the entire city has not changed much from the day it was founded by the Knights. It is so easy to soak in this medieval atmosphere.
Gorgeous architecture dominates throughout the entire Valletta’s peninsula. The dome of the Carmelite Church is the main feature of the Valletta skyline. This is what makes it recognisable, stand out.
There are a few large structures, many of which were dedicated as places of worship, for religious purposes. Since the Knights of St John were the defenders of the faith (of Christianity), practically the entire city was therefore worshiping. The Knights left some magnificent palaces and churches in the city. And to protect them, they erected a few mighty fortresses. They all stand until this day creating an unforgettable sight and atmosphere.
Other buildings are generously decorated with sculptures or stone engravings and with meticulously carved wooden balconies sticking out a bit from the main façades. Everything looks so old.
Unfortunately, many of the building in the city need some serious renovation. The façades have been thoroughly weathered and a few layers of paint would most definitely bring back their glory. Same for the incredible balconies – they need some serious woodwork and their windows would definitely welcome good glazing.
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Dec 27, 2002 07:00 PM Namibia - Swakopmund to Windhoek and flying out!
Next morning, at 7:30 am, Sylvester came with an old pick-up Mazda, which was bit of a shock but it was all right, I guess. Then, after about an hour, I changed the car at the BP service station in Swakopmund to a VW Minibus. It was at least looking a lot better and it had air conditioning. There was another shocker waiting for me though. In the van, there were six very strange looking guys speaking an Eastern European language – some sort of Russian (not!), Ukrainian (not really!) or rather Serb (I did not think so).
No-one told me that I would have company during my trip to the airport! Not very nice, I have to admit. For all that squeeze I paid 150 euro - I could not believe it!
At the other hand, I was so happy that I did not have to leave one day early. I had a great day at and around the beach, improved my colour, had a free dinner at the Box (including crayfish!!) and a good night sleep. Last day of the holiday, so it was worth it!
The Hosea Kutako Windhoek International Airport is not sophisticated at all albeit I had enough courage to check my luggage in all the way through to London Heathrow. That was possible with the luggage but that stupid girl did not check me in on any of my following flights! This meant that I had to waste so much time on both the Johannesburg and Munich airports.
At Windhoek airport, they have a small duty-free shop where alcohol is more expensive that in the bottle stores on any high street in any town.
Well, there is nothing wrong with that you would say, but they also have a completely neglected toilet for disabled people – a real 'disabled toilet'. There was absolutely no toilet paper (hey, don't you worry – I did not need any) or soap and the hands dryer did not work. I guess there are not many disabled people in Namibia – I saw rather fit and nice individuals, so why would they care to maintain the disabled toilets... Uh oh, the toilets, however, magically had locks – that is something really unusual! Is it not? In the entire Namibia, the concept of locks in the toilets does not exist and there, on the airport, you have it!
Well, within two hours I was at the Johannesburg International Airport. Again. To my greatest disappointment, I found out that there was no longer a Star Alliance lounge on this airport!
Nevertheless, Star Alliance, at least its leader, Lufthansa, flies to Johannesburg ever day. Consequently, only stranded and unhappy can most of the loyal gold cardholders be, who cannot access any lounge there unless they are holding the Miles & More card. Therefore, there is really no reason to be loyal anymore! I was flying Lufthansa that day and as the Lufthansa lounge was scrapped, (it must have been during late 2001 or the beginning of 2002) their passengers should use the Baobab Lounge of South African Airways. Still, the staff did not let golden passengers on, just because they may be of the wrong Star Alliance gold. The problem is that all golds beside Lufthansa's are the wrong ones. I guess I should write to Lufthansa to address this issue, should I not?
Well, if I had had long hours to wait, I would have found the way in, like I did on the way up a month before, but it was ok, I wanted to drink some more Amarula and they did not serve Amarula at the Baobab Lounge. The bar upstairs, above the shopping area, was serving Amarula so I decided to have two doubles. Ha!
Actually, after second thought, maybe Star Alliance have a point – why would they want to invest in a lounge at this airport? Johannesburg International is not impressive at all. There is only one restaurant and it has absolutely no options for vegetarians. And no waiter service! This is the main hub airport of a country that considers itself the most developed on the continent! Hmm... Right!
I would also like to make an observation. The passengers to London had to go through additional screening of hand luggage while passengers to other European, Asian or African destinations (did not note routes to any four other continents at that time) did not. There must be a reason for that. It definitely made me think in what dangerous country I decided to live. What if George Michael is right and they are gonna shoot the dog?
But I was going to Munich on ... a quite horrible flight and that was for the end of the fabulous African trip. The first failure was a lack of professionalism of the ground personnel (who could not get me an upgrade or even book me on my next flight), then broken screens (green instead of red or yellow – people looked like sick aliens), broken headphones and a complete lack of organisation – my vegetarian meal was not delivered. The crew even claimed that it was not ordered. How can it be, since I got my special order on the way down to Johannesburg and the Star Alliance diamond club who has my personal profile ordered the ticket? Then, eventually, the screens broke completely or were switched off deliberately. And it gave me headache.
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Dec 26, 2002 07:00 PM Namibia - Swakopmund, the last day
On the last day of African summer before 'tomorrow's going back' to European winter the sun finally came up at around 11:30 am but the mist was already building up on the horizon. The incredibly thick fog hanging not too low and not too high over the ocean is truly a magnificent view, I have to admit. Although quite late, the sun was however strong enough to bleach my fringe and burn the top of my head. I just wanted to cook myself a bit on my last sunny holiday day. Well, that was the very last chance to catch the colouring sun rays, as well.
I could not get enough of the sun, palm trees and the beach! I was wandering about the town and doing absolutely nothing - just spending some time with my own, something I knew I would not have too much back in London. Stroll in the town, last shopping and Monk Fish for lunch at the Tug on the terrace with the ocean view. Brilliant!
On that day, however I also had an interesting and rather provocative discussion with an Israeli called Tal. Discussion of course on the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. Some strong arguments were exchanged but somehow we managed to avoid aggression - how non-Israeli, right? I definitely enjoyed that exciting, dynamic and somewhat loud conversation. I was the one who, surprise, surprise, did not shout at all. Hmm, great pity that I did not understand or even remotely follow this conflict, maybe I could have been even more provocative and winding up and perhaps we would have hit each other and started a fight. That would have therefore been also exciting for all those people who were present there but actually not participating in the discussion.
On the last day, I also had to organise myself a transport back to the international airport of Windhoek. I had to be on the airport by noon and that is on Saturday. On Saturdays, people in Namibia do not move and the so called, or better so considered, public transport stands still. Almost. It is then very difficult to move from A to B and I would also like to believe that putting reliance on any form of transport beyond one's control is highly irresponsible.
That is very important for flights as these are neither cheap nor frequent and if nonrefundable, so when missed the situation gets very painful as well. Plus, of course, when one has to be back at work within shortly, this would not help with the relationship with the boss. Not that I personally have this problem but I did not want to waste holiday time on hanging around airports and frantically trying to find alternative home connections.
I found that there were a few options available, including an airplane and a train. I was considering them but I was not particularly fond of the airplane as it was actually leaving on Friday afternoon.
The train option was better since it was, according to the schedule, leaving on Friday night. I definitely did not want to leave on Friday during the day and it later turned out that the trains were cancelled for the entire Christmas period and even beyond. There was no service until 29 December. Although trains in Namibia are reported as sluggishly slow, I actually was quite excited to go on the train after all. Too bad!
The other alternative was to hire the entire combi taxi, i.e. minivan for about 800 Namibian dollars (80 euro) with Eddy, who was bossing the entire minivan service in Swakopmund. The fare of 80 euro for three hours drive (approximately 300 kilometres) sounded fair to me.
Sybille knew Eddy and I know that Mario, the German from the eclipse Katima Mulilo tour, did this so I was considering it as a real option. At the other hand, I used the minivan service before and I would not describe it as very reliable plus the service is not very fast. So, I had a dilemma. Until I went to a posh hotel …
The direct transfer to the airport is organised by Sylvester known both to Sybille at the Box and Sylvia from the Banhoff hotel. Sylvia quoted 1,500 Namibian dollars, which was as much as the Adventure Centre in the town wanted. It therefore sounded like a standard price for this kind of tour. I booked it and could relax for the rest of the day.
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Dec 25, 2002 07:00 PM Namibia - Swakopmund, going out on the Boxing Day
Swakopmund in the summertime is the place to hang around the bars. There are two main bars: Rafters and Fagin's. The place is getting very busy and bars are usually full of thirsty holidaymakers and as well as locals.
One night, few people from the Place and I decided to hit the drinking holes. The first choice was Rafters because it was the most popular and had good music. It was however utterly packed and there was absolutely no chance to get a drink. We were standing in a line for a drink for about three quarters of an hour and still not getting anywhere. One can imagine how thirsty we were getting. It was very hot in the bar and any kind of drink would do the trick to make us stayed longer. Even tonic water!
Fagin's was a better choice particularly that I could impress everyone with a handshake with the entire bar personnel. To achieve that one needs a trick. The trick in my case was to buy them a drink on my previous stay in Swakopmund. It worked perfectly!
During my previous visit, I decided to influence the DJ to categorically change the music. So, I said to the bartender that I would buy him any drink he wished if he made the DJ to change the tune. I eventually ended buying a drink for the DJ, who was not a DJ but the second barman. The actual DJ on duty had a break. I was then allowed to choose my own music myself from the CDs pack they had behind the bar.
So, later on, during my subsequent visits the bar tenders knew me and knew exactly what I wanted, particularly when I came with a group of people. I did not even had to place an order – the shots were already waiting on the bar.
Apart from a bar in a hotel where the Crazy Kudu team, who organise adventure activities, show the videos from those activities and the bar in the Tug restaurant I have not visited any other bars in the town. Well, I went to Bohemia disco nightclub one night and there was a bar and I was drinking in the Lighthouse Pub but this is about it.
There were most definitely other bars to visit, in particular those that locals like the most and those close to the brewery, but somehow I never made it to them.
Hmm, I guess it is quite easy to explain. Once you are in a bar where the service, drinks and company are good, you are not thinking of going anywhere else. Isn't it a waste of time to be moving from one bar to another? So, Fagin's was the best choice after all; it also had a big screen to watch various things and a pool to play with the locals and other globetrotters.
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Dec 24, 2002 07:00 PM Namibia - Christmas in Swakopmund
The second time I was in Swakopmund, I discovered that there were also other places in Swakopmund for worshiping seafood. For example the Europa Hoff Hotel. Hmm... yet, the Tug and Lighthouse were my favourites. Both of them are located literally on the beach and by a pier. Not the same pier though and not with the same view.
Since Swakopmund is predominantly German, there are numerous eateries that offer traditional Teutonic dishes. These would include schnitzels, all sort of obese pork, sauerkraut and sausages. One of the most hilarious sights in this town is the place named 'wurstbude'. It means 'sausage chalet' and they did sell all kinds of Teutonic, mostly pork, sausages. It was very odd to see something like that in African country and in a desert surrounded place among artificially planted palm trees.
For Christmas, I had plenty of fish!
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Dec 23, 2002 07:00 PM Namibia - Swakopmund, the Namib Telecom rip-off
In Swakopmund, I found out that the telephones in Namibia are a larger rip off than in England, where most of things are actually over priced!
Namib Telecom charges not only ridiculous prices for their lousy services but also commences charging right after dialling, regardless whether you manage to speak to anyone or not, whether the connection is successful or not. There are no words to describe how vicious and unfair that is!! Can you actually believe it? This is monopoly for you. The worst thing about it that the situation in Namibia is unlikely to change because there will not be anyone else prepared to invest phenomenal amount of money is such a scarcely populated African country. Not even with mobiles networks!
At the seafront of Swakopmund, there is one great thing – The Tug, a seafood restaurant. The foood is super great there, but the seeaa fooood is unbelievable. Also, the sunsets from the terrace or the main dinning room are spectacular. The windows open really wide! I cannot sufficiently describe the quality of the crayfish, lobsters, prawns or even monkfish.
Being a seafooderian it definitely made my day, the first time I went to Swakopmund, right after the total eclipse trip. I had a very busy day that day when I explored the National West Coast Tourist Recreation Area, so I decided to finish it with a big bang. Never mind that I managed to thoroughly sunburn back of my legs on the sandboarding activity. But also did I not leap out of a tiny little aircraft at the altitude of ten thousand feet, or had an accident on a quad bike in the middle of a desert? I deserved it. The very next day I ate at the Lighthouse Restaurant & Pub.
Lighthouse Restaurant & Pub serves fantastic lobster with shrimps, prawns, mussels, on the rice bed with cooked vegetables and super real double Irish coffee for just under USD20! Unreal. Well, when it arrived about an hour late at my table I could not believe my eyes. Soon after, my stomach could not believe it. And finally, just before leaving the venue, my credit card bank could not believe it. Great value!
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Dec 22, 2002 07:00 PM Namibia - in Swakopmund again!
It was already in Swakopmund. It was all standing lunch by the bungalow at the humongous municipal bungalow site, about two minutes from the beach, which I knew so well already.
So, there I was back in Swakopmund, where weather is simply unpredictable. The main and sole problem is the mist. There is no pattern of it and no idea when and for how long it will be.
For few days in a row, the fog covered the sky (no sunshine) until 10 am and then again from 3-4 pm. Just before Christmas however, it left the entire evening clear allowing for spectacular sunsets but covering the sky long until 2:30 pm the next day exactly when people (meaning 'I') would rather stay on the beach catching some sunrays. Bollocks!
One thing was however cool – the temperature. After spending weeks in 50C (122F), it positively soothers to the very needed relief with high 20's or low 30's on the Celsius scale. Nice breeze from the ocean is bliss, too. No doubt about that!
It was also a true relief to arrive in Swakopmund and rinse all the dust and sand off for the next few days. The dust gets absolutely everywhere! To the darkest corners of the body. It is actually a real challenge to figure out how it gets there.
Another challenge is to clean entire luggage – big backpacks, smaller bags and of course all equipment: cameras, palm pilots, watches and even torches from the dust that got very deep into the fabrics.
Finally, I had thoroughly clean hands - I have always got this problem with hands: can't stand them dirty (not really sure why) and I am also very sensitive about handshakes. I cannot stand 'dead fish' handshakes! They are like insult to me. They cannot be phlegmatic at any circumstances. Handshakes must be firm, tight and full. This is the only way I would consider them friendly and genuine.
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