I've been here nearly 5 months and in that time I must have caught over 200 buses, but so far they have all cost 47¢. Yesterday I finally ventured out of my comfort zone, and went on a long distance journey.
Actually, 'out of my zone' is quite an apt phrase as the bus service over here is based on a zone system. By leaving Zone 1 for the first time since I landed on this rock, I was going to have to pay for the priviledge. I was off to Buggiba to have a few drinks with an old friend from the Isle of Man, someone I haven't seen since I moved. It happened to be his birthday too, so all the more reason that I should travel to him, rather than the other way round.
I was also meant to meet up with his partner, another old friend from my past life, but sadly she had tummy trouble. I'm sure I'll catch up with her soon though.
Ok, so I'm off to Buggiba. There were a few things working against me for this visit though. Firstly, it's out of season, and Buggiba is completely set up for the summer tourist crowd. Imagine what Blackpool seafront looks like in the middle of Winter and you get a pretty accurate picture. Bars with neon signs advertising nightly kareoke, cafes that have 'all day breakfasts', tacky tourist shops selling anything they can print a picture of a bus on, take-away restaurants offering a cardiac arrest in a plastic tray, all up to the usual standard you'd expect from a British seaside resort - and just like the UK, there was a gale blowing - and just like it's British cousins, everything was shut.
Well, not everything, but for every bar that was open, there were six or seven with the shutters down. With the driving rain pounding against the pavement it could easily pass as a ghost town. If it wasn't for the steady stream of buses arriving I'd assume I was Omega Man, the last human on earth.
I sound like I hated the place, that's not true - I just wish it had been open. I guess I would have preferred to first visit the town during the right season, so I could appreciate the reason for it's existance. It looked like the kind of place that catered for a good night out, without having to deal with the idiots in Paceville (the main night-club area of Malta).
..but the rain never let up. Wave after wave of heavy showers coupled with swirling wind. I met up with my friends (another person I knew from Isle of Man came along too) and we had a few drinks. It actually took three pubs before we found one that was open by the way (it was called The George in case you ever find yourself in the same position) and I left just before 8pm to catch the last bus home.
..oh yes, another problem, the frequency of the buses. Last bus out is before 8pm, even at weekends and during the summer, and being in zone 2 means a higher fare too. I was almost the only person travelling back to Sliema, there was just one other person who sat on the back seat of the bus listening to her ipod at an ear-piercing volume level.
I know I'll go back, after all, three of my friends live there, but I can't see me making an effort unless it was to meet them in the near furture. Next time I venture back without that excuse will have to be when the temperature is heading back up...
...and the rainy season has passed.
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