While the world holds back on travel plans, the least we could do is dream ???? This article has been written by Akanksha Dharmani, a PR professional in Pune who’s an avid traveller, a fitness enthusiast and a total fashionista.
Once this is over, I’m sure we have a travel. While popular tourist destinations hold our fancy, I’d rather chose an eclectic historical place, a destination that’s a perfect mix of adventure and wilderness.
Malta is one of the most unique, beautiful historical places, surrounded with sapphire blue water and dotted with golden rocks. A habitat to diverse culture, Malta is both ancient and modern; centuries old architecture make space for sun-downers in beautiful coexistence.
All day long, people enjoy soaking in the sun and diving into the blue waters. Evenings are reserved for sunsets that cover the city in orange-gold. The people here are passionate, beautiful, and proud of their heritage. Life for them is about family, friends, dips in the water, dancing and meals overlooking a gorgeous sunset. Malta is a small place where most people know each other, they are friendly, and super talented. If you ever thought India was a place for big families, don’t be surprised if you meet a grandmother with 30 grandchildren!
I have recently developed taste for seafood, and truly enjoyed my stay at Marsaxlokk – a traditional fishing village in Malta. There is a fish market here every Sunday which has endless stalls selling the fresh catch of the day. We browsed through swordfish, octopus, prawns, squid, calamari and so much more! During the week, the procure is usually shipped to the restaurants and commercial markets in Malta. But on Sunday, this market is open for Maltese locals too. “Fresh fish in underwear” – that’s what they call the view here on Sundays. Meal times in Malta are all about different kinds of pasta, fish and rabbit.
Valletta, capital of Malta, is the smallest capital city in Europe, and is a world heritage site. The architecture in this city depicts integrity in diversity- just like a piece of golden cloth with different threads from various era woven beautifully, each thread has a story of its own and is still preserved. The interesting fact here is that although these building are made in different styles representing different eras, they are all made from the same golden stone creating an essence of timelessness. It’s all about “golden stone, patterned tiles and glass creations” here.
I learnt something special here: “the most simple and genuine things are most extraordinary in life!” On the north coast of Gozo, an island off Malta, lies the Xwejni Bay with salt pans stretching along the coast. The Cini family in Gozo have been harvesting salt from here since 1860! Did you ever think something as common as salt can be so magical, so unlike the processed salt we use. The method to produce natural salt is intensive labor, a result of 3 natural elements and time – seawater, sun and wind. Simple, and so beautiful.
If you are planning your next holiday after the world takes some rest, Malta is surely an experience to be lived once in a lifetime, and you’d wish you stayed there forever! True story ????