I've never been to Malta and based on someone else telling me it was quite pleasant, I did some research and found an extremely long thread on TripAdvisor where the one thing everybody agreed about was that the people were unusually friendly and welcoming.

Which isn't to say that they're right and you're wrong, or that this must be your fault. But they were all in love with the place.

All the Maltese I know are exceptionally gracious. Odd are you wearing anything surprisingly odd. Perhaps you could ask in your hotel?

Have you through that "tourist fatigue" might better fit your situation rather than the Maltese you've encountered? 4 months on the road is a long time when traveling alone.

Frankly, I'm sorry you have had such a bad experience and I am kinda amazed you've managed to hold on for eight days. How did you manage that?

Perhaps it's the stress of the season for I spent 12 days on Malta and found the people very welcoming. Except for the bus drivers who are notorious both for rudeness and their terrible driving skills.

Sorry you're having a bad time of it. Jump ship and get yourself to Sicily!

I'm wearing what I always wear, pretty conservative travel clothes. I'm not traveling alone but have been spending time here on my own. This trip isn't longer than usual and I just had 3 weeks complete rest on a container ship from Singapore.

I just got back to the hotel from a concert of baroque music, my favorite. And it occurred to me that maybe the problem is simply social, that I've been bumping, literally, into the wrong people since clearly there are very gracious people here as evidenced by the crowd at the concert.

I also think that there is an element among the older crowd, uneducated and very conservative, who likely believe that women have their place and that somehow I'm not conforming. The fact that younger people and the obviously educated don't seem to exhibit the behavior supports this theory in my mind.

But the sun has been shining for the last 2 days, warm and lovely. And it should last until we fly to Rome on Tuesday. There may be chauvinists in Italy but they tend to express it in a charming way.

I have been 7 times to malta, and the kindness of the Maltese people was always a good reason to return to this beautiful country.
The staff at the hotels where i stayed was professionally trained and extremely friendly, so were people at Cafes and restaurants......

Chalk it up to bad luck -- with one exception. The 10 days I spent, several years back, were pleasant, except for public transport. Bus drivers, in particular, were not interested in charm contests or even basic helpfulness. Taxi drivers, the few I encountered, seemed indifferent but did the job. Really, a visitor can only sample a tiny portion of the population.

I noticed that you said until "we" fly to Rome. Has your traveling companion experienced the same "treatment" you have? We loved Malta and it's distressing when after such lovely travels, there's a bad experience and it really makes it noticeable. So bye to Malta and buon giorno Roma!

Jan47ete, my travel companion is male and has not had the same treatment except for the bus drivers. He was with me, however, for the cab driver incident when I asked a question and the driver shouted at me. Neither of us could account for the extreme behavior.

Yes, indeed, buon giorno Roma.

Dear Mme Perdu, are you perhaps expecting something of the locals? Or did you have one bad experience and perhaps this has given you a bad impression of everybody around? I've been to Malta many times and the reason that I keep going back is the kindness of a people that are loud and abrupt, but honest and kindhearted. Here's a link that really shows what Malta is like.

http://jurickphoto.blogspot.com/2012/08/coming-soon-malta.html

Try changing your attitude first and then see how it goes.

Mme Perdu,

it is indeed hard when you go somewhere with high hopes only to have them dashed by boorish behaviour. i do not subscribe to the theory that you have to change your attitude - you don't seem to have started out with one. Rather that you have simply been unlucky in your encounters with the natives. That is it a matter of luck is demonstrated by the fact that you met some much nicer people at the concert.

I suspect that the Maltese are very like people everywhere - some nice, some not. the longer you are in a place, the wider a selection you will meet.

and no-one ever said that the Romans were renouned for their friendliness!

I have been going to Malta for over 30 years and I have found the Maltese people generally warm and welcoming, you get the odd exception as you do any where but I find if you treat people right they reciprocate

I saw your article on the news and created an account here just to reply to you because i couldn't agree more. I'm maltese, 23yrs old and i have lived in malta my whole life, which is a lot more than most people who replied to you since they are mostly (if not all) tourists. You are absolutely correct about this country, it has the rudest people i have ever seen. There is also a very high level of ignorance (especially drivers) which doesn't help the situation at all because they won't even know that what they are doing or saying is so rude. Customer care is something rare and precious here. Also, there are quite a few businesses here that have few to no competitors and most of the employees in these businesses have a very negative mentality, they reason things out by saying, 'I can do or say whatever i want because my client has no other option.' However, malta is land to many patriots especially the older people, and they will deny anything a tourist will say about malta if it is negative. Unfortunately this highly defensive and rude mentality is what makes me hate this country and I will grasp the first opportunity to move to another country.

Ps. To those reading, if you are a tourist and you don't understand the maltese language, the chances are that even if your lucky to get good customer service, if you complain about anything you can be certain that they will whisper something to you in maltese which you would not like to hear and maltese swearing is probably as rude as any language can get. I have worked in a few tourist based businesses and i saw this happen on a daily basis in every job i had.

And by the way,I forgot to mention that I'm a male just in case you think this is only common amongst women.

It's very disturbing that you would write such an article and have the nerve to say that your most vivid memory of Malta will be the rudeness of people.
I am a Maltese/Australian living in Malta and hand on heart can say that Maltese people are genuinely helpful, kind, polite and friendly.
How dare you generalize and say that Maltese people are rude. We are a county of people who would give anything to help people and try our best to speak their language unlike other countries who insist on speaking their language even though they know English.
From most of the comments on such travelling forums tourists have nothing but kind words for the Maltese, maybe Malta is not the country for you!!! We surely do not need tourists coming to our country, expect to do and act as they like and then have the nerve to say that we are rude.

Mme Perdu, I'm sorry to see everyone lambasting you over the review. I have been living in Malta for close to a year now and I understand and sympathise with your experience. What people don't particularly understand about this island is that it is an island of extremes from; the weather, which can be freezing in the winter but then reaches the sweltering heights in the summer thanks to the humidity. The humidity gets blamed a lot for the personalities and the hot blooded temper. Politics, which is either Red or Blue and breaks up families. British or Italian, when the footy is on...all hell breaks loose, but this is a historically complex phenomenon, which will carry on till the end of time for Malta.It's always one or the other there is no such thing as a middle ground in Malta.

I like to compare Malta to Marmite, you either Love it or Hate it! I was lucky to grow up loving the land and when I first moved here everything was wondrous and everyone kind and generous. However, after a while you see the a different side of the Maltese mentality. Once you thought 'what a dear little country' but it soon turns to a suffocating force to be reckoned with.

As a lone woman living here I do get the feeling that I'm an oddity and they are trying to work me out, to some I am a threat it seems. I have even had a number of my male Maltese friends 'banned' from seeing me because their girlfriends don't like me or feel threatened, which they really shouldn't be the case. It's just a clash, their whole objective in life it seems is to get married and have a house and babies, which is wonderful don't get me wrong but I wish to experience different things.

The young are sometimes as bad as the elderly, my mum came to visit me and as we were walking through Valletta. She turned to me and asked 'why do all the women's faces here look like a smacked arse?' I laughed but had to agree there is a sulky serious look. It comes with the territory but when you make one laugh and the 'face' breaks you have a friend for life. Not all are woman are like this but there is a high percentage that have perfected the look. I have tried it out to jest but Cornish eyes smile to easily.

On the subject of 'tourist fatigue', you are totally correct! I have never seen so many people is one place in my life, this summer was crazy and I work in the tourism field. Personally I think the Maltese do a wonderful job but sometimes it does get to much out here. I had an incident on the bus, I was going to work in Valletta but a Danish tour guide loaded a public bus with his tour leaving no room for myself or the working Maltese...another time I stopped a German couple from climbing on a bus because they pushed in front of an elderly Maltese lady and grabbed her to push past, now that is just not done! I helped the lady up after I had told them to get off. The lady saved me a seat next to her and with a smile and said 'thank you my dear, there are too many of them this year.' So you can understand when they get the hump.

The bus drivers take rudeness to a new level, one time when I showed him my Malta ID he said it wasn't me and the picture was that of a man. I couldn't believe it! I used to model, I'm not bad looking but if a driver can't see a picture ID then why is he allowed on the road? Another time my driver was arrested after having a fight with a customer...leaving the bus filled with passengers. Generally I always make it my mission to say hello and thank you and good evening when I get on or off and flash them a cheeky smile because they don't see it a lot. If you smile, they smile it is as simple as that. When working in Valletta my boss would send any Maltese with complaints or grumbles to me and said to use 'the English Charm.' This is because the Maltese easily get flared up by one another, if fact they are kinder and nicer to foreigners than their own.

I have come to the conclusion that you have good Malta days and bad Malta days. When its good, its the best feeling in the world...No wonder Calypso kept Odysseus so long on these islands, the most beautiful sunset allowing the limestone to glow in shades of pinks, golds and purples, smiling faces, pastizzi and a glass of wine over looking over the Grand harbour thinking about the illustrious history of the island.

When its bad, its hell and Hades is laughing at you...the buses never arriving, abuse from locals, racism, egoistic tendencies, 'the look', young Maltese wanting to take the George Cross of the flag and lambasting you with a indoctrinated history since the 1970's in an attempt to raise post-colonial guilt. When those days happen, I produce my stiff upper lip and press my chin up and smile. Always smile then take a Cisk or a glass of Marsovin.

Malta has given me so much but it has also taken a great deal away from me. I feel in love with the place through its faults. My grandmother was born here is the 40's although the the towns have increased and there are more high raise buildings, not a lot has changed in mentality.

The men sit out on the steps with their caged birds arguing the day out, drinking and smoking in the bars...the women washing their steps and hanging out the washing and yapping to one another from the balconies or over the goat gates then cooking for the family and the extended family. If you get the chance read Nicholas Monsarrat's book The Kappillan Of Malta it will explain everything better than I can about this rock of bells and smells.

Good Luck with Rome and always smile.

I too am a Maltese national who has lived all my life in Malta. I am here to give my opinion on two of the posts. I will start with what xMaltese has written. Firstly the fact that this person has chosen to stay anonymous is proof enough that he is scared to be identified and associated or branded as being a young fool who really has no idea what he is taking about. Malta is by far no perfect place, but it is a tranquil be with great people all round and I say this from an overall general perspective. Maltese people are world renowned as being friendly and helpful and also who would go completely out of their way to help others. Proof of this can be seen from the generosity of the Maltese people when it comes to charity with the annual fund raising events that take place. Yes malta is not a perfect place and it has its down falls, but people whispering behind tourists backs and allegation of most business being monopolies is just a load of hogwash. My message to xMaltese is that ultimately if you do not like where you live, you are very free to leave and enjoy the grass on the other side.
In response the author of this blog, my response is that you have either come across to people as extremely arrogant and rude which has caused an equal reaction back to you or you have been extremely unlucky

Beligerant, ignorant, antisocial, rude, self centred and ill educated people, i accept there are many lovely people on the island but i'm afraid the majority are not nice at all.

A little research (in the Bible, no less) would have told you that we Maltese are a kind, friendly lot. We are, however, also Mediterranean, besides being Maltese and European. This would explain what you consider an attitude problem. I hope the weather and the food and the rest of us eventually made up for the rough edges of the compatriots of mine you found rude and irritating. As we say here (we have hundreds of idioms) even the intestines grumble, go figure the whole person... Meanwhile, I wish that those persons who posted as many adjectives as they could think of, to insult us, would have used a dictionary... and signed their names and surnames. Tanja Cilia

Written above:

" the fact that this person has chosen to stay anonymous is proof enough that he is scared to be identified and associated or branded as being a young fool who really has no idea what he is taking about."

No. There are lots of reasons for not using one's actual name on the Internet, none of which you have described. In fact, an ad hominem attack like this is most often an indication that one doesn't have a factual answer to a charge, so instead attacks the speaker.

If you are Maltese, I wouldn't worry so much that people reading the first post are going to jump to negative conclusions about Maltese people. Most people reading this website are experienced travelers who understand that reports of "rudeness" to visitors have been lodged against every country in Europe, and it is just in the nature of travel that (a) cultural misunderstandings will arise and (b) not everybody on the planet likes dealing with tourists.

Part of the thrill of traveling is that you are deeply impressed by all the new things you are seeing, but that runs the risk of occasionally jumping to the wrong conclusions when a few bad things happen in a row.

So the Maltese are cross sometimes? So are the rest of us.

Interesting discussion!

Firstly, I appreciate those of you who know my original intent was simply to report my unexpected experience here and I so appreciate the additional insights. To those of you who took exception to my posts I understand but I believe if you read them again you'll find I did not mean everyone. Many people have been kind.

Now, in the "more as it happens" spirit, today we took the bus to Birgu/Vittorioso and the bus driver could not have been kinder. Helpful and happy he proved all of us wrong who assumed they were all alike. I was very pleased, needless to say.

I have 2 more days here and will report any notable events, one way or the other.

Not my real name,
Mme Perdu

Never been to Malta. But I have an Italian friend whose last name is Maltese. Someone I knew who was married to a Maltese man who had the biggest head I have ever seen. And I have another friend who owns a Maltese dog. (Insert ironic smiley for the tight asses in the group.)

First, 99% of the people on Fodor's use an Internet name.

Second, I live in NYC and have all my life. People think we are rude, etc. In fact, some visitors are rude as a pre-emptive strike. If NY'ers did not know how to get along there would be bodies littering the streets and he have had the lowest homicide rate in years. We may not be the most smiley people, but if you need help, I would rather have a NY'er on my side. (Except for example below.)

NY'ers have scores of non-verbal ways of communicating and an equal number of unwritten rules, which no one would expect a visitor to know. There are always cultural differences.

The only time I encountered epidemic rudeness was in Paris in the late 1970's and early 80's. It was so annoyed that if someone with a French accent asked me for directions in NYC I would intentionally send them in the wrong direction. Sorry to all the Québécois, I am not smart enough to the difference in accents. But all that ended in Paris after the Albertville Olympics campaign for the French to act like humans.

There are three sides to every story, and I would hate to paint any one group in a certain way or blame Perdu for her clothes, mein, or temperment.

And yet you stayed your holiday,if it's like you say,you should have got the first plane out of Malta, to your country!!!

I am Maltese and am very proud to be so. If there is one thing that I am proud of it is the friendliness of the Maltese people. Unfortunately, I live in Belgium and I wish to invite Mme Perdue to live here or Paris or Munich for that matter to know the meaning of rudeness or surliness where most foreigners are treated as inferiors wherever they come from. Malta is not perfect - nowhere is, but comparitively I say with hand on heart that it is a very friendly country and tourists and foreigners are treated as guests rather than threats ! ps please remember that being loud is not being rude - it is the Mediterranean temperament - ask the Romans !

I have lived in Malta for 25 years and come origianlly from London. Most Maltese "think" they give good cusomer service. They do not. Most Maltese "think" they are overtly friendly. They are not. It is usually ignorance rather than arrogance. Good customer service here is noticed because it stands out SO much from the norm. I do not wish to offend anyone, and say this as someone who chooses to live here and will conitnue to do so. They lady who started this debate is giving her opinion and impressions. Perhaps everyone should take a step back a wonder why she has this impression. (Well done to xMaltese for noting how it actually is.) Why do I live here? Because you have no groups of teenagers hanging around on street corners, you have no tramps, the pace of life is slower and relaxing, relatively little crime, and the lifestyle. Live and let live....

well, what an interesting departure this thread has taken.

sounds like the locals are as varied in their opinions of their compatriots as Mme P is.

Annhig, interesting indeed. I expected there would be a number of those, as there has been, saying the people here are all the friendliest and that I must be the problem. What has interested me the most are the people from here who do not disagree with the premise. And everyone on both sides who have put forth their thoughts on the subject at some length. What began as my way of coping has become quite, I think, a lively debate.

What began as my way of coping has become quite, I think, a lively debate.>>

therapy AND intellectual stimulation?

result!

Don't you just love it when people try to be funny and fall flat ion their faces? The Maltese (terrier) is not our national dog;the Pharaoh Hound is. When we sign our real names, you can look us up in social sites and actually gauge us from there, rather than from your encounters with uncouth folk. Oh - and do try the pastizzi at Peristyle in Rabat, before you leave...

Tanja, virtually no one on Fodors, or any other internet forum, uses their real name, and for obvious reasons that you don't seem capable of fathoming.

Trust me, MmePerdu has earned a reputation for truthful reporting of her travels. I, and I'm sure plenty of other posters here, are more than willing to accept her Maltese experience as factual. You haven't yet earned any kind of reputation (though you're beginning to earn a rather unpleasant one). No one here has been the slightest bit uncouth, either.

I`m very sorry to hear that you had a rough time here. I am myself a Maltese citizen, and am proud to say it. While yes, some Maltese do have a tendency to be rude, bus drivers included, I find it unfair to say that all Maltese are so. As for being knocked into, Malta is a busy place and many people are in a hurry to get to their destination. As an avid traveller myself, I have experienced very similar things throughout Europe, so I can hardly say that this problem is limited to just Malta. Malta has always had a reputation as a welcoming country and lives up to it most of the time. True we are not perfect and there are cases of Maltese being arrogant, but you must remember, that everything has a flaw in it. We have a lot of tourists annually; in fact our economy depends on this trade. Malta is a small tight knit community, and some as you said do not take kindly to strangers here, while others might think that women do belong in the house, but I think its very unfair to put all your eggs in one basket. Overall, I respect your opinion, but am suggesting you get to know the Maltese more, before making such a general term about us.

While yes, some Maltese do have a tendency to be rude, bus drivers included, I find it unfair to say that all Maltese are so. >>

kenny - the OP did NOT say that, not even in her first heart-felt post. In fact she was very careful not to say that.

BTW, how do you explain that some of your compatriots agree with her?

To Mme Perdu: I'm sorry t hear about your experience however I believe you were either very unlucky or as someone said you took a negative perspective from the start.

To xMalteseI don't believe you should use Maltese in your name) I am a proud citizen of Malta and I admit we are not a perfect civilization, if you believe other countries are perfect then you have a problem. It is a give and take situation, what we lack in one area we make up in an other while in another country the opposite may be true.

What I find troublesome however are your comments on OUR country. It is disgraceful to say the least. What I can conclude is that you are negative, you took all the negatives you could find and in some cases exagerated it.

With your attitude you shouldn't call yourself Maltese and if you feel that leaving will solve your problems, be my guest and leave, you are obviously unhappy and I will not be sorry if you do so.

I will admit, yes, the Maltese are not perfect, as everyone has flaws, but I must strongly disagree that Malta is the rudest place on earth. True some bus drivers may be arrogant, but I know some very kind ones who work. So please people, do not put all your eggs in one basket. I am sorry Ms. MmePerdu that you did not enjoy Malta, and offer my condolences to you. I hope you enjoy travelling and I wish you luck.

I will admit, yes, the Maltese are not perfect, as everyone has flaws, but I must strongly disagree that Malta is the rudest place on earth.>>

again, Kenny, the OP did not say that it was.

and you have failed to answer my question, why are there maltese people agreeing with her?

I don't know about them being rude, but it seems a fair number of Maltese have a reading comprehension problem.

It seems that many of those posting are doing so for the first time here and I wonder if what we have is a social media effect. It would be very interesting to know. How have you in Malta found this thread?

Hi MmePerdu,

Firstly, I would like to sincerely say that I am very sorry that the vast majority of Maltese that you've met came accross as being so rude that you sort of labelled Malta 'as Most Rude' which is definitely not the case, altough that doesn't mean that everyone is polite - far from it!

I am a young Maltese National who lives overseas (Edinburgh - UK), I have travelled quite a lot and I am also a regular reviewer on Trip Advisor, so I'm not here to post a patriotic statement defending Malta but nonetheless I believe that I should express my opinion in this regard.

I certainly agree with you that the majority of Bus & Taxi Drivers are very arrogant, poorly educated and provide a very bad customer ,this is well known fact in Malta and I'm sure that everyone would agree, so you're definitely right on this one.

Nonetheless that doesn't mean that all Maltese are all like that, on the contrary most Maltese are warm and go out of their way to help tourists. Many visitors choose Malta over and over again as their Holiday desintation not because of the sights nor the weather but merely because of the friendliness of the locals that are always willing to help tourists and feel proud showing off their country and what it has to offer.

On the other hand, I do agree that the older generation is more conservative but that doesn't make them unfriendly? I don't think there's any correlation between being unfriendly and conservative.

With regards to what xMaltesex said - that staff at Hotels might say something about you in our language - I wouldn't be surprised. It happened to me in Italy, Spain and France!! fortunately I could understand what they were saying, this is not something that happens only in Malta and we're no exception. Again, this is not reason enough to label all Italians, Spanish and French as rude!! I would also like to remind him that luckily Malta is a member of the European Union so he's free to follow my example and move abroad where everything and everyone is perfect - NOT.

Bottom line, I think that you generalised a lot in your post and generalisations are rarely if ever correct. I hope that by the end of your holiday you'll meet some nice people too and that you'll realise that, like everywhere else in the world you get nice and rude people.

Also, if you're ever back to Malta in the near future and hopefully by that time I will be there too, I invite you to contact me, seriously, and I'll take you around and show you why Maltese people are usually renowed as being welcoming & Friendly.

Enjoy your Holiday,
Franklyn Brincat

*This thread was mentioned on the Times of Malta*

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20121216/local/malta-most-rude.449718

<<I don't know about them being rude, but it seems a fair number of Maltese have a reading comprehension problem.>>

The very first sentence of the article would tend to support St. Cirq's theory:

<<A woman who complained on travel website Fodor's about Malta having the rudest people was contradicted by all 10 commenters who replied.>>

in fact, xMaltese, Valraven1 and emilianenko agree with the OP.

I should add that we went to Malta about 20 years ago and we had a very nice time. WE found everyone vey friendly so far as I remember.

in case anyone thinks i'm biased against Malta.

Interesting that the Times of Malta failed to mention those Maltese posters who actually agreed with MmePerdu.

clearly another failure of comprehension, St. Cirq.

I was attacked once by some lads on motorcycles in Syracusa. 50 $ were stolen from me in Catania.
Pickpockets stole my camera and 260 Euros in Prag.
In a Vienna supermarket a client demand the deportation of me and my family, because we spoke a foreign language.
At Valletta bus terminal my husband had to stop two Maltese boys from beating up an elderly British couple.
You can encounter, unfriendly folks everywhere in Europe.

The people who generate money from our tourists should engage themselves in teaching manners, politeness and friendliness.

We should do our best to make everybody feel at home, it should not matter if he stays in a 4 Star hotel, or in a tent in Hal Far.

It is a matter of dignity

I suspect the newspaper article was written before the author saw any of the posts here agreeing with the original poster.

Nikki, I think you're right. But now there are opinions on both sides of the argument on both websites. What I've noticed both places is that when those commenting appear to have actually read my entire original post the response seems more considered. I guess that's always true on forums, knee-jerk responses vs considered ones.

Also, if I may be so bold as to expand on a previous thought at the risk again of being thought to overgeneralize, the seemingly educated vs less educated among the responders (if use of language is an indicator and I think it is) rather prove 2 points. That education frequently promotes 1. inclusiveness and improves behavior toward perceived outsiders 2. Constructive self-awareness as an individual and as a society. To refuse to consider thinking differently than previous generations dooms us all to repeat destructive behaviors we've likely all learned growing up.

As far as I can see, the majority of the Maltese who agreed were the ones who have come here a long time ago and have sadly seen only the negative side. While yes, its true, in Malta, the Maltese are rude and do have a tendency to swear but they are missing the big picture. My opinion is that most Maltese as many people nowadays are just not realizing how lucky they are. They think, look at Washington or London, big city lots of jobs etc... and Malta, close knit, old, behind the times etc.... What they fail to realize is that Malta have something very special about it; its unique heritage and history. Malta isn`t and never will be a "breed" so to speak. The Maltese are people from around Europe who have come and live in peace in one place. Look back, Malta has been controlled by many a country throughout the decades and each one has left its people and its cultural aspects here which make it unique. The Maltese that complain, have the incorrect belief that Malta is a terrible place to live in, but I know many a person, who'd give their right arm to live here. Most of the comments by these Maltese reflect their true colors; people who fail to see true beauty and realize their luck. Imagine you live in a big city. True, you would have a job and there could be good commerce, but would it be worth it? Living in a flat or a small house, with people who can be just as or even more unfriendly than those as mentioned above in previous comments, or in a small quaint village, where true, there may be a less chance of a job, but you can live better, and true, there will probably be people who will be unfriendly and rude, but also others, who will be closer to you and you can know them better. Overall, I believe that the reason that the Maltese above complained is the simple fact that they have not fully comprehended what Malta in fact has to offer. I hope this answers your query annhig.

thank you kenny.

<<While yes, its true, in Malta, the Maltese are rude and do have a tendency to swear >>

you do seem to agree with the OP.

and I'm not sure I really understand what you are saying - your thesis seems to be that maltese people who are agreeing with the OP about the rudeness of their fellow citizens should ignore it because of the beauty of their surroundings.

Given that beauty, and all the advantages of living in Malta that you have shared with us, why are they so rude in the first place?

About agreeing with OP, I do give her some credit, as the Maltese may be rude, but are actually no ruder than most people I`ve met during my travels.

As for the reason for rudeness,its all down to the growing-up aspect in my opinion. As a child, I`ve heard may a person first swear at someone then just claim its a joke. This projects a mentality about children, that being rude is normal and that its just a "little joke". I myself have been on the receiving end of many negative comments by my fellow Maltese only to after a torrent of abuse just say "I`m kidding" or "Its a joke get over it". What they aren`t realizing is, that by being rude, their leaving a negative impression on the person and unwittingly, exposing any children to a trait, which I firmly believe should be stopped. That`s not to say that this problem is only confined to Malta, its a worldwide problem which is being catalyzed by the advances in mass media. The reason is is visible in Malta is the fact that the Maltese are a close knit community; everyone knows everyone, so occurrences like these become rather more common and visible than say in the UK for example.

I hope this answers your query and if you have any doubts or more questions don`t hesitate to ask.

I'm taking a break from packing for my departure to assure everyone, Maltese and visitors that, while I stand by my original post for the most part, I will retract the part about my most vivid memory will be the rudeness. That won't, in fact, be true.
My most vivid memory will be the beauty of the architecture here, just wonderful. And I was pleased to notice that new buildings are constructed with details of the old that make them so charming.

My second pleasant memory will certainly be of the people who treated me well. There were many. I hope in the future the young will learn from these kind and generous people and when the rude die out Malta will be a better place.

I`m very glad you got to enjoy our unique architecture here. Have you been to Gozo? If you weren't, I`d recommend visiting it especially the Citadel, Ggantija and Dwejra. Their beautiful places to visit and I`m glad you also met some nice people while visiting. I wish you luck on your travels and hope you come to Malta again soon.

Well this seems to compound my problem with Malta.

After 43 years of yomping round Europe and being surrounded by friends, family etc who have all conspired to make Michael O ' Leary rich....... there is one thing I can be certain of :

You never get a straight travel answer when it comes to Malta.

Some love it, some hate it.

There just seem any commonality in the the type of people who fall into either camp

Ann

I mentioneded a trip to Sicily. We noticed the easy way to get there was fly to Malta and spend a couple of days there and then take the ferry to Pozzalla.

I will report back when a thorough investigation of the naughtiness of the Maltesers is complete.

StCirq - the only 'obvious' reasons I can think of, when it comes to using pseudonyms are that (i) one works in the trade and therefore has a hidden agenda; (ii) one is exaggerating or lying or (iii) one feels freer to insult others than one would if one's real identity would have been given.

tanjamaltija - a much more common reason is that one's own name is already in use by someone else who has the same one.

i don't think that it would take a genius to work out what my real name is.

Well, then, Tanjamaltija, your scope of "thinking" is extremely limited, as is, apparently, your familiarity with message boards on the internet.

Is YOUR name Tanjamaltija? If so, it certainly doesn't make me or anyone else on the internet feel we know anything more about you than if your screen name were Bobo. Nor does it suggest that you're not exaggerating or lying or working "in the trade" (whatever that means) or less likely to insult someone, or someone with a "hidden agenda." It's nothing more than a group of letters - it doesn't tell us one single thing about you.

sorry - i pressed too early.

Dickie - I've checked and we could fly on Ryanair from Bristol to Malta, so the fly/ferry option might be attractive.

easyjet are also starting flights from Bristol to Naples in May, so connecting through there and getting the ferry is also a possibility.

Mme Perdu

Sorry to sidetrack this, but I couldn't help seeing that you travelled on a container ship from Singapore for 3 weeks. How did you manage that? Can you post the details? Something I'd love to do but have never found out how.

Oh yes,and I loved Malta and didn't meet any grumpy Maltese.

Gertie, that's fine. I ultimately came to enjoy Malta too as I mentioned but at the time I wrote the original post it was true, so still pertinent I hope.

Regarding the container ship, there are several agencies who have websites and book passages of varying lengths. I used one in New Zealand, Freighter Travel http://www.freightertravel.co.nz/, all arranged by Hamish by email, and it worked out well. I'd tried the year before but made the mistake that time of trying to fit the ship into a longer itinerary instead of building an itinerary around the vagaries of catching a particular ship as freighter schedules sometimes change. If you contact him he'll give you the details. Tell him Joanna sent you.

My main objective was to pass through the Suez Canal. We got on at the port of Tanjung Pelepas, just across the border from Singapore in Malaysia. The ports at which the ship called to unload and load were 1 more in Malaysia, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port Said in Egypt. We weren't allowed off the ship in any of them but that was not my mission in any case so it worked out fine. It was very relaxing, the officers and crew were kind to us, the food acceptable if not gourmet, our cabins were very nice and I'd happily do it again.

Do ask if there's anything else you'd like to know.

That's brilliant info Mme. Merci beaucoup.

I love the idea of being stored on a boat for 3 weeks with a pile of books, fresh air and sunshine, and a stash of snacks and wine. Would I be able to have espresso in the morning?
I have to say you handled yourself admirably in the above posts. Very gracious.

No espresso, I'm afraid, but it's French ship (CMA CGM Rigoletto) so the coffee was good, fresh baguettes and plenty of wine. That was it exactly, a pile of books (mine and they have a small library where many of mine found a home when I left), a DVD library and a very comfortable passenger lounge in which to watch them. Fresh air, of course, and a welcome on the bridge whenever we wanted the view and company. Saw real pirates from there one day, in several boats speeding by in the other direction. This company paces their ships in the waters between Yemen and Somalia so they're going too fast for the pirates to attempt boarding. Very exciting.

I'm not crazy about the pirates part. Doesn't do it for me.

But talk about world news coming alive! I think it's limited to that route however. And if you like ports then you'd want to choose another part of the world in any case.

Hmmmm....I'd have to be really assured they weren't going to be kidnapping dirt poor tourists who don't have ransoming relatives.
Ports don't have much appeal right now. Too burned out from work and I just want to hang out and, well, hang out.

Sorry that I'm so late on the Malta topic. I lived here for one year and have good friends on the island, that means not all maltese are unpolite and rude!!! Wonderful culture, sea, weather& food. My experience was very bad in common life unpolite colleagues(not all but the most), in shops they cheated me with prices(unacceptable if you earn maltese salary), No greetings, no smile, I really not felt welcome.

I had the Maltese ID so for me it wasn't a problem in the bus, but how can you charge tourists more for the same service? Unbelievable!!! Taxis I used E Cabs(sorry that I name the company) very polite drivers, when you call they tell you the price you have to pay, not like the other ones that "steal" the money out of your pockets. And of course you have very nice people on Malta, the family business in Valletta that drives the e taxis in the city, warm and open minded Maltese.

But now to the comments

- xMaltese: You are so right and its sad that we don't met. You are walking with open eyes through this world,stay as you are and Malta will be a better place.

- proud 2bemaltese: That's what I'm complaining about you wrote ahh sorry that you have a bad time on Malta and then you critize xmaltese he should not use the word maltese in his Fakename. You should get more open minded and then you will see how it is in Malta. You maltese are warm and everything but just with your people, and you don't have this view from a Distance as we do. As a foreigner who lives there and you start with english your lost. When you are proud of your country why you are not get along with your arabic roots?

to Kenny1997: you are so right!!

To everyone: Fakename is nearly using everybody and when all Maltese are would do an account here it would be impossible with all the Borg, Calimeri, Bonici and Fenechs.

My Resume is that you should be able to critize misbehavior in your country and of course in every country you have problems but here we are talking about Malta. People are writing here their experiences they made, so you are saying they are liars, no even when they have fake names.

I sound very negative about Malta but that just the problems. I left Malta and just think of the good situations I had and the people I was doing a lot. But when I read that some are defending their country and close their eyes I have to write down some stuff. You have a wonderful island with heritages, impressive cities, beautiful buildings, excellent feasts and so much to give to the foreigners,tourists and visitors. So treat them how you want to be treated when you are abord. Welcome them with a smile and open arms, you can manage that.
And please drink a Kinnie and eat a Maltese sausage with Hobz for me.