OLD DIGS

Malta

Mandy & Dave:
We called Malta home for just over 2 years. David is a student at Malta University in Msida. I used to work at Sprachcaffe language plus in St. Andrews, Pembroke.
Malta is a really, really tiny Island nation located in the Mediterranean between Italy and North Africa. The colors were magnificent; the people, jovial & extremely laidback often frustratingly so; the lifestyle, relaxing. We lived next to the harbor in Gzira. In the eve we'd go down to some cafe, drink coffee and watch the sunset oner Valletta; the food, mmmmmmm!! My favorite dish... rabbit. The prickly pear ice cream wasn't half bad either!;
The history is long and facinating: The prehistoric animals of Ghar Dalam (250,000 yrs ago), ancient megalithic temples (4,000 BC), the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, from 218 BC the Romans, Saint Paul in AD 60, from 395 the Byzantines, from 870 the Arabs, from 1090 the Normans, and then the Spanish until 1530, when the Spanish king granted Malta to the Knights of St. John, who ruled until 1798, when it was taken by Napoleon I. The British soon took over. Independence finally coming in 1964. Each left it's mark even the Borg (mysterious cart ruts).

• searchmalta for everything you ever wanted to know about Malta and then some...
• Online Guide to everything about Malta
• Joe Farrugia's 'Islands in the sun'

Japan

Mandy & Dave:
This is the country we just keep coming back to. Or, "we emphasis this country emphasis coming back keep," if you translate directly from the Japanese (friggin strange language). We've spent a good chunk of our so-called adult lives here - is it karma, or the high salary for English teaching?????

So far we have lived in
OSAKA: a big business orientated megacity. Lots of concrete, bridges, banks, subways, and a reallly big underground shopping mall. Formerly known as the 2nd most expensive city in the world.
KYOTO: the old capital. Cultural jewel of Japan. If you want to see the western idea of 'Japan' go no further.
MATSUYAMA: on the Island of Shikoku. It's famous for its hotspring, the oldest in Japan, and the castle, one of the few remaining originals in Japan (most were destroyed in WW2 and have been rebuilt).
We currently live in HIROSHIMA.

• Japan National Tourist Organization

S. Korea

Dave:
I lived here for a year, which was just about a year too long. Sorry - umm. let's be positive. Ok, I positively didn't enjoy my stay here. But, hey, the food's numero uno. Except for the bit about the dog soup. And the stewed cocoons they serve at the train stations. Gotta love the smell of steaming insects.

• Korea National Tourist Organization
• Ministry of Culture and Touism
• Korea online - your ticket to Korea
• Korea 'the Jewel of Asia'

Hungary

Dave:
Ok. Lived here for a year. Buda is posher than Pest (I lived in Buda at a pension run by a lady who was taking lessons in "Western-style Hospitality" from a hotel management company. Which meant complementary cappuchino and biscuits every morning. But I digress...) Speaking of food, the Burger King in Octagon Square was supposedly the world's largest, but that may have changed by now. Taught English at the Technical University. My window looked out on an atomic pile, which was the same design pioneered in the 1930s, including the lack of safety precautions. No wonder I'm losing my hair!!!

• Hungarian National Tourist Office
• all you want to know about Budapest
• Hungary in your pocket
• Tourism in Hungary

Singapore

Mandy:
Singapore is yet another small Island country I have called home. Though only for a while. I could easily have stayed longer. Located in Southeast Asia off the tip of the Malay Peninsula. It was, I felt, a very pleaseant and comfortable country. A blend of first world: shopping centres, major brand names, skyscrapers, new cars etc... all shiney bright and clean. And third world: markets, handmade products, rikshaws, spices, laughter etc... I loved the mix of cultures and the sights and smells that would acompany each turn in a street. One smell I didn't apriciate however was that of the durian fruit - king or not it stinks!

• Singapore Tourist Board
• live it up Singapore
• Online hotels