Name: Nicky Darmanin Demajo
Age: 28
Occupation: Manager at Luxol Sports Club

My best ever trip…

I just love walking down the Las Vegas strip with its bright lights

Turns out life really does work in mysterious ways. Through some unplanned encounters, and unforeseen circumstances, I found myself travelling around almost half the world in a matter of six months, just over two years ago.

The trip started in Perth, Australia, and finished in St Petersburg, Russia. We visited almost every country in between, totalling 11 countries in all, most of them in southeast Asia.

Just to name a few: New Zealand, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Mongolia. It was definitely a backpacking holiday of a lifetime, with all the ups and downs such a trip entails. It was also a great soul-searching experience.

I felt so welcome in…

Santa Monica, Los Angeles. I was impressed at how friendly and well-mannered people were. I was staying with a friend who lives there, for around a month back in 2008, and I will never forget how welcome everybody made me feel.

Even simple things make all the difference, like walking down the street and everybody saying “good morning”. Try that here and you would get a frown in return! I have always thought of Americans as friendly people.

I couldn’t wait to leave…

Malaysia. What started out as a fun destination ended up as a nightmare. To cut a very long story short, a misunderstanding with a local Indian man at a hostel in Georgetown (Penang) turned very ugly, with lots of flying chairs and tables and a few cuts and bruises.

Later, an unforgettable visit to the police station, followed by another one to police headquarters. After everything was cleared up and we were pronounced innocent, rightly so, the only thing we wanted to do was leave the country as soon as possible.

An early morning getaway to Thailand the next day got us back on track. However, my experience in Malaysia does not reflect the country as a whole; it was just a matter of bad luck.

I partied hardest in…

My travels/holidays never consist of any partying to be honest. I normally spend my time sightseeing and relaxing. If it’s a backpacking holiday, I’m normally too tired in the evening after a whole day out sightseeing to even think of partying.

However, if I have to choose I would say Prague was the place where I partied most. I went there a few years ago for New Year’s Eve. The city has quite a lot to offer for partygoers. Then again, my partying there was nothing to brag about.

I wish I could live in…

I haven’t yet had the pleasure of visiting a place where I could say for certain I would want to live. It’s nice to see new places but in the end I always look forward to coming home.

I think the closest one would be Los Angeles. I liked it very much and can see myself living there long term. But to be honest, Gozo suits me just fine!

I treasure the memory of…

Peru. It was my third holiday out of Europe and definitely the one that gave me the travel bug. I spent three weeks there with my sister Lisa.

After being to so many other places, I still think of it as one of my best holidays.

I had always wanted to go to Peru to see the famous Machu Picchu World Heritage Site. Little did I know how much more the country has to offer. We visited many other places, ranging from the depths of the Amazon Jungle, to the vast sands of the Huacachina desert, just to mention a few. All were spectacular.

Machu Picchu is by far the nicest World Heritage Site I have seen to date. I spent an unforgettable four days trekking through the mountains to get there.

I adored the food in…

Florence. A recent trip just a few weeks ago put Florence top of my list of food destinations. Everybody knows that Italian food is good, but so far, from all the places I have been in Italy, Florence has been the best. However, a strict diet is required once back home!

I enjoy returning to…

London. Like many Maltese, I like to visit the British capital. It has a lot to offer, what with the shows, shopping, history, football matches, entertainment, parks… there is always something to keep you busy.

A misunderstanding with a local Indian man at a hostel in Penang turned very ugly, with lots of flying chairs and tables and a few cuts and bruises

Another upside is that they, obviously, speak English, and travelling on the underground is fast and easy. The only drawback about London is the weather. However, we Maltese are starting to get used to the meaning of ‘unpredictable weather’, with the kind of weather we have been having here lately.

I also love Las Vegas. I discovered it for the first time in 2007 and enjoyed it so much that I revisited in 2008 and 2009.

Even though Las Vegas has no history or culture to speak of, and everything is artificial, there’s just something about it that makes me feel like I am in another world.

I just love walking down the Las Vegas strip with all its bright lights and beautiful hotels. The hotels have always impressed me the most, some with over 5,000 rooms.

I also love to watch some of the many unique shows that could only be found in Vegas. VLV – Viva Las Vegas!

The hardest part of travelling is…

If backpacking, it’s the packing up and moving to a different place every couple of days or so. Planning the next phase becomes mentally tiring, as does negotiating prices and fares, especially when you’re in a country where people are not so fluent in English.

Travel has taught me to…

Better appreciate what I have and not to take things for granted. When I was travelling, we were on a tight budget and didn’t have the luxury of finding everything at arm’s length, like we do at home.

I also began to better appreciate the value of money and how far a euro can go if I’m careful. Travelling has also taught me to be more patient. When you’re living a Western lifestyle you are fortunate that everything is scheduled and things run like clockwork, most of the time.

But once you get out of your comfort zone, you realise that most of the world’s population don’t live like that. When you are in certain foreign countries, you will be lucky if the bus comes within two hours of when it was scheduled.

I dream of one day visiting…

To be honest, I don’t dream of going to places like I did when I was younger. Back then, travelling was quite expensive and also the fear of going to an unknown destination on the other side of the world always brought up a safety issue.

Nowadays, travelling is so much cheaper and easier, that even places which once seemed so exotic are really just a mouse click away.

I have been to quite a few of the places I wanted to see, but if I have to mention one trip that has so far remained out of reach for financial reasons, it would be a Antarctic cruise. But I’m working hard to be able to write about it someday in the near future!

I travel because…

I love and want to see the world and I am very much into history. In fact, most of the places that I have wanted to see in my life were Wonders of the World or Unesco World Heritage sites.

I’m happy to say that in my six-month holiday, I crossed quite a few off the list.

I believe travelling is the best education you can get. Apart from the change of scenery and a break from the norm, travelling opens up your mind in so many ways that you cannot imagine.

It also helps to appreciate the things in life that we take for granted. Sometimes we quarrel and worry over silly things, but when weighed next to the problems of other people, there is no comparison.