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

The contributor, who did not give her name, wrote that she is currently in Malta. For the last decade, she said, she had spent  a substantial portion of her time travelling much of the world. 

"My most vivid memory of Malta will be the overt rudeness of people wherever I've gone. This has been particularly true of men of a certain age - taxi and bus drivers without exception, a man on a bus who berated me because I wanted to sit in the empty seat next to him, a man in the street today who arrived at a corner as I did and knocked me aside. Such things have happened to me every day with such regularity that I've come to expect it and have not been disappointed."

She said the women tend to be surly rather than overtly rude. However one in the cafe' adjacent to her hotel interrupted her to shout at her when she guessed wrong what she  was about to ask her.

"There have, of course, been exceptions but the balance has been so heavily toward rude that the occasions of kindness have been memorable. The staff in two of the four places I've stayed have been exceptionally kind. Younger people in places of business have also tended to be more helpful. But sadly it doesn't make up for the daily abuse.

"I've wondered what the reason for the behaviour might be. Maybe tourist fatigue. But it's off season, there are few tourists and I've never noticed this sort of behaviour in other heavily tourist areas. Maybe it's me, but if so then why have I not noticed before? Is there a cultural prejudice against women? But again, I've never experienced this in any other places. In some countries, China for instance, people seem to be less aware of others in public but it's never felt as overt as it does here."

People who commented about the article took a different view.

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

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

Another said "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!"

In another comment, a visitor said: "I have been seven 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......"

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/a-vote-for-malta-most-rude.cfm

    

 

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