HABANA

as promised, i would guest-blog from time to time - Jem.

cuba, stuck in the 1950's and associated with the revolution, rumbas, the mafia, the sex trade, ancient cars, cigars and clearly unsafe to take a loved one, or so i thought. we never intended to visit cuba until one drunken wednesday night at isla mujeres (known as the island of women) when we met charles, (a fellow traveller) who wanted to visit cuba before castro's reign came to an end and mcdonalds and starbucks took over - he didn't need to convince us very much. we were on our second bottle of rum late into thursday morning and before we knew it, we already made our minds up and were planning to leave isla mejeres for cancun for our flight to havana (or "habana" as the locals call it) on friday!


A typical street, Everyday life

not knowing what to expect, how to feel (especially since i just got my morning jab for bed-bug bites which seem to haunt me whenever i travel). the original plan was 8nights through the classic route but i kinda fell ill from the night we landed and the fever was just to much so we only stayed for 4 nights.


Classic Havana & Classic Jeremy (being picked up)

i can tell you that the experience is something unexplainable but i'll try. our worst experience had to be when we were stuck in the airport for 4 hours because the immigration officers didn't know what to do with us as singaporeans didn't need a visa to enter - my guess is they had no idea where or what singapore was. then shaan passed immigration but had to wait for me for another half hour because they thought i had a fake passport. finally, the custom officer detained us and brought us to a corner to confirm if we had enough money for our entire stay. by the time we were out, we were drained, irritated and it was late evening, and we didn't even have a room for the night.



He hasn't moved in 4 days, Saleswoman,
The Lost Tourist & Cuban Street Party

although i was really down and out thoughout the four days (suspected dengue), we did manage to finish habana, the main sights especially. it's truly something just to walk on the streets. music plays out loud throughout the day (from all households)and mostly through the night too - you get invited to their house to dance along. everyone sits along the dark and wet streets chatting while the youth play baseball on the streets with paper made balls (and this happens everyday) - all races and colours getting along to the beat of music. for the guys ...., i have to say that cuban girls have got to be the sexiest dressed i've seen and shaan will tell you that they start at about 8. there are no thin cubans but certainly shapely ones. i regret not heading to the legendary tropicana night club, salsa heaven (casa de le musica), el este beach or even trying a mojito (shaan did) but i know for sure, i'll return someday to cuba.



In case of Fire, The Real Habaneros,
Cuba's equivalent to SBS & Comfort