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  • EADD Moderators: Pissed_and_messed | Shinji Ikari

The Travel Thread - Second Destination

5.90 CUC for 70cl of Havana Club Réserve.
1 CUC is 25 national pesos and for tourists to buy ciggs it costs 1.5 CUC but costs locals 7 pesos.

£1 is 1.37 CUC. We didn't bring any cash, only plastic. When you withdraw cash they convert it to USD first which is artificially kept the same as the CUC but then they impose a 10% tax because the dollar is banned.

If you withdraw £1000, the government rips you off £200 of your own money and stops you taking advantage of the stronger £ to the $ and you also loose out on £360. If the government isn't ripping you off, its the people. Not that we got ripped off, but its all the fucking time everyone tying it on. Nothing like it is in Asia where they just want to charge you a bit more than they'd charge the locals or try it on with commission deals.

The Cuban people in general don't like tourists but realise they depend on them to simply get by.

In the future when one can get a big mac for a few quid instead of the current 6 quid for some shitty burger for tourists with their split economy then it'll be a better place. I say this because of the UNESCO protection of some places like Trinidad and Old Havana, which are two amazingly stunning places, will remain no matter what.

Most expensive Latin American country but cheapest Caribbean island, although on the more luxurious islands at least you know you're getting what you pay for.
 
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If you can afford to stay in the 5* hotels and buy $400 boxes of Cohibas, and then just have a driver show you all the pretty sights without having to experience Cuban culture then its good for a holiday, but unsatisfying for a cultural holiday and you don't learn anything like that.

What I did learn, from the people who are at least 80 and not afraid to speak out against the government, is that the 30 years they lived under highly corrupt capitalism and the 50 years of communism they're currently living in, they prefer the capitalism because there was no N. Korea esque restriction of movement. But as many have said, this is because even though the Cubans fought to overthrow Batista, they were all too lazy when called to work under Fidel.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I went. Was just a bit disheartening, probably in the same way SHM found Vietnam, but on the other end of the spectrum.
 
Just got an email back from the place that i wanted to WWOOF, and he said he would only have room for me for about a week if i didn't have my own car, if i had a car then i could stay a month :(
Been looking at some in Hawaii though and they look great, a couple of them are only 15-20 hours a week and they say there's normally opportunity to work for money part time in the local area as well as the farms. There are others in Hawaii that are longer working hours but the places look great.
Hope i find one in Hawaii :)
 
Ahh, still wondering about where to head for early-summer! I have a bit of money and feel like getting away, maybe alone as half my friends are even more expert procrastinators than me. Saw Lisbon mentioned, was it tekken who's just gone there? Wonder how he'll find it, Portugal/Spain are possible options, or maybe Prague and Bratislava. Anyone know what the prices are like now in Prague? They don't have the euro yet do they? I think they do in Slovakia...

Ahhh exciting anyway! :D
 
My mums b/f is just back from Prague, says still very cheap and no Euro yet.

If you want cheap European destinations the south / Balkans is a good start.
 
If you can afford to stay in the 5* hotels and buy $400 boxes of Cohibas, and then just have a driver show you all the pretty sights without having to experience Cuban culture then its good for a holiday, but unsatisfying for a cultural holiday and you don't learn anything like that.

What I did learn, from the people who are at least 80 and not afraid to speak out against the government, is that the 30 years they lived under highly corrupt capitalism and the 50 years of communism they're currently living in, they prefer the capitalism because there was no N. Korea esque restriction of movement. But as many have said, this is because even though the Cubans fought to overthrow Batista, they were all too lazy when called to work under Fidel.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I went. Was just a bit disheartening, probably in the same way SHM found Vietnam, but on the other end of the spectrum.
Click to expand...

Would you really want to go to Cuba and stay in 5* hotels etc though. It's not what Cuba is about (or my perception of Cuba anyway). The Cuban culture sounds good to me, they drink rum, the make Havana, enough said! Do they mostly drink it straight there or with Cola out of interest?

Why were you do dissaponted, just at being ripped off all the time or other reasons too? I didn't realise it was an expensive place, obviously if you are staying in 5* hotels etc it would be but I imagined doing it independently it would be fairly cheap, if you were eating, drinking at local places etc and taking public transport (which I hear is limited).

I'd still love to go.
 
They don't have local places. Lobster and beef is restricted to tourists.

Its not like SE Asia where you have places that are tailored to tourists and thus the price is bumped up a little bit, and then you also have places where the locals eat for pennies and if you want to get involved in the culture then you can go there too.

If Cubans want to eat out they have to pay in CUC at the state owned places, not in their pesos which they use at the markets to buy food to cook themselves. Because of this, only those locals in tourism where they get lots of CUC from tourists, say they're a Casa Particular for example, then they can afford to go out for a nice meal once in a blue moon.

You'd think Cuba isn't a touristy destination, but it seems the government is only catering for tourists and leaving their people behind.

They don't drink Havana Club, too expensive for them as they have to pay for it in CUC.
Only saw locals drink it straight or in mojito or daiquiri.
 
What rum do they drink then?

So there's no local restuarants / bars etc that are not designed for tourists then? :(
 
that WWOOF thing looks pretty fuckin cool
never heard about it before
id absolutley love to do it for a summer in some warm country, slow paced life in the sun etc
 
They drink whatever they can buy with their national peso.

They have 'paladares' which are restaurants in private homes, authorized to serve up to 12 people. They sprung up in the 1990s, but the smallest ones were forced to close down as a result of tax policies that favoured the state restaurants. But these are still for tourists, just a bit cheaper than restaurants.
 
Did you go to any paladres?

Aye WWOOFing looks great and your only expected to work 4-6 hrs a day in return for board and food. Sounds cool to me. :)
 
be cool if you were sharing a dorm with a load of fit blonde swedish girls too

but in reality its probs loads of hairy old hobos and hippies eating beans out of the can
 
I dunno anything about dorms, a lot of the places I've looked at online are just families who like to live organic lifestyles, maybe have a small peice of land where they grow organic fruit / veg or raise a few animals or what have you and are looking for one or two people to help. They usually treat you like part of the family and let you stay in their house from what I've read online too.

Sounds like a very cool experience to me.
 
Yes I went to a couple of paladares. All the jineteros try and bring you to their 'family' place to get their commission. A load of them are wank though and went to the one's recommended by other travellers I met, the paladares then pretended not to speak English when we went in without a 'broker'.
 
Casa Particulars, which are privately owned guest houses. But they were still bloody expensive and even the lovely lady who's roof conversion we stayed in for 9 days in Trinidad ripped us off by charging 1 CUC each small bottle of water.. when 2 litre bottles are only 70 cents.

You'd pay £5 for this standard in Vietnam. But we were paying 35 CUC in Havana and 20 in Trinidad.

Ok, I admit I was spoiled in Vietnam, but still.. They think they can charge whatever because anyone who can afford a flight to the Caribbean must be loaded.
 
My vision of paradise is ruined!

Oh well at least Bali (well Sanur anyway) is actually pretty close to paradise.
 
I will be landing in Bangkok on the 12th of next month:) Planning to travel onward in Vietnam and Cambodia mainly, but maybe Laos too.

I intend to live in this part of the world for a while, starting in November, once the rainy season ends. So the trip is reconnaissance, for three weeks. I want to look at towns or areas that I would like to live and work in.

I'm winging it a bit , need to get down to dirty details one of these evenings and get an itinerary sorted.:D

Also, can anybody recommend some good footwear for monsoon mud and floods? I reckon all-stars would broil my feet8o
 
I got some wicked shoes from Kathmandu camping store. At work now though so I can't give details, but they were amazing in all weather around SE Asia.

Chiang Mai is the best place to stay in Thailand for living and working.
Loads of places in Vietnam depending on what you want to do, Da Nang is a decent sized city that's easy to find jobs in nearly as a tourist, be it catering or teaching.

Think Kara is off too Vietnam and Cambodia at the start of next month.
 
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