Caribbean diaries (2) - Miami, Panama City and San Salvador

Miami

Fort Lauderdale from the air

Miami was a base for us when I was in the Caribbean and I flew in and out from there many times (6 times at last count). So I got to see it lot more from the top than on the ground 😁. And it looked just like I had imagined. The skyline while landing in Miami was always enchanting. A mix of the high rises in the city, with sun and waves all around it. And while landing at places nearby, like Fort Lauderdale, you can see the retirement houses lining the coast, with their huge houses, swimming pools and palm trees all around. The whole coast is densely populated, with lots of buildings and palm trees lining it for tens of kilometres. Also once when I was landing, we also flew over a long stretch of swamps all the way to Miami, which made for pretty pictures. So from the top, it was definitely a different experience every time.

Miami downtown from the air

The airport experience though was never great. There were always long queues for immigration, lot of confusion and very rude staff every time. There was a lack of clear directions in the airport, especially when taking connecting flights between terminals. Immigration took forever, with the attendants very rude to you if you do anything out of the ordinary, like take out your phone! And the US flights are quite low in service anyways. The whole experience just leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. And it made me decide to avoid connecting through US airports as much as I can.

During my stay in the Caribbean, I twice stayed there for a night between flights (once in Fort Lauderdale and once in Miami), and once spent a whole weekend in Miami. My first night there was spent in Hyatt House hotel in Fort Lauderdale which was quite a disappointment. The hotel was very downmarket and full of very random and scary people. It barely had any facilities or eating options. I tried walking to the nearby mall but the sidewalk was closed. So I decided to order in the food and what came was so American - a lot of food! Overall my experience wasn't great and I would never recommend the hotel to anyone. But the drive there from Miami had been quite refreshing, with palm trees and holiday homes everywhere, and a nice relaxed vibe to the air. So clearly, there was something better in the offing in Miami.

Retirement communities

So I turned up there again, for a weekend, when we stayed in Miami and ended up doing nothing much really 😀. We were staying in a huge airbnb in one of the gated communities in the city and it was an amazing experience. Staying in a 7-8 bedroom house with multiple living places and its own pool was definitely a unique experience. We walked around the area a bit and got to see some of the huge luxurious houses around which were interesting.

The whole vibe of the city was so relaxed and it was raining the whole weekend. So we ended up just doing indoor stuff at a slow Floridan pace. Our first outing was a brunch in the warm weather at Morgans which was a nice start to the day. And we spent the rest of the day shopping at the Sawgrass shopping mall.  We spent some time walking in the Design District and Birknell, both of which seemed fun to explore. They were full of graffiti and street paintings everywhere. The city felt spotlessly clean, well lighted and quite posh. In the evening we went for dinner to Beaker and Gray and called it an early night.

The next day also, the weather wasn't too great. So we spent the rest of the day lounging in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, with a view of the waterfront. And so the weekend was done, without having done anything much. As expected, the ubers as is everything in the US were huge. But surprisingly, most of the drivers did not speak English which felt a bit of a surprise as we were in the US! But I guess, Miami is a lot more spanish as compared to the rest of the country.

Swamplands?

My last night in Miami was when I had missed a flight and ended up staying 24 hours in the city. I stayed at the W hotel in the city centre with a beautiful view outside of a river and a nice park. But the world cup was going on at that time and I ended up spending the whole day inside itself. So inspite of having spent so much time in Miami, I still haven't explored much of what it has to offer outdoors. And even after having been to Miami 4 times, I haven't managed to visit the South Beach yet! Maybe I need to go on another trip to Miami then?


Panama City

Boats moving towards Panama Canal

I barely spent 24 hours in Panama City but it somehow left an impression on me. A good one, one which makes me want to visit it again. The first view I have of Panama is of flying in and seeing the country from the air. When land slowly comes into view, and you can see hundreds of ships making its way into the Panama Canal. And then, we saw lot of beaches with high rises and resorts next to it, followed by vast lands of rainforests and then we landed in Panama City. As soon as we started driving through the city, I experienced a kind of richness which was missing in all the other places I had visited in the Caribbean.

The waterfront

And it turned out to be exactly that. Panama is quite rich and well developed as compared to most of its neighbouring countries. Most of it comes from the Panama Canal and its consistent stream of revenue, but over the years Panama has developed into a successful South American hub. A lot of the well educated people from around Central and South America come and work there, and its a nice melting pot of immigrants from across the continent.

A view of Panama city

The city felt very modern and lot safer than some of its neighbours. Again, I spent most of my time in the office and the hotel in the city centre which looked fab. The waterfront was full of people enjoying walks. There were malls, offices and apartments in highrises all next to the waterfront. And hills nearby behind the highrises. They all made for fascinating shots at sunset. There was the typical beach-ey feeling about the city, which felt relaxed and luxurious. And somehow I came back with the feeling that I want to spend more time there for sure one day.

My biggest surprise on the visit: Panama is a rich and well developed country, and a popular place for expats in Central and South America to come and work.


San Salvador

I spent two days in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador but again spent most of my time in the hotel and the office. I did get a good sense of the country though, based on the small visits I had outside and time I spent with some locals. The people in ELS are Mestizos and I could easily merge with them. In fact, many people spoke to me in Spanish when I was there 😀.

ELS is a poorer country as compared to Panama and very unsafe. We again had strict instructions to not go anywhere without security. I noticed lot of guards outside buildings walking around with armed guns, which clearly indicated that we hadn't got the wrong advice!

A view of San Salvador

There were lots of malls around. And the nice areas felt very nice. I went out to two malls for lunch and dinner and liked the vibe I noticed there. Good restaurants and people out in the warm weather enjoying the nice meals. Also the country felt a lot more conservative than what I had imagined all of Latin America to be like. In fact, there was something there which made it feel a lot like India - with its so many potholes and the difference between the rich and the poor.

As I said, I did not get to see much of the country. I had the option to go and see a volcano which was very near. However, I debated going there and decided against it after hearing how unsafe the city is. So I decided to leave instead for the airport, which again was a nice drive. I passed through lot of hills and green dense forests on the way to the airport. I did feel sad leaving without exploring the country, but maybe thats for another time 😀.

My biggest surprise on the visit: There was a volcano within 30 mins from the city of San Salvador.

Caribbean diaries (1) - Haiti, Trinidad, Martinique

Caribbean diaries (3) - Ocho Rios, Port Antonio (Jamaica)

Caribbean diaries (4) - Negril and Kingston (Jamaica)

Impressions of Japan (3/3)

Part 1 - Tokyo and Nagano
Part 2 - Kyoto and Koyasan

In the 10 days we spent in Japan, we mostly stayed in the central part of the Honshu island. And even though we stayed in major touristy places, we still got to get a good feel of the country. And this time was enough for us to realise that Japan is an island within itself (geographically and philosophically speaking). Even though it has integrated with the world now, it is still isolated in its mind, and happy with it...


The country

The overwhelming feeling about Japan is of a comfortable mix of the old and the new. As much as it still embraces its deep culture, it has taken modernity and perfection to a new level. The country presents a very nice picture of the country of today, ahead in technology and running itself in perfection. The number of machines and devices everywhere, the bullet train running to the second, and all of this in a spotless country make it seem perfect. It also makes it easy for tourists to feel at home and comfortable very soon (as we did too).

You can see advanced technology and modern infrastructure everywhere. The most famous of that is of course the Japanese toilet seat which is present everywhere, even on the trains. With 5-15 different buttons, all with very specific functions, they are a pleasure to use. And I always wonder why no one else uses them across the world.

The Japanese have a fascination for vending machines and you can see them everywhere, dispensing all kind of unimaginable wares. We even found a machine inside our temple in Koyasan! The train network both within the cities as well as across the country is very good. The Shinkansen of course tops it all. The smaller villages we passed on the way during our trains seemed to all have all the infrastructure that you would need. They felt well connected and comfortable to live in. So all in all, the country seems to be as modern as we have always imagined it to be.

There are very small other things all around which make tourists feel welcome very soon. All the hotels (at least the ones we stayed in) gave phones in the rooms, with local data and minutes all for free! All restaurants have plastic copies of food kept in the window to make it easier to order what they want. And everything is safe. You can even leave your wallet unattended for hours and still find it where you left it.

All these things as much as they make tourists feel comfortable things, stand alongside a lot more which wouldn't make it as fun to stay in Japan as an immigrant. And that is the different and lack of openness in the culture and the people. Most of the shops and boards everywhere are written in Japanese, with very few things described in English which would make it mandatory for people to learn Japanese to be able to live in the country. And the people also felt happy to be polite and helpful, but still very distant and aloof. Happy within themselves.


The cities

We visited a few cities, and passed through a few while on the bullet train. And they all looked quite the same. Very modern, with lots of high-rises, lights, malls on every corner and full of shopping. There are loads of cartoon displays and ads everywhere. And lots of gaming shops too. This is something definitely found lot more in Japan than other places I have visited. And shopping is huge everywhere too, especially beauty products.

Tokyo felt like a cross between Hong Kong and London somehow. At times, it felt like a normal city, quiet and residential, with single storey houses and lots of machiya houses peeping through the new constructions. But at times, it felt like a mad-house, with its high rises and flashing lights everywhere, and people always running somewhere.

The metro in Tokyo was very very dense with too many lines everywhere. The linking of the metro wasn't very convenient though, with sometimes long walks required to change lines at the same station. You even had to swipe the card again, as the lines were owned by different companies. Some of the lines had cushioned seats but most weren't as comfortable. There was also a lot of haze everywhere, I think the air is more polluted than London. Tokyo felt like a good mixture of the fast and the slow, but somehow not a city I would like to live in for the long term.

Kyoto felt very different though. It felt slower paced, as if it was in a different century all together. There were more canals and open spaces there, less high rises and lights, people walking around in their kimonos, and it definitely felt warmer and more liveable as compared to its faster capital.


The people

The Japanese people have lots of articles written about them, how some of their qualities are very deeply entrenched in their culture and in them. And its so true. You can see it in all their interactions, and its very cute and interesting to see it.

Some of the terms which are commonly used to describe them are diligent, polite, respectful, stoic and punctual. And you can see it in a lot of things. For example, we saw one of the guys in the airport putting luggage tags. And he was doing it with so much dedication and diligence, we couldn't have seen that anywhere (least of all in India). The ticket checker in the Shinkansen would bow every time he or she entered a coach and left a coach. Even if no one noticed them doing it!

They all love following rules, and we never spotted anyone doing anything which is not allowed. Sometimes they followed the rules too much, carrying out each of the steps required and I thought some of them were very slow in their jobs because of that. But I guess doing a job well is quite important in their culture.

Politeness and friendliness is everywhere. We all know how the Japanese like to speak respectfully with everyone, adding 'san' at the end of the name. And bow while speaking with everyone. During our visit, we also noticed that they take the effort to help you, with shopkeepers sometimes even coming out of their shops to give you directions. Which is quite unlike say, the US or even some parts of Europe. And even if they don't speak a lot of English (which a lot actually don't), they will still make a lot of effort to help you. Also, you can notice that many times they are frustrated with tourists and their manners or lack of respect for rules. But still, they contain their frustration and are nothing but polite to everyone.

The Japanese are generally very hardworking, disciplined and quiet. You can always seen them standing in a queue, especially while getting on the Shinkansen. And they would get on with no delays, within the stop time. Working late is quite the norm, which we noticed seeing the heavy office traffic (all in black suits) in the metro at 10 pm on a Friday. Most of them also wore masks, which I heard was because cleanliness and civic duty is high in priority for them. Some wear masks not to get sick, while other wear it not to make others sick 😇.

We also found them quite serious most of the time. All the people travelling in the metro were quiet. They didn't talk much or loudly, didn't even laugh much. And most of them were looking at their phone all the time. I think we were the loudest group at most of the places we went 😊.

While all this is very positive, I honestly did think that the people there lacked openness and laughter. It's good to be hardworking and diligent and disciplined. But sometimes too much of that can make you lose your ability to loosen up, relax and have a good time. Just a laugh here and seeing some lightness there was something I missed a lot in the country, like we have in India (too much of it I would say).


The culture

I don't think I can write a lot about the culture of Japan here, as that needs its own books. I will however write about some things I noticed.

The first of course was about the two main religions of Japan - Shintoism and Buddhism. Apparently both of them exist together, with each having its own use. A lot of the temples and shrines that we went to were one of the two. The Shinto shrines would have a Tori entrance gate, a place to wash hands and a place to worship but without idols. You can also get married in a Shinto shrine, as it is not as much as a place of worship as a place to get together. Their names always have ji next to them. Buddhism on the other hand had temples, with statues of Buddha inside and incense burners. And people went there to pray more than anything else.

I think the Japanese have mixed western ideals with their own values very well and co-exists\ with the traditional and the modern next to each other. You can see enough people in western wear as in Kimonos, and in some ways, I found that quite similar to India. They are quite a self sufficient country and do not encourage immigration much. In fact they have made it very tough and so its not a surprise that we did not encounter too many people from outside Japan living there other than the tourists.

The Japanese gardens are very specific to their culture and they love them. Their gardens have rock landscapes, flowing water, small wooden structures, wooden bridges and a mix of many types of plants. Which even if similar to other gardens has its own uniqueness. The Japanese also love food and that is obvious with the quality of food they have. We did not have much of sushi (!!!) but all the Japanese food and the Indian food we ate was all very tasty. And I think that signifies how much importance they give to good tasty food.


Few tips for travel

- In Tokyo, it makes sense to buy the daily metro pass. Depending on how much you travel, it will probably be cheaper than buying a pay as you go ticket
- Buy the JR pass for travel on the Shinkansen. It allows travel for a longer time, say a week but only for foreigners. So you need to buy it beforehand and they are delivered only outside the country
- If you travel in large groups, you can turn around the seats in the Shinkansen to sit facing each other 😊
- Book restaurants in advance as they get booked out very quickly, especially in the cherry blossom season
- If you are vegetarian, you can find amazing Indian food to eat. Just search for the good restaurants
- Buy Japanese cosmetics, especially Shiseido but even some of the local brands. Their quality is better than other cosmetics
- For each of the cities, especially Tokyo, choose a few things to do rather than trying to do everything. It can get too hectic and boring after a while if you try to do everything

The exquisite town of Sintra, Portugal

This summer, I spent a few days in Portugal in the town of Sintra near Lisbon. It was a work trip but somehow, I made time to make two short trips to town and I was glad I did. It turned out to be a tourists delight with beautiful vistas of sun-kissed Portugal dotted with palaces and parks. A true paradise on earth and worth returning to some day.

View from Sintra

This is how Sintra is described on one of the websites and it was exactly that - 'With its rippling mountains, dewy forests thick with ferns and lichen, exotic gardens and glittering palaces, Sintra is like a page torn from a fairy tale. Its Unesco World Heritage–listed centre, Sintra-Vila, is dotted with pastel-hued manors folded into luxuriant hills that roll down to the blue Atlantic.'

Lisbon from the air

While landing in Lisbon, I got some breathtaking views of the city and around - of the sea, estuary, bridges, the city filled with orange coloured roofs and white buildings, and of green hills far off. It all felt very sunny, bright and warm even when landing. And once out of the airport, of course it was the same feel, the typical relaxed atmosphere that I always sense in Portugal. It had been the same even on my last trip to Faro in Algarve.

I took a cab to take me to my resort in Sintra. The driver did not speak English, so we had a quiet journey but the views on both sides were quiet captivating. With all the picturesque sun-kissed houses on both sides, shining in the sun, with baroque churches dotting them sometimes. The drive also made me realise that Portugal is a little less developed than a lot of Western Europe. People drove all over the place and didn't really follow the rules. Also the road wasn't perfect and at times we encountered water standing on the road!!

Penha Longa resort

I was staying at the Penha Longa Resort and it was awesome (at least what I got to see in between work). It was a huge open property with golf courses, running tracks, old historical structures and an old monastery on its premises, all located within a huge green belt. The monastery had been converted into a meeting convention centre but still retained all its beautiful paintings and tiles, plus the church.

Inside the monastery

The hotel had infinity pools and gardens all around, tons of eating places and all its rooms had a beautiful balcony with a green view outside. I didn't get a chance to explore the resort at all actually but I can see how it would be a fun place to stay on a weekend. While checking-in, I also ran into a big Indian group at the resort who were there for a wedding. Clearly destination weddings have become very very huge in the sub-continent, all the way till Portugal!

When I had realised I was going to Portugal for the conference, I had assumed our resort would be near the sea and I will get a chance to relax on the beach. It turned out that it was actually far away from the beach. Thankfully, a friend of mine told me that I should definitely visit the town of Sintra as it was culturally very rich. Given I hadn't read or heard about it earlier, I wasn't expecting a lot but was pleasantly surprised. It turned out that Sintra was the summer holiday location for the Portuguese kings as it was cooler, and so had a lot of things to do and explore.

It was quite spread out and was essentially a suburb of Lisbon, about 30 mins from the national capital. Even though it was a small little town, it had a few palaces, some monasteries, a few gardens, a Moorish fort on the hill, forested hills and a few beaches around. The town is located on a side of a hill and is reachable through narrow winding roads passing through picturesque colourful buildings, with a mix of Portuguese and Arabic architectural influences. All in all, offering a lot to tourists to explore for a day or two.

Pena Palace

I made a couple of short trips to town and got to visit the Pena palace, the National Palace and the town centre. At the Pena palace, you walk through the Pena Gardens which surround the Palace and have a few things to visit, like the fern gardens, a few statues, a huge cross on top of a hill, a valley of lakes, the stables and so on. You need to walk up about 800m from the gate to get to the Palace or you can take the bus inside the park complex, to go from one place to another.

Cathedral

The icing on the cake though is the Pena Palace. It is a luxurious fantasy palace built on top of a hill, integrating architectural designs from across the world and painted in bright colours - yellow, red, blue and grey providing a majestic sight. It started out as a monastery and then was renovated to convert it into a palace. The current structure was designed by a German architect, and its ownership has passed through many of the Portuguese royal families over the years.

View from the Queens Terrace

The whole palace is painted in bright colours, with multiple structures taken from different forts and palaces. They have Moorish tiles decorating some of the walls, with archways looking into the horizon, towers from typical castles and so on. Its a photographer's delight with its colours, and various architectural shapes ranging from Baroque to Arabic to Rajasthani. The Queen's terrace next to the queens room was one of the places where you can get a good view of the Palace, the park and the sea beyond. And I sat there for a while taking in the view and doing some work on my phone 😀.

Inside the palace, you can walk through many of its rooms and it is pure luxury. It felt like a country house with grand rooms filled with exquisite furniture, gorgeous paintings and other wall decorations which was unique to each of the room, plus with panoramic views of the country outside up to the sea.

View of Moorish castle

Then I walked to Tritons terrace leading to the the cathedral, along the side of the palace through the watch towers to where you can see the Moorish Castle glistening on top of the hill. You can even visit the castle remains from the 5th century when the Moors ruled Portugal but I had ditched that. Every turn in the castle felt like a photo point and I enjoyed every moment of the couple of hours I spent there.

View from the gardens

After the palace, I strolled through its forests and the fern valleys and other gardens, stopped at some of the sites but essentially just explored the area lazily. It was a refreshing walk and I passed through the Queen's chalet on my way out. I also got some majestic views of the palace from the garden on my way out. You can easily spend hours there in the complex if you want. It had turned out to be a very sunny and warm day which I had loved. And maybe was the reason for such a huge crowd turning up there on a Wednesday. Anyways I had a nice time in my short break there and would definitely recommend a visit.

Vintage cars

I made another trip to the National Palace for dinner one of the evenings, which was located in the city centre. It was apparently the summer home of the King and so very lavish and luxurious in its decor. We were driven there in vintage cars through the small streets of Sintra which felt awesome with the cool breeze blowing on your face.

Outside National Palace

We first took a tour of the palace and saw its richly painted rooms, with decorated ceilings, murano glass chandeliers and lot of other such displays of wealth and art. We also got to see attractive views of the city and the sea beyond during sunset from one of its windows, as well as an enchanting shining view of the Moorish castle on top of the hill in front. There was clearly a lot of money in Portugal which was spent lavishly across their palaces, looking at the luxurious feel of the two palaces in Sintra itself.

Random painted buildings in town

The last day I again went to the city centre but ended up not doing much as I had my luggage with me. So I walked up one of the roads and found a small church with an open area to sit. It had a fascinating view of the houses below and the sea beyond. There was a wedding happening in the church at the time. And a person was playing a musical instrument in the open area behind the church.

And I just sat there for a couple of hours, just enjoying the view and ambience with the musical background. It was pure bliss. And I loved it. There is something about warmer countries which I love. A relaxed feel which makes you forget all your worries. It was so nice to just be in a small village like this in the middle of nowhere, and enjoying the moment. This is the picture that I took away with me about Portugal and Sintra, and will always remember with fond memories. It was perfect.

Quinta Palace

After my stop there I walked around the town a bit and realised that it had many amazingly beautiful buildings. I passed by a few which were exquisitely painted and decorated with tiles, and looked beautiful. As I kept walking, I also ran into the Quinta da Regaleira palace which looked magnificent from outside. It looked so intricate from the outside, with its own gardens and is definitely something for the next time. Sintra is a place so simple, and offering so much, I can see myself coming here again...

Caribbean diaries (1) - The islands of Haiti, Trinidad and Martinique

This summer I spent two and a half months in the Caribbean, most of which was on the island of Jamaica but I also got a chance to visit a few other places around the region - the islands of Haiti, Martinique and Trinidad, Panama and El Salvador and frequent trips to Miami for connecting flights. As I was there on work, I did not get as much time to explore all these places as I would have liked to. But the time I spent there was enough to get a sense of what the Caribbean life is all about.

Somewhere in Martinique

I spent a few weekends in Jamaica visiting its beach resorts, one weekend in the island of Martinique, and a few days in Haiti and Trinidad. In addition I also stayed a couple of days in El Salvador, Panama and Miami during the same trip. So even though they are not Caribbean islands, they all feel part of the same region to me. Overall, the islands are quite similar to each other. Most of them are very small, have a mix of African and European descent population, a very specific Caribbean culture in terms of music, food, dance and feel, lots of pristine blue green beaches, warm weather and an overall air of fun and enjoyment. The Central American countries of course were a bit different.

An island from the sky

During my travels there, I saw a lot of the islands from the plane. And they were all looked so enchanting from the top. Small dots of land coming out in the sea out of nowhere. With the light blue sparkling waters around them, they looked as pretty from the top as they would have been when on the ground. Some of the images I still vividly remember are of the Bahamas which have many small islands all along a curve, all with shallow seas and light green waters around. Another of course is Cuba which though larger than the other islands seemed to have huge stretches of long beaches and shallow seas all around.

Being in the region, I also realised there are some 30-40 main islands and countries in the region. There were names which I hadn’t even heard before, so my geography definitely improved once there. There were islands still owned by the French - Martinique, Guadalupe etc, by the British - Montserrat, BVI etc., the Dutch - Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao; and so on. And there were small islands which I had not even heard of before. For example, there is a very small island called Antigua which has 365 beaches - one beach for every day of the year. And another small island called Montserrat which had a volcanic eruption and its population went from 12k to 5k suddenly. There are many such surprising things you find everyday about this lesser known part of the world, making it very interesting always.

I realised when there that the region has very bad air connectivity. Its not easy to get from one island to another directly. Some of the larger islands are connected better but it turns out that most places you can reach only via connecting from Miami or a similar farther hub. In fact, the island of Martinique has better connectivity and frequency of flights to France than the Caribbean itself! It also highlights the fact how the Caribbean which could have been a more united entity is quite fragmented and independent across the islands.



Haiti

I spent only two days in Haiti which were mostly in the office or the hotel. Most of my impressions are from what I saw from the car, the window or heard in conversations. So it is limited. But I think I still got a good sense of some aspects of the country.

My first view of the island when landing was captivating. When the plane was landing, we passed by parts of the island which were full of green dense forests and mountains everywhere. And I could see beaches on the coast as well as the Caribbean sun making everything bright. And then the capital city of Port-au-Prince came into view, extending till wherever the eye could see.

Most of the Haitian population was of African descent, on the roads, markets and all. But you see mostly whites in the hotels, offices and restaurants. The culture of the island felt more French than Caribbean, and Haitians speak French and Creole, rather than English. Also, its residents are crazy about football. The whole country apparently shuts down during the world cup and other such events.

After the first view from the plane, once I landed and was being driven to our office, I realised that Haiti was actually a poor and developing country. It is one of the larger of the Caribbean islands, half of which is the Dominican Republic. Haiti got independence about 100 years ago but its history has mostly been full of coups and spoilt by politics. So it is in a much worse state than the Dominican republic which is almost like a developed country, even though they started out together. And Haiti is the second poorest country in the world. It was telling that when I told the immigration officer while transiting from US that I would be going to Haiti, he asked me if I was a social worker...

View from the hotel

For the two days I was in Port-au-Prince, I mostly spent my time in the hotel and office. Haiti is a very unsafe country, and so we had been instructed not to venture out on our own at all. From the hotel, I got a view of the seas beyond and the place felt like paradise - clear blue skies dotted with some white clouds, blue waters and the greenery of palm trees everywhere. It felt like it was a paradise spoilt, spoilt by men, and their politics. When I read more about Haiti, I realised that even though Haiti has beautiful Caribbean beaches, very few tourists visit them because of safety issues. You cannot just walk anywhere, you have to drive around in armoured cars always. And that can't be fun.

The pool in the hotel

Another thing that struck me was that the hotel that I stayed in was outstanding, it could match any 5 star hotel from anywhere in the world. And that was when I realised that the rich across the world experience the same amazing life. Its only the poor whose life in the emerging and developed world differs. And so even in Haiti, there would be all these pockets which were luxurious where you would not feel you are in the second poorest country in the world.

Other than the hotel and office, one afternoon I did get to go out a bit and see the market and a few shops in Port-Au-Prince. Of course, I went in an armoured car and we had 2 bodyguards with us. We were also instructed to remove any jewellery, watch or phone when leaving the car. This level of unsafe feeling is something very few of us can imagine now. And it was almost a new experience for me.

During the drive, we drove through a lot of the local roads, saw all the houses on the hills but we did not pass by any rich areas. It felt like all of it was very downtrodden and shabby. I saw some small restaurants somewhere but not much else to do or see. Some of the shops we went to had the shopkeeper sitting behind bars for self-protection and to handle cash. And credit card system really didn’t exist in the country. It all felt so unreal, its very difficult to explain.

The main market we went to seemed like any other emerging market local market. People selling their wares, small shops and stalls and so on. However, the presence of the bodyguard was the only difference. When I asked my colleagues what could happen if we didn't have them, they said expats can very easily be kidnapped! So definitely not something we wanted.

The city looked beautiful at night though from up in the hotel, with the twinkling lights across the hills and the calmness of the sea beyond. At night, when the ugliness of real life was not visible. So even such places have their inherent beauty which no one can take away from them. But two days there felt a bit tough to me, and I was happy to leave when I did. It had felt a bit like a prison being there, being unable to do anything, walk around and so on.

My biggest surprise on the visit: Haiti is a very very poor country, with lot of crime and lack of safety. It came as a big surprise for me as I assumed all of Caribbean is happy and fun!


Trinidad and Tobago

I spent a couple of days in Trinidad, in the capital city of Port of Spain. Again I spent all my time between the hotel and the office, with barely any visit outside. So all I got to see was from the car. But it was enough to know that Trinidad was completely the opposite of what Haiti was. Trinidad is one of the well to do nations in the Caribbean because of its oil. And it was very visible everywhere.

Trinidad from the top

The houses were much better, the buildings bigger (and colourful) and the people seemed well off and more relaxed. I think money has a lot to do with that always. The infrastructure was much more developed than the other islands we visited. Overall the roads and all felt a lot better. The route from the airport to the capital almost felt picturesque, driving through agricultural lands, palm trees and views of small mountains far away.

It felt like Trinidad had its very own culture, maybe because it is one of the larger Caribbean islands and had a large population. They had more mixed people from different races. There was lot of random paintings and graffiti on the roads and walls. It has an annual carnival which is very popular to visit. The temperatures were amazing, clear skies above and palm trees lining most of the roads - totally Caribbean. There was also a very warm and relaxed feel in the air which I had missed in Haiti.

And the island has about 40-50% of its population of Indian origin, which was very visible everywhere. There were Indian people, Indian Hindu school billboards and people driving around with Hindu symbols on their cars. And I felt closer to home because of that. Its very difficult to explain how seeing something of my country somehow made me feel very comfortable in such a faraway land.

View from the hotel

As I said earlier, my view of the city is limited only to the hotel and the office. The hotel was a top notch 5 star property, located on the seafront and had a beautiful view outside of the sea and port. It also had amazing food especially the sushi restaurant which had a lot of vegetarian options.

As far as tourism is concerned, Port Au Spain felt more like an industrial city and apparently doesn't have many beaches around. If you go far off from the capital, you might encounter some pretty tourist places, beaches or turtle hatching sites. Also safety in Trinidad is again questionable, so tourism is low. The neighbouring island of Tobago is supposed to have much better beaches and is safer. Some of my colleagues went there and enjoyed it but I didn’t get a chance to go there. Maybe for the next time.

For me, the story of how so many Indians turned up in Trinidad is interesting, and moreover surprising that we were never taught that in our history. In the 1800s, thousands of Indians were brought almost as slaves to provide labour to the Caribbean when the African people became free. As would be expected, they were exploited and ill-treated. And very few of them made it back to their homeland even though they were promised safe passage back.

Its these Indians who stayed back who make up the Indian population in so many of the islands, like Barbados, Jamaica etc. but maximum in Trinidad. And I don't know if that is the reason or not, but the accent in Trinidad is different from the rest of the islands. It has a particular sing song tinge to it which is very unique. It is so sweet to listen to, I must say it is one of the best accents I have ever heard.

My biggest surprise on the visit: Trinidad has a 40% Indian population who came there as indentured labour with the British and decided to settle there. Also the Trinidadian accent has a very typical quality to to, like a singsong. You have to hear it yourself to understand it.


Martinique

Fort-de-France from the air

The next island I visited was Martinique, part of the French West Indies. It is technically France, uses Euros as currency and the Schengen visa works there. That was a surprise for me. Also, I got to spend about 6 days there including a weekend, so I felt a lot better that I was at least able to explore the Caribbean finally. Martinique is a medium sized Caribbean island, whose capital is Fort-de-France. It is the biggest town, with a few other villages in the north and south side.

In addition, given it is French, the island is quite popular with the rich French who like to have a holiday home here for the winter months. And so there are loads of those French Riviera kind of establishments with rich luxury houses along the coast. And there were a lot more white and French people around here than the other islands. So this experience definitely felt very different from all the islands I had visited in the Caribbean, most of it because it was "French".

Waterfront and the fort

As I was there on work, I was staying in Fort-de-France. And surprisingly, there were no chain hotels in town! So we stayed at the Simon Hotel which was quite nice, with a view of the sea, the main Fort, the waterfront, a small beach and lot of sailing boats in the water. The food there was quite French, so it got tough for me to find vegetarian food sometimes. But the views and the weather was lovely.

Streets of Fort-de-france

The capital felt quite average though. The buildings were colourful, but felt a bit run-down. The roads inside town were quite narrow. The fort was picturesque and there were loads of people enjoying on the waterfront next to it. I think it would have been a nice place to go, but we didn’t get much time. We also noticed some festivals happening there on the weekend we were there. So it did have an active feel to it. One of the days I visited some of the locals malls around which looked like any other French mall with all its french brands.

Within the town, we didn’t do much except one of our great finds, which was an amazing small restaurant called Lillies beach, for Friday dinner. It is located next to a not so great hotel called La Battaliere. You have to figure out your way somehow, and walk down a couple of stairs behind the hotel to reach this hidden gem. But it was paradise - a small little restaurant located right on the beach sand, hidden from all the world.

The atmosphere was very relaxed, the crowd quite mixed and upscale and the ambience one of the best I’ve ever seen. It felt more like a local haunt than a tourist spot, which made it even better. I loved it there. Imagine sitting in a cove next to the beach and eating food with the wind blowing in your hair and the waves providing the background sounds. The experience was priceless! And this was a great start to my first weekend in the Caribbean!

The island felt a lot prettier outside of Fort-de-France though. During the weekend, we spent most of our time outside, driving to the beaches towards the south side. The whole island felt a lot more greener than the other islands I had visited. There were small hills everywhere, the grass was very bright green, and there were loads of banana and sugarcane fields. With cows in the fields and lot of birds chirping everywhere. Martinique also clearly had a better infrastructure than all the other islands we had visited. The roads and cars were better, the people felt well-off and the air had a different feel to it.

Anse Noir

On Saturday, we first drove towards a small black sand beach called Anse Noir. The drive there was amazing, up and down on narrow single lane roads through Caribbean rainforests which were very fresh, green and dense. It is among one of the best and freshest drives I’ve experienced. I totally loved it. We lost data at many places on the road but always continued on. It helps that there weren’t too many roads on the island, so getting lost was not really an option 😁.

Sunset at Anse DuFour

The beach though was a bit of a disappointment. It looked dirty even though it wasn't, and somehow wasn't as appealing as it should have been. There weren’t any facilities there either, so it wasn’t very convenient. Right next to it though was a small white sand beach - Anse DuFour - which definitely felt like an upgrade. It was lined with palm trees and as we were there long, I got some amazing sunset shots too. The water at both the beaches was perfect - warm, green and clear, just what you would expect from the Caribbean. Both the beaches also had a lot more white people than black, clearly marking it as a tourist spot. They had a lot more shops on this beach, which definitely made it more tourist friendly. We also sat at a cafe there which seemed a bit dodgy but provided great views of the sunset across the water.

While driving back, we first stopped at a village on the way and randomly explored the village and the local church. We then walked to the waterfront. And then we drove back to the tourist town of Les-Trois Ilets. It was an area next to the sea which was full of hotels and places to eat. We first walked into an open air area with loads of restaurants and stopped at one called le Bistrot D'en Face (I think). We sat outside for some time and had a hearty tasty meal there. It also started raining but thankfully it was the typical equatorial rain which stopped soon.

Then we walked a bit and reached a small bar on the waterfront called Kano. It felt like a hidden gem we had found and we sat there for some time just admiring the views of the sea and beyond. But when we were driving back, we realised that it was actually a main street restaurant which we had earlier crossed, so not really a hidden gem 😁. And then we were back to the capital later that night. Most of the island had felt quite safe, but while coming back, we stopped at a petrol station which felt dodgy. And that made us realise that we had to be more careful here than we were being till then.

Drive to Salines beach

The second day, I drove to a much longer and popular beach called Grande Anse des Salines, which was on the South most tip of the island. Google map there wasn’t helpful, so I ended up taking the longer route, and turns out that I drove through the posher parts of the island. On the way, I crossed some small towns - Vaughlin and Francois - which felt like the French Riviera, really. With beautiful palm tree lined avenues, orange roofed posh houses along the cliffs, and blue green clear water beyond. Isn't this what paradise would look like? 

Salines beach

On the way I also drove through the village of Sainte Anne, which had a lot of beaches too. I would really have liked to live in one of such places rather than the capital. These felt more fun and Caribbean. The Salines beach as expected was a huge white sand beach, extending for kms, with palm trees on the bank and people chilling in the water. There were loads of shops and facilities around, like any tourist place. And the water was warm, a lot of fun. And the drive back was through a different road, again very picturesque, with empty roads through green lands till wherever the eyes can see. I loved the drive totally.

In addition to the places I visited, there are more beaches in the north part of island which are worth going too, like Anse Turin and Anse Couleuvre (a black beach). And the volcano, Montaigne Pierre near the town of Saint Pierre too. All for the next time.

Overall Martinique felt like an interesting mix of European and Caribbean culture. In terms of quality of life, it was definitely French. As was the traffic, much more than other islands. The roads were top notch level, to European standards. Also service in most restaurants was quite bad, keeping the French-ness alive 😜. But when it came to the vibe, it was clearly Caribbean. Relaxed and fun. All in all, a fun place to stay on a weekend. I can now see why the French have kept the island still...

My biggest surprise on the visit: I realised Martinique was such a weird mixture of the French and Caribbean. With French rules and infrastructure, and Caribbean feel and air. But the locals don’t like to consider themselves Caribbean, they think of themselves as French 😊.


Caribbean diaries (2) - Panama City, El Salvador

Caribbean diaries (3) - Ocho Rios, Port Antonio (Jamaica)

Caribbean diaries (4) - Negril and Kingston (Jamaica)

An evening in Berlin

This has to be the fastest time to blog on travelfrreak ever 😀. I came back from Berlin on Friday and here is the blog on the following Wednesday. I had to go to Berlin on a work trip for two days and at one point was planning to stay back given I have never been there before as well as have heard great reviews about the city. But looking at the cold winter temperatures (ranging between 2 and -2 degrees!), I decided not to stay back the weekend, and only spend a couple of hours on Friday evening to explore the city. And I think it was a great great decision in hindsight.

Bridge on river Stree

I was staying at the Nhow hotel on the river Stree for the two days. And the hotel was a revelation, not what I would expect in the serious Germany we always imagine. It was the most colourfully decorated hotel I have ever stayed in. There was graffiti on the walls and pink paintings everywhere - on the corridor walls, near the elevators, around the bar seating areas, the reception and so on. The rooms had a pink theme too, on the floor, the bedsheets, the cupboards and so on. I was shocked by it all totally, it was quite loud for anyone's taste, at least anyone I know. But I guess, it was in keeping with the hippy image Berlin has.

The weather the whole weekend was very very cold. It was cloudy and foggy the whole time. Definitely not the best time to explore a new place. Over the two days, I saw a bit of the city and formed a perception based on the little I saw. There were loads of old buildings around, some from the Soviet era too. They all had quite a monotonous feel to them.

The roads everywhere were very wide and lined with trees on both sides. And the city felt very open. Also there were a lot of green areas and parks around. Right now some of them had fall colours, but a lot of the trees were already leafless. There was lot of graffiti across town, everywhere. On walls, buildings and anywhere else it was possible. This was definitely something different from usual cities. I also noticed a lot more non Germans around than most other German cities have been to. The whole city overall felt deep and peaceful, I liked that.

I had a couple of hours on Friday and visited the Berlin Wall, Alexanderplatz and the Brandenburg gate as well as walked around a bit. And I was only moderately impressed with the touristy side of the city, though it had more to do with the weather.

Wall paintings

The first place I walked along was the East side of the Berlin wall. It has now been made open to street artists to paint and is a sight to behold. All along the long wall you can see paintings ranging from the modern to abstract to simple to graffiti to social messaging. I walked an hour or so along the road and loved it, even without being an art lover. Can only imagine what someone who understands art would feel looking at it.

Wall paintings

I also noticed an important aspect of the wall. When I was walking along it from the other end, a lot of the paintings seemed completely new to me! It was almost as if looking at it from the other side sent a completely different message and was completely different. Also all along the way, there were loads of Arabic men playing games - under which of the three matchstick boxes is the paper ball. And so many people were playing it, losing and winning all the time. It was fun to watch.

The wall today is what it is, a remnant of a difficult past. And its been shown in a positive light. But I don't think people like us can even imagine what it signifies... Imagine a wall drawn in the middle of a city, ONE city. Imagine having to live like this, after having lived your entire life like one. It is so cruel, I can't even envisage living like this. I think over the past century, our world has really changed towards a peaceful tomorrow and I think we should be more grateful for it than we are.

Wall paintings

Wall paintings

Wall paintings

Wall paintings

Our second spot in Berlin was Alexanderplatz. When I had done a Google search for top things to do in Berlin, Mitte walk and Alexanderplatz had come on top. So we went there anyways. And I was surprised why this place turned up, as it felt like just a market square with lots of shops. And a Christmas market which was closed at that time. There was one of the popular towers of Berlin right there but it was hidden in the fog, so I don't think going up would have helped in any way. So given there wasn't much to do there, we started walking towards the Brandenburg Gate. However, we had put the wrong location on Google maps and ended up walking 30 minutes to reach the Kulture Brauerei!

Winter streets

The walk was great though. I think we walked through a very nice part of town, with its huge stone houses with some sculptures but charming in its simplicity and a bit of colour, roads lined with treeless trees, small parks, some shops and cafes, views of small historical monuments and so on. It was also our chance to experience the cold European winter in a way that I noticed the hidden beauty winter can have. I liked the vibe I got of Berlin. Of a very open and widely spaced city. A city which has an underlying beauty and character about it which defines it...

We next took a cab to Brandenburg gate and on the way, passed the official Berlin Wall memorial. It had a lot more photos on display which talked about the history of the wall. The wall had been 70 kms long. And 136 people had been shot trying to cross it, over the years. I think I want to go there once later for sure to learn more about it.

Brandenburg gate

Our last stop of the day was the Brandenburg gate, which looked nice in night lights. However, I think we had had enough of the cold by then, and after a quick coffee, I was ready to head back. When one of my most bizarre experience of Berlin happened! I tried calling Uber thrice and every time the driver would go to some wrong address. And calling and talking to them did not help as they did not know English either!

Anyways in half an hour, we managed to get a cab which finally took me to the airport. The driver was from Iraq and quite talkative. He was also a lover of Bollywood and sang a few songs he remembered - 'Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja' and 'yeh dosti hum nahi chodenge'. I was surprised by it and the chats with him were quite entertaining, all the way to the airport.

The airport was another different experience altogether. It is still an old one, and was supposed to have been replaced with a new one in 2012 which isn't ready yet. So the current airport is continuing in its broken down state till that happens. Each of the airport gates have their own security and immigration which creates long queues. There was no fast tack. The lounges were before security and passport control, so you had to leave early for the gates. And turns out that the lounges also did not have any toilets. All in all, a terrible experience.

But I enjoyed what little I experienced of Berlin. I would definitely like to back here, during warmer temperatures...