We didn't expect our all-inclusive vacation in Varadero, Cuba to be very 8 ~ C. y5 ?( n0 T, ninteresting, but we never had a sunshine vacation before and also we$ q* d3 E V: \/ q
wanted to see and learn a bit about Cuba, if possible.1 c, B b! X7 k$ Y2 j, _# [
4 x4 Q% e9 q, i: U# Q& ]3 l: k, TIt was a mixed bag of people on our plane and in the resort: 20% young," R: y- F" U. h' N# l! R0 `
30% old, and 50% in between, also quite a few single men. People are in9 e; u3 k- t; s0 b) h6 W- o) @
a very different mode in the resort, lots of them dress as little as3 `5 R) s4 h7 D" H( N
possible and drink as much as they can, stay up very late (resort . I9 D" v W2 X( O) \: qshow/dance music is very loud and runs into 1am daily), and sleep 8 O$ d! }9 G$ N9 k" p" vbetween the meals on the beach, beside the swimming pool, and in the& g& Z: a& `+ _- q2 [+ `
lobby. The resort lobby is really used as a family/living room for all, - G1 U+ x- L2 J" T+ h& rwith people doing all sorts of things and nothing is too strange there. ' S; H M* O8 ?/ [& Q People on vacation are even more friendly then they are in Canada, but' }" ~% W6 G. k/ L$ {" R, r7 T+ `
names (especially the last name) seems to be one thing that not 5 F; u3 `, @8 F; j2 l& R0 w; Y, hexchanged much. It is interesting to see people change color in our 2 ~& Y" L& C" r, @4 l a5 I# oflight at the beginning and at the end of our trip, like peanuts through 5 E6 Y% f* R7 d3 D; A& z: Va roast oven - white before and roasted afterwards. * G7 ]9 Y, w( y G& j) ~# g7 g* P
The weather was beautiful during our stay: mid to high 20s in the day, 4 T6 B3 |7 R. W. g6 }low 20s in the night. We did sea kayak, swam in the ocean and the pool8 j0 Y5 C, l, Y; m5 O3 a
(when it was too windy), went to town by bike, and saw the island on top7 t |. [9 N! s" G6 l/ M
of the hop-on/off double-decker bus, walked along the beach, watched the1 }/ V0 k) @, O# r+ r
stars (note the sky at 23 degree latitude looks quite different from : h" z1 ^8 p. n0 C& h4 M. X: b7 a49), played ping-pong everyday after lunch. Em even tried 20 minutes 6 I; X7 _5 z7 a8 ~5 z2 A4 HCuba neck-back massage that felt like intensive cha-cha dancing with ' K L, \% d! e( t! \: l+ t6 lfingers, palms and fists; very different from what we have in Canada. - Q6 W/ t# t( X8 B9 |8 l( }1 V; k6 e
The resort staff are mostly very good, some do so for tips, but some are1 B3 s% v" h! o; j# `$ b/ d
just very nice, like our room maid (see the pictures of the bed she made : S% O6 m8 g6 ^for us). The resort looks to be owned by the government, as Cuba) \4 ]$ s! F) p* b. @6 p7 h
tourist industry and most other things in general. Watching them having ) D7 k) e- W9 {- s! L! }( oa staff meeting with the Cuba flag up, made Em think about China 8 J" a, I. Y$ C' M. k* x! L. idaily political studies. 作者: freedom_2008 时间: 2011-1-15 13:28 标题: 我们2006年的古巴游记 (二)
Cuba in general, looks a lot like China in late 1970s and early 1980s, living2 k9 z' i) l; J s' q
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went 9 q2 J5 h+ s( K6 {& C7 G1 j0 non a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide, & [' d/ w4 W; ^( f$ u0 z* f"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give* X3 s! D+ v. e6 \
answers to our pointed questions.( K! K( Q' K; j F3 ?6 }1 ]2 F
$ @% {2 s5 d1 ^8 l, l3 M! d+ J
The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,4 Y4 |) k+ G8 s5 c6 ^% g
45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand 1 w; }( Z: O: @out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is& o: `( h# q7 j. X0 h
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams; ?( ^. s6 `& `. Y6 Q: S" Q( n
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are/ E' t& }: b2 F+ R& {
medical schools. ! ^ i0 n3 o0 ^7 `# k 9 X1 i- n3 q/ uEvery university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the 2 f: U# [% r! X7 J! i7 tgovernment before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants8 n- P6 @8 D3 }# m: f
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years & I$ G; ^ V1 S2 ]' ^# Bassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba3 y4 V! [5 A; w# i9 C
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to 1 h9 |; ~+ F& }$ cover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There 6 } \& Y5 k- j, p8 x$ o9 n9 V+ C- [seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and ! Y& h: H$ M0 N* X$ F: [mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk g9 p2 Q0 A& `8 F- z4 dshortage which the government is addressing by converting some# r2 c+ B4 u+ x" h6 u* h
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands. $ u3 d$ d* N" q% z9 j0 c9 \8 ], y' ] K0 i
The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no, }1 m( _% K8 U0 b: f3 g( t
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and+ g0 B. N/ r; \8 {, X
supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people$ W# {; j( r8 @1 @
have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good% T$ `: q! Q% _5 k* B& q/ i4 s5 q+ ]
thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby# ?$ Y% J( z. N. y* D
sitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high/ @: G2 m: P( l: b) N
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years. / Y" \+ D0 C! [* U# q1 EDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When ; R. O% X# q3 G( za lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only 3 d1 I! o* S; f( {- Ncharge the fee defined by the state. 9 I0 X* r$ E$ M# r, ?/ j g, b/ o/ s- y3 C( b9 C
There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get) w0 q8 X1 I* r. s; |' h1 {$ x( Z
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type + [1 L( H, D/ o4 iof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big # L' L: Q \' l- n7 t# o6 ?3 {2 Htruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel$ W$ t( V. A% a: x; K" M
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the8 T$ ?; Y3 d6 h+ t. `
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on* E% j0 L# \' f& k1 G$ q9 G
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if 2 }* \* M- G/ L3 U( c0 byou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people2 B) k; c$ G V+ C( F6 w; q' t' u
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch2 [/ ~! D& Y8 [. O( V
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that ) `& F8 Y" A5 R$ g& Dpeople have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want % ^1 P. @1 p$ H3 K) [4 W4 sto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or / H& i/ G: b, G9 i# y4 t6 nbuses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there " z/ y! a% e7 q+ ^) u' Gare spaces. $ e m( \, U2 a4 j6 t 0 ~& ]9 q6 u7 B8 ?There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi# {* h3 W! G, n$ }! `
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they . n# h. `2 n# \3 X. W0 Gown a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the" c7 ^8 H0 `/ Y' e3 D
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different) N. p4 W6 X! Z
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the1 S6 T# L. Y5 W
best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few 9 P; P }6 T! W+ qnice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of+ ~: i& U( b6 c3 h# h, p
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it # d1 }0 |7 u+ t# \! Y, Q; M% A% C- iis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned. ( l: q" ~5 {, ^' l1 D We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate. 作者: freedom_2008 时间: 2011-1-15 13:29 标题: 我们2006年的古巴游记 (三)
Havana seems to be a lively city, with lots people and some beautiful& [1 M$ g" c9 x L/ z/ k
spots. But in general, it is quite run down. We felt very sorry for all 8 L0 g. ^8 z9 ~& S/ O8 ]$ fthe nice colonial style buildings near the ocean front. With very + I. L& G: j% s2 X/ s7 elimited resources, especially still recovering from early 90's deep( \3 C K5 t0 q% T- S1 {; _! A) ~& R
recession after Soviet Union collapse (Cuba lost its $30 million per day& g' s3 T* i7 p/ e7 v
supplement), little has been done to maintain/restore them, and some of 7 v- X" W9 |! ?6 l! v- V3 Cthem are already gone. Shops have very limited goods, public bathrooms5 ^, V9 D8 c. j1 t, k( q; L8 K
have no running water (and you pay for paper of course), even in the0 D" w+ V' W$ o. \3 T
tourist area. + @8 X7 @! b+ u/ T+ T- q 1 B# U! H" h. U) t) nOne thing quite interesting is that we couldn't find much of Castro's# m" p6 _6 l- J! W7 _. F. _
pictures or statues in Havana at all (although lots of Che Guevara). $ B: M' j2 M- u; p( RCompared to China in 60s and 70s, Mao's pictures and statues were . |% \# }1 l6 i# i! n3 |- Keverywhere. So although Cuba is very poor, it seems more open and perhaps 9 U0 d+ P0 m( m4 @% B1 _
less leader-religious.' w7 C: i6 c, S, d
7 J6 V9 b1 {. WAbout 6 months ago, the old US embassy building put up some anti-Cuba7 w B5 P7 X% e- w
government slogans in their top floor window. Cuba then put up 138 big & U( S# n$ @& F7 N- ]black flags in front of the embassy to block them. As the result, US 1 h6 [/ y! g: z, d& ~( B5 l' Vembassy lost their nice ocean view (see picture). 8 J1 k6 @! L& Q% }8 J U& l/ q+ F$ L; p
We did have a nice vacation and felt very relaxed. But we only saw the " E% o$ \2 v$ D7 n( ^parts of Cuba as what we could, even the money we used in Cuba is not " V$ a# C! e8 Q7 G' {1 tthe normal Cuba Peso used by Cubans, but a convertible Peso ((like 外汇卷 in China before) $1' N6 [0 |2 ?3 E9 B8 p, U
convertible Peso = $24 Cuba Peso = $1.3 CAD = $1.25 US), and things for . R! H; u& \3 Q# a" U2 @' C" D, mforeigners are in similar price as in Canada, except Rum and Cigars4 O9 y; h% v/ F& v( @9 m+ D
(less than half). If we could speak Spanish and could stay longer, we 8 H7 C% z! l: t/ d* tprobably could wander around and talk to locals to know more about the6 i" {! D6 M7 Z1 v7 F4 ?/ W
real Cuba, as ordinary people here seem friendly and very easy going./ ~& t: D0 d4 n0 s% G
And it seems the tropical weather can really make people happier, local ! Z6 D( F0 J. O* `# p8 zor visitors. 3 {1 d/ i: k8 ?1 b1 |7 Y1 I* T2 U( R
-- The End -- 作者: sinclair 时间: 2011-1-26 12:02 标题: zt from wenxuecity blogs
