We didn't expect our all-inclusive vacation in Varadero, Cuba to be very& r: c5 P+ h% v# }) {
interesting, but we never had a sunshine vacation before and also we# b& Y) a/ ^' `5 H3 D! \+ G$ \' T
wanted to see and learn a bit about Cuba, if possible.; U( l5 ~" S6 c2 B5 w
' C$ c7 q2 ?1 @9 C" ?2 t" gIt was a mixed bag of people on our plane and in the resort: 20% young, 4 [! S f6 j+ n3 o, s0 s6 V$ [* `30% old, and 50% in between, also quite a few single men. People are in6 d3 H9 X' ^+ o: i
a very different mode in the resort, lots of them dress as little as ( |4 H( y: x; K" I" H- M6 kpossible and drink as much as they can, stay up very late (resort ! G% q0 ]# Y; A: W0 T) P* Ushow/dance music is very loud and runs into 1am daily), and sleep " d4 |$ N A% q% F0 \between the meals on the beach, beside the swimming pool, and in the - ?* S3 F7 k9 Q) [2 J/ o! }& x4 S: Llobby. The resort lobby is really used as a family/living room for all, 2 Q) S7 [% |2 j6 u: \3 k w6 }with people doing all sorts of things and nothing is too strange there. , v$ L$ E+ {" O3 D7 Z People on vacation are even more friendly then they are in Canada, but ~3 ~+ u: @/ A: d+ g
names (especially the last name) seems to be one thing that not1 J5 ?, t/ P! @" f8 j3 U
exchanged much. It is interesting to see people change color in our' [! t2 d0 R8 n0 Q0 C
flight at the beginning and at the end of our trip, like peanuts through4 l4 K H4 A$ B: q
a roast oven - white before and roasted afterwards. $ s7 B2 `% ?) l6 O- [2 @ 0 `# r# a3 y# J9 JThe weather was beautiful during our stay: mid to high 20s in the day, " ?+ U+ H$ V, o. D. Ilow 20s in the night. We did sea kayak, swam in the ocean and the pool ; N% ?5 F* |' d* }! h% E" f; ?(when it was too windy), went to town by bike, and saw the island on top ) }0 w% [8 Z: o8 s+ [0 |7 o: Jof the hop-on/off double-decker bus, walked along the beach, watched the $ r+ e; X! ^) sstars (note the sky at 23 degree latitude looks quite different from & V% l# T, @& q# u2 H49), played ping-pong everyday after lunch. Em even tried 20 minutes- Q/ J2 a* I! p+ H# W
Cuba neck-back massage that felt like intensive cha-cha dancing with6 T) s8 J P2 W
fingers, palms and fists; very different from what we have in Canada.% c' h8 c7 q# f2 c
Y, T' z D: K+ ^/ ~, B+ Q/ NThe resort staff are mostly very good, some do so for tips, but some are& c3 ]9 ~# ?# l; S. v/ b: X7 H
just very nice, like our room maid (see the pictures of the bed she made . ]4 M+ v8 `( E0 ` w/ ^for us). The resort looks to be owned by the government, as Cuba 0 d/ I* R$ q0 D# Q" Z1 Otourist industry and most other things in general. Watching them having 3 e# h/ @9 c5 d$ ^% X/ I7 La staff meeting with the Cuba flag up, made Em think about China & x8 f+ K+ ]' |: i' [# Z; X, B& S/ ddaily 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, living ; f1 G& x5 M& f9 U( Gstandard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went 1 z* J! y. C: q& A5 Z0 D9 Won a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,, D& T8 j% f" Y
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give+ f; \: v1 \, \/ Y/ k
answers to our pointed questions.& _0 h7 b' o* Q* O0 ^; Q* Q: k! }2 j
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black," u; E5 }. |- _! T9 z. r! |5 r0 B
45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand$ O3 [+ R( q l" R; d5 v
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is ! _; |, `0 b$ D, d4 `8 v2 jfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams# _5 b( j& z! A5 p/ u+ Q! H- `
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are * F S0 a1 r& A7 p1 T' Nmedical schools. 3 k+ n! }; F: M3 X! q: ]' t( C) `$ d; U( {
Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the " c* ^& V# x" ?+ c4 i( [government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants2 R& J& d# V6 Q1 V" A
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years: u: X8 l& t7 M& t. M) E' w2 ^) T
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba. P+ |" r/ w1 b& _0 j3 J; ?
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to6 S5 @% `& z: ^ X0 _# Y! i
over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There6 {# u1 H- \1 E
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and5 z& a. Z) A6 ~
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk 5 j; ~8 R) e8 P$ _4 d* i1 rshortage which the government is addressing by converting some 0 R3 M K7 ^; e! Wsugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands. 2 t8 s2 t0 u4 {3 ?5 r ( g8 `" S* \/ F+ L ]3 vThe main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no 1 j0 N D3 m; S! U: `private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and 5 n& J0 P5 a- \4 f( m4 R# @supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people" d: q& g5 [; N& f! i* Y, N1 o
have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good $ A }) J1 T8 Q" J4 `9 l- `thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby * H/ m7 Q3 o, h. k; usitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high* o/ T. C) u9 v* ]4 u
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years. O" [( j6 ~* m& {. n/ B7 O* Q
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When # M; y v) n; Q+ Y' E% ^ fa lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only 9 n6 Y, Y8 V: i* {' Rcharge the fee defined by the state.' Z. L1 Z3 \$ D0 I
& U+ A: H$ G3 j- x
There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get; ~6 q% v, F% t# A. [
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type $ r1 |6 Y$ X0 X% z. `! F! m3 Sof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big- {) k* G( n" W2 s7 z6 B& C. _
truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel \7 w" a0 D$ ?( m8 f* j
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the ! J8 E- v. o! p9 o& @7 Y0 C/ {, kworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on 7 ^+ }4 }8 b3 H0 ~0 Gschedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if 4 y3 x) y% x( T5 P6 h9 c4 y* E1 r- `- pyou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people 0 o. t7 C$ n! I) Rtrying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch# `/ E( O# [" N( y. l. N
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that+ X5 I; v- Q: p" {
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want . j) R8 y$ z6 g, s4 Nto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or & c5 ?% ^: [: P s' a1 L+ {buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there ' F: ]) I( P/ ` e. b, a0 `& k- pare spaces.6 M5 K: ^2 H! N3 M
1 u* ]0 d0 D; P4 |4 e4 U
There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi1 M% w0 x. r, q0 I; a2 }
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they 7 {4 P( _+ Q) Gown a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the% i5 m$ Y# {9 R3 U8 C
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different ' {* A- y0 z9 i$ G5 hparts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the 4 J6 ]9 j8 D+ Y6 L- a/ Fbest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few ! c3 N4 [9 w! a; qnice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of ' c- \9 z0 L6 ]( ?car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it; x' y: q5 W2 B% ^: y. D) q
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned. O; U# ?3 u8 V" J. I' t% y# O3 L- _ 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 ! t2 F, C2 {0 a4 P% cspots. But in general, it is quite run down. We felt very sorry for all . S; a$ U! |4 n) othe nice colonial style buildings near the ocean front. With very 9 X8 Z( r2 T7 Elimited resources, especially still recovering from early 90's deep3 y& m. \" d4 U% S+ _ F/ D3 k
recession after Soviet Union collapse (Cuba lost its $30 million per day 1 Y# k) t% E+ d* C0 w+ Esupplement), little has been done to maintain/restore them, and some of 6 b8 l+ X3 V! C) f/ O% [them are already gone. Shops have very limited goods, public bathrooms % d+ g' M" d* ^have no running water (and you pay for paper of course), even in the 2 [+ r9 O5 Y5 U& I$ Ntourist area. 3 h/ T* F Z8 v" Z. _$ C5 z; W2 V8 P: U3 m: W4 Q
One thing quite interesting is that we couldn't find much of Castro's# a1 d! x+ d* J1 m$ d
pictures or statues in Havana at all (although lots of Che Guevara). ) W4 }, d( D7 y9 A' `4 i: KCompared to China in 60s and 70s, Mao's pictures and statues were # v9 u$ P( W G) W. I" `" k- r teverywhere. So although Cuba is very poor, it seems more open and perhaps + g4 z7 j3 j8 d& k9 O
less leader-religious. 0 \8 {/ Z, A. X4 Z5 O2 r: g8 v8 [7 i1 Z
About 6 months ago, the old US embassy building put up some anti-Cuba 0 U$ v$ `$ K% P( @0 ]6 Xgovernment slogans in their top floor window. Cuba then put up 138 big" H9 j2 G5 l' l; h1 d7 W7 s
black flags in front of the embassy to block them. As the result, US $ l* l! J& t% V# Sembassy lost their nice ocean view (see picture).; x/ f6 P# x% F" z3 I* z
3 D9 M" j0 `0 k- R3 uWe did have a nice vacation and felt very relaxed. But we only saw the " j" Y+ o" Q" m( Z: qparts of Cuba as what we could, even the money we used in Cuba is not7 b* A, U- B4 F( ^4 D
the normal Cuba Peso used by Cubans, but a convertible Peso ((like 外汇卷 in China before) $17 ~8 C# e8 i% x
convertible Peso = $24 Cuba Peso = $1.3 CAD = $1.25 US), and things for k+ x. g$ _9 N+ N6 U
foreigners are in similar price as in Canada, except Rum and Cigars7 t0 L8 b+ N& \& ^' h5 y! X( m) U* A
(less than half). If we could speak Spanish and could stay longer, we * P- s( {$ p7 o% \' I8 xprobably could wander around and talk to locals to know more about the$ t! d2 p( l r) ^
real Cuba, as ordinary people here seem friendly and very easy going.% Y) J; e7 M) K' m+ Q7 M: P
And it seems the tropical weather can really make people happier, local5 Y9 r$ o* d5 ]6 F
or visitors. , ] g) a W1 w, h6 o0 u6 u ; Q" i0 T1 W9 ?4 k7 D8 E* H% a-- The End -- 作者: sinclair 时间: 2011-1-26 12:02 标题: zt from wenxuecity blogs
