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有没有人打算四五月份去古巴玩?

古巴对中国人和加拿大人一视同仁, 都不用签证, 拿着护照就可去.

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应比墨西哥安全多了.  我们四年以前去过一次. Resort 里很安全, 外面很像中国80年代.

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玩的住的 , 各个resort应不尽相同: 没有污染的无尽海滩, 小船舢板,. 阳光灿烂, 椰树叶沙沙, ... resort 外面除了哈瓦那老城外, 都很旧破, 但人情不错, 很像中国80年代初 (连resort 里的工作人员每天开会也很像中国当年的天天雷打不动的政治学习).2 V& v9 H3 `" c5 ]. g

% ]9 ?1 t9 m  M% L8 L% z吃的, 古巴穷,没钱买农药和改良种子, 所以食物是自然的有机, 再加上气候使古巴有三样世界第一的东西: 咖啡,  rum-坩蔗做的烈酒, 还有雪茄, 都是食饮吸物.
* Y9 y; @- x0 {& }1 I% @7 y9 b9 Z& c: }' W$ T: E: f* L) c7 |& W0 P
本人不喝烈酒也不吸烟, 没资铬评烟论酒.  但古巴的咖啡是真香, 咖啡好resort做的也好.
9 E1 j5 ~* I3 b' h, p3 K& _* B! H
* D' W; f9 d5 [% t这三样都可在resort或外边买到带回, 各种等级和价钱都有(rum和雪茄比在古巴外买便宜50%以上).   但据说最好的咖啡不零售, 只出口去日本换古巴最需要的外汇.3 F0 h$ V; i- N: e& W; ^
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我们玩完回来后写了一份游记.  比较详细, 但是英文的, .当时有几个同事看了后也去了古巴.  如有兴趣看就贴上.

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我们2006年的古巴游记 (一)

We didn't expect our all-inclusive vacation in Varadero, Cuba to be very9 c1 E  g2 l( I9 C- X1 h
interesting, but we never had a sunshine vacation before and also we, L0 Y: M4 v: x1 {& l' s' e5 Q
wanted to see and learn a bit about Cuba, if possible.' Z9 f' e" B) F  w0 v7 T* ]4 ~

. h! H  w; f6 q( l9 JIt was a mixed bag of people on our plane and in the resort: 20% young,2 N% m/ e2 A5 ]& u. c$ \( O0 C
30% old, and 50% in between, also quite a few single men.  People are in* R0 r, Z  `& m
a very different mode in the resort, lots of them dress as little as
9 D! \9 D, n% Gpossible and drink as much as they can, stay up very late (resort, _6 F- v  }7 q! M/ F! D! o
show/dance music is very loud and runs into 1am daily), and sleep
5 p7 H. I! k4 D1 `$ E1 z  Xbetween the meals on the beach, beside the swimming pool, and in the
1 z, O% W* N# R# z, Z" x/ Zlobby.  The resort lobby is really used as a family/living room for all," M& S. Y' U5 N. Y, n6 }
with people doing all sorts of things and nothing is too strange there.8 \& _2 I$ ^# V. h% |
People on vacation are even more friendly then they are in Canada, but
! {: L2 A, Y* \5 k' u. P( Nnames (especially the last name) seems to be one thing that not
( \  C+ v9 D9 a0 g, R; J0 X: \exchanged much.  It is interesting to see people change color in our! \% B( j9 ]- |- N" W% l
flight at the beginning and at the end of our trip, like peanuts through
2 f# ~' O6 k( ^7 K4 sa roast oven - white before and roasted afterwards.# f% ~3 l* y, S. J/ Z( D

0 ^2 y0 Y& }# L3 T' h# HThe weather was beautiful during our stay: mid to high 20s in the day,$ m1 M0 @! ?8 I& n
low 20s in the night.  We did sea kayak, swam in the ocean and the pool
& g* S& g( m+ p  S(when it was too windy), went to town by bike, and saw the island on top
4 I  l8 U+ ?- |8 N! {& H, `) S0 bof the hop-on/off double-decker bus, walked along the beach, watched the: o3 F" b2 D$ Q/ D  k
stars (note the sky at 23 degree latitude looks quite different from6 l# E5 d0 L% f( Q0 m0 a9 W# h
49), played ping-pong everyday after lunch.  Em even tried 20 minutes
1 T1 f# A! z" a) m* @  bCuba neck-back massage that felt like intensive cha-cha dancing with: T9 W# F8 L3 _' Z0 ^& q6 z
fingers, palms and fists; very different from what we have in Canada.) z: r5 J1 R5 ]( D8 F
2 y0 E: w$ B  A8 m
The resort staff are mostly very good, some do so for tips, but some are
, N5 a+ L3 _" ~; N; B/ I8 X1 ?just very nice, like our room maid (see the pictures of the bed she made
3 j3 @, m9 e9 m8 A8 N* O# Ufor us).  The resort looks to be owned by the government, as Cuba
4 j' m( ?3 A$ {tourist industry and most other things in general.  Watching them having  q8 O' h( M2 w7 D, \
a staff meeting with the Cuba flag up, made Em think about China
2 I" h' V( N* u' T% Pdaily political studies.

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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, Z; Z3 L$ [0 o# _9 Z  _
standard and government control wise.  To see and know it more, we went
' [) S2 N0 a1 O4 {1 k, l0 mon a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish).  Our tour guide,; K6 P  D+ ]- M. |* ~* M! `1 N4 i* d
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give0 U8 F3 k- Y. g2 q
answers to our pointed questions.6 o* C8 o) [" `$ y2 j0 t3 ]% n6 Z

2 Z4 ]! x- G$ N6 tThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,; i6 W2 V% V9 b1 S/ c; O& f( P
45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand1 T  O8 o2 X# n* {8 O
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan).  Education is; r% o1 N+ N& B6 o
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams
- H/ m& ?0 N5 y/ V( |6 ]& Z- xto get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
4 [/ \4 E' ^& N  A2 F+ ^medical schools.' ^$ m* ?  x! \' Y  V# P  X! i1 h
7 j: z+ Q& a, A6 R/ P- j4 c
Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the2 b/ ~& a9 V0 T* I9 v
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
- k/ i; v: c; C' _  Rto go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
9 f' Z8 t+ u2 e, W6 oassigned service before leaving the country.  The salary range in Cuba0 ~% |7 g8 U5 ?5 G
is from  $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to8 E5 [) D) A2 Y- A
over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors).  There6 Y; B' ~4 n' F' \2 v$ d0 R! z
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and) ~4 U( l, c: ^) Y
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk0 h7 Y) w8 t/ A& W
shortage which the government is addressing by converting some6 x  ?$ H+ D: d2 J* F
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.8 A. w9 T, B. Z- _2 Q
9 X9 k5 h- k6 ^, D9 A7 ]0 ^
The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing.  There is no# ^. N) _9 s& {# Z
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and4 y- k, B0 ^5 ^2 C0 O
supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people9 J! _- {2 J& O, F0 \: p1 O
have to stay with their family even after they are married.  The good0 f: }  y6 g5 X0 q! {  }% O
thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
" |0 y- p" t. r0 ^( G) c1 q0 Xsitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high+ L) W& `  \9 L' b3 z1 n; Z
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.' S' r. R% Y& T  E0 z) J
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee.  When
9 Q( k$ F- D8 ^7 n9 v1 Pa lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only" [- [! w  [4 S) t
charge the fee defined by the state.
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get% z% r$ F+ K+ J! E
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
! f# x; c% Q, ^# Y! ^0 rof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big/ m% h0 c9 I2 {3 u. s, L0 N$ t( q3 D
truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told).  The Camel
9 ?$ \1 ^5 N( i; Bseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the& M# l- _$ U4 ~6 u
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on% W" G, a% Z7 S" Q1 l5 M
schedule.  No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
1 i' f. _+ a& z+ j& a) Byou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow".  We saw some people
9 [9 I  m6 N5 I7 u8 R  ]trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch5 q9 N6 @$ a+ ^3 H; Z4 G0 o  @1 R
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that' d. q1 H+ ^) v! N
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want; m( J- k( _$ u7 `# C
to go.  There are places that government officials would stop cars or
( p3 s0 s$ E7 Vbuses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
# U- j% h8 V0 x" g/ fare spaces.6 w9 n- C9 W" i2 E$ `$ h2 V
" m/ T9 N1 S, O$ s; a7 D! W9 h
There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
! _2 s5 u7 y- wto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they
: O  G! o% s; r$ Z7 N( a7 wown a car).  Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
" [: W% y- f+ s8 A6 p# T% c40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different" n0 |* ?3 H6 K7 q8 F0 f( y( I
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
) |* g( L' h  }5 I3 C% Vbest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world.  We also saw a few" k' d' G" A. v) x( Y- t0 e; R
nice new Japanese and Korean cars.  We asked George about the color of3 C% J# W. T8 z. |% ~$ r
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
/ {: E2 w; s( u5 l, Wis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.# }5 ?/ _: @6 E, @/ o; i
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.

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我们2006年的古巴游记 (三)

Havana seems to be a lively city, with lots people and some beautiful/ _( @2 x; f2 m: v. q
spots.  But in general, it is quite run down. We felt very sorry for all0 n: r. `8 A. g  b8 L
the nice colonial style buildings near the ocean front. With very5 |- b1 r9 T* b$ |; K( V% x
limited resources, especially still recovering from early 90's deep+ A! |6 W8 I! L3 i6 R6 Y; d  q
recession after Soviet Union collapse (Cuba lost its $30 million per day
( G% e, d7 v# f; t. hsupplement), little has been done to maintain/restore them, and some of) M: o2 ~) M; y7 ^
them are already gone.  Shops have very limited goods, public bathrooms# P8 R. A0 y: _1 y* `
have no running water (and you pay for paper of course), even in the
5 }) r2 R1 |5 I- wtourist area.
- B( t& O: U% _2 R/ F! J9 ^1 z, i5 T6 m0 }6 E0 V, f: i8 \
One thing quite interesting is that we couldn't find much of Castro's
7 A5 i3 `- ]/ C  r2 W4 cpictures or statues in Havana at all (although lots of Che Guevara).
: }( l. V: [; j. fCompared to China in 60s and 70s, Mao's pictures and statues were
  O8 p$ s% Q7 Z3 n/ weverywhere. So although Cuba is very poor, it seems more open and perhaps 9 |' i& U' o% ?  W* l+ \  r
less leader-religious./ z- F0 j+ |$ M, e

% _* E% S$ {! H7 I0 {4 K( X6 |) C) }About 6 months ago, the old US embassy building put up some anti-Cuba  y- E% u% g, l: N; ^2 r
government slogans in their top floor window.  Cuba then put up 138 big! x9 R2 h; n8 w. g& l
black flags in front of the embassy to block them.  As the result, US
+ m7 p+ t3 V0 \+ |6 Wembassy lost their nice ocean view (see picture).
8 v2 Y  \/ U) L' Q0 ~2 ]+ H8 O& [' D( z3 @  b! k$ q; e) }
We did have a nice vacation and felt very relaxed.  But we only saw the6 q/ G4 Q  V. ~
parts of Cuba as what we could, even the money we used in Cuba is not# W9 w1 z) E- _  d
the normal Cuba Peso used by Cubans, but a convertible Peso ((like 外汇卷 in China before) $1
( z& F1 v7 `# V0 ^9 I) t0 nconvertible Peso = $24 Cuba Peso = $1.3 CAD = $1.25 US), and things for
' G/ ]3 ^2 u! M1 C) @foreigners are in similar price as in Canada, except Rum and Cigars
8 G0 _+ Q& J& Y9 t. S(less than half).  If we could speak Spanish and could stay longer, we9 Y5 A% b1 ?3 }# D& ]0 p
probably could wander around and talk to locals to know more about the. l9 t2 o* R+ y2 {) I: ~# |- c; [
real Cuba, as ordinary people here seem friendly and very easy going.% P+ n! H) K) J+ Y: @# X1 g/ Z) E- f
And it seems the tropical weather can really make people happier, local$ ^0 B2 O" p% r9 |
or visitors.* s. m5 e7 R7 S( F5 X7 C

5 |- u  t! g8 ]& q! I--  The End --

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