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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).
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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. $ H( c, D3 S  C( s6 R

3 n1 B5 F4 y+ [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.: r+ ~" q8 c7 V, k$ H
4 R/ t. f  T! N, M+ e
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 ]2 m3 H: {! d8 s; o
+ ?5 t- y: O' t8 r  Y7 _1 A
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 very
6 p. k% u! @/ f! l  Linteresting, but we never had a sunshine vacation before and also we
: b& F0 _" B: _( V/ U4 \  ~wanted to see and learn a bit about Cuba, if possible.
7 J, R% z; r% [3 ~; o% O9 l/ e. o+ E/ F# \6 t  k' X1 w6 C
It was a mixed bag of people on our plane and in the resort: 20% young,
8 p: j- p  e# F$ M, u30% old, and 50% in between, also quite a few single men.  People are in, C3 Z) }' B1 v% }
a very different mode in the resort, lots of them dress as little as3 }  L3 w2 p' r2 A
possible and drink as much as they can, stay up very late (resort
' e5 D1 [& G$ D  o2 E, X3 Oshow/dance music is very loud and runs into 1am daily), and sleep1 Z( E) `) o; a6 n- P: v
between the meals on the beach, beside the swimming pool, and in the
" F# ~- r% w" d/ O  Blobby.  The resort lobby is really used as a family/living room for all,
5 x+ l9 R3 z, Q9 dwith people doing all sorts of things and nothing is too strange there.+ K2 q5 o  z! L! g; d8 `
People on vacation are even more friendly then they are in Canada, but( N% B3 _5 _$ Q3 `" c
names (especially the last name) seems to be one thing that not
9 w% f# q9 U0 ~7 d) R3 fexchanged much.  It is interesting to see people change color in our
* v! d/ t2 y' `/ C7 Z* eflight at the beginning and at the end of our trip, like peanuts through
4 J; R- X: a- Na roast oven - white before and roasted afterwards.8 S) f. h9 t9 v3 m. `! g
4 i9 L: ~+ D. `# _. x6 Z- }( A
The weather was beautiful during our stay: mid to high 20s in the day,% C: ?5 W9 B( l2 b6 T) T$ |1 J
low 20s in the night.  We did sea kayak, swam in the ocean and the pool
  B9 B, y6 X6 u! }(when it was too windy), went to town by bike, and saw the island on top
; \# H; ~: C" w2 d' Eof the hop-on/off double-decker bus, walked along the beach, watched the, a7 [( O) a6 W- w$ @
stars (note the sky at 23 degree latitude looks quite different from, x. o, L- |' l5 `& N& u& R/ \
49), played ping-pong everyday after lunch.  Em even tried 20 minutes
2 W  [$ W+ m, G/ H5 k) w2 ZCuba neck-back massage that felt like intensive cha-cha dancing with1 ^$ ?% I9 t0 C; E
fingers, palms and fists; very different from what we have in Canada.$ f. S+ R* L! L. a* t9 [2 X9 h3 s
( x8 l% u; }7 O( c5 D) S
The resort staff are mostly very good, some do so for tips, but some are
- X3 n$ b( f. N" p2 d9 _just very nice, like our room maid (see the pictures of the bed she made5 M. D8 e# v4 Z: a
for us).  The resort looks to be owned by the government, as Cuba
; E1 c  K; ], p# U5 E7 jtourist industry and most other things in general.  Watching them having
6 n3 {' a. D4 m. D, Ka staff meeting with the Cuba flag up, made Em think about China
9 ^* \0 h0 E1 d' mdaily 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+ v5 E* e- r+ Y, T, R
standard and government control wise.  To see and know it more, we went
" A; g, H$ c# @  ~on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish).  Our tour guide,2 W4 n) |0 r( d) b& x
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give9 B" Y. `+ ~5 a- D" v& s$ F
answers to our pointed questions.4 v% x) N6 K# ~. ~

! \2 V& h1 n& a5 @# X0 H1 lThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
+ U% V7 r' ?7 u' s0 X/ @7 F) X- t7 G45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand
% b$ n% ^4 ?$ G' s  M0 Cout too much here (especially after you got a sun tan).  Education is
0 y. \; _+ L. i" Z$ L/ Afree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams
  X2 h/ H2 j) a- Z4 r9 Zto get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are) r+ g8 l8 N/ ~1 A0 T: d: c9 }9 k1 @
medical schools." N  O4 f# ~/ F5 c5 v0 g# j, }

2 i/ w% |0 x! lEvery university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
1 {, S4 H1 ~2 Z& {government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
! p2 w, ^6 F8 k5 k8 j* _1 cto go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years/ H* p+ W* E7 \- J( R  _8 L
assigned service before leaving the country.  The salary range in Cuba0 Y) H# Q7 t! S% V
is from  $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
8 |7 R) e+ u% p2 Fover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors).  There
( y6 z0 k0 ?8 o  u( ^/ Qseems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and6 e' J2 p" K/ ~$ D
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
8 |, u7 j0 A5 s3 }shortage which the government is addressing by converting some; O( v" b, ^( b" R( ~. d0 |4 g
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.1 C! z- ^9 u* w; A  Z. ~) D$ X0 ~% S

2 d! |/ E+ j6 s' `2 RThe main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing.  There is no; p" L1 ?( K; ^8 [" l2 a& h3 w
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and* {- f  C& V. j
supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people3 ~: c0 D8 ~* x" n, ^
have to stay with their family even after they are married.  The good0 }# `+ e; s, i
thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
9 w0 R1 l7 G: {5 f! h. ]+ ~sitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high4 D$ F) F( l* c  q
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
7 L* q" b. l- _2 ]$ V& CDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee.  When
! p; W4 G. J* O% Oa lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only' o& i: M. L- g; L* g
charge the fee defined by the state.7 P' ^0 C$ G5 y' x& ]% S' s* Y

) h& @% _" ?1 g. m& H( aThere are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get
: o4 C" T: R  R2 }  n: jon), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type& n( t+ u$ u$ b+ C+ ^7 K
of bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
1 o2 Y8 \9 m  K9 o, b* wtruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told).  The Camel
% V  k, @) m8 h. w! z5 E/ F2 K5 r) oseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the* P+ Q% e% Z4 A% S7 b$ F5 c* O: Y
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on5 _0 H% Q" x9 E% N
schedule.  No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
% j4 w" f4 I+ Q! [& A, \' l/ X4 Yyou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow".  We saw some people
1 ~, d( D. i$ ]  Atrying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
: {3 h  l& y4 \/ n: c% G7 |hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that( Q" {7 B; ^, u
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want+ n0 W3 m0 s5 q: P; m: ]/ l
to go.  There are places that government officials would stop cars or
' m+ d8 W9 z& i) [1 Z& Tbuses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there: l# I5 K* p4 k, s8 O/ r
are spaces.5 c: b4 o# W5 x3 g  ^

/ I* Q' z* A9 J" SThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi) R$ S/ Y' i5 F
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they2 k! ^0 c! P' A* `; S7 H7 H
own a car).  Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the/ H2 ^1 E1 `! z% _# A
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different
& O2 T6 p! Q+ h5 Oparts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
8 |5 M- w. u# N( e. n+ R- f6 l/ {, abest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world.  We also saw a few
6 X4 K) n9 n' B/ r# K4 qnice new Japanese and Korean cars.  We asked George about the color of$ @5 N3 Y4 @4 c& Q' }9 u2 }$ y
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
1 K7 d$ \& Z  Iis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
  @$ T3 d1 L7 k( X; V6 H 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 beautiful6 V5 S0 F1 L' R, [9 k" H: O* ]$ w1 p
spots.  But in general, it is quite run down. We felt very sorry for all
2 D4 v4 P( M3 S3 }' Y- F7 R3 |the nice colonial style buildings near the ocean front. With very
4 Q' E/ y& @' G3 S$ ^2 l/ E2 Elimited resources, especially still recovering from early 90's deep4 Q- g' Q; k! v! D% W; n) `4 o3 B
recession after Soviet Union collapse (Cuba lost its $30 million per day# }( {: I4 x+ D# n2 B' ^4 \! z+ R9 u
supplement), little has been done to maintain/restore them, and some of7 x3 p7 Q. P7 a3 G% H! N' d
them are already gone.  Shops have very limited goods, public bathrooms
% H* R( w9 k# u/ k8 e( J# E7 ]$ _' m# d% Xhave no running water (and you pay for paper of course), even in the
' I, t6 f+ g0 \- P( N$ ptourist area.
3 I1 A! T, k" T4 x
0 h/ B# j+ Y( r& p- y! W0 j& O. e$ rOne thing quite interesting is that we couldn't find much of Castro's
' T3 P% S5 r8 T% C( p, a9 M' Opictures or statues in Havana at all (although lots of Che Guevara).% C8 Z- h  l  l. @& l2 c9 L' k' f
Compared to China in 60s and 70s, Mao's pictures and statues were
) o) z2 k) ~0 aeverywhere. So although Cuba is very poor, it seems more open and perhaps ) E" s' \3 g8 ^" I+ O
less leader-religious.2 ~" v# p! H  G* B& ^% m9 g
6 k8 a9 J7 x+ [
About 6 months ago, the old US embassy building put up some anti-Cuba
4 ]. ^2 o. l3 f% l* U! G: Ygovernment slogans in their top floor window.  Cuba then put up 138 big
" O! b2 c. I9 z8 }; o4 x$ g) \! J% _7 zblack flags in front of the embassy to block them.  As the result, US% S0 |) w# G9 u, a* c
embassy lost their nice ocean view (see picture).
- e% N5 P& n" ]% n3 t( m$ u* e' H5 K3 X0 r+ E7 _* V' N
We did have a nice vacation and felt very relaxed.  But we only saw the
. U- \6 O  ~9 ?: k% V2 Yparts of Cuba as what we could, even the money we used in Cuba is not) @6 q( m5 _/ D, N. r, g: C3 g1 `2 @
the normal Cuba Peso used by Cubans, but a convertible Peso ((like 外汇卷 in China before) $1  j" q1 H5 T  d# t' T" l
convertible Peso = $24 Cuba Peso = $1.3 CAD = $1.25 US), and things for" t6 T6 B7 _9 J2 I. G
foreigners are in similar price as in Canada, except Rum and Cigars
0 E# j' P! G) S(less than half).  If we could speak Spanish and could stay longer, we# Z% E4 ^% o# c4 t; B, J- O1 [* b
probably could wander around and talk to locals to know more about the
  ^2 p/ f) u4 B7 Sreal Cuba, as ordinary people here seem friendly and very easy going." P. d2 ~4 X) n, N1 S0 _
And it seems the tropical weather can really make people happier, local
5 |! x, p* Z$ e3 Gor visitors.- s% P8 V8 p0 ^4 k# j6 ^9 L

3 I3 F  m2 Y" _+ d--  The End --

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