Travel DocumentaryTravel Documentary
Hearing Jay Chou’s new song,
I thought again of my fantastic experience in Cuba,
At the end, there is a live band Live at Hemingway Bar~
BY Sandman Berry
Pictures and videos were all taken personally
As soon as Jay Chou’s new song MOJITO was released this week, my entire circle of friends instantly became depressed again. Many friends were HIGH for several days in a row, and everyone swiped the screen to express that they also wanted to find a chance. Go to the capital of Cuba Havana for a wave for a wave .
It’s not that I want to take advantage of Jay Chou’s hot topics, but when I hear this new song with such a strong Cuban style, I can’t help but think of my days in Havana, so the purpose of writing this short travel note is to give people who have the same idea A true reference for people going to Cuba.
First of all, I feel relatively lucky. There are only 5 socialist countries left in the world and I have been to all of them (China,Laos, Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba). When I went there five years ago, Vietnam still felt quite simple. I went to North Korea on National Day in 2019, and Cuba, as the only socialist country outside of Asia, is even more curious.
Most Europeans and Americans come to Cuba with a curiosity mentality. They want to see the conservative socialist system and the enthusiastic Caribbean colonial culture. What kind of "chemical" reaction? Asians, especially Chinese, come to Cuba to see their revolutionary brothers and feel a sense of closeness under the same social system.
▲ Graffiti of Cuban leaders can be seen everywhere on the streets of Havana. I only photographed two of the "three great men": Che Guevara (above) and Castro (below);
I departed from Miami, USA. When I checked in, I could see a huge counter in front of me, which is specially used to apply for Cuban tourist cards. Just give the lady at the counter $100 (per person), and then Hand you the visa information required for Cuba.
What about the visa?
So Easy, Cuba unilaterally exempts China from visa. After all, it gives preferential policies to compatriots with the same system. You only need to buy a Tourist Card before departure.
After you get the tourist card, just fill it out. Bring your passport to register. It's actually quite simple and doesn't cost much. For a country as poor as Cuba, you can enter the country just by paying money (you will be able to enter the country after you actually set foot on this land). You will understand: There is nothing friendly or unfriendly to the Chinese, money is everything to them!)
▲ Fill out the form and you can go on your way with peace of mind. Remember not to lose it. The tourist card has two coupons. One coupon will be collected when entering the country, and the other will be collected by the customs when leaving the country.
The great thing about this travel card is that it won’t leave any traces on your passport (nothing will be stuck on the visa page)! ! It’s exactly the same as North Korea’s operation~
▲ I feel like they all like to play this trick: When I went to North Korea during the National Day in 2019, I was also given a travel card, which would be taken away after leaving the country. It would also leave no trace on the passport~
It was the Spring Festival of 2018, and I stayed in Cuba for a total of 8 days and 7 nights. I took a circuitous route throughout the capital Havana (3.5 days) - a medieval town. Trinidad (2 days) - finally return to Havana (1.5 days).
▲ Although Cuba looks small on the map, there is still a certain distance between cities. The common way is to take a local bus, but I chose to rent a private car;
As someone who hates being in a hurry, I would rather sit on the balcony and watch passersby in a daze for an afternoon, listen to music all night, than run around in a hurry Attractions (too tiring and meaningless). So there is not too much arrangement between attractions and cities.
▲ Don’t just focus on the capital, Havana, Trinidad is also magical: I experienced a town-wide blackout for 2 nights + all the tourists sat on the ladder and rushed to grab it Enter the password to access the Internet; ( The Cuban version of Lonely Planet once made a famous oath: "The town of Trinidad has been sleeping for a century and a half and has not yet woken up. The time here seems like Still stuck in the mid-19th century. )
When I went to Trinidad, I chartered a "green classic car" and drove all the way from Havana. The road conditions were much better than I expected, and we arrived without much bumps.
▲ Since we were staying in a 5-star state-owned hotel in Havana at the time, we asked the front desk directly to charter a car. The front desk helped us contact a contractor and made an appointment to depart from Havana at 8:00 in the morning. At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon Arriving at Tenida, the round trip cost a total of 80CUC (equivalent to 100 US dollars). Of this, 60 CUC is paid in person to the "contractor" driver, and the other 20 CUC is given to the hotel front desk in advance as a prepayment deposit (I personally feel that this 20 yuan should be a commission from the hotel).
I stayed there for more than a week, during which time my outlook was refreshed in various ways.
The most amazing thing about this country is that the Cuban people live in huge ruins! People from other countries probably wouldn’t be able to bear it, but it doesn’t feel out of place here. Cubans are quite happy living there. According to reports I observed that their greatest optimism every day is squatting on both sides of the street (Cuban squatting), observing people coming and going. To put it bluntly, it is "people watching". Tourists are observing them and being observed by them at the same time, which is very interesting.
▲ It is no exaggeration to say that they live under ruins. The buildings are full of incomplete beauty, messy and mottled at the same time. This kind of "is probably only found in India and Cuba in the world." The decadent beauty of a run-down colonial feel”;
Many people have period filters for "antique cars". Havana can be seen everywhere on the streets, and when you sit in one, you will find that the experience is not good. The smell of engine oil is so strong that it can make people doubt their life, and it is very noisy. , the price is so expensive that you don’t need it.
▲ When I first arrived in Cuba, I was still very curious about classic cars, but I gradually became numb after that;
At the same time, Cuba is also a very contradictory complex: on the one hand, it is economically blocked by the United States and has been closed to the country for 50 years. It is extremely conservative in both political and economic development. On the other hand, Cuba is located in the Caribbean Sea and has abundant sunshine throughout the year. , there is plenty of sunshine, and it was colonized by Spain , so the culture is very passionate and unrestrained.
▲ This magical place is like a girl who is naturally beautiful, passionate and likes to dress up, but she has been imprisoned for a long time due to poor family conditions.
Back to today’s topic, let’s talk about Cuban music. I think Cuba is the most musically talented country in the world (no one)! ! What impressed me most was not the cigars, not the mojitos, not the classic cars and beautiful women, but the musical talent of the Cuban people, they are so powerful. , It is no exaggeration to call it the light of all mankind!
Everyone is a top-notch master. Every day when I walk on the street and play a random piece of music, the score is so high that I can go directly to the concert halls of other countries. , From the complexity of the arrangement , MusicPerformancePerformanceLevel, The variety of harmonies and the pitch of the singers are all at the level of a professional musician.
▲ Street , Restaurant and You can find them everywhere in the bar Very talented creative musicians, usually They would improvise several pieces. When I was eating, I often forgot to eat because the music was so good (the music was completely overwhelming the local food);
But it is a very, very pity that such infectious music can only be heard locally. I also bought several CDs of Cuban music to take back for memories, but the sound quality of the recordings was really poor (the local record industry almost It is a state of zero development and complete stagnation, resulting in extremely poor radio performance!)
Even today, when technology has become so advanced, some memories are destined to never be taken away.
Havana is almost a place where there is singing and dancing every night. Many restaurants and bars have their own LIVE performances, and tourists will be naturally taken there to dance together (Central and South Americans are very talented in dancing, and they can do all kinds of things. , it turns naturally, you can refer to Argentine tango, Brazilian samba...)
▲ A short video I recorded at the Floridita Hotel (it’s a bit shaky, but it’s okay to watch~). This is Hemingway’s favorite bar and the birthplace of the Daiquiri cocktail (the hotel itself has more than 200 years of history History, the authoritative magazine Esquire once listed it as one of the seven most famous bars in the world).
I never go back to the hotel until 2pm every night! ! Because the various live bands are so good , I always listen to them in bar hopping, Every time there is kind of myself with hair all over The feeling of the small blood vessels being completely opened by the notes (it will give you goosebumps!! The feeling when the switch on the body is turned on), the music of Cuba is really It's so contagious.
Other nations play music with their hands, but the Cuban people use their lives to burn music. You will be deeply moved by the heat of the scene.
▲ I recorded a short performance with my camera on the spot (the camera’s sound quality is not good either). The effect on the spot is 100 times more contagious than this. If you have the chance, you must go to Cuba to listen to it. It feels like life is burning~~
While you are pregnant on one side, you can order a cup of the most authentic Daiquiri, pair it with a cigar and spend a leisurely and wonderful evening.
▲ For a country with such a slow pace of life (barely able to access the Internet and cannot read Spanish-language TV), rushing to travel is simply a waste of time! ! The best thing is to blend in with the locals and enjoy the Caribbean sunshine , cigars, music and enthusiasm Be unrestrained.
Due to limited space, I actually have a lot more to say about my experience in Cuba (such as how to choose good cigars),
I wonder if you are interested in hotel accommodation in Havana? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area, I wrote about the beauty of Bermuda last time, but it looks like It’s too far away from China and there are very few people watching, so I was a little discouraged this time.
Because the main business of Berry is hotel reviews, if you want to read it, I will update the hotels I stayed in during my stay in Havana on Tuesday (there is the same hotel suite where Hemingway stayed for more than ten years).
