Ok so another cool place I've been to has to be Havana, Cuba. Actually this is possibly one of the coolest cities I've ever been visited. Havana is somewhat hard to reach so there are not a lot of tourist visiting which is really nice because there's more places to explore without being crowded by other tourist. The city is absolutely beautiful! It was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it's history and old architecture.
Honestly I was a bit nervous when visiting the first time because I really had no idea what to expect. I was told not to expect a whole lot in regards to accommodation and food but to expect that the country is an absolute dream.
Rum and Cigars... MMMMM. Cuban rum is... AMAZING. Well I think when someone mentions Cuba to me, the first thing I think about is rum and cigars. There's a lot more to Cuba then just rum and cigars but for now let's just focus on this. They sell Havana Club EVERYWHERE and it sure it delicious! The Havana Club factory/museum was right next to the hotel we stayed so it was pretty convenient to have a drink once in a while ;) I also had NO IDEA that mojitos where from Cuba and they taste good everywhere that you order them! So cigars were a huge part of our trip because I think the main reason why my dad wanted to go to Cuba was because of cigars! My dad collects/smokes cigars so this was basically his heaven. The most awesome thing about this place was that you could smoke cigars EVERYWHERE and people wouldn't be irritated about the smell of the cigar (in Singapore, my dad gets complaints and weird glares about the cigar smoke). Also pretty much everyone is smoking cigars so it's like a bonding experience!
So as I said above, everyone pretty much smokes cigars, even the ladies :) We were walking down a small alley way and saw these lovely ladies singing, playing instruments and smoking cigars. They were just joyful dancing around and enjoying each other's company. As Cuba is so called "communist", the people don't have much and it's very clear as I noticed it during my 10 day stay. People aren't wealthy but they pretty much love life. From what I observed, their lives didn't look glamorous or easy but they made the best out of it. We witness people just dancing and singing everywhere and everyone was just so friendly. It made me so happy to see how people who don't have a whole lot, make their lives so meaningful.
Coolest part about Havana/Cuba? THE OLD CARS! My dad had been to Cuba about 30 years ago and he kept going on and on about how they have really old cars but somehow I didn't believe him... We got out of the airport and we were picked up by two really old old cars and it was possible the coolest ride of my life. There are old cars EVERYWHERE. I mentioned above that since Cuba isn't as wealthy as other nations and their communist status also plays a role in this, they don't really have all the newest technologies or in this case, the newest cars. This is what makes the country/city super duper unique. I felt like I was in the 60's/70's because there wasn't a single new car on the road. Made the experience so much more real.
Well there was bound to be a cigar smoking picture. Okay so we weren't actually smoking the cigars (as you can see, I have no idea what I'm doing) but it was a perfect photo opportunity. We were actually outside a cigar factory and thought we'd take this "awesome" picture! So if you go to Cuba, YOU MUST SMOKE A CIGAR.
So we did a lot of driving around the country and stopped by loads of little towns/villages and one thing that I spotted was that almost every place we stopped at there were people selling these beautiful paintings of Cuba. I actually bought a few and have them hung up at home. Most of these paintings were actually painted on wood and you can buy them in different sizes.
Well that's it for now! If you do visit Cuba, please do let me know because I'd love to hear about your adventures!
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