Real Time Trip Report - Trinidad and Tobago

[Duke]

I'm going to reply to this thread periodically with random things that I notice or experience. Maybe it'll be neat, and maybe not. I never went anywhere before that needed a passport (I now have a single stamp in the "visas" section), so keep that in mind when I note bizarrely common things in the world of which I was unaware. Some things will obviously apply to only this country, though.
<ul type="square">[*]People are skinnier and better looking than in America.[*]The cab driver had an H preceding his license plate number. The cabs look like regular (albeit old) cars, while most other vehicles I saw around the airport had a P. I assumed that this had something to do with him being a cab. H==Hire? He charged me $25 to go about 15 miles or so to my hotel, and I gave him $30. These are US values.[*]The hot sauce at my hotel made my face numb, and they apologized for it not really being hot because they partially cater to foreigners. I'm sure they were laughing at me behind my back, as I can't imagine them thinking me to be a local.[*]I can see the ocean from my hotel, but no beach. Apparently there's a beach in some place called Maracas that I shall do my best to visit before I leave.[*]People are very nice here, and extremely polite.[*]The DNS server that I'm going through has to be the worst in the history of the internet, and I can actually get lookups serviced about once per 10 minutes. After something is resolved, it loads perfectly fine. I've been adding entries to my host file manually to overcome this deficit (as whatever automatic caching mechanism there is doesn't seem to be working properly).[*]Lucky me, my hotel doesn't have 1-800 service. My calling card is useless, and my CDMA phone is completely useless. Note to self: get a GSM phone before your next trip abroad.[*]There's a "swim-up" bar in the pool, but no people in the pool or working that bar.[*]They use the same dollar sign here as in the US. Imagine my dismay when my dinner last night cost $197. Oh, but that's TT, and the exchange rate is about 6-1 or so. I think I'll pay with credit card for everything so I can take advantage of the best daily exchange rates.[*]Wow, these people love cricket. I am reminded that this region is also referred to as the "West Indies."[*]I can relate to the early explorers who thought they made it to India when they got here, as about half of the people here are Indian. Perhaps there is money to be made in developing countries. I saw a lot of pretty nice cars being driven by them.[*]I passed 3 or 4 KFC restaurants on the way to the hotel. Perhaps there is something to that black/chicken stereotype.[*]The wings I got at my hotel seemed to come from a miniature chicken. I'm thinking that they can't wait until the chickens grow up to kill them for cooking and eating. The food has been pretty tasty.[*]Swordfish here is a lot tastier than it is in the US.[*]Apparently they're trying to make T&amp;T a first world country by the year 2020, so there could very well be a lot of money to be made regarding that development. Indians are smart.[*]If you're from the US and think that black and Indian chicks are generally unattractive, come here. They're all very friendly, and generally good looking. Perhaps that "not being fat" thing away from the US is to their advantage.[*]I wish their national language were something other than English, since this is an English of which I'm unfamiliar. They speak very softly, quickly, and with a lot of bizarre slang. A guy told me that it was "half five," so I assumed that he meant 4:30. He actually meant 5:30, so the "understood" word is "past," and not "of."[*]Stay left except to overtake. Overtake == Passing, methinks.[*]It's balls-ass hot out here. I think it's only 75, but with a million percent humidity. I'm guessing that any island will be the same.[*]The hotel doesn't provide conditioner. I'm guessing that you'd have to be an actual kernel of popped corn to need conditioner in this humidity.[/list]
That's it for now. If I notice anything else I'll add. I might be unable to respond, since I'm now noticing a general issue with my connection that isn't related to the DNS thing.

[Eihli]

Awesome.

I was at the Trinidad &amp; Tobago vs Sweden game in Germany last year for the World Cup. The whole place was yellow except for a tiny corner of red behind one of the corner flags and they made more noise than all the Swedes in the entire stadium.

Their team was awesome too. The last half of the game it was tied 0-0 and T&amp;T had to play a man down. Any other team would have bunkered down and gone all defense because pulling a tie out of this situation would have been amazing. But instead they actually upped their offense and had more goal scoring opportunities than Sweden.

Game ended 0-0 and the T&amp;T fans went wild for the next 2 days. Huge party/parade in the streets with hot ass women wearing skimpy clothing and huge head-dresses. They know how to party.

[Duke]

I think I'm looking at an island that's "part" of Trinidad through my hotel window, and not Venezuela. I'm unsure of the ownership of that island, but my location is much too far north for it to be the mainland.

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]

<ul type="square">[*]The hot sauce at my hotel made my face numb, and they apologized for it not really being hot because they partially cater to foreigners. I'm sure they were laughing at me behind my back, as I can't imagine them thinking me to be a local.

[*]There's a "swim-up" bar in the pool, but no people in the pool or working that bar.
[*]I can relate to the early explorers who thought they made it to India when they got here, as about half of the people here are Indian. Perhaps there is money to be made in developing countries. I saw a lot of pretty nice cars being driven by them.[/list]

[/ QUOTE ]

Gold, golder, and goldest.

Fine work, Duke.

[Alobar]

great trip report so far, I look forward to reading more

[Duke]

<ul type="square">[*]There is an ACE hardware store here. I thought that it had been run out of business in the states because of Home Depot and Lowes and stuff, but apparently they're still in business down here. That, or perhaps they're like that Japanese general who defended some island until like 1960 (I forget the whole story) because he didn't realize that WW2 was over.[*]The hours in stores are backward on Sunday. Places are open in the morning until noon, and then close (if they're going to).[*]Cab drivers here have better vocabularies than doctors in the US.[*]Electronics are ridiculously expensive down here.[*]The island that I see out my window is definitely not Venezuela, but some random island that's part of Trinidad. I could apparently see Venezuela if I went to the southern tip of the island and peered out across the water. I never knew they were that close.[*]I'm about 14 parallels lower than I thought i was, and about as close to the equator as Panama.[/list]

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
The cab driver had an H preceding his license plate number. The cabs look like regular (albeit old) cars, while most other vehicles I saw around the airport had a P. I assumed that this had something to do with him being a cab. H==Hire? He charged me $25 to go about 15 miles or so to my hotel, and I gave him $30. These are US values.

[/ QUOTE ]

H=Hire, P=Private

[ QUOTE ][*]The hot sauce at my hotel made my face numb, and they apologized for it not really being hot because they partially cater to foreigners. I'm sure they were laughing at me behind my back, as I can't imagine them thinking me to be a local.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sure they were too.

[ QUOTE ]
I can see the ocean from my hotel, but no beach. Apparently there's a beach in some place called Maracas that I shall do my best to visit before I leave.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you in Port of Spain? What hotel? Beaches in Trinidad are not very good. Tobago has a couple of good ones.

[ QUOTE ][*]They use the same dollar sign here as in the US. Imagine my dismay when my dinner last night cost $197. Oh, but that's TT, and the exchange rate is about 6-1 or so. I think I'll pay with credit card for everything so I can take advantage of the best daily exchange rates.

[/ QUOTE ]

Should have been in Jamaica - it's J$70:US$1 here.

[ QUOTE ][*]I can relate to the early explorers who thought they made it to India when they got here, as about half of the people here are Indian. Perhaps there is money to be made in developing countries. I saw a lot of pretty nice cars being driven by them.

[/ QUOTE ]

(a) Those people ARE Indian, by descent. At the end of the slave trade indentured Indians were brought over. They were not here when Columbus et al arrived.

(b) Trinidad and Tobago has oil.

[ QUOTE ][*]I passed 3 or 4 KFC restaurants on the way to the hotel. Perhaps there is something to that black/chicken stereotype.

[/ QUOTE ]

Or to the fact that chicken is more polycultural than Burgers &amp; Pizza.


[ QUOTE ][*]Apparently they're trying to make T&amp;T a first world country by the year 2020, so there could very well be a lot of money to be made regarding that development. Indians are smart.

[/ QUOTE ]

And oil is good to have.

[ QUOTE ][*]If you're from the US and think that black and Indian chicks are generally unattractive, come here. They're all very friendly, and generally good looking. Perhaps that "not being fat" thing away from the US is to their advantage.

[/ QUOTE ]

IMO, T&amp;T has amazing looking women.

[mmbt0ne]

I had a Trinidadian roommate named Makesi. He was cool.

[Duke]

[ QUOTE ]
(a) Those people ARE Indian, by descent. At the end of the slave trade indentured Indians were brought over. They were not here when Columbus et al arrived.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh OK. I thought that they just moved here from India recently, or something. I didn't know how far back they went.

The Columbus thing was a joke, as I assumed that there weren't any actual Indians here back then.

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
(a) Those people ARE Indian, by descent. At the end of the slave trade indentured Indians were brought over. They were not here when Columbus et al arrived.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh OK. I thought that they just moved here from India recently, or something. I didn't know how far back they went.

The Columbus thing was a joke, as I assumed that there weren't any actual Indians here back then.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yah sorry Duke I assumed you were joking, but just wanted to give the historical context. I am sure there are some recent immigrants too. Certainly in Jamaica many Indian business owners hire people from their ancestral home. And also seek spouses there.

What I'm not sure of is why T&amp;T &amp; Guyana ended up with such large Indian populations compared to the rest of the British territories in the region.