Day 18 : Cuba Libre (Vinales)

Staying in Cuba, I had experienced the true meaning of “Cuba Libre”, as we met with some unexpected delays, mostly with our car rental. 

Rodolfo picked Jose and I from our casa in Havana city at 11.30am and headed over to the car rental company to pick up another rental car, before picking up the rest of the group in Miramar.

When we arrived at the car rental at about noon, the staff told us that there was no car available for us at that moment, even though we had a reservation.  Reason being the company had ordered a lot of cheap China cars and many had broken down, so there aren’t any cars in working condition that are available.  They are not sure when a car will be delivered to them… maybe 1 or 2 hrs or more. 

Rodolfo later explained to me that a lot of Cuban people work for the government and are not paid very well, thus they don’t take much responsibility and to make sure that services are delivered to customers reliably and punctually.

Day 14 – 17 : Havana

I had enjoyed the good life in Havana, rather than living it as a budget backpacker style.  Had also not done that many touristy stuff, for example the Castillo and the 9pm parade. 

The trip surrounded mostly around the wedding as I tagged along with Rodolfo and friends, and had I not done that, I would never had seen outside of Havana city and experience what Havana really has to offer.  It would also be very boring if I had just stayed within Havana city for all 4 days.

Day 15 – 16 : Wedding Crashing in Cuba

This was something I didn’t expect to do… wedding crashing in Cuba.

Well, not quite crashing since I paid for my meals and also a fair amount of contribution for the couple, but the invite was from Rodolfo and his wife Dayana, rather than from the wedding couple. 

I was expecting it to be a more Cuban traditional wedding, which would had been more interesting to see the customs.  However, since the groom is Spanish and bride is Cuban and living in Spain, it was more modern.

The wedding celebrations was a 2 full day affair, surrounded around a lot of food and drinks among friends and close ones.  The day before the wedding, we had lunch and dinner in a couple of really nice restaurants, with the same group of people that was going to be at the wedding ceremony.

Day 14 : 1st Day in Havana

Miguel, whom I had communicated mostly since I arrived at the Casa de Particulare “Hostal Don Miguel”, gave me a quick navigation guide – I had no map, no data network, no GPS capabilities, and had to rely on what Miguel had verbally shared to move my way around. 

Miguel also recommended a restaurant “Los Nardos” for a meal tonight.  Just relying on his directions, I walked along Prado (the main central walk way in downtown), towards Capitol.

As I walked, I felt I had travelled back in time, being surrounded by old historic buildings and numerous classic cars on the road. 

Day 14 : Cubano!

After a slightly longer than 2 hr flight, I landed in Cuba.  The heat and humidity immediately hit me as I stepped out of the plane.  Back to tropical weather! 

Went towards the immigration and I was nervous as I started doubting if I needed a visa to get into Cuba.  I had not filled in the visa document as I wanted to be able to return it to Interjet to get a refund.

When I got to the immigration officer, he looked at my passport and tried to process my documents.  Halfway through, he asked me to step back to the waiting line, while he rang someone on the phone.  A guy came by shortly after, talked to the immigration officer, and was then called back to the counter.  My passport was processed without further questions and without showing a visa!  And my passport now has a new immigration stamp – Cuba!

Day 14 : Drama at Mexico Airport

Got to the airport to check into my flight for Cuba very much ahead of time, and was told that I needed a visa to get on the flight. 

I had checked on visa requirements a few times before booking the trip, and was very certain that Singapore passport holders no longer need a visa to get into Cuba. 

I must had been at the counters for over half hour to get it sorted, as the staff went to ask a number of colleagues and indicated she even called Havana to confirm. 

Despite my insistence, I got no headway in getting exemption to obtain my boarding pass without first purchasing the visa (or the tourist card as they call it) from their counters, and had to pay MXP 250 for the visa.

I was however insistent on getting a refund option, as didn’t find it right that I had to pay for a visa which I do not have a need for.  Was pointed to the Supervisor at the airport, whom then said that the Interjet Airlines policy is that everyone who travels to Cuba on their Airlines needs to have a visa regardless, otherwise they won’t let the passenger board the plane. 

She subsequently provided me with Interjet Customer Service contact details and asked that I reach out to them to obtain assistance on getting the refund I asked for.

Have just written to the Interjet Customer Service email, so will see what comes back! 

Day 13 : Mexico City – A Day at the Museum

No major sight seeing today, as spent the day at the National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropologia), located in Chapultepec. 

The Museum was strongly recommended by a number of locals, containing significant archaeological and anthropological artefacts from prehispanic Mayan civilizations to the Spanish conquest, such as the Stone of the Sun (or the Aztec calendar stone) and the Aztec Xochipilli statue.

The trip to the Museum led me through the Chapultepec park, and was warmly welcomed by a number of furry friends.  There were at least 8 squirrels running around the area, and were very friendly with people as they came really up close for food.  Most squirrels I had seen thus far tend to be afraid of people, but the ones in Mexico had no fear. 

One of them climbed up my leg the moment I arrived.  More worried about them scratching or attacking me for not having food handouts, I let out a yelp, which probably scared the squirrel, as it hurriedly scrambled down my leg. 

Look at how cute they are!

Day 12 : Mexico City – Downtown

Slept in today, after an exhausting day yesterday with little sleep.  My main aim today was to find a money changer, as had changed a minimal amount at the airport on arrival, thinking that better rates could be found in the city centre. 

Finding a money changer in Mexico city was a lot harder than I expected!  Walked over 3 hours in the downtown area and only came across 1 money changer with a very bad rate, which I wasn’t keen to have.  I had better luck finding money changers in other Latin American countries before… very strange. 

Had to attempt getting access to free wifi access at a restaurant to google for options, and results seemed to indicate most money changers were concentrated around Chapultepec area.  After walking to the few money changers in the area, the best rate I got was still slightly lower than what I found at the airport.  Lesson learnt – change more money at the airport in Mexico in future! 

Nevertheless, had great weather for exploring Mexico Downtown.  We tried visiting Zocalo yesterday, but it was closed and most of the area around Palacio de Bella Artes was also fenced up – something to do with protests over a weekend? 

I must say, I am impressed with the downtown area, and enjoyed walking the streets – beautiful architecture on numerous buildings, mostly European style, bustling street hawkers lining the streets, etc.  There were also police at almost every corner, so unlike most stories I heard about Mexico City being unsafe, I didn’t feel unsafe at all.

Day 11 : Mexico City – Chapultepec & Coyoacan

1st day in Mexico City.  Officially it isn’t my 1st time in Mexico, as was in Tijuana at the beginning of this year, when I joined Francis and his friends on a day trip from Los Angeles.  But at that time, we didn’t get our passports stamped as we were asked by one of the security guards at the immigration to just by past the lines, so we were illegally in Mexico!

My flight got into Mexico at 4am in the morning and only had a couple hours sleep on the plane, so it had been a very long day for me.  Stayed at the airport for a couple hours, as I was to be hosted by Juan from Couchsurfing, and didn’t want to be arriving at someone’s home at an awkward hour. 

And here’s my couch for the next 3 days!

It’s a Sunday and Juan was kind enough to spend the day with me and showed me around his city.  He calls this his standard walking tour for all Couchsurfers, including breakfast at Chapultepec. 

Day 8 – 10 : Munich (Wrap Up)

3 days in Munich City, with lots to see and do. 

Being here during the period of Oktoberfest, there are more tourists than usual in the city. 

Hostels were charging close to Euro 100 just for a bed in a 6 dorm room! 

It was a good thing I managed to find someone to host me during my stay.  Back to real backpackers life and no more hotel stays :(

Overall, I love Munich.  I personally feel it can be regarded as another romantic city like Paris, though Paris in my opinion felt to have more things to see and do.

On the last day of my stay in Munich, I was even invited by Terry to the Oktoberfest - On my 2nd night in Munich, I was craving for beef noodle soup and found a Vietnamese restaurant.  As the restaurant was full, Terry shared a table with me and we ended up chatting.  Terry is an American, who had lived in Germany for many years.

This year, he had reserved a table at one of the beer stands for the last weekend of the Oktoberfest, and had invited some friends to join him, and extended the invite to me.

Even though I had already been to the Oktoberfest with Frank, I wanted to experience the atmosphere the German way.  It was a short night for me, as I left after 1 drink, since I will be flying out to Mexico city that evening.

The experience at the beer tent was amazing though – Terry had a table on the upper floor, so I could see the hordes of crowd on the lower floor and in the whole tentage. 



The atmosphere was incredible and unbelievable.  You can see it for yourself here.

Other than that, key attractions within the city includes :

Day 10 : Last weekend @ Oktoberfest

Had craving for something soupy last night and decided to look for a Vietnamese restaurant for a bowl of Pho.  Googled came up with a few options, and chose one of the listings enroute back, with higher reviews – Nam Gio.

Turns out that the place is rather popular, but as I was there early, I managed to get a table.  Shortly after I settled down, the restaurant owner asked if I could share the table with another single diner, and so I said yes. 

Terry, an American who had been living in Bavaria for the last 30 years, stays just round the corner from the restaurant, and mentioned that he frequents the place regularly.  He found it interesting that I had managed to find this quaint little diner in an out of the city neighbourhood and we strike up a conversation about my travels.  This was when he said he usually books a table at the Oktoberfest on the 1st and last Saturday, and today being the last Saturday, invited me to join him and his party, whom will be there from 5pm.