A different mix (Trinidad & Tobago)

Member Name: hark30

Product:	Trinidad & Tobago
Date:	28/09/00 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Music imbued into every waking experience, beaches, the pace of life, clued-up, welcoming locals

Disadvantages: The hustle

Trinidad and Tobago is a fantastic mixture of cultures, experiences and people. Trinidad is not the traditional Caribbean package destination, and is much the better for it. It is far easier to meet "real" people, make friends and experience the life of what was once an oil-rich society, more recently riven by social upheaval and the devastating effects of drugs. Being the closest Caribbean island to Venezuela, Trinidad is concerned about cocaine and particularly crack, and this was voiced to us by a lot of people we met.

I went with two friends, one white, one black, and this provoked a lot of interest amongst people. Although Trinidad is very ethnically diverse, the sight of two white and one black Englishmen (or American, as we were often assumed to be) always caused people to ask us questions, which often revealed interesting things about their own perceptions of British society.

We spent most of our time in Port of Spain, and if you go there, be prepared for some serious hustling. It is vital to be ruthless with street hustlers, taxi drivers, and anyone else who sees you as a tourist commodity, or you are in for some serious grief. But we met so many nice people, so easily. People who were prepared to go seriously out of their way to find us somewhere to stay, or something interesting to experience.

Travelling South to San Fernando was a real experience. We stayed a day with a family known through a friend of a friend, and received the most amazing hospitality.

As for Tobago, well it is a package resort, and the pace is completely different to Trinidad. It has some A1 beaches, however, that cannot be denied, and also hosts the weekly Sunday School all-nighter, which is not to be missed. An ideal and relaxing beach-type holiday place, but you need to be ready to tolerate American and European package holidayers.

Go to T&T for music (soca, calypso) and more music, people, rum and beaches, be prepared to put u
p with hustle and more hustle and the need to be a little bit streetwise when it comes to personal security.

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