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  1. #1
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    A second visit to Cuba with the Thai girlfriend

    With the recent news it looks like we’ll be traveling back to Cuba. Maybe, November 2022.

    But first a little review and news.

    Awful news. I don’t think we’ll be staying at the Saratoga again, but there is one better hotel in Havana we might be able to book.

    Saratoga before the explosion.




    Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  2. #2
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    What 'things' will you be 'doing with her', SL?

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat
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    hows your carbon footprint doing these days?

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Lovely looking architecture!

  5. #5
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    I have to say , I was not familiar with what happened to the Saratoga hotel in Cuba and I googled it.
    Awful news!!
    But great news about the relaxing of the travel news , Cuba is a beautiful country and it is a shame what has happened to the country.
    Look forward to reading about your visit there.
    The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.

  6. #6
    last farang standing
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    Quote Originally Posted by taxexile View Post
    hows your carbon footprint doing these days?
    He is flying to a global warming protest in Havana with Greta.

  7. #7
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai View Post
    the Saratoga hotel in Cuba
    Quote Originally Posted by DrWilly View Post
    Lovely looking architecture!
    They did well with converting an old tobacco warehouse. However, the rooms were tiny. There were no suites in this hotel.





    ____________

    Just for fun.

    On our first visit we arrived at the José Martí International Airport (HAV) Terminal 2 via Eastern Airlines. I don’t think Eastern has scheduled any flights to Cuba yet and even if they do, I might try a different point of entry this time (if allowed). Maybe charter a sailboat out of Miami or the Keys.


    Maybe to experience a change, sailing into Cuba could be fun and I might get more tired reactions from the couple of deniers above (taxexile & hugh cow) who don’t understand that one person cannot stop the climate from changing (due to human emissions/activities). It takes policy change. So, voting every politician who is a denier out of office is the best thing any one person can do to change/shape policy as what took place yesterday.

    Science and continued awareness,.........rule.

  8. #8
    Thailand Expat
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    However, the rooms were tiny. There were no suites in this hotel.
    cry me a fucking river.

  9. #9
    Thailand Expat Backspin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Cow View Post
    He is flying to a global warming protest in Havana with Greta.

  10. #10
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    I reckon if I went to Havana, it would have to be the olde grand dame- Hotel Nacional.




    Anyway, looking forward to this. Cuba is one of those places I never went to, but always wanted to.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Cow View Post
    He is flying to a global warming protest in Havana with Greta.
    global warming is obviously a fact but then climate tends to be cyclical, records i believe go back 2 or 300 years which is nothing in terms of the supposed age of the planet.

    that human activity is responsible is far from proven, and the idea that anyone can change the climate or temperature of the world, no matter what they do is some kind of hubristic insanity. it has changed forever in cyclical patterns that are impossible to prevent, the present and trendy idiotic strive to eliminate co2 is a fool's errand. the blinkered eco loons are presently driving us toward the stone age with their manic predictions and ridiculous measures to attempt to reverse the irreversible.

    net zero is a pathetic nod to the vociferous and naďve green foot soldiers , unfortunately pushed ever onward by those whose motives are highly and politically questionable. and it will never happen. better the eco loons direct their energy at increasing food production for the massively over populated planet and cleaning up the rivers and seas before we poison ourselves, poisons which actually will solve both the overpopulation problem and the co2 problem at the same time.

  12. #12
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    I reckon if I went to Havana, it would have to be the olde grand dame- Hotel Nacional.

    Anyway, looking forward to this. Cuba is one of those places I never went to, but always wanted to.
    You’re going to have to wait a bit.

    The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is closed now due to Covid.

    It is a nice hotel. And lucky you! You could book a room to stay there. But not me.

    The Thai girlfriend could book a room and stay there. But not me.

    What would be interesting is an attempt. I’ll see, if during our next visit we can book all of our accommodations in the girlfriend’s name.

    A picture of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba from the apartment of a Cuban artist we were visiting. I have more pictures of the inside and grounds I’ll share later.


    But for now,........some fun.

    Right on cue.

    Quote Originally Posted by taxexile View Post
    global warming is obviously a fact but then climate tends to be cyclical, records i believe go back 2 or 300 years which is nothing in terms of the supposed age of the planet.

    that human activity is responsible is far from proven, and the idea that anyone can change the climate or temperature of the world, no matter what they do is some kind of hubristic insanity. it has changed forever in cyclical patterns that are impossible to prevent, the present and trendy idiotic strive to eliminate co2 is a fool's errand. the blinkered eco loons are presently driving us toward the stone age with their manic predictions and ridiculous measures to attempt to reverse the irreversible.

    net zero is a pathetic nod to the vociferous and naďve green foot soldiers , unfortunately pushed ever onward by those whose motives are highly and politically questionable. and it will never happen. better the eco loons direct their energy at increasing food production for the massively over populated planet and cleaning up the rivers and seas before we poison ourselves, poisons which actually will solve both the overpopulation problem and the co2 problem at the same time.
    I’m surprised it didn’t link its dribble to a movie critic in The Sunday Telegraph where it gets its weekly misinformation.

    By the way we’ve been over the subject time and time again.

    Do keep up.........

    Greenhouse gasses – mainly CO2, but also methane – were involved in most of the climate changes in Earth’s past. When they were reduced, the global climate became colder. When they were increased, the global climate became warmer. When CO2 levels jumped rapidly, the global warming that resulted was highly disruptive and sometimes caused mass extinctions. Humans today are emitting prodigious quantities of CO2, at a rate faster than even the most destructive climate changes in earth's past.

    But there have been several times in Earth’s past when Earth's temperature jumped abruptly, in much the same way as they are doing today. Those times were caused by large and rapid greenhouse gas emissions, just like humans are causing today.

    Those abrupt global warming events were almost always highly destructive for life, causing mass extinctions such as at the end of the Permian, Triassic, or even mid-Cambrian periods. The symptoms from those events (a big, rapid jump in global temperatures, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification) are all happening today with human-caused climate change.

    So yes, the climate has changed before humans, and in most cases scientists know why. In all cases we see the same association between CO2 levels and global temperatures. And past examples of rapid carbon emissions (just like today) were generally highly destructive to life on Earth.


    Science and continued awareness,.........rule.

  13. #13
    5 4 Knoll
    david44's Avatar
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    Did you see Vinales or Santiago two lovely spots

  14. #14
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Few more pictures of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba.







    ________________

    Quote Originally Posted by david44 View Post
    Did you see Vinales or Santiago two lovely spots
    I forget, it might have been just a 3 or 4 day trip. Havana first. We might venture out (if I’m not restricted) during our next trip

    I have a close friend who was born in Cuba and went to visit family in Santiago. He just cussed the town and country. Lack of this lack of that. But he has done very well for himself while in Miami and might have a problem seeing what his family is missing.

    ________________

    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Cow View Post
    Greta...
    Miss Greta? You’re in luck,……she has new book coming out.

    Greta Thunberg - Finally we can reveal the cover for the Climate Book! The Warming Stripes graphic by @ed_hawkins on the cover shows the dramatic heating of the planet in recent decades. The book contains essays from over 100 leading experts and voices. It will be released this October. https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/st...88726054318095


    You could be the first in your ditch to get one. Order here: The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg: 9780593492307 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

  15. #15
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    About the lack of this lack of that which I mentioned in the last post.

    Food. The hotel we stayed at served good food but the portions were small. The first Cuban sandwich I ate from a coffee/sandwich shop was made with a yellow strange tasting bread.

    There is a black market. The government controls the fishing vessels and distribution around the island. However, there are restaurants where you can eat that purchase some of their supply from the black market.

    One of the restaurants we ate at was El Cocinero. The food was great.

    Because most Cubans are not able to eat like this often, both the driver and our guide requested to sit (have dinner) with us. We were delighted to have their company.



    whatshername’s Mojito




  16. #16
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    I wanted to see a beach, but our guide wasn’t being helpful (maybe the drive). See the beach in the distance?


    The guide did tell us one of the most popular places to visit was the seawall along Havana’s coastline during the late afternoon and early evening hours. Might be fun during a weak storm.


    Next up, some tourist destinations in and around Havana. The picture below shows where Hemmingway would stay at times (corner room in the pink building to the left). It is not Hemingway’s home in Cuba.


  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    I reckon if I went to Havana, it would have to be the olde grand dame- Hotel Nacional.




    Anyway, looking forward to this. Cuba is one of those places I never went to, but always wanted to.
    That almost resembles Soviet architecture

  18. #18
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    Buckaroo Banzai's Avatar
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    Very nice thread. Love the pictures.
    You get to see Cuba before it gets too commercialized. I am very jealous !!
    Keep the pictures coming.

  19. #19
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    a note.........

    Quote Originally Posted by A10 View Post
    That almost resembles Soviet architecture
    Design and construction

    The Hotel Nacional was designed by the New York architecture firm of McKim, Mead and White, financed by the National City Bank of New York, and constructed in fourteen months by the U.S. engineering firm of Purdy and Henderson. The structure contains a mix of styles, including Sevillian, Roman, Moorish and Art Deco.


  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by S Landreth View Post
    About the lack of this lack of that which I mentioned in the last post.

    Food. The hotel we stayed at served good food but the portions were small.





    you're not kidding

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    I reckon if I went to Havana, it would have to be the olde grand dame- Hotel Nacional
    I wonder if this hotel was one of the locations for this dreamy long take from the 1964 film Soy Cuba.


  22. #22
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    ^Might be interesting. The full movie......


  23. #23
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Cuban Cassic Cars - First tourist attraction

    Every weekend a few blocks east of the Saratoga Hotel they will show them. I think the owners enjoy showing them more than the tourists enjoy viewing them. They are proud of their cars.




  24. #24
    Custom Title Changer
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    ^ very nice SL.

  25. #25
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Before I move to another tourist attraction, I thought I would post about another topic that Cuba is known for besides the cars.

    Cuban Cigars



    I know a few guys in the states that enjoy cigars and once in a while I would bring them some. When we would frequent Hong Kong, I would pick up a couple boxes and smuggle them into Thailand and then the states. Whatshername would carry the bands and boxes (she still has the boxes) and I would carry the cigars on different flights (to the states).

    But during our visit to Cuba I could bring in as much as I wanted for my own personal use.

    Our guide took us to a government run tobacco and alcohol shop and told me to pick out what I wanted and she would purchase them for me from another distributor at a much better price.

    I only had so much cash with me at the time,......so only two boxes were brought back home.

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