BY: Judith Tan

I HAVE never professed to be great at reading maps.

So armed with a trusty Lonely Planet guide on Cuba - which came with maps - I still got lost in the back lanes of Havana.

But that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I got to see the real Havana.

Not much is known of Cuba in terms of travel literature, except from what was written by American travellers who saw the country through tinted glasses. So the best way to get to know the country is to experience it yourself.

After 26 hours of sitting knees to chin on the airplane - six of them spent in transit at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport - I was finally greeted by the sight of beautiful old Havana buildings and cars. It was like taking a trip back in time.

With 1950s American classic cars plying the streets, it was a scene straight from an Al Capone movie set.

One reason so many of them are still around is perhaps the 46-year-old American trade sanctions which made sure that new cars are virtually unavailable. So the Cubans apparently just keep repairing and modifying their old Dodges, Chryslers, Fords and Chevys to keep them going.

Adding to the old world feel was the relaxed atmosphere of Cubans sitting by their doorways and shooting the breeze. No one seemed to be in a hurry.

Walk, don't bus

DESPITE the maps in the guidebook, my travel mates and I realised we were wandering through the streets at random.

We spent the whole of our five days there walking around Centro Habana and downtown Havana, or Habana Vieja, as the locals call it. We even ventured into narrow winding roads lined with old buildings, some of which were crumbling.

Here was where we could observe how ordinary Cubans lived, as everybody's life unfolded in the street. Keys were being tossed from a second-storey balcony, water thrown onto the alleys from back doors to rid the steps of dust.

A stroll from Hotel Saratoga, near the Capitolio building, to the Malecon - fanned by a balmy breeze - took only 30 minutes.

In the day, the 13.6km-long Malecon, the coastal road that hugs the shoreline of northern Havana and where many Cubans dove off in the 1980s to swim to Florida, is dotted by young people fishing or families sitting on the seawall.

But in the evening, only couples and ladies of the night come out to play. The boulevard is dimly lit with just the street lamps and lights from several hotels along the sea bank facing the Straits of Florida. The Malecon is not the only place worth walking around.

Wandering around dimly lit streets in the city centre would have been risky in most countries, but it is relatively safe in Havana. One reason is, perhaps, that there is so much life on the streets.

People were hanging outside their homes, gathered on street corners and talking animatedly in debates or gossip sessions. Children played close by.

Having read so much about paladares, family-run restaurants set up in homes, we thought we would try eating at one - after all, the food at these restaurants are touted to be authentic, wholesome and cost a fraction of that at other restaurants.

Unfortunately, paladares seem to close as fast as they open so it was not surprising we could not find those listed in our guidebook.

Although luck was not on our side with the paladares, we did find a corner cafe one morning where the locals stop for coffee and buns stuffed with thick slivers of ham.

The buns were very salty, but we still downed two helpings each and were none the worse for wear.

Two streets away was a crowded produce market. Chancing upon it, we guessed it was market day. The produce at these outdoor markets include meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables but like at wet markets in Singapore, they are not attractively displayed.

If you intend to buy anything, make sure you have your own plastic bags. Or you end up carrying your purchases in your bare hands.

Habana Vieja

THE back streets of Habana Vieja (Old Havana) would suddenly open out onto grand squares or quietly hidden plazas.

We ended up at the really old Plaza de la Catedral where the Catedral de San Cristobal de la Habana, an 18th-century Baroque cathedral, was the main attraction.

Also garnering attention was the Palacio de los Marqueses de Aguas Claras (1760), which houses the El Patio Restaurant - a wonderful spot to sip mojitos and listen to local musicians play.

Mojitos, the traditional Cuban cocktail, is made with white rum, sugar cane juice, lime, carbonated water and mint. After drinking it at its source of origin, you would not want another elsewhere.

Near the restaurant was a quaint little square, the Plaza de Armas. This square dated back to the early 1500s, and housed several other Spanish colonial buildings that surround a tiny but beautiful park.

The square itself was full of stalls selling old and new books. Gaily coloured stiltwalkers dancing to samba music added to the atmosphere.

There were stalls - much like Bangkok's Chatuchak weekend market - selling all sorts of trinkets and merchandise to tourists.

Cubans are generally very friendly and seldom seen without a smile. They welcome tourists as friends and are eager to find out where they come from.

And as they celebrate women of all shapes and sizes, the men relentlessly wolf-whistle, compliment, hiss at and make kissy noises at female travellers.

The machismo can be flattering or annoying, depending on how you take it. But it is definitely an ego massage.

Of course, the intention of some of these men is to sell street cigars, which are counterfeit brand cigars. Their classic greeting is usually "pssst" followed by "Hey, my friend. Do you smoke? I have good and cheap cigars."

Tourist trail

BY ALL means, go on the tourist track to see attractions such as the Capitolio, the Cathedral, Hemingway Trail and Partagas tobacco company, and walk down to Prado where the museums are.

Along the Prado is the Museo de la Revolucion, the former presidential palace. This is where documents and records of Cuba's revolution are kept.

Oh yes, you also see the different faces of Che Guevara, the Argentinian revolutionary who is very much revered in Cuba. Not only were his portraits featured prominently in the museum, but photographs and letters he had written to Fidel Castro, Cuba's revolutionary leader who served as the country's 22nd president, were also preserved.

Just behind the museum is Castro's yacht, Granma, on which he crossed over from Mexico with his companions
in 1956. It is encased in glass. With so much to do and see, our stay was over all too quickly.

Five days in a city such as Havana are just enough if you want to dip a foot into the culture. But to be able to immerse oneself, two weeks, including trips outside the capital, are a must.   

Getting there

JOSE Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba, handles more than 20 airlines from Canada, Central and South America and Europe.

We chose to fly Air France for its convenience. The flight from Singapore to Paris and on to Havana takes 26 hours - including a six-hour layover at Charles de Gaulle airport.

It may be prudent to break the long-haul trip with a couple of days' stay in Europe en route to Havana and back. Air France flies to other European cities from Paris en route to Havana too.

Flying to Havana is not cheap, though. My return air ticket cost $3,600.

VISA APPLICATION

Virtually anyone visiting Cuba needs a visa or tourist card, which allows for a stay of 30 days in the country.

A visa costs about 50 euros (S$108) and can be obtained through the Cuban Embassy in Jakarta by post.

Just send notarised copies of the traveller's passport, a copy of the airline ticket and hotel reservation slip to Mr Jorge Leon, Cuban Ambassador to Indonesia (Jl. Opal, Block K1, Permata Hijau, Jakarta Barat 12210, Indonesia).

Give about two weeks for the visa application to be processed and returned to you by post.

WHERE TO STAY

The Hotel Saratoga (Paseo del Prado No. 603, esq. a Dragones, Old Havana, Havana, Cuba, tel: +53-7-868-1000) has the best location in Havana.

It sits at the corner of Paseo del Prado and Dragones in Old Havana, and in front of the famous Partagas Cigar Factory.

The Fraternity Park, with its beautiful palm trees, is at the other side of Paseo del Prado. The hotel itself is neoclassical, with a central atrium, large French windows and a large porch.

It is a stone's throw from the Capitolio and the Grand Theatre of Havana.

Other attractions such as the National Museum of Fine Arts, Revolution Square, the Museum of the Revolution and Havana's Malecon - a seawall that is 13.6km long - are within walking distance.

Bills are all paid in Cuban convertible peso (CUC), introduced to take out all foreign currencies from local circulation. One CUC is equivalent to S$1.65.

The single Junior Suite costs CUC250 a night while its split-level double Suite Prado costs CUC405 a night. Change your Singapore dollars to euros here and then change that to CUC at the airport or any bureau de change in Havana.

This article was first published in Life, The Straits Times on July 15, 2008.