
Okay,
that made me sound like a total jerk. Let me rephrase that. Don’t go to Haiti
if your mind is set for tourism. I think this would have been a really
different experience if I decided to come and volunteer instead, because the
country and its people seriously need all the help they can get. But if you are
a persistent tourist, then prepare to deal with some third world BS coming your
way. Wow, douche alert. Harsh, dude. I’m just being honest here, because there really
isn’t much to see in Port-au-Prince.
I must admit that reading about the country’s history impressed me a bit. The Haitians achieved their independence before neighboring Dominican Republic did, and theirs was the only case in history in which a slave revolt managed to overthrow a colonial power to establish their very own free state. That’s impressive. They even annexed Dom Rep for a while, which has always been a source of friction between the two now sovereign countries. There’s just no escaping from the bitterness of the past, no?

As
to how Haiti ended up in its current state is nothing that can’t be explained.
If anything, the country’s Wikipedia page is a treasure trove of information if
you are that interested. I guess this is another reason why my disappointment
has been a little bit more pronounced. The country had potential alright. The
sugar plantations should have provided them with a lot of leverage for foreign
trade or something. What the hell happened in between? In fact, we only hear
about Haiti now when there’s a disaster or two.

Ah
yes, there was an earthquake a while back, and up to now you’ll see a lot of UN
4x4s doing the rounds around the capital. Getting off at Capital Coach Line’s
bus station in Tabarre next to the US Embassy, I immediately noticed how this
was not going to be the typical holiday I’ve been used to. I then realized that
I should have done more research before coming here. Perhaps if I did, I would
have found a good volunteering program, and a different kind of satisfaction
would have been achieved. Next time?

I
don’t think there will be a next time, or maybe not any time soon. As a tourist
in Haiti, moving around can be really difficult if you are not that loaded. The
typical taxi ride will cost you around USD20 for distances that are not that
long. It’s like you are hailing an Uber somewhere in the United States, if
costs are to be the sole basis. An alternative form of destination is the
Tap-Tap, a pick-up with its back end customized with a roof and seats to
accommodate around a dozen people. They cost around USD0.20.

But
the Tap-Taps are always full, and many foreign governments have issued warnings
when it comes to riding such vehicles. It’s not really that which I’m worried
about, though. Riding the thing would have been similar to hopping on a smoke
belching jeepney back in Manila. The issue was that I never saw a Tap-Tap that
had any free seat for the entire duration of my stay in Port-au-Prince. I’m not
really the type to shy away from public transportation in a country I’m not
familiar with, but there simply was no opportunity.

I
relied on motorcycles to get from one place to another. Food was not a problem
because the hotel restaurant I frequented accepted Visa anyway. And so the USD
that I had I exchanged into Haitian Gourdes, most of which were just spent on
these motorcycle rides. HTG200 (~PHP150) seemed customary, and the bumpy ride
on the capital’s unpaved roads felt like a primer to the roller coaster barrage
waiting for me in Ohio a week after. Overall, it was an eye-opener of an
experience, in many ways.

I
think I was just based in the wrong side of the city once again? They say that
Pétionville is the place to be if you want a neighborhood that is a little more
tolerable. I didn’t know how to get there. Besides, I think settling at my
Airbnb place right next to the airport was the wiser option. On my last
afternoon I decided to take a risk and hop on a Tap-Tap all the way to the
National Palace. It didn’t happen. Instead, I went on a half an hour stroll in
Tabarre in my bright orange shorts while clutching my blue laptop.

It
was more of a social experiment. Port-au-Prince doesn’t seem to be that safe,
but how unsafe is unsafe for an Asian tourist with an item of value at hand walking
down the streets of the Haitian capital? Well, I got a lot of looks of the
confused and damn-boy-you-crazy type. Several locals, most of them middle-aged
and old, also made it a point to call me by waving their hands or just shouting
unintelligible Creole at me, probably racial slurs or what have you. It was
like a freaking déjà-vu of Ulan Bator.

But
I wasn’t mugged or anything. I made it back to my Airbnb place in one piece
that night, but my impression of the country did not really leave me begging to
explore the city more. The Wikitravel page for Port-au-Prince is almost empty,
with the three or four main tourist attractions listed down just a few
backflips away from one another. The National Palace has been damaged by the
earthquake, while the Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien (MUPANAH) remains
intact and worth the USD5 admission fee.

At
least, I suppose. I had no HTG left to pay the motorcycle, and while the museum
accepted USD, they won’t give you HTG as change. Besides, only half an hour was
left before they closed. And so I decided to stay with the motorcycle driver,
because I seriously didn’t have the slightest idea how to get back to Tabarre,
and getting stuck there in the middle of the night was not on my to-do list. End
of story. If you insist on going, JetBlue flies to Port-au-Prince from Fort
Lauderdale and New York.
[PORT-AU-PRINCE] Don't Go to Haiti
2 creature/s gave a damn:
Hmm, there's not really much to see in Haiti plus the places look not worthy to roam at for tourist.
@Ian - They do have beaches. This is the Caribbean after all. But I don't think the hassle is worth it when you can just go to DomRep or Cuba instead.
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