Quote: (01-28-2014 12:50 AM)MidWest Wrote:
Quote: (01-28-2014 12:38 AM)sylo Wrote:
Hey man, I am sorry I have not read through a lot of these replies, I have never beent to Ec, but I have been to Havana, and I hands down vote for that. I am American, so I went illegally, so my first question is what natl are you? Even if you are American, it is VERY possible still. I have written about my experience extensively in this thread:
http://www.rooshvforum.network/thread-3623.html
Let me know if you have any questions!
Hey Sylo and thanks for replying. Im also American, but of Mexican descent (Mexican American). I could probably pass as a Cuban in Havana and I know fluent Spanish but with a Mexican accent. Not sure how this will affect my game there. My only issue is getting around the hotel situation since I will most likely be staying at a hotel in Havana. Thanks in advanced.
There are lots of Mexicans in Havana. I was just there and saw plenty. It shouldn't be any sort of negative. The hotel situation is simple, tell your school you have alternative accomodations. If not, rent a casa particular as well or find unlicensed accomodations. If unlicensed tell them you'll give them $300 for the month. More than that is silly. A licensed casa particular will run you more...generally speaking you'll pay between 400 and 900 for a month long stay at a licensed casa. Negotiate. The amount they ask for can always be lowered. Generally speaking aim for 60% of the daily rate. So if they ask 30 a day aim for 20 or so daily (600 a month).
A hotel is a mighty cockblock in Cuba. Just ask the hookers...one of the first questions if not the first they ask is where are you staying, casa or hotel...
Using girls houses generally speaking isn't an option. Of course there are exceptions to this, but remember 99% live with there parents and 90% sleep with more than 1 person in a bed. (i.e. girlfriend sleeps with grandma.)
There are cheap options to Havana as sylo has alluded to in terms of spending. Eating in street food type places etc. You could legitimately do this and eat a balanced diet for under 5 dollars a day. You could also go to the likes of Le Chansonnieur, Atelier etc...and spend $100 a day eatting.
One tip I will give you that will be invaluable, is when you go to a restaurant or any place, look at the decor, and what types of cars / people are there. If it's expensive i.e. plates are $10+ expensive for Cuba, you should see modern automobiles outside / quality decor. You will often get hosed. I got hosed twice on my recent 32-day Cuba trip with bullshit restaurants. Close to $20 per person for absolute garbage because I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings / and there were obviously multiple menus. One with stupid high prices the other that the Cubans order. Same food just 10 times the price.
The closer you are to tourist places the more likely you are to get hosed. A restaurant that is typically outside of generally populated tourist areas that is full likely will have quality food.
Nightlife in Havana is not particularily cheap because you are always going to be paying cover. There are a bunch of horseshit cheap options i.e. yellow submarine, el coctelito, tikoc, cabaret nacional but expect the chicks to be of similar quality + few options.
There is a heavy hooker scene. But recently Cuba has allowed private citizens to open up there own bars...often there is 0 cover or minimal cover. Can be good date spots if you aren't particularily budget conscious. Think Shangri-La, Tres Medallas, Melon, 3D cafe etc.
Bottle service is cheap compared to 1st-world rates. What makes nights more expensive is many places will charge you first to get a table and then on top of that bottle service. So your $30 bottle of Anejo blanco (3.80 or so in stores) then becomes $50. (30 bottle + 20 for table).
There will be lots of younger people studying at the university. I don't mean to be rude but the ones I met when I studied there typically were of 2 categories. The men were not getting any pussy. The females were getting Cuban dick.
Why is this? Well the men were low budget tourists without the macho presence that alludes countries like Cuba. They were happy go lucky but lacked the ability to sexualize an interaction. The woman were getting hit on left and right and just had to show up to get laid.
The guys who find Havana very easy are typically locating themselves in the poorest areas, Habana Vieja, Centro Habana and have a preference for darker woman of mediocre looks. Or the guys who are with a higher budget of say 150 + CUC a day not including airfare.
There are 2 currencies but it doesn't mean one is tourist and one is Cuban. In order to live all Cubans use both currencies. It's not as if tourists are paying 1 Convertible Peso and Cubans are paying 1 Cuban Peso (worth 1/ 24 CUC) for the same thing.
A restaurant that has a CUP menu is more likely to be showing you the real menu. I don't think I've ever had anyone show me a CUP menu that was phony with inflated prices. With that said many restaurants charge in CUC. Note: You can pay in CUC for CUP items generally speaking. You should pay between 1 CUC for 23 - 24 CUP depending on the place.
Have fun. Not sure when you are going but let me know. I should be in Havana in April/May for a month or two.