Sightseeing

I was very happy yesterday because I got a chance to have a small sightseeing in Montego Bay city, thanks to a helpful taxi driver. First, he took me around the fanciest area in the city where people have their own properties and the yards are surrounded by high fences. After that, we drove through some middle-class area which was for me already quite messy. I mean the roads are in pretty bad condition, houses are small and there’s trashes everywhere along the roads. The last area was the worst one, mostly like a ghetto/slum area where people are living basically outside. There’s no real houses, only shacks and all kind of trash on the yard areas and no proper sanitation system at all. The taxi driver also explained how people in poor areas are stealing electricity by cutting some electricity wires from utility poles and connecting those wires to utility poles near their houses. That’s the main reason why electricity wires are almost dangerously hanging down on the roads and causing electric shocks/fires.

Today I went to visit in Montego Bay’s downtown with a local guide and the experience was amazing. We caught a taxi from Sea Castle highway ( well basically the taxi was just some random guy with a car and punch of random people inside) which cost about 150 Jamaican dollars. In downtown, we were walking around the main streets, visited in Montego Bay’s Cultural Center, ate in a small food place and had some drinks in a street bar. For me it was more than just a short stroll, I really love it too see the real life of Jamaicans and feel the atmosphere of the city centre. Of course, it is quite shocking for the first time but for me nothing new when I compare my trips in African countries because there are so many similarities. Streets of Montego Bay are super crowded, dancehall-music plays everywhere, people are sitting and talking in front of the small shops and so on. You really need to experience it by yourself, I highly recommend to take a walk in the centre but mostly with someone who knows the places there. Otherwise, tourists might get tricked quite easily.

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

Eilen kävin pienellä sightseeing-kierroksella paikallisen taksihepun kanssa, jolle maksoin kierroksesta noin 10,000 Jamaican dollaria eli 80 euroa. Kierros oli todellakin rahanarvoinen, koska tuli nähtyä kaikenlaista mielenkiintoista:)

Nyt on myös käyty ekaa kertaa ruokaostoksilla paikallisessa supermarketissa, torilla, kaupungin vilkkaassa keskustassa ja nähty mitä se aito "jamaikalainen lifestyle" on.