After a hasty, late-night packing of my tiny case the night before, and with 2 1/2 hours of sleep under my belt, I embark on my trip of ‘firsts’.
- First time in Mexico.
- First time in Cuba.
- But most exciting – my first Uber ride!
Ramesh, Kumar or Prahneesh (let’s just call him Ian) picked me up from Alphington at 4:00 am on the dot (no wait time) and drove me in a very nice, new Kia Sportage to the airport. All monies, ratings etc. handled behind the scenes – it was terrific.
Ian’s a Pakistani accountant who was retrenched not long ago. To feed his mob he started driving for Uber. He likes the work and has had no problems except for having his tail lights kicked in by a bunch of drunks he politely asked to get out of his ride. He loves his cricket and plays for a team in Sunshine, with a beaming smile he tells me that he has met Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo. Ian’s a Shiite Muslim and had a happy childhood growing up, living alongside Sunnis. He hates the Saudis whom he blames for all the troubles.
After an 8-hour shift, I was his last fare. He dropped me off at the domestic terminal and then headed home to his family in Tarneit – l wondered if Liam has delivered him a fridge.
MEL – BNE 6:00 am
The flight to Brisbane was uneventful, and after taking the AirTrain to the international terminal, I changed some cash to USD, grabbed a coffee and waited to board the next flight.
BNE – LAX 10:50 am
This will be a long haul and I’ll need all the rest I can get, I’m now 1 1/2 hours out of Brissy en route to LA, just had lunch. So that I could rest on this leg I chose to lash out on Premium Economy with its larger seats, personal service and a big fat lady wet-snoring only two seats away, joy. After only a few hours of sleep last night, I will try to get some now, there’s a long way to go yet.
LAX – MEX 9:15 am
Since the USA doesn’t like Cuba all that much, it isn’t easy to get there. There are a few choices from Melbourne, the most common being via Mexico, South America or Canada (usually Toronto). I took the cheap alternative, a bit of a goat track, flying to Havana via Brisbane, LA, and then Mexico City. In LA, finding the right Terminal for Aeromexico was a challenge. It was a pain in the butt to go through immigration (where I left my travel notes!) and then check-in for the Havana-via-Mexico leg and go through immigration again.
The LA – Mexico City flight was only half full, and, for some reason, I expected to share the cabin with Mexican farmers wearing sombreros, and nursing chickens and goats – where did that come from?
The flight took us over some dry patches somewhere between LA and Mexico City.
MEX – HAV 6:30 pm
The transit at Mexico Airport was painless, although I had to go through immigration and customs yet again. When I booked my flights I checked that the outbound terminal is the same as the inbound and there’s always the stress of hoping that it actually turns out that way. In the departures area, you need to purchase a Cuban ‘Entry Permit’ at a small booth near the gate that services Cuban flights. “I hope I can find the booth, and I hope it’s open”. I’m like my mother – overly anxious about everything!
Remarkably, everything went smoothly and we were soon flying to Havana.
ARR HAV 10:20 pm June 8th, local time
The flight arrived at about 7 pm at a very strange airport that looked like a film set for a hijack movie. My driver picked me up in a ‘car’, a 1970s Lada. We sped through Havana’s abandoned streets at 40 kph to finally arrive at my destination, the ‘Hostal La Caridad’ in Old Havana. By then it was late, around 10:30 pm. It was hot. I was tired. But I was amazed at what I saw, fantastic architecture, crazy cars and a crumbling city.
At midnight on June 8th, 36 hours after Ian picked me up in Alphington, I crashed into my nearly comfortable single bed. The room was stinking hot and humid as hell but there was an air conditioner. The late night was filled with sounds of children playing in the streets, music, and grandmothers yelling at grandfathers.