Carnival Itinerary: Toronto to Jamaica Carnival 2019

SPECS

Who: Four people/Two Beds, Two people/Two beds, Solo

Where: Toronto to Kingston, Jamaica

When: Thursday, April 25th – Wednesday, May 1st 2019

Budget: $750ish

Notes: Yes, the flight on the Thursday lands at 4:30am. I did that flight this year for JA Carnival and it was awesome because you can land, nap, and then have the whole day to gallivant. I have made the ‘stays’ portion Wed-Wed so that when you land at that time you would be able to right away check into your place instead of waiting until 3pm.

Flight: Pearson International to Kingston | April 24th – May 1st (because it technically leaves at 11pm on the Wednesday)

$484.18 CDN per person; roundtrip (direct)

Seriously, under $500!
Seriously, under $500!

 

Stay: AirBnB for four | April 24th – May 1st

Option 1: $584.00 CDN ($146.00/per person); Bed + Sofa bed, Perfect reviews, Good location

Option 2: $717.00 CDN ($179.25/per person); Awesome place, Two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, Good location, Perfect reviews, I just stayed here for carnival and loved it

Option 3: $748.00 CDN ($187.00/per person); Looks nice, Bed + Sofa bed, Perfect reviews, Good area

Option 4: $756.00 CDN ($189.00/per person); Place looks beautiful, Good area, Looks big, Perfect reviews

Option 5: $780.00 CDN ($195.00/per person); Looks nice, Pool, Gated community, Good reviews

 

Stay: AirBnB for two | April 24th – May 1st

Option 1: $507.00 CDN ($253.50/per person); Good location, Good reviews, Looks cozy

Option 2: $461.00 CDN ($230.50/per person); Looks cozy, Good reviews, Great location

Option 3: $502.00 CDN ($251.00/per person); Bed + Sofa bed, Pool, Looks OK, Good reviews

Option 4: $543.00 CDN ($271.50/per person); Looks great, Perfect reviews, Good location

 

Stay: AirBnB for one | April 24th – May 1st

Option 1: $266.00 CDN; Close to transit, Looks cozy, Perfect reviews

Option 2: $194.00 CDN; Good location, Looks OK, Perfect reviews

Option 3: $250.00 CDN; Looks nice, Good area, Perfect

 

Total: Overall, even if you go for the MOST expensive options I posted it’s about $679.18 CDN per person for the 4 person trip, $755.68 CDN per person for the 2 people trip and $750.10 CDN for solo.

Extras: If you are wondering about the costs associated with attending Carnival in Jamaica, please read my post about it here. Also, you can read my recap of the experience from attending Carnival in Jamaica 2018 here.   

– Mirna 

 

I am not a licensed travel agent of Ontario and make itineraries as a hobby. Any itineraries used by readers are of their own free will and choosing. Site owner is not responsible for any misadventures, mishaps, airline issues or accommodation issues that occur on trip itineraries that are posted or individually e-mailed to readers.

My Problem With ‘Suffering’ Tourism

Whether you call it dark tourism/grief tourism (tourism directed to places that are identified with death and suffering) or thanatourism (personification of death, refers more specifically to peaceful death) – I need to know what the hell draws you to it?

I’m going to call it suffering tourism because you are going out of your way to be a tourist in places where suffering took/takes place. Now, I do understand there is no place in this world where suffering hasn’t taken place. That I fully grasp. But going there to experience these things as an outsider who wants to FEEL immersed in it? Are you sick fam? 

Recently there was an article on Twitter posted about a war hostel in Sarajevo. The title of this article drew me in pretty quickly, ‘Recreating death for a living: Inside Bosnia’s War Hostel‘. 

What? Šta? Co? Qué? Quoi? क्या? Ano?

The only way to explain my ‘what the fuckness??‘ was in like seven different languages. 

So I went along and read the article and yes, it was exactly what I thought. This place offers an immersive experience ‘where visitors get a taste of daily life in a warzone.‘ I’m not even sure where I can begin to tell you how I feel about this. I’ve read the article like four times now and I’m still wondering what the hell is wrong with people. In the article the person who owns the hostel says they offer it so that people can learn what happens when ‘…people get divided into us and them.’ They can’t go read a book? They don’t have Google? You need to tell me, the only way for people to understand divisive politics that lead to genocide is to pay money and pretend they were us during the worst times in our lives? 

*refer back to the seven languages of WHAT?! above*

This has been on my mind a lot lately. I had done an itinerary for carnival in Brazil and went wandering into activities and tours one could do while in Rio. There was a nice option for a visit to the Christ the Redeemer statue and some hang gliding, awesome. Then I saw something called ‘Tour of the Favelas’. I’m there reading this description and it’s saying something along the lines of it is a RESPECTABLE tour of some favela in Rio. 

If you don’t know what a favela is, it is basically the hood area in Brazil. The disproportionately low-income and high-crime area. When my Brazilian friends tell me about going to Brazil, this is exactly the area they tell me to stay away from. Tours? So, you’re going to do what? Walk by and look at the poor people like they’re circus acts? What is it that could possibly make you want to pay money to go observe these people? Nah. I don’t see anything respectable about that.

My friend Kenya was Tweeting along with me the other day about this topic, she was saying how she has no interest in going to old prisons, asylums, Auschwitz or Elmina castle in Ghana. I felt that. Accurate representation of how I also feel about places with such horrific histories.

However, this is one important part I would like to add in right now. Those who are of certain diasporas wanting to go to these places in researching their OWN history? That is not the same as suffering tourism. Those of the Jewish faith visiting Auschwitz makes sense. Black people in USA, Canada, Caribbean etc. wanting to go visit Elmina castle in Ghana makes sense. 

As a Bosnian refugee I have zero interest in visiting a damn war hostel in Sarajevo. Granted, that isn’t necessarily my history as I was fully alive and present for the war in Bosnia. I’m good on all that, I don’t need to feel, see or experience that shit. That is actually my life. 

I had also seen that there is a tour in Sarajevo that takes you into the underground tunnels that were made by the army to get around the city while there was snipers outside. I…. Ok. No thanks, again.

When I told my mom about these things she said it all has to do with money. If people can somehow make money off any aspect of tourism, they will. Some people are ‘history buffs’ (I’m using this term VERY loosely) and want to be immersed. You an anthropologist?

Few weeks ago there was an article I came across from a journalist describing his trip to (I believe) it was Auschwitz as well. He was saying how it was crazy going to a place with such a sordid history but the tourists there just running around eating their snacks and taking selfies by the gas chambers. That does not sit well with me. I want no part.

Why wouldn’t you travel to places in search of times of jubilation? Happiness? If you are going to Carnival somewhere, why aren’t you educating yourself about that aspect of your trip? Why do you need to go to a favela tour if you’re in Rio or a plantation tour if you’re in Barbados? Is that absolutely necessary for you to experience?    

The best way I could explain it to some of you is by using what happened a week ago today in Toronto. The monster who decided to kill a group of innocent people at Yonge and Finch.

Imagine if two months, two years, two decades (whatever) from now – someone decided to make a ‘Van Massacre in Toronto Tour‘ Taking tourists from other countries to see and IMMERSE themselves in one of the worst days this city has ever experienced.

How would you feel if someone was offering ‘Residential School System Experience‘ as a tour? Given we know the horrific things that the native population in Canada went through in those buildings. Would make me sick.

So I ask some of you who clearly don’t accept books, school or Google as being ENOUGH for your learning of history, why? If it wouldn’t be acceptable in showcasing the tragedies in Canada for profit, why is it OK for you to go see it everywhere else?

– Mirna 

  

Carnival in Jamaica 2018 Recap

Well, I’ve been home for a week now and BOYYYY has this week sucked. With the incredible weather I experienced in Jamaica, coming back to ice-rain and snow really sucks lemons. The usual carnival tabanca burns, but when you have to endure an extended Canadian winter – it burns just a tad bit more.

Jamaica was awesome. Between the plethora of incredibly attractive men and women, the amazing food, my fill of dancehall music and perfect weather I can say my heart is full. Here is a daily recap of all the shenanigans that happened during my time in Kingston, Jamaica!

Thursday, April 5, 2018

This day started exceptionally early. Our flight to Kingston was at 1:30am from Pearson Airport. It was myself, my best friend Jummy and our friend Kyra en route for this carnival. There really isn’t any excitement for this part of the journey except that we met up with some other friends at the airport and seven of us decided to do shots of rum on an empty stomach before boarding. Awesome. I should add, I was sick when we began this journey. In my head, I figured taking a shot would maybe clear my sinuses up a little.

Wrong. I was wrong. As we were descending into Kingston for the FIRST time in all my years of flying – my ears began to hurt. I had never felt such a strong pressure and pain in my head as I did in that moment. This feeling ended up lasting a day and a half, I was partially deaf until Friday afternoon.

So we land in Kingston at 4:30am and our driver is nowhere to be found. Not exactly the greatest sign of things to come, but, luckily I called him and woke him up and he said he was on his way. Around 5:15am our driver (David) arrived and we began our journey out to Havendale where our AirBnB was located. I will say, driving through Kingston at sunrise was incredible to see. It was already 26 degrees outside and you could feel the city waking up with it. Great feeling at the time.

Our AirBnB was HUGE. This place had a kitchen, living room, a downstairs bathroom, two bedrooms upstairs (with an en suite bathroom in each one) and a big front yard. Probably one of the best choices we made was to stay in this particular AirBnB. Our host Barrington was awesome as well, he was easy to call at all times and super helpful checking us in at 5:30am.

All three of us took a nap at this point because we knew a long ass day was ahead of us.

Noon. Time to get up and get to moving. The first place we were off to was to pick up our tshirts and wristbands for AMBush (j’ouvert). Luckily, this part was very straightforward and organized. We were in and out in no time. Unfortunately, our next pick up was our costumes for Xodus and that didn’t begin until 3pm. Naturally, we went to get food in between all of this. Found a place called ‘Mothers’ and threw my whole face into some jerk chicken and festival. My body was ready for this. Delicious.

We get over to Xodus now for our costume pick up and we sure were lucky arriving when we did. I was #27 on the wait list for pickup upon arrival, within six minutes the girl who sat down next to me was #64. Yikes. I was fortunate because my costume pieces and everything were bless for pick up, although I didn’t know until then that my costume was actually a one-piece? Fine. I can deal. Also, I loved the duffel bag we got for our goodie bag from Xodus!! I should note the back piece to my frontline costume was massive. This was my first time playing frontline and holy crap, I knew I’d look fabulous for my pictures but that no way all of these pieces would last long on me. (Fast forward to Sunday, I was right.)

Unfortunately, my friend Kyra was having some issues with her cage bra fitting so we ended up having to wait a little longer for that to be fixed at the mas camp. From there we had to speed back to our AirBnB, shower, get changed and head off to our first event. AFloat boat ride starting at 5:30pm.

I had a good time on this boat cruise. The vibes were nice, the sunset views were awesome and there was some slackness on the boat as well. My kind of party. It was a good way to kick off the partying for Jamaica. As someone who loves rum, the only two rums I do not like are Appleton and Wray & Nephew. As you can imagine, being in Jamaica this put me at a disadvantage at all the all-inclusive parties we bought tickets for. I drank Johnny Walker and Coke at AFloat. It wasn’t so bad….. I guess. Not like I died, so I’ll take the win.

As soon as we disembarked from AFloat – race home, shower, change, off to Tribe Ignite for 11pm. This party was OK. I think I was just feeling it a little bit from being sick and the flight, being deaf and then the post-AFloat tipsiness. The best part of the night is we got to see our friend Sherry at the jam and that Kerwin and Kes performed, which is always a treat.

We went to leave Ignite and a random man at that point decided to try and swerve by telling me I look 16. What? I wasn’t sure at the time if I was more offended that he cut my age in half or that he might be attracted to 16 year olds? How did we get here? DAVID!!!! Time to take us home.

Friday, April 6, 2018

Candy Coated time! I love this boat ride. I loved it in Barbados and I was super excited to go to it in Jamaica. We arrived at around 11am and I think we finally sailed at noon. The most important thing you need to know is – THE FOOD! Omg the food selection on this boat was incredible. As soon as we got on the boat there was ackee and saltfish along with rasta pasta. As the boat ride went on there was curry goat and some jerk chicken as well. It is mid-afternoon in Jamaica, you are drinking a high dosage of rum punch, eating jerk chicken and dancing to soca with hundreds of other people.

Great feeling. Fun boat ride. I will say, this was one of the key moments where I had to stop myself from comparing Jamaica carnival to that of Cropover in Barbados. Sometimes you just have to accept that everyone does things differently or in their own individual way. I was use to Barbados being really hype up and slackness while in Jamaica they really prefer their groovy soca. Don’t get me wrong, I love soca but power soca and bashment soca is my fave.  I just expected it to be different. It wasn’t just this party either, at AFloat, Tribe and on road there really was a preference to play groovy soca. Foreign concept to me.

One VERY different thing in Jamaica was also the presence of weed absolutely everywhere in the open. At the Candy Coated boat ride they even gave away their own Candy Coated spliffs with their goodie bags. Although I am not a smoker, it was kind of a nice talking piece seeing how happy those around me were with these extra item in their goodie bags.

After Candy Coated we realized that we had no food back at our AirBnB and that we would need to have some fuel before we hit the road that night for AMbush.

Let me give you all a GREAT TIP OK? If you are outside in a fishnet top, or a bathing suit with a thong and cover up – DO NOT go to the grocery store. Don’t do it. Somehow it seemed like a great idea for us to go in such outfits to a grocery store in the middle of the afternoon to get food after a boat ride. I cannot even begin to tell you the kinds of looks we got from the workers and the patrons at the store. There was definitely someone in there who was going to ask for penance on behalf of us in church that Sunday. What a spectacle.

It was time to try and get some more sleep before what was going to be an exceptionally long Saturday night-morning-afternoon-evening.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

You thought Thursday was long? Thursday ain’t got shit on what our Saturday looked like.

First of all, we wake up for Jummy to make us some eggs and bacon before we hit the road for AMbush. So, the fire stove wouldn’t turn off. We tried all the knobs, we Skyped my mom, nothing – we could not turn off this damn stove. Finally we had to call the owner of the AirBnB to yes, turn a knob off for us. We found out it wasn’t us being dunce, it was the knob being a damn knob. Crisis averted.

David picked us up at 1:30am to take us to where AMbush was being held in the parish of St. Catherine. I have no idea what we were thinking arriving so promptly for a party that goes until 8am. I think we finally boarded the shuttle to get to the liquor trucks/music trucks around 3am? Waste. Could have been sleeping more. When the party picked up though? WHAT A TIME. I can see why people like attending AMbush now. When the liquor hits you, its nighttime, there’s paint in your eye and your unmentionables….. you’re really in for a good time.

People were throwing paint everywhere! I was covered head to toe but it was nice because unlike the j’ouvertish event I do in Barbados, the paint they use here was water-based. So I didn’t turn all crunchy and stiff from the paint. I loved every minute of this party. To top it off, when we were leaving at 6:30am, we were one of the first people to get to their food tents that were set up post-party to enjoy. I didn’t know that was a thing? Imagine? You’re exhausted, its 6:30am, you can only taste paint and now you walk up to like 7 tents of all you can eat food that is included in your ticket price? Heaven. This is heaven. I must have slipped on some paint and died and gone to heaven. Largest doubles I had ever seen in my life were consumed at this moment.

Our driver had actually slept in his car for the duration of the party so he whisked us away ASAP so we could get back to our AirBnB for 7:30am and leave for our next party at 9:00am.

PACE!

As you’ll see in the pictures below, I deadass went from ugly swamp creature to princess in a matter of an hour. This is probably as girly as any of you will ever seen me, so take it in. You’re welcome. Usually it would take me about an hour or so to get the paint off of me, but this time it was just washing off so easily. Not to say I wasn’t finding random specks of green paint in my ears for days after, but at that moment I was as clean as I could be.

We were picked up at 9:00am and made our way to Constant Spring Golf Course to attend a party called Sunrise Breakfast Fete which is considered the crown jewel of events for carnival in Jamaica. All-inclusive food and liquor. Massive space. I won’t pretend like I didn’t feel like death at this moment in time following AMbush and still feeling the fatigue of being sick.

Hot sun. I mostly remember the heat. When you’re still a little tipsy and been dancing since 3am, you feel the sun sooo different. The lineups at the venue were long since it began at 5am and we didn’t get there until 9am and I have to say, I was a little disappointed. Not only were the lineups super long but they were running out of food regularly. I stood in one line for 20 minutes only to get to my time to be served and they informed me ‘oh we are making a new batch, it will be another 20 minute wait.’ What? Are you duuuuuumb? I think I finally got like some little serving of food at a next booth that didn’t have much of a line, eventually. At least the bars were moving quickly, I will give them that. I must have drank a gallon of coconut water at Sunrise to try and gain some strength in my body to continue partying in that heat.  Also, whoever did the design/set up of Sunrise should be given a medal for how visually appealing it was. The set up was nice and simple with beautiful bright colours everywhere. The stage had DJ Puffy on it and I hear later in the day Aidonia performed as well.

We stayed at Sunrise until noon and then we had David drive us over to Kingston Harbour where our friend Sherry had invited us to spend the day on her family’s three-bedroom yacht. No big deal. Just you know, massive yacht for like 10 of us for the day.

This yacht was INCREDIBLE. As soon as I stepped into it I felt like my credit score went up by 100 points. Jummy and Kyra both took the opportunity to go shower in the lower deck while I just sat in awe posting ignorant things on IG. Eventually Sherry arrived with her awesome family bringing liquor and KFC. If you haven’t had Jamaican KFC, what are you really doing with your life? Game changer.

The boat took off to this beautiful little beach (sandbank?) called Maiden Cay. What a marvel. Probably one of the most pristine and beautiful stretches of beach I have ever seen. Because our yacht was so gargantuan we had to park it a little further away from the beach so all of us would have to swim about 50-60 meters to get to it. For me, this wasn’t an issue, and I ended up being the first one to jump in the water and make my way over to the beach. I’m not going to throw shade at the other people on the yacht with us, but, I’m BIG and my friend Sherry’s cousin Craig is also a fellow fluffy – we swam JUST fine multiple times to and from the boat. Some other people who will remain unnamed and skinny used floaties and a boat to have to get back to the yacht. SMH.

We spent a couple of hours just hanging out on the beach, somehow we got a bottle of Appleton and Wray over onto the beach, Sherry and Kyra posed for an impromptu tent advertisement and along came a party boat as well. The girls left me on the beach and headed back to the yacht in a smaller boat and as I went to leave I noticed there as a full bottle of Wray still left on the beach. So, naturally, I swam back to the yacht with a bottle of Wray in one hand. Michael Phelps ain’t got shit on me, if we being real.

The rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent dancing on the yacht and just shooting the shit. A highlight of my 31-years of life is I Genna Bounced on a yacht in Jamaica as the sun set. I’m not sure what life event could possibly top this, but I would like to see it try. Eventually we made our way back to the harbour and in some miscommunication our driver didn’t know he was supposed to come pick us up at that time. Luckily our host Craig, had a pick up truck. We sat in the back of a pick up truck on our way to Port Royal to get some food. Bumpy ride with a lot of squealing from me. How embarrassing.

I was probably the most excited person EVER to go to Port Royal. Please understand, when I was doing my degree in Caribbean Studies I remember reading about the story of Port Royal. The place was considered to be the wickedest place on earth during the time of colonies and pirates that God decided to sink it! In 1692 Port Royal had an earthquake and basically a massive piece broke off and vanished into the sea. Obviously, that as just mother nature doing her thing but the whole myth behind it being the wickedest place on earth always created a great story in my mind.

Fish soup. Steamed fish. Garlic shrimp. Oysters. Bammy. Festival. I HAD IT ALL. Port Royal for seafood was most welcoming to my tummy. It was about 10pm and we had been up since the night before at midnight, it was finally time to go back to our AirBnB for some much needed sleep.

Sunday, April 8 – Monday, April 9 2018

Finally! Time to play mas.

This is the day we had been waiting for. All the times I was at the gym to drop to 200lbs. All the stamina I had been building by playing basketball. It all culminated on the Sunday. My fancy decorated shoes (Bosnia and Canada flag) and my teeny weeny thong costume were ready. David picked us up at 10:30am to head for the road.

I have no idea if Xodus had a breakfast in the morning. Maybe if we had arrived earlier we would have known? I was accustomed to a breakfast included when I play mas so if they didn’t have it – that sucks.

There is no need for a whole days worth of recap playing mas. If you have played mas, you know how it goes. Dancing. Dancing. Chipping. Water. More dancing. Let me focus on the new things that happened to me that day.

Well, like I said earlier – all those fancy pieces of my costume got thrown off of me within an hour of me being on the road. The big beautiful feathers, the heavy necklace of pearls… all gone. In the heat and for my mobility, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I removed my back piece, walked over to a fence and left it there. FREEDOM.

I did take issue with the amount of groovy soca played, again. Shout out to DJ Puffy for the awesome dancehall set he did play. Also, to Aidonia, Shanseea and Bunji for their performances. There was only so many times I could hear: Hulk, Full of Vibes, Hello and did I mention Hulk? For all the complaints I heard before I got to Jamaica that they play ‘too much dancehall’ at their soca events, I definitely saw no examples of this during my time there. I was still having a wonderful time with my friends though, don’t get it twisted.

One BIG bonus the road in Jamaica had (or at least Xodus did) was the midday cool down. WHAT A BLESSING! There was a massive space for all the Xodus masqueraders to sit down, eat, drink, get a massage, makeup touch up and get their costume fixed. One hour of relaxation and reenergizing to finish off the day. I ate a small piece of KFC and got my fill of coconut water. The other girls I believe hit up the makeup touch up and massages as well.

Once we were back on the road it felt like it went by so quickly. Suddenly it was already sunset and the day on the road was finishing. How? Holy crap. Sherry checked her fancy pants watch and it said we had crossed 17km of walking. Crazy.

Now we got to this awesome post-road party Xodus had called Wine Down.

Let me tell you guys, if you do absolutely NOTHING else all Jamaica carnival, make sure you go to Wine Down! Best party for the entire time I was there. We arrived and had dinner, put our feet up a little bit and BOOM got to some more dancing. The cool thing was Xodus had free entry to this party for ALL masqueraders from all the bands. The DJs and the hosts were awesome. The music? BLESS. I got a whole set of dancah chunes. By the end of this party I truly believe I was a pro at: Genna Bounce, Flairy, Fling and Lebeh Lebeh. Absolutely no doubt in my intoxicated mind – I was the new member of the Ravas crew.

This party was the most perfect way to end this day and this trip. Also, quick shout out to the man at the Grace stand who was making some concoction of like oats, cinnamon, coconut, almond…I have no idea. It was delicious and it felt like it gave me all my power back to keep going.

We really were dancing 10:30am to 11pm that day. Felt incredible.

The Sunday was such a wild day that our taxi driver picked us up in another persons taxi. No lie. He was out drinking at another party and was picking us up with another driver for him. That was a new phenomenon for me.

Monday morning came. Slept. Packed. Cleaned up. Returned keys. Headed to the airport. It was over. The whirlwind that is Jamaica carnival as over with. I regret not going to the airport even earlier because their food choices and shopping choices are amaaazing. I also didn’t know white Hennessy cost $80USD. NOT impressed.

Time to fly home. Sadness.

Overall Jamaica carnival really was a great event to experience. Way cheaper than Cropover, without the scorching heat as well. Would I go back for carnival again? Eh. Probably not. Most of what I loved was because I was in Jamaica, not necessarily because it was carnival. I will 100% go back to Kingston, Jamaica though. That city gives you a great feeling inside and out. The food, the people and the culture. If for some reason I am there again during carnival, find me at Wine Down. I would not miss that.

If you’re wondering the costs associated with this entire trip, make sure to click here. Gives a breakdown of what I paid for flight + stays + parties.

Song of The Trip: Showtime – Machel Montano

– Mirna

Safe Travels! My Top 5 Safe Destinations For Women to Travel Alone

Bet some of you REALLY sick of waiting on others to get their shit together so you can travel right? I know those ones still. So now you’re in this situation like, ‘can I go there alone? am I going to be safe? is my self-imposed curfew going to be when the street light turn on?’ 

Relax. I got you. I’ve been traveling alone for almost 12 years now and I’ve managed to make it out in one piece. 

The first thing I will mention before going into this list is, if you are sick of your friends trying to get their funds together, get time off work etc. etc. etc. I made a blog post with a manifesto on how to go about traveling alone that you can read here. Also, I made a whole post about your biggest tool when traveling alone (and it can definitely apply to groups as well) – trusting your gut while traveling. 

Now let’s get into this list! 

All five weren’t necessarily somewhere I did travel to alone, however, I would definitely return to them alone at any given time.

#5: Somewhere super close, CHICAGO!

Before you start with the nonsensical media-only-fueled notions of Chicago – zip it. The amount of times I have endured the ‘omg you’re going to Chiraq?’ questioning is ridiculous at this point. I love Chicago. I have traveled there with a friend, I have traveled there alone twice and I love the place so much I even brought my boyfriend there last year for his 30th birthday. Not a single person I know that has actually stepped a foot in Chicago had anything negative to say about it. (Minus my friend Martha, who didn’t like Harold’s chicken. Disgrace.)

I found the mid-westerners to be incredibly nice and cordial. There was a couple of occasions where I was staring down at my Google-maps directions and a stranger would come up to me on the street and ask me if I’m lost and then offer their own directions. In the bars and restaurants I found locals to be really welcoming and nice to talk to. When I was at some breakfast place near my AirBnB two years ago for the NFL Draft, one of the servers sparked a conversation about NFL with me. I ended up sitting there for an extra hour with three other patrons AND that servers just talking NFL. 

Do not let the media dictate your opinions of Chicago. Go there, eat some pizza, go to the million sports events they have, go walk down the Magnificent Mile, make some friends at the bars (or on Tinder?) and yes, go to the South Side to get some Harold’s Chicken with mild sauce. Heck, lay down on a glass floor and have other tourists take pictures of you on it like I did in the header for this piece. 

#4: Somewhere super friendly, ST. MAARTEN!

This is the only place on this list that I didn’t travel to alone. I mean, the second I find a cheap flight back there I would gladly go there alone ASAP. This island was warm, fun and you just felt really good being there.

Between the really nice staff at every establishment we went to eat or drink at, to the amazing drivers and just overall friendly locals – I can’t imagine a friendlier place. When I saw ‘The Friendly Island‘ as a licence place I was like OKAAAAAAAAAAAY this is the place for me. As soon as my friend Lorren and I landed in St. Maarten one of the first cab drivers we had was so friendly and hospitable that when he found out if was my birthday the next day, he offered us a free ride to and from the nightclub we were going to. NO charge. When we went out the following day, he was there to pick us up and also to drop us off. Just as a kind gesture to some tourists.

Also, we made a friend on the beach in Philipsburg who was so cool he actually gave us a tour of the entire island (French + Dutch), got us into a nightclub for free, oh, and did I mention? Randomly let me drive his car because ‘you said you didn’t know how, so figured it’s a good time to learn.’  

Would be back on that island as soon as I can. The generosity and hospitality there is nothing like I have ever seen before. Well, except for my #1 place if you keep reading :). 

#3: Somewhere super touristy, CROATIA!

I guess for this country I would be a little biased, having spent a lot of time during my childhood there and having family that still lives there. But how could you not love and feel completely safe in a place like Croatia? It’s incredible there.

For any woman trying to enjoy beaches (ALL BILLIONS OF THEM IN CROATIA it feels like), get good food and just mingle with nice locals and tourists alike – Croatia is your spot. I’ve been to Croatia alone and although I’m fluent in the native language there, English would have been perfectly fine as well. The place has become a tourist haven so everyone speaks English, along with, German, French, Italian…. it is totally normal to meet people in the service industry in Croatia who speak 5+ languages. 

Croatia is so safe that they have nude beaches. Yes, you could go full buck nekkid and no one will even blink an eye at it. As someone coming from the suffocating censorship and body issues of the North American continent ESPECIALLY, you will feel liberated in Croatia. All body types and ages prance around on some of the nude beaches. Living the good life, no tan lines.

#2: Somewhere hella far, SINGAPORE!

I went to Singapore alone and was out wandering the streets at 2am on Christmas, drunk and eating tacos. What else do you need to know? Can a place possibly feel ANY safer than that? 

Singapore is the cleanest city I have ever seen. From their airport, to the transit system and to their incredible downtown waterfront. Doesn’t matter what time of day it is, there is young people everywhere walking around and enjoying life. Not bothering anyone and in fact, asking you to join in THEIR shenanigans instead. There was just so much to do as a lone traveler in Singapore that it almost felt like they were catering to my Snapchat feed. Everything was impressive. Everything was beautiful. Everywhere felt safe.

I wouldn’t suggest chewing gum or spitting on their streets if you’d like to keep your sense of safety, but otherwise it is a great place to roam alone. Just remember when you go to bring lots of money as the cleanliness and luxury you feel in that city definitely will cost you more.

#1: Somewhere exceptionally hospitable, CUBA!

My favourite place.

I have been to Cuba on numerous occasions with family, a boyfriend and alone. This is by far the country I feel safest in when visiting. From the people I made friends with there, to the staff at various resorts and casa particulars, to even the customs agents at the airport. For an overall sense of being welcome and safe – Cuba tops all the countries I’ve been to.

When I would travel to Santiago de Cuba alone, I would be out at all hours of the night. On several occasions I would ask the motorcycle taxi drivers to give me a ride into the center way past midnight. I would sit in a bar alone and just people watch from 1am to 3-4am in the center. I loved those moments. 

I realize some women complain about Cuba not feeling safe for them because of the men giving them too much attention. For me personally, I don’t mind the attention. I’ve learned to block it out. It just never bothered me as much as it does other people and I am not here to tell them how to feel. I just know that not one man that ever whistled or yelled ‘que linda!’ at me ever took it past that point. Whether I was out in the market, at a baseball game, at a nightclub or on a beach. I always feel safe when I am in Cuba.  If you are a woman trying to embark on your first solo trip – this would be an awesome place to start. 

Tell me readers, what country did you feel safest in? Leave a comment.

– Mirna

My Travel Must-Haves

Hello all! 

I get asked a lot via DM’s and e-mails about what I bring with me when I travel. What are the items needed for going to X country or Y country etc. Figured I’d put together a nice little list for everyone (with links) so I could just forward it to people every time they ask me. I’m sure I will think of some more but at this current time the lucky number seven will have to do.

Stay Current

First of all, you need a voltage converter. When I traveled to Europe and to Asia I always brought this super cheap (but effective) converter with me. I actually don’t even know the brand name of it, but it has served me well for MANY years and through many countries. The link for it is here. 

Stay Social

The other item that I always have on me for travel and also in my day-to-day shenanigans is my portable charger. Because I like to post on Snapchat and IG constantly, my battery can get drained pretty quickly while on vacation. Imagine? I’m out gallivanting and see something beautiful and suddenly I can’t even record the memory? No thanks. That is not the lifestyle I want to live. I’ve had my Anker charger for about three or four years now and it comes in really handy. Not only does it save me when I’m traveling alone, it also has TWO ports for charging so my friend who takes a lot of selfies won’t have her phone die either. We can charge at the same time. HURRAY SELFIES! The cost of this is on the pricier side, but the amount was well worth it to me. If I charge this portable battery just once, I can be on road and get my Google Pixel to go 0-100% a whole 6 times. Blessaz. You can buy it here.

Stay Unbothered

A new purchase I made as a recommendation from one of my Twitter followers is to get into using wireless headphones. I was a little skeptical because I can be absentminded and lose things, but so far it has worked out very well for me. The headphones I would usually buy are from the dollar store and I break them within a week or I end up just being able to use them for listening instead of phone calls as well. Spending more than $2.00 on headphones really was asking me to do a lot. But I did, and I love them. No dealing with stupid wires anymore and they’re comfy and block out the noise on airplanes so well. I bought these Sony headphones here.

I will note, they are also really clear for telephone calls and cancel out the techno crap gyms play loudly while you’re running on a treadmill. One charge will give you 8hrs of use! 

Stay Dry

When I was leaving for my trip to Bali I began reading a lot of message boards to see what the weather in December is like. Rain. Rain. More Rain. Well, shit. Made sense why the flight was so cheap at the time. Apparently in December for Bali, Singapore AND Kuala Lumpur it was normal to get a lot of rain – I was going to all of them. I was already intending on just traveling with a backpack for this trip but now I realized I probably needed to get a waterproof one just in case. I must have spent hours reading and picking through other people’s opinions. Well, I finally had found the one and I made a great decision. The Quest Mariner 20L, which can be purchased here, was the one for me. This backpack is sturdy and it is crazy expandable. I had left Canada traveling with only 11lbs with me, and during my return I went souvenirs-crazy and I think the bag expanded at LEAST another 30%.  It withstood the rain, the tossing around into airplane overheads and didn’t feel uncomfortable at all to carry around. For this price and what you get out of it – great buy.

Also, if you’re crappy at packing…. I made a whole post for you previously on my blog, found here.

Stay Clean

While on the topic of items needing to be waterproof, if you travel alone or go to carnival – you need to have something for your phone/money to stay dry.  I know that I don’t feel comfortable leaving my phone and hotel key card unattended at the beach, so I always have my waterproof bag with them in it for when it is time to swim. Also, if you go to any carnivals I know at some point you will end up in a j’ouvert situation and need to have your money, phone and keys on you staying dry/clean so these bags are perfect for it. You get two of them and they can be purchased here. I realize many people still use regular plastic bags to keep their items dry and that is cool too, but I know I personally like having both of my hands free when trying to hold both liquor and the back of a truck. 

(Note: Anytime you purchase waterproof cases, first do the tissue test with it. Place a tissue inside of it, close it and completely submerge the case under water. When you take it out after 5 minutes, check if that tissue is still completely dry inside. Then you’ll have the reassurance of it keeping your money, phone etc. dry as well.)

Stay Light

Fun story; when I use to try and weigh my luggage I would first weigh myself on a scale and then pick up my luggage and stand on the scale with it and subtract the difference. I’m dead serious, that is how I use to check to see how much my luggage weighed. As you can imagine, that provided incorrect measurements on MORE than one occasion. With carry-on fees and checked-in luggage fees becoming ridiculous for some airlines, I advise everyone to buy an actual baggage scale. I bought mine before my trip to Bali so that I could make sure my carry-on would be OK for all my domestic flights in Asia. It can be bought here, and I promise you it will save you the awkward ‘shit let me transfer some stuff from this bag to this bag‘ at the airport check in line OR even worse, having to pay extra for your luggage to the airline. 

Stay Comfy

So you’re leaving on a long ass flight, lets say, 15hrs direct to Shanghai from Toronto and you’re not trying to carry a lot of extra crap on you BUT you want something to make your flight more comfortable. Or maybe, you somehow got caught in the shitty middle seat on the airplane? I got something for you! I found this gem back in 2016 and have been using it ever since for any flights over 6hrs. It is called the Travelrest and can be purchased here. I like to hug my pillow when I sleep at home, so being able to actually embrace something to fall asleep on a plane was a game changer for me. Most of the travel pillows you just lay your neck/head on but with this one you can hold on to it and sleep comfortably on your side, even if you are in the middle airplane seat. Also, unlike the other neck pillows, this one deflates into basically nothing  and can be wrapped up so you don’t have to carry around something bulky or worry about dropping it on the filthy airport ground. It is super sturdy to hold on to because it wraps around your head rest and your seat belt to stay in place. Love it.

I hope some of these will make travel easier for you like they did for me. Also, if you’re in a hurry I’d recommend getting Amazon Prime like I did because sometimes you need things for your trip ASAP and getting it within two days is awesome. Happy travels! 

– Mirna