Taken as we were waiting to meet the Prime Minister.
As I said, the reason why I was in Haiti in the first place had absolutely nothing to do with a vacation - I was there to observe as an NGO called the Batey Relief Alliance engaged in preliminary negotiations to establish a permanent mission in Haiti. The Batey Relief Alliance is an NGO dedicated to providing primary health care in areas passed over by existing national health plans in the Dominican Republic, and now, Haiti. The purpose of this mission is to establish a fully functional clinic in a small border town in south-eastern Haiti called Anse-a-Pitres.
Me, and the Prime Minister of Haiti, Jacques-Edouard Alexis
That being said, it would have been foolish to be in a nation that few people ever go to visit and not take in some of the local colour so to speak. As I said before, Alex and I had exceptionally good luck in our selection of cab driver on the first day in Haiti (although there is something to be said for having a private driver for the remainder lol). Unfortunately, I didn't get as strong an opportunity to see all the sights of Port-au-Prince as I would have liked (as the days were mostly full of meetings with various government officials), however there are a few things I will point out.
First of all - places to stay: there are two that I saw that I would recommend - the first is the Hotel Montana. Based right at the top of Port-au-Prince, this hotel offers guests a stunning view of the entire city, as well as impeccable service and good food. That being said, it's also $150 bucks a night on the low end, and really doesn't allow for the "authentic" feel of the city. The second is the Hotel Prince - which is located near the heart of the city in a gorgeous (if rather hard to find) neighbourhood called Paco. It too is built on the hill, offers excellent food and good service, at a much more affordable price of $90 per night. It was where we stayed, and was quite comfortable, and comes highly recommended for someone who wants greater opportunity to see the city itself.
Just down the street is the Hotel Olaffson. Once Haiti's "Grand Hotel", it now acts as a trendy nightspot in Port-au-Prince. If you're in the city and there is an event here, it is not to be missed. We had the opportunity to see a Haitian band called Ram perform there on Thursday evening, and the event was phenomenal. Taking a plethora of influences from Haitian history to the local Voodoo culture, Ram's many musicians, dancers, and vocalists put on a hugely entertaining performance that had even the most reluctant dancer in the crowd (yes, that would be me) on his feet and moving with everyone else.
Ram, mid concert. Rammstein, they weren't. Great fun none the less.
Of further note: Haiti boasts arguably the best lager in the world, for any beer drinkers amongst my readership - Prestige. Suffice it to say it even tasted good lukewarm - and we all know only ales are supposed to do that. I will also let anyone who reads this know, I have found one (and to this day only one) rum that I like - called Barabancourt, this Haitian rum is, quite frankly, superb. Two restaurants which cross the mind to recommend to any visitors to the Port au Prince area are Cafe Terrace, in downtown Port au Prince, and Coin des Artistes in Petion-ville.
As a final note - the "Tap-tap" mentioned in my previous post is the Haitian version of a public car, brightly painted almost by default. Also, one of the traditional Haitian "street-meats" so to speak, is fresh sugar cane. While questionably sanitary, this is the proverbial "shizznit", and is well worth a try if it happens to be available to you. The correct way to eat it is to bite off a small piece and chew it until the juices are gone, spitting out the remainder. It should not in any way be confused with another local delicacy, the cigar....
Then again, since when have I ever been one to take advice?
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