Santo Domingo in two days - how to avoid being an obvious tourist in 5 easy steps.

Step number one: don't be white. Yes, I mean that if you are white, you will be assumed to be a tourist. This is one area that I can't really change except by getting a tan - more on that later.

Step number two: don't wear shorts unless you're on the beach. I have yet to see a local here wear shorts except on the beach, and if you're caught in public anywhere except a beach in shorts or sandals, you're a tourist.

Step number three: Oh, fuck it. The rest is pretty straightforward - all summed up in not asking stupid questions, and not acting like Americans.

To be fair, there are certain advantages to acting like a tourist - namely, when locals ask you for money for no obviously acceptable reason, "no habla Espanol" is a perfectly acceptable response.


On the flip side, not attracting the "hey look, it's a tourist" sort of attention is definitely not a bad thing.

Other interesting things - spent yesterday at the Boca Chica beach, outside Santo Domingo. Fairly stereotypical Caribbean beach - lots of people, hotels, salesmen, etc. That being said, we also had our own, personal bus-boy, beach chairs, etc. We also managed to rent a peddle-boat, and headed out to some off-shore mangrove groves, and did some snorkeling. Saw some fish - some even colourful - lots of wildlife, and a random local acting as the "flagman" on one of the other peddle-boats. Note to self - random guys wandering with their dicks hanging out is equally disturbing when abroad as it is at home.

One Night in New York

This is probably the only time I'm going to complain about the plane taking off on time. First leg of the flight goes Buffalo, NY to JFK, leaves at 5:00 PM, and gets in at whatever time it's supposed to. I get to Buffalo - my flight is cancelled, and the one they put me on is delayed until 6:45 PM. Alright, that's cool. I go to the bar near my gate around 5:00 to get some food and drink - fuel for my trip - sit down, and just as the waitress leaves with my order, for some reason, they called my flight. No dinner yet. Fortunately, it's a relatively short hop to JFK, and there are lots of options once I get there.

So you have one evening in New York City - what do you do? Obviously, something entertaining, and something involving dinner. So, when I got offered a ticket to The Laugh Factory (of Comedy Network fame) for ten bucks, I figured I'd go with it. Lesson learned - anyplace that has a two-drink minimum, generally charges far more than would normally be reasonable for drinks. Fortunately, the food was excellent, and the comedy was quite funny. I also saw Times Square, and the Virgin Records store. Sadly, as I don't own a digital camera, I was unable to take any photos. Back at JFK, I learned one other important thing - when you're storing baggage - make sure that you store said bags someplace with 24 hour service. However, everything worked out alright, as I got off the ground on time, and hit the ground in Santo Domingo as expected. Sadly, Alex is sick, so the trip into Haiti will be being postponed by a couple of days to give her time to recover. Also, for anyone visiting Santo Domingo, the Vesuvio Tiradentes - somewhere downtown - was absolutely excellent