I must start out by saying that I've always wanted to take a tropical island vacation. So when we got sick of the REALLY bad weather in Chi, we got so enamoured by the very idea of escaping reality that 'Swoosh' went the credit card in a couple of days. And we were booked on an all-inclusive vaca at Negril. No Beaches or Sandals resorts for us though - we wanted the real deal. But not so real that we would spend the entire vaca in a daze of pot smoke! So we picked RIU Negril.
Things I remember right now:
- The flights were easy (whats 4 hrs for someone who does 24 hrs every other year!), and the minute we stepped off the flight, I was in heaven. Imagine an airport with huge glass windows all around, a beautiful view, great stores, extremely friendly people, and yellow and lime green walls! The whole trip was an experience in saturation. The yellow/green/red/black Jamaican colors on clothes and turbans, our orange room, the different-every-day-blue of the ocean, and the pinks and purples of the sunsets. Color EVERYWHERE.
- Then there were the bus journeys to/from the resort on different ocasions. For anyone that has done the Delhi-Pilani bus route, or a taxi ride in Bombay, you've pretty much seen it all. But remember, we were the ONLY Indians the whole time. Imagine this scenario: A narrow single lane on each side, and the usual buses and vans on the road trying to make good time for whatever. And in between all this, a stopped car. So what does the bus do? Swerves while at the same time there is no sign that the van on the opposite side is going to let you pass. Hair's breadth. Normal, right? Apparently not to all the 'others'. I've encountered less screams and adrenalin on roller coasters. You'd think these people have never been in uncivilized traffic. Oh, wait..
- And then there was the curious case of the two Indians drinking from a real coconut. Behind whom a dozen white folk gathered asking what it was, and where they could score themselves a couple of those. The Jamaicans working the resort took us under their wing and decided to serve us true cold nariyal pani straight from the source. So, once we explained the stuff to them, they lined up, and got their coconuts. But what did they do? Made a bee-line to the nearest bar and added a splash of rum and pineapple in there. Some things never change :)
- Oh, and the its-like-we're-in-a-music-video day. We jumped on a party boat (yes, the ones chock-full of Canadian teenagers in bikinis, and some I-wish-I-didn't-really-have-to-see-that oldies in the same garb) one evening. It took us all the way out to Rick's Cafe, docked, let people do the famous dives and jumps, and we got back after the sunset. Bob Marley in the background, choppy yet strangely soothing deep blue waters, good pizza, free flowing Red Stripe all around, a lovely breeze. What more can a girl ask for?! Other than the fact that she wished she knew how to swim!! Add that to the list :)
- A Valentine's Day special for all the couples on the resort. Cheesy pictures behind a white-and-red lace-heart prop. Red and white balloons a.k.a DTPH's Chand ne Kuch Kaha. Game shows made to make the strongest of hearts blush. Late night discotheques playing a mix of Reggae, Dancehall and R&B. Beach parties with barbeques, live music and dancing, fire shows, contests, and what not.
I'd say this was one beautiful trip. Yes, B's back was killing him from the sprain the day before we left. But he was a trooper! So we got back on that plane to Chicago sad to leave, but still happy to get back home (which would imply we stayed for just the right amount of time, I guess)
Souvenirs:
2 Jamaica T-shirts in a green so bright, a couple of fridge-magnets, some Bob Marley wrist-bands to feel the 'One Love', a memory card with a couple hundred breath-taking pictures, some 'Ya-Mon' and 'Irie' picked up for vocab usage, a stamp on the passport, and a memory of a wonderful much-delayed-honeymoon :)
