Havana Hustlers And Drugs!

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Havana Hustlers And Drugs!

by Steffan
(Frankfurt)

We flew home from Havana last week and had the misfortune to have to spend a night in Havana.

All I can say is that is was Horrendous!.

We arrived at around 7pm, it was smelly, raining, cold and full, I mean full of hustlers.

One in particular who claimed to be promoting a Buena Vista style show stuck to us like glue.

He offered us a taxi. We said no. He showed up again and again, he was relentless. He appeared in the lobby of a hotel. He popped up beside us in a shop.

In the end we took a taxi so as to get away from him.

We were approached constantly by hustlers offering us everything from taxis , to women, drugs, cigars.

It was relentless.

In the end we decided to head to the airport... five hours earlier.

At least there we could enjoy relative peace.

People we met on the flight home spoke of similar harassment experienced in Havana, only they had been exposed to it for 5 days or more, as part of their package holidays.

They have my sympathy!!.

We breathed a sigh of relief as the place left the runway.

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Havana Hustlers And Drugs!

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Apr 18, 2011
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Havana
by: Teresa

I was just in Havana in December, and I also didn´t experience anything like the level of harasssment our German friend did. I had one guy offer to show me around, and I said, no, I prefered to walk around on my own, he walked with me for another block and then left. On another occasion I had a taxi driver try to convince me to let him take me on a tour of the city, but I said no, and while he was persistant, it wasn´t any worse than where I live (Mexico City). Why did you feel you couldn´t take buses and had to take taxis? I took buses all over the place. I loved Havana and can´t wait to go back, as well as visit some other places. I found the city to be clean and safe, and Cubans to be friendly, and no one really asked me for money, I did bring some clothes, soap and other toiletries, but I gave them to who I decided to give them to.

Nov 12, 2010
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Why do they hustle?
by: Anonymous

Having just returned home from a trip to Havana and Varadero we did not find hustlers a big problem. We did not find Cubans to be particulary friendly unless of course cuc's were involved. The staff in our hotel in Varadero were great, appearing to be friendly and helpful, we did not however find that so in Havana infact we found it the opposite. The sad situation with Cuba is that no matter how many tourists it gets or how much we spend there it will make no difference to the vast majority of Cubans lives, they will still have nothing, live in derelict homes with rationing for everything. So it is little wonder they harress, hustler, beg and are not particulary happy people. Gorgeous beaches, lush scenery shame about the politics.

Oct 31, 2010
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Don't Worry We Will Not Be Back!
by: Steffan

To the previous poster, you sound like a bitter man on the defensive and there is no need for the insults.
Europe is experiencing a recession like most of the Western world. We have to be careful with our money as we do not know when we will be made redundent.
So do not take this agressive stance.
I am being totally hones.
It's honest constructive criticism Cuba has gone downhill since we first visited 10 years ago.
Most rational countries/tourism associations will accept and deal with honest feedback. Not Cuba, where the customer is always wrong.
We found Havana to be smelly, dirty, and full of persistent hustlers.

We were harrassed for the duration of our stay.as were other tourists who had to endure it for a week!.
We Europeans support Cuba when we holiday there. Our Euros help maintain the economy.
If the hustlers of Havana are given a free reign to harrass the tourist then the tourist, regardless of where they are from, will simply not return.
We are not walking wallets!.

Charity begins at home and we have genuinely homeless people here who do not have access to free education housing, healthcare, or rations.

Oct 31, 2010
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Please don't come back!
by: Anonymous

I have a dear German friend who lived for more than 8 years in Havana, with tears in his eyes he has left Havana for money reasons, because he could not find work anymore.
Just to say all Germans are not like you, If Havana is not for you stay away! Like I stay away from Frankfurt, a modern chill, rainy city without a soul, except if you like the crowded Frankfurter Messe. Do I complain? No, just decided that Frankfurt was not for me. Period.
And I bet that there are more drugs and drugs users in Frankfurt than in Cuba, where drugs possession is severly punished.

Wish you all the best, have a nice day in chilly Frankfurt and please don't come back, Fritz!

Oct 31, 2010
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Other Tourists Experenced Even Worse Harrassement.
by: Steffan

On our flight home we met couples who had stayed in Havana for 4 days as part of a two centre holiday.

They all said that the Havana part of their trip was the least pleasant due to the continual harrassement.

They enjoyed the odd excursion to El Bodequita and the cigar factory etc. but other than that they were unable to walk around freely without some hustler approaching them. Havana Vieja and Central Havana were the worst.

They said they had brought clothing for poor Cubans near their resort, but there really is a limit to how many CUC's you can hand over.

After all it costs Europeans a hefty amount to just fly to Cuba and when you are there it is not a cheap country. We got through over Euros 1,000 in spending money in a week.

We disliked the apartheid of having to take taxis everywhere. For example 60 CUC's from the airport to the resort, when locals pay centavos. I know they earn less, but do they really have to mug the tourist, fleece them so much?.

Little wonder tourism is down this year. They are driving the tourist away.

And no we are not frequent travellers. But we did not experience this level of harrassment even in Marrakesh.

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Havana Hustlers And Drugs!

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Havana Hustlers And Drugs!