Kingston: Trading Beach Chairs for Bar Stools It was a steamy Saturday night in Kingston, Jamaica, and the Sky Bar was jammed with its usual weekend crowd: professionals in their 20s and 30s, by all appearances fit for the next flight to South Beach. Ladies in strappy stilettos and sundresses mixed with men in jeans [...]
Jamaica considers cashing in on its image Usain Bolt had just been crowned the undisputed sprint king when a businessman boldly walked into the government office here hoping to cash in on the Jamaican track star’s record-setting dash. The visitor from the Cayman Islands sought to brand his creative ideas: U-Sane Energy Drink and Lightening [...]
Travel: Jeep thrills It’s billed as the honeymoon capital of the Caribbean, but a growing band of visitors is eschewing the beaches and falling in love with Aruba’s dramatic desert interior The pair of them sit idle under the intense morning sun. Clinging to a large, dusty rock, they seem to be enjoying their sunbathing. [...]
I spy Caribbean’s top hideout Spy thriller writer Ian Fleming chose his fictional hero’s name after reading Birds Of The West Indies by James Bond. And both 007 and the author of the wildlife book would have felt at home in the Antiguan jungle. There, 25 young ladies competing for the Homecoming Queen contest. Harnessed [...]
Where poetry meets chaos At two in the afternoon one day this spring, I stood on a crowded, noisy street corner in a “no-go” area of Kingston, Jamaica, where I was serenaded by a dreadlocked street vendor who, having given up trying to sell me a cheap Chinesemade belt, decided to demonstrate his talents as [...]
Japanese make it ‘Jam’-aica Taking a musical pilgrimage each year, many Japanese nationals travel to Jamaica, the motherland of reggae and dancehall. With an almost fanatical interest in the culture Japanese visitors eat, sleep and drink in everything Jamaican.
Jamaica: Montego Bay This North Coast city isn’t just about beaches and all inclusives — it brims with gourmet eateries, swank bars, swishy spas, golf courses, shopping and sizzling nightlife. Try it on for size, I’m instructed by the affable vendor at the Fort Street Craft Market near Montego Bay’s Hip Strip. With a vibe [...]
Welcome to paradise Much ado about doing nothing — West Indies island resort lets pampered guests slow down for sun, sea, sand and sky Italians call it il dolce far niente,or the sweet art of doing nothing. I’m terrible at it. When I travel, the day starts early, ends late and consists of a bathroom-breaks-are-for-wimps [...]
The World Seems the Same From Inside a Hotel I spent my summer vacation in the Maldives. I snorkeled, I snoozed. I caught up on back issues of the New Yorker. I got to know the local marine life, from the baby sharks and rays that swam up to my villa to a black-and-yellow fish [...]
Islands create lures for the passport-weary New regulations that went into effect in January made passports mandatory for air travel to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda. Suddenly, U.S. travelers were in a mad scramble for the document, which created such a backlog of applications (now estimated at just under 3 million) that the federal [...]