There was one week between the end of finals and graduation weekend, so Chris and I decided to head down to the Bahamas to get some much-missed sun. I’ve always wanted to see the Bahamas anyway and images of white sandy beaches and blue clear seas loomed irresistibly in my head. I guess I’m just a sucker for these sort of things.
First sight of the Bahamas from the air. The Bahamas is a collection of 700 islands and Nassau, being the capital, is the most touristy and populated of all. It’s no surprise that tourism is the biggest industry in the Bahamas. Off-shore banking comes in second, since this is like the summer home for rich millionaires. But that said, it’s so pretty! Any sea that lets you see the reefs from the air has to be awesome.
The Bahamian local beer: Kalik! Light like a Sol or Corona. We had this beer on the first night at this place called Goldie’s along the Fish Fry stretch. Goldie’s was horrible and was obviously more of a bar than an eating place. The conch (pronounced konk by some Bahamian boat tour guide) fritter was more of flour than anything. My grilled snapper was more steamed than grilled, but since I adore steamed snapper, I wasn’t too displeased. Anyway, conch is supposedly a shellfish that’s featured predominantly in Bahamian cuisine and is an aphrodisiac to guys. The shell behind the Kalik bottle is a conch shell.
The final on Goldie’s is: 0.7 thumbs/2 thumbs. It’s cheap, filling but of little quality.
We went diving on the second day. Pity there weren’t any underwater photos but the Caribbean sea was simply amazing. We saw a plane wreck from the set of Jaws 4, flown by Michael Caine and schools of snappers. Visibility was excellent and sigh..I’m missing it already.
We saw scuba divers looking for sharks too. Looks like shark food to me.
Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island after diving. Where my fantasies became a reality. The water was so clear that you could see your feet as you waded in the ocean. It was blazing hot though, and drinks sold on the beach are insanely expensive. Cabbage Beach is THE beach worth visiting in Nassau/Paradise Island.
Jerked chicken for dinner, another Bahamian dish. We got this from one of the roadside stalls for $10. The hotel people told me that a typical jerked chicken dish costs between $4 to $7, i.e. we got ripped off. It’s rather nice though.
The Cloisters on Paradise Island on the third day. It seems rather touristy and we had to trek for a crazy long time in the sweltering sun to get there. Not worth sweating it out for. It’s pretty, but somewhat superficial, like there isn’t much history. Yea, it was imported brick by brick from some 14th century French monastry but nothing much more. It’s a site for many weddings though. Oh, and on the way to Paradise Island via the boat ferry, we heard trivia repeated by our various boat tour guides so many times that I now know:
- Nicholas Cage has a house in Bahamas and his yatch is named Sea Ghost
- His neighbours include the late Richard Harris, whose house was owned by Charlie Chaplin
- Anna Nicole Smth gave birth to her daughter and her son died at Doctor’s Hospital, a peach looking building
- The most expensive room in the Atlantis costs $25,000/night, 4 nights minimum. It’s the bridge suite connecting the 2 towers of the Atlantis. It has 10 rooms, and is booked for 5 years solid.
- The Atlantis is currently is in its third phase of construction
- Those mansions belonging to all those rich people have no roads linking to the rest of Paradise Island because they want their privacy. The only way to their mansions is by boat
- There’s a yoga place run by Swamis. No meat, alcohol, tobacco and sex. That’s why it’s so empty in the Bahamas (they repeat this joke almost everytime).
I learn a lot.
If I’m coming back Bahamas, I’m going to stay on Paradise Island. Forget Nassau. There’s nothing much there and if you are looking for a cultural experience, it’s so watered down with all that tourism you don’t know what how real it is anyway. Paradise Island is money-making tourism to the max but at least you can get everything you need from that place. On Nassau, most shops close by 6 pm which makes the place boring at night. The only places open are McDonalds and expensive restaurants. So if you are broke and want to see the Bahamas, save up and come back another day.
