Nov. 30-Arrived in SDQ around 5:30pm. The flight was turbulence-free. There was not much hassle at all in the airport. My girlfriend and I went to my father's home and to my surprise and pleasure, my father had prepared the Master Bedroom for us to use. I ate empanadas and drank passion fruit juice that night and it was mighty tasty.
Dec. 1-I went fishing around "el malecon". It had rained that day, there were no sea gulls either, the fishing was not that successful at all. We only were able to snare 3 fishes. My glirlfriend seemed to like the experience and general ambience of it though. I went out at night with my two cousins around where the cannons are (I forget the exact name of the place.) We had already purchased a bottle of vodka and a bottle of cranberry juice from JUMBO, so we were able to have a nice time drinking in public and enjoying the breeze.
Dec. 2-I had decided to purchase some ice cream from "Helados Bon" as its supposed to be good, but I felt that it was underwhelming. Not to be vulgar, but as my girlfriend's time of the month was up, and we hadn't done so in about 4 months, my girlfriend and I just spent the rest of the day having sex.
Dec. 3- Went to Boca Chica and for the first time in my 3-4 visits I was unable to comfortably go in the water. It was too cold. Also, for the first time ever I got a table around the entrance. It was annoying to have all those "vendors" coming at us to try to sell us massages, food, etc. Also, if you are going to eat some of the fried fish, it's better to go to one of the stalls yourself and choose the fish you want. Also, some of the people walking around offering you things are not the cleanest, so try to find a reputable restaurant. That night we went to the Chinese restaurant Bella Cristal, which had been highly rated on these message boards, and I must say that I was severely dissapointed. None of the food was bad. It just wasn't impressive at all. I feel that perhaps for those who have been in the DR for too long, this now constitutes "good chinese food". Later in the night I went to some place called Twist for drinks, and it was a nice vibe to the place. We ended up looking for a party later in the night, but by the time it had become 2am, we just decided to call it a night, and everyone in the respective group ended up going their separate ways. We did happen upon one spot which seemed like a block party on the street. It smelled like urine and people were mostly there to have a good time, but my girlfriend was scared of the scene.
Dec. 4-Went to La Casa de Los Dulces and bought a whole bunch of cocoa and peanut ones for the family back home. My girlfriend finally got to buy a cocoanut off the street and drink from it. She didn't really like it and I had to finish it up. I guess she was just a fan of the artificial flavor we are so used to outside of the Caribbean. I went to a little spot and had pudin de pan that was very delicious! In JUMBO I purchased a square candy known as "Brach's Jelly Nougats". This was a candy I hadn't eaten since my age was in the single digits. I felt like a scientist discovering a rare species of bird that I had thought to be extinct.
Dec. 5-Caught my flight back to NYC at 11:30am. There were a few turbulence-induced scary moments before landing, but we landed safely. There was no airport drama on either side.
*My father provided us with a decent enough set-up in his home in Santo Domingo that we opted to not go the resort route. In the grand scheme of things, that, along with listening to the advice that you guys offered on these boards, saved me alot of money.
*Santo Domingo is kind of expensive, at least in regards to what people actually earn in their paychecks
*The service in La Sirena is very slow. I think its always been like that. I guess I just noticed it more though since I was with a person from Japan where service is exceptionally good.
*The mosquitoes got us. Yes, they certainly sucked us dry. It really puts a damper on the trip experience. Are there mosquitoes in the resort areas too?
*Different strangers kept commenting on my girlfriend's "booty". They said things like "Mire, una china con chapas". Cuz, you know, everyone referred to her as Chinese, even though I had mentioned that she was Japanese.
I can't really give this trip a rating from 1-10 for example, because it wasn't really my trip. It was just an intro. for my glirlfriend to this new country. All in all though, I can say that we had a good enough time.
Dec. 1-I went fishing around "el malecon". It had rained that day, there were no sea gulls either, the fishing was not that successful at all. We only were able to snare 3 fishes. My glirlfriend seemed to like the experience and general ambience of it though. I went out at night with my two cousins around where the cannons are (I forget the exact name of the place.) We had already purchased a bottle of vodka and a bottle of cranberry juice from JUMBO, so we were able to have a nice time drinking in public and enjoying the breeze.
Dec. 2-I had decided to purchase some ice cream from "Helados Bon" as its supposed to be good, but I felt that it was underwhelming. Not to be vulgar, but as my girlfriend's time of the month was up, and we hadn't done so in about 4 months, my girlfriend and I just spent the rest of the day having sex.
Dec. 3- Went to Boca Chica and for the first time in my 3-4 visits I was unable to comfortably go in the water. It was too cold. Also, for the first time ever I got a table around the entrance. It was annoying to have all those "vendors" coming at us to try to sell us massages, food, etc. Also, if you are going to eat some of the fried fish, it's better to go to one of the stalls yourself and choose the fish you want. Also, some of the people walking around offering you things are not the cleanest, so try to find a reputable restaurant. That night we went to the Chinese restaurant Bella Cristal, which had been highly rated on these message boards, and I must say that I was severely dissapointed. None of the food was bad. It just wasn't impressive at all. I feel that perhaps for those who have been in the DR for too long, this now constitutes "good chinese food". Later in the night I went to some place called Twist for drinks, and it was a nice vibe to the place. We ended up looking for a party later in the night, but by the time it had become 2am, we just decided to call it a night, and everyone in the respective group ended up going their separate ways. We did happen upon one spot which seemed like a block party on the street. It smelled like urine and people were mostly there to have a good time, but my girlfriend was scared of the scene.
Dec. 4-Went to La Casa de Los Dulces and bought a whole bunch of cocoa and peanut ones for the family back home. My girlfriend finally got to buy a cocoanut off the street and drink from it. She didn't really like it and I had to finish it up. I guess she was just a fan of the artificial flavor we are so used to outside of the Caribbean. I went to a little spot and had pudin de pan that was very delicious! In JUMBO I purchased a square candy known as "Brach's Jelly Nougats". This was a candy I hadn't eaten since my age was in the single digits. I felt like a scientist discovering a rare species of bird that I had thought to be extinct.
Dec. 5-Caught my flight back to NYC at 11:30am. There were a few turbulence-induced scary moments before landing, but we landed safely. There was no airport drama on either side.
*My father provided us with a decent enough set-up in his home in Santo Domingo that we opted to not go the resort route. In the grand scheme of things, that, along with listening to the advice that you guys offered on these boards, saved me alot of money.
*Santo Domingo is kind of expensive, at least in regards to what people actually earn in their paychecks
*The service in La Sirena is very slow. I think its always been like that. I guess I just noticed it more though since I was with a person from Japan where service is exceptionally good.
*The mosquitoes got us. Yes, they certainly sucked us dry. It really puts a damper on the trip experience. Are there mosquitoes in the resort areas too?
*Different strangers kept commenting on my girlfriend's "booty". They said things like "Mire, una china con chapas". Cuz, you know, everyone referred to her as Chinese, even though I had mentioned that she was Japanese.
I can't really give this trip a rating from 1-10 for example, because it wasn't really my trip. It was just an intro. for my glirlfriend to this new country. All in all though, I can say that we had a good enough time.
