Jamaica is gorgeous man! I have been dreaming of visiting Jamaica for a long time now but I was waiting for the ‘right time’.  Last month, I visited Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Kingston for a week. I wish I had more time because one week wasn’t enough to enjoy this beautiful country. My first stop was Montego Bay, I stayed in a budget hotel on the Hip strip. MoBay was cool, especially if you stay on the Hip Strip because everything you need is close by. I met a few locals two hours after checking into my hotel and they showed me around town and to the best nightlife ever!

Next day, I left to Priory (15-20minutes from Ocho Rios). I stayed in a lovely guesthouse that sits on a hill overlooking Priory. The owners are pretty chilled and if you are a Ganja smoker, you would love this guesthouse because it is readily provided for you. I stayed one night before leaving to Ocho Rios to meet up with a couchsurfer.

I specially loved Ochi because it is close to all the things I wanted to do and see. I had to stay at Reggae hostel on Main Street because my couchsurfer wasn’t able to host me. I visited 9 Miles – birth and resting place of Bob Marley; a waterfall; attended a beach party and went on the hill to view the city of Ochi :). I wanted to see the Dolphins but was way too broke for that. Just like in Mobay, I met random locals who showed me around. After two nights, I left to Kingston. I knew I was going to love Kingston and I was right.

Since I was there for a conference on New Pan-Africanism, the conference paid for our lodging. We stayed at Jamaica Pegasus hotel (right in front of the Emancipation Park that I didn’t get a chance to see). The conference was held at one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve seen thus far – The University of West Indies, Mona Campus.  I was very impressed with the conference and glad that my paper was well received. At first, I was intimidated because I was the youngest paper presenter, all of the presenters had many more years of experience/expertise than I do and I was one of the few without a PhD degree. In the end, I got positive feedback J . Due to the busy nature of the conference, I only got to see the Bob Marley’s museum and Devon’s House. The museum was inspiring and I learnt new things about Bob Marley – for one, that there was an assassination attempt on his life which left a bullet struck in his arm and he didn’t drink alcohol. Devon’ House sold the creamiest ice-cream I’ve tasted to date. I met up with two inspiring Couchsufers. I only wished I had more time to hang out with them.

Five things you should know about Jamaica:

1. Charming people: of all the 30 countries I have visited, Jamaican have the most charming people. Yes, the men are truly sexy too!!! They have something that Cuban men need to learn from – charm. The accent is so sexy too. The people (male & female) are friendly.
2. Beautiful scenery: combination of beautiful Caribbean beaches and lots of green area. You can’t go wrong, there’s activities for everybody
3. Rental car: renting a car will allow you enjoy your stay more. Taxis are not cheap!
4. Blue Mountain Coffee: are you a coffee drinker? If yes, then you might want to head to Jamaica for the coffee. The Blue Mountain coffee is said to be the best in the world.
5. Resort galore: if you are a resort type of person, then Jamaican is definitely your spot. There is a galore of resort for all price range and lifestyle

There’s more to Jamaica than Ganja and violence/crimes. You should go visit man! You wouldn’t regret it………..

p.s, Wah Gwaan means what’s going on or what’s up

One Love 🙂

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