JAMAICA WITH CINDY - Episode 1

Around the World in 50 Days is a travel platform that aims to inspire people to visit other countries and travel like a local. Cindy, also known as Book of Sins, is a Jamaican who started her platform to talk about books and reading, but it has now evolved into traveling and experiences. She recommends visiting Hellshire Beach in Kingston for delicious fish and a beach experience, taking a tour of Devon House for history and ice cream, and going to Dub Club for reggae music and great views of Kingston. Outside of Kingston, she suggests exploring Portland, which has lagoons, waterfalls, beaches, and is known for jerk chicken. Cindy's favorite Jamaican food includes Hellshire fish, curry goat, and traditional Jamaican breakfast dishes. Welcome to Around the World in 50 Days. Of course, it's a play on Around the World in 80 Days, not that. It's about getting people who travel, but it'll be a spin where you are talking about your home country, so that we could inspire persons to visit other countries, but travel like a local, you know, not just rely on the whole top 10 things to do. I am roughing your place today. I love it. Me too. You just can't see it. So, just to give everybody a brief introduction, I know that you are born and bred in Jamaica. Give everybody an introduction of Book of Sins. Hi, everyone. So, I'm Cindy, also known as Book of Sins. I am a Jamaican. I was born and raised in Jamaica. I've been living in Trinidad and Tobago for the last nine years, but yes, I'm from Jamaica. I started my platform, Book of Sins, to talk about books and reading and reading Caribbean, and that kind of spiraled very slowly, because it's now like one year into like traveling and experiences. So, if you want to read, if you love reading, and if you love traveling, I am trying to like merge the two. I also have a reading retreat within the Caribbean, so there's also that as well. So, all around reader, traveler, I'm currently on a 70-day African tour. So, by the time this podcast comes out, I'll be 15 days left in the tour, so y'all can come and join me on whatever platform and see what I got up to. Yes. As you mentioned that, I actually came to your Dominica retreat recently, and y'all, trust me, I'm usually a solo girl. Probably, if I'm traveling, somebody else is just one other person, but I don't really do group trips, but this group trip blew me away. Like, I've never connected with people like I have here. I always tell people, Sundies, good vibes, good energy will rub off on you. So, let's get into it. Jamaica, how long you lived there? At what point did you move and start traveling the world? And I know you're 51 countries in now. Yeah, yes. I mean, I grew up in Jamaica. I think I left in my 20s, in my mid-20s. So, I've been there for a long time, and I do go back home basically every year and spend like a solid month or two, or until I'm fed up of being at home with my parents. So, it's time to go. But yeah, so I've been in Jamaica. I also like recently, and by recently, I mean last year, went on a media trip to Jamaica. So, it was so lovely being at source in my own country. So, I'm really excited to keep those recommendations on what to do, especially in Kingston. Because a lot of people are like, Montego Bay. And I'm like, there's also Kingston that you could get a lot of things done. As you said, I had like my first time to Jamaica, actually. So, I have a really good friend, a real kindred spirit that lives in Jamaica. And she took me to this place, which I would kind of call, you know how Trinidad has Dong Lea Islands. Yeah. There was somewhere like we went. I think it was like on the way, like if you're going back to Kingston Airport, but there's like a little port area, or yeah, it's like... You went to Lime Key or Maiden Key. Yes, Lime Key. Lime Key is the name of it. And I found it was like really beautiful. Like, I mean, like, again, I came on a wood trip, actually. So, at first I was in Ocho Rios, and then I came down to Kingston after the whole aspect. And she took me there. And I was like, yeah, it's just as beautiful as the other side of Jamaica. Yeah. I agree. I agree. There's some really nice gems in Kingston, for sure. If you have like the time and the effort to like, to go and do it. Okay. So, what would you recommend? We could go through by city, because I mean, Jamaica is... I think you have to go through by parish. Like, it has no like... At least for me, like I've been four times. To me, there's no top 10 things to do. Like, you have to do by parish. Things to do in Portland, things to do in Negril, things to do here. So, like, other than, let's say, Bob Marley Museum. Like, no. Most people, when they go to Kingston, it's like, okay, I have to go to Bob Marley Museum. What else would you say? Like, three things, as somebody who's lived there, that you would recommend somebody to do in Kingston. I always, always, always recommend going to Hellshire Beach, because I love food and I love fish. So, going to Hellshire and having... You literally get to choose which fish you want, and they cook it for you right on the spot. And the beach is right there. You have to have it... Fish and bami and festival. And you have to have it with a cola champagne. You cannot have it with anything else. And I would recommend that. And if you're in the area, you can literally go to the beach that's next door. It's called Fort Clarence. But, yeah, so that's something that I highly recommend always, to go to Hellshire and spend the rest of the day by Fort Clarence. And I do recommend, if you love history and food, again, I recommend doing the Devon House tour. So, you get a tour and you get to hear about, like, the history and, like, this monumental part of Jamaica's history and culture. And this building is, like, in the middle of, like, the city or... You pass it so many times. It's good to go and learn about it. And after the tour or included in the tour is ice cream and Devon House party. So, it's worth it. And my third thing is, if you love nightlife, I recommend going to Dub Club on a Monday night. It's very much like the reggae scene, the roots rock reggae scene. If you want to know who's up and coming, if you love Jessie Royal, if you love Chronix, if you love all of those people, Protégé, that's where they kind of got their start. I would recommend going there for an easy, breezy Sunday evening. The views are amazing at night. It's a skyline. You get to see all of Kingston. So, that's something as well. And if you have time in the day, definitely a day trip to Maiden Quay or Lime Quay. Walk with a cooler and you're good to go. It's a show. Yeah. I don't think I've ever been to Dub Club, actually. Yeah. It's on a Sunday night. Yeah. It's on a Sunday night. So, it's like, should I be here? Because I have work to do. Well, I mean, if you're there, you'll be on vacation vibes. Yeah. You're right. You're right. All right. So, next up, outside of Kingston, where would you say somebody has to go in Jamaica, like the other parishes? I'm between, oh, my word. This is hard. Yeah, I know. You have to go to Nicaragua. You have to go to Portland. You have to go to Treasure Beach. That's it. But, like, Portland remains my top favorite place. It's so beautiful. It's off the beaten track, I find. You have the lagoons. You have waterfalls. You have beaches. You can go and hike. Like, it's everything in one spot. And it's the home of jerk. So, like, again, if you love food, that's literally where jerk chicken was invented. If you love history, as well, there is a maroon village that you could go and do, like, a whole tour to hear about the maroons and how they escaped enslavement and how they helped with the freedom of Jamaica on a whole. So, that's what I would recommend. Definitely Portland. There's just so much. There's so much to do. It's free. If you just want to relax, if you want to go adventuring, there's so much to do. So, I would say Portland. For sure. Like, my first time to Jamaica, it went like, I went to Ocho Rios the first time, then, well, of course, Kingston, then Montego Bay and Negril. I think Strawberry Fields. I can't remember where Strawberry Fields is. Bush Parish. Yeah. Yeah. And then, my last trip to my 30th birthday, I went to Portland. So, like, something I was like, I'm sitting in 30, I'm like, Jamaica, what's calling me? Like, literally, like, I don't know. That's how I travel. Like, I just go by wherever my heart is, like, feeling to go. Like, I stay in a place calling me. Usually, I would want to go somewhere that I haven't been before. Yeah. I was like, no, like, Jamaica calling me. So, she took me to Portland and I fell in love. I'm an adventurer at heart. Like, at that point in time, I still had my little adrenaline junkie, kind of, in me. So, she carried me to Reach Falls and I did the whole, you know, Alice in Wonderland, jump down the rabbit hole part of it. And I kid you not, like, about two days after, this guy, I'm not sure if it was the tourism board or, but a video was posted on IG. So, this is what happened. The video she took of me. I took a while to come back to the other exit after I jumped through. And so, you could hear her in the video. I'm like, where are you? Where are you? So, Facebook. I'm like, I'm not allowed to let her know anything happened to you. Come out. So, this guy does this video and he was like, this is the appeal of Jamaica. People come here and imagine they're willing to risk their whole life to bust their head to go Reach Falls. I still haven't done that. It's up to you. I was like, is this coincidence that this man see my video? So, like, I agree with you. All of that to say, I agree with you. Portland is stunning. Yeah. I love that. I love that you made it to Reach Falls. But yeah, there is a lot to do. I recommend it so much. So, our next very, very hard question. Although, from what I remember, you seem to be a little bit of a picky eater. So, it might be easier for you. What is your favorite Jamaican food? Oh, my word. I'm going to have to say Hellsure. Like, I love going to Hellsure and having the fish, like, the fried Hellsure fish. I've never, like, the only other place I've had where it's even comparable was Cartagena. But other than that, like, Hellsure fish remains top tier. So, absolutely Hellsure fish and Bamian vegetables. My second thing, like, honestly, I love a curry goat. Like, curry goat with white rice or rice and peas. We are in the dance. Like, absolutely love it. And I love breakfast food. Like, it's something that I absolutely love. And I don't know if you know, but Jamaicans have a very heavy breakfast. Like, there's cornmeal porridge. There's oat porridge. There's hominy corn porridge. Like, every single porridge. There's peanuts, hominy porridge. You have fried dumplings. And you can have it with mackerel rundown, callaloo. Like, my mouth is watering. So, honestly, like, breakfast food is in and of itself an experience. So, I would recommend, like, also doing breakfast while you're in Jamaica. I'm convinced that Jamaicans just sleep after every meal. Absolutely. We have to. What? After that? Rest. And you know, it's funny that you said curry goat because a lot of people, like, I mean, from the get-go, there are different curries all over the world. Like, Thai curry is different to Indian curry. It's different to Trinidad curry. And then you come to the Caribbean and it's like, okay, Trinidad curry is kind of slightly different to Jamaican curry. It's like, I know you all also do a lot of goat. I will agree with you. Like, a Jamaican curry goat is top tier. I think so. Favorite thing. Favorite thing. So, you know, a lot of people, I know you get this sometimes. You don't sound Jamaican. Especially, you know, when us Caribbean people start to speak in proper English. Yeah. But other than the typical ones, like, I think people like that are really expecting you, like, in every sentence to say, Bumbaclat. Teach us something out of the ordinary than what people may see on TV. What is a Jamaican saying that, like, from the dialect, from Jamaican dialect? Hmm. I should have thought about this more. I would say, like, I think we say bless up a lot. Like, bless up or bless up yourself or big up yourself, like, as a means to say thank you or, you know, you get through kind of thing. Like, wishing you good blessings kind of vibes. I think that's one thing that we say a lot. I think we do say things like what is for you can be un-for you. That's one of my favorites. Yeah. Can't not be for you. We do say chicken merry hot denier. So, as a child, like, if you're too happy and, like, chicken merry hot denier. Chicken merry hot. Hawk. Hawk. Chicken. Merry. Merry. Chicken merry. Hawk. Denier. Denier. Okay. Denier. Yeah. So, there's that as well. Kind of like a warning. So, that's what I would say. But there's not one Jamaican dialect. There's not one Jamaican tone. So, to everyone who's like, you don't sound Jamaican, please, give us a rest. A chance. A chance. A chance. So, if someone is visiting Jamaica, how long would you recommend that they stay for? Let me split it up. Like, a first timer and a returnee. I feel like if you're coming for the first time, I would say a solid week. I feel like a solid seven to ten days would be great. That would be amazing. If you're returning, then I would say stick with, like, seven days. Like, you get to go somewhere and stay there for the entire time or visit two places and stay there for the entire time. That way you're like, okay, cool, I get to see a lot more of the island. But if you're coming for the first time, ten solid days would be great for you to, like, get to visit two or three places. And then when you come back, you can be like, okay, I love this place. But also, like, visit somewhere else. I find Jamaica has outside the big, like, all-inclusive resorts that you may find, like, in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. I find a lot of beautiful boutique hotels. Yeah. More than most other Caribbean islands. What are probably three that you would recommend? So, for Treasure Beach, they have beautiful villas. So, if you love villas, that's amazing. But there is Jake's Hotel in Treasure Beach that is absolutely beautiful. One of my favorite properties is Rock House in Negril. Like, absolutely, absolutely love that property. In Portland, G. John's is really lovely. But I wouldn't be a boutique hotel, I'm not sure. But, like, that's where I stayed and I love it. But then there's also, like, the Tree Hotel in the jungle of Portland and it's really beautiful. So, I'd recommend that as well. So, as Amari says, there's so many nice, beautiful boutique hotels that you won't go wrong. And the service is exceptional, always. First time I was in Jamaica, I stayed at Rio. I think it was Rio we stayed at. And, like, you know, I mean, it was great. I mean, great service, whatnot. They had these shows at night. Jamaican Michael Jackson come out. You know, the real, like, cliche, like, having to work at a very big hotel chain in Jamaica and all of those things, I'm like, yeah. Like, the Jamaican Michael Jackson took me out. And then when I started to visit my friend, Mon, she took me to, like, you know, more boutique hotels. You actually really get more of a feel of Jamaica. Yeah, I think so. And even, like, the food. The food is, like, exceptional. It ain't hotel food. Like, it'll blow your mind. So, what is your favorite thing about your country? If you can't say one, you could say three things. I would say my favorite thing is, I think the Jamaican first word is, like, once you go, you know. And I tell you, I feel it's one of those things that once you go, you're like, oh, oh, I get it now. But I would say the people. And I absolutely love that. You could leave Kingston and you feel like you're on an entirely different island. When you're in Portland, it's totally different from Ochi. It is so different from Treasure Beach. So, you're just always leaving to go somewhere different. And you really feel like you're leaving the hustle and bustle of the city and going somewhere else. So, that's what I would say. Those are my things. In country. What are some tips you may give somebody who's traveling to Jamaica? I would say, get, if you're going by yourself or if you're going with, like, two or three people, I would say get somebody local to, like, take you around. Do not stay in the hotel for the entire time. Please go out, touch grass. I would also say, don't just stay to one city. Try and visit at least two different cities. If you can, do try and see Kingston because it's totally different. And I know we're always like, you know, we shouldn't do the same tourist story things, but Dunn's River Falls is worth the hype and worth the tourist line, I would say. Yeah, for sure. I just have some travel questions for you that I'm asking, like, everybody. What is your must-travel-with item? My phone. Your phone. That's a good one. I feel like that's... Okay, fine. No. We have to go again. Other than your phone. Good sneakers. Good walking shoes. Yeah, that's a good one. Any brand in particular? I wear my Converse and A6, so I'm between those two. Birkenstocks. So, like, honestly, those three, you're covered. Birkenstocks, Converse, and A6. Okay. In terms of, like, so you've been to 51 countries now. Any advice in terms of, like, how you get cheap flights? Not really, honestly. I think I use Google Flight Search and be like, okay, cool. This is the cheapest way. Let me go here. But I'm generally guided by, oh, you know, you have somewhere to stay. Like, someone will be like, I... And I'm like, okay, cool. I'll find my way. So, but I do use Google Flights a lot to, like, check prices and all of that. But then I book directly from the actual airline. Right. Because it's not third-party. No. Thank you so much for coming on here. It was a joy always. You know, for anybody who's interested in going to Jamaica, we're a Caribbean place. We're tropical. So, any time of the year is great. If you go on skyscanner.com, you would realize that in the month of January this month. Like, from Miami, you could get flights wrong trips as cheap as $195 U.S. From London, Gatwick, $222 U.S. And JFK, $165 U.S. Like, and these are all to Montego Bay's airport. Definitely try and cash in on those really cheap flights to go. Like, it's insanely cheap. Skyscanner.com. And if it is like you're using miles, like, I use Onewheel Alliance. I have my miles with American Airlines. If you're going from North America or the Caribbean to another North American place or another Caribbean island, it's as cheap as 20,000 miles wrong trip. If you're coming from Europe, it'll be 60,000 miles wrong trip. Again, thank you so, so much for coming on here and being my first, my first one. Thank you so much for having me. Like, I love talking about Jamaica and traveling. So, this is amazing. Congrats on the podcast. And I'll look out for the next 49 episodes. Thank you.