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Re: Barbados vs St Martin
[Re: Maria_and_Steve]
#119171
02/16/2017 12:29 PM
02/16/2017 12:29 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 81,042 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 81,042
Central Florida!
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French heritage, great for great food, for sure! Dutch, have to say, not so much!! We went to Holland a few years ago, and the only decent food we had there was Chinese food!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />
Carol Hill
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Re: Barbados vs St Martin
[Re: TravelHat]
#119173
02/18/2017 12:23 PM
02/18/2017 12:23 PM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,433 Brookfield, CT.
pat
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,433
Brookfield, CT.
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Travel hat,,
When we were last in Barbados, and I admit, that was quite a few years ago now, we had a lengthy conversation with a charming woman we met one afternoon and one of the things we discussed with her was just what you cited - the politeness of most islanders towards visitors.
She explained to us Barbados at one time grew to be very resentful towards tourists from all countries and often times treated them with derision and deep-seated resentment and this attitude started to take a major toll on the island's tourism popularity. They realized one of their economic mainstays was their popularity as a tourist destination and these negative attitudes had to change. And where better to begin than with the youth?!
Supposedly, according to this woman, they created an educational curriculum that focused not only on the 'Three R's" but on the importance of tourism/tourists to their economy and started teaching this seriously from earliest grade school right through to graduation.
This woman was a teacher on the island and she stressed to us how good behavior and manners were an important part of the daily curriculum of schools and she felt it was one of the major reasons for the turn-around in the island's attitude towards visitors.
I don't know how factual this was but it made a lot of sense to me and personally speaking, we found the Bajan people to be delightful at every opportunity we had to interact with them.
And as a personal opinion, I've often felt it too bad the Virgin Islands didn't take this same approach to tourism. Perhaps they have good cause but we really didn't experience many warm fuzzies there like we did in Barbados and as we almost always do in SXM.
The food in Barbados? Well, it was good and some of it very expensive, just like in some of the better dining experiences around St. Martin, but in neither case did we feel it came close to what we routinely experience in SXM. Perhaps we just didn't find the best places?
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Barbados vs St Martin
[Re: Carib_Ian]
#119177
02/24/2017 08:26 PM
02/24/2017 08:26 PM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,433 Brookfield, CT.
pat
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,433
Brookfield, CT.
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Carib_Ian said: It's the only island where my wife was called an "F..ing white b..ch" by a group of young girls and she was only walking by. It's not one of the friendliest islands. One of the reasons I'm not real big on the USVI's is because of a similar experience on StJ. We were waiting for our cab to pick us up to return us to where we were staying and a local drunk walked up to us and with no provocation or prior interaction tried to start a fight with my husband. He told us we, and people like us who didn't belong there in the first place, were ruining his island. Okay, then! Thankfully, a lady who knew him and was a part of his group saw what was going on and told him to back off and be nice. Thankfully, he did. Dinner was fun but him? Not so much! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Barbados vs St Martin
[Re: Carib_Ian]
#119181
02/25/2017 08:51 PM
02/25/2017 08:51 PM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,433 Brookfield, CT.
pat
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,433
Brookfield, CT.
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Carib_Ian said: We're talking about Barbados I am so very sorry to hear that. I guess things sure have changed since we were last there. The people couldn't have been any nicer although I will admit, I hated Bridgetown and couldn't wait to get out of there. But as we know, the cruise ships don't always come into the nicest parts of the island's, and they do try to capture you in their shopping meccas. We wanted to do an activity that was based there so we drove in one day to book the trip and see the city and then back the second time to actually do it and that was more than enough of Bridgetown for me. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Barbados vs St Martin
[Re: pat]
#119182
02/26/2017 09:15 AM
02/26/2017 09:15 AM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,884 St. Thomas, USVI
Nutmeg
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,884
St. Thomas, USVI
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There are Caribbean people on all islands who feel the changes brought on by tourism is a negative way. I do not think it is island specific.
[color:"red"]NUTMEG[/color] Today is the tomorrow you talked about yesterday.
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Re: Barbados vs St Martin
[Re: Sunshine1111]
#119183
04/24/2017 03:21 PM
04/24/2017 03:21 PM
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Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 108 Florida
Kamehameha
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 108
Florida
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Honeymooned 20 years ago in Barbados, would not go again. Go annually to Aruba & Curacao and love both. Frequently also to Mexico as well. Fav is Curacao, lots to see & do, not so Americanized. Give it a try!
<a href="https://www.TickerFactory.com/"> <img border="0" src="https://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/4;10765;125/st/20180504/e/3+weeks+in+Aruba%21/k/38b6/event.png"></a>
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