Marek Barrio Chino is nothing more than Chinatown. The Chinese used to live here. Now, apart from one or two Chinese restaurants, Cubans live here. Barrio Chino is another place where tourists do not venture, limiting themselves to the Centro Historico. Too bad. Here you can see real life in Havana. Poor, but the residents enjoy life as they have. It is here, when you smile at passers-by, and you get a real, sincere smile in return.
I wrote that in Barrio Chino you can find a Chinese restaurant. The place is surprising, despite the fact that it is surrounded by buildings resembling ruins, it is very exclusive. We come here by accident and we are shocked by the appearance of the interiors and the quality of the service. Chinese food tastes completely different than in Europe.
Cubans who have families in the United States have the best life. The largest Hispanic diaspora of Cuban descent is in Miami. It is a few dozen minutes of flight by plane. They actively support their relatives by buying them everything that cannot be bought in Cuba. You will see it when you collect your luggage at the airport. Crowds of people with huge cardboard packages with TV sets, household items, electronics.
Now escaping the island is very difficult. Cubans do not have access to boats. Even if they want to go fishing, they have to go out on rafts of their own design, constructed of polystyrene reinforced with boards. Who knows, maybe such a makeshift boat would be able to reach Miami.
