1. From moment I stepped outside the airport till the end of my trip, I couldn’t help shake the feeling that this city had seen better days. There were constant reminders –  the 80s era vintage cars, the grand facades of dilapidated buildings, pre-paid internet cards.

2. Scarcity is real and in your face. Things which we take for granted elsewhere are not available or unreasonably expensive. I saw aisles of bare shelves for the first time in 20+ years; I had some vague memories of similar scenes in a pre-globalization era in India. Fresh milk and eggs are almost impossible to find, we barely managed to snag one of the few imported packets of shelf-stable milk.

3. Weather couldn’t be any better in late December, just the perfect temperature and humidity. Anything more than shorts and t-shirt made me feel overdressed.

4. Cuban cuisine is utilitarian. A typical meal consists of rice, beans, fried plantains, meat or fish. The beans are actually tasty but I got bored of it as it served with almost every single meal. Be prepared to pay $$$ if you want to each good (but not great) food even at the nicer places in Havana. The fresh out of the fryer plantain chips at Frente and O’Reilly 304 were amazing, while the seafood was fresh and solid. Drinks are very affordable, mint mojitos were A+ but I soon realized that the magic in them is basically sugar. Do load up on cigars if you are into it, there are governments authorized distribution centers like the Partagas factory that guarantee authenticity.

5. People were very friendly and helpful despite their hard personal circumstances. The museo de revolution is all propaganda but you can understand the Cuban perspective of the revolution and what the people were led to believe.

6. The Spanish Quarter in Havana has been recently spruced up to cater to the day trippers from Caribbean cruises. It is indeed picturesque and provides a lot of good photo ops but is no different than any city colonized by Spain. But it is hardly a good representation of the city.

7. Walk along the Malecon, rent a vintage taxi and drive through the neighborhoods like Vedado away from the tourist bustle, learn about Al Capone’s legendary parties with the likes of Frank Sinatra at the Hotel Nacional or stroll through the majestic Paseo del Prado imagining the vibrant life in its hey day.

Bonus: Currency of visitors is CUC. You can go into this unique money exchange ATMs called cadecas. USD for CUC. 1 CUC = 1 USD.

In this day and age, Cuba feels like(is) a socialist experiment that went wrong.The effects of suppression and poor policies are so obvious. The grand facades start to feel less romantic.Yet, life goes on.The well educated ones have immigrated or looking for a way out, the enterprising ones run Airbnbs or build ingenious businesses by trading rare goods. I left with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude not just for the physical comforts that I had back home but for those imperfect democracies that we all love to hate.