Passport Rush!!!

The scene at the Passport Office on Wednesday from under one of the tents.

People, people and more people!!! That was the scene yesterday at the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) as hundreds and possibly in the thousands descended to get their new passports! It was so full that people were everywhere on the compound and even large tents were constructed to house only a fraction of the crowd! But why this great rush for for passports? Well the government announced on Tuesday of this week that effective Monday November 17, the fee for obtaining passports will see increases ranging from eighty percent to as much as three hundred and eight percent! this means that the cost of an adult passport will move from JM$2500 to JM$4500 and for minors JM$1500 to JM$2700. But if your passport is lost or stolen and you need to replace it, you are in fo a shocking increase! The fee for replacing a passport in such circumstances will jump from JM$2500 to a whopping JM$9500! So make sure you keep your passport under some serious lock and key!

So with this announcement, hundreds of Jamaicans descended on the passport office in a bid to cash in on the last of the low prices before the new fees take effect. Yours truly Stunner was also one of the members of this large throng of people trying to avoid the increase in fees. When I arrived at the passport office at about midday I was shocked by the sheer number of people there in hopes of getting their new passport, so I proceeded to the desk at the side of the building and after having my documents checked i was issued a number H84. Hmm, H4 shouldn't be so bad, so i went and asked one of the passport office staff what number are they processing and was told they were in the low B's! What, that mean I had hundreds of people as the tickets were numbered [Letter A-J][01-99]! With that in mind I decided I would go about my business until they close the gate at 3:30pm. I came back to the passport office at 3:40pm and was still greeted by a huge crown which seemed to have only increased since I was last there! However, determined to get my passport I decided to stay, and stay I did. I waited and waited until the day progressed from a brightly lit afternoon to dark night as my number wasn't called until approximately 6:40pm! After going into the office itself, I spend about 20 minutes to get processed, basically a whole day combined!

According to The Gleaner's website, the crowd at the passport office has not subsided but is even larger than it was yesterday! It is so bad that according to the report, three police units have been deployed to the passport office to aid the private security company to maintain order! judging from yesterday, I can just imagine what that crowd looks like today and fear to even imagine what it will look like on Friday! I am sure the passport office will make more than their Christmas money between Wednesday and Friday! But it is terrible to see that the government as well as employers are cutting back on increases and cutting jobs, yet government fees and the prices of goods and services are skyrocketing! As Buju said, "What more unuh want... people fi do?", thing rough and they are getting rougher. If you plan to get your passport before the fee increases, I wish you well!

Sources: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20091110/lead/lead5.html, http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=14273

Restaurant Week 2009 Is Here!

It's that time again, the time for the top restaurants and the well known ones to put out their best and lure diners with not just savory meals, but with a ease of the pockets. however, what we all know as Kingston Restaurant Week (KRW) has expanded this year and has taken the sampling of delicious, discounted meals to the City of Montego Bay and the town of Ocho Rios. This recent expansion has led to the name of this week long event being changed to Restaurant Week (RW) to reflect this broadening of this culinary event.

Restaurant week kicked off on Saturday November 7, 2009 and will run until Saturday November 14, 2009. As usual the restaurants are divided in four categories, based on their price range, namely:

• Epicurean JM$3500
• Delectable JM$3000
• Savory JM$1600
• Tasty JM$1350
  

So based on your preference and the strength of your pocket you can choose from the four categories and have yourself a delicious three course meal for a price much lower than normal. There are the usual restaurants as well as new restaurant that have joined on for the event. However, the well sought after Mac;s Chop House is not on the list this year. Nevertheless there are still ample restaurants to choose from, not only in Kingston, but now in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. For a full listing of the participating restaurants and the category they are in you can visit the Restaurant Week website.

I'm thinking I will be trying out the Savory category once again due to my financial constraints, but I just can't afford to miss out on dining at a reduced cost. Lookout for my review post where you will know which restaurant I visited and my review of my Restaurant Week experience. If you are going to Restaurant week, happy dining!

Trip to the Centre of the Island!

Last month I went on my monthly Jamaica W.I./Lovers of Photography Jamaica Flickr group trip which took me along the south coast and into central Jamaica. I always like to go on the Flickr group trips as apart from getting to indulge in my photography passion, I get to explore this island I call home and with a fun crowd of people with similar interest. It is amazing how little of this island I know in all the almost thirty years I have been living on this island. These Flickr group trips are a wonderful way for me to explore the island as it only costs a nominal fee as we all pool together to charter a bus which significantly saves on the gas money I would have spent if I decided to ventured out on my own.

As I was saying, the trip took us to several places in Clarendon, St. Catherine that I have never been to before, some I have heard of and some had no clue existed. Here is a summary of the places that we visited on our last Flickr field trip.

The first stop of the trip was the ruins of Colbeck Castle, located in the community called Colbeck located two miles north of Old Harbour, St. Catherine.

Colbeck Castle St. Catherine

The next stop was a little pumping station located along the path of Salt River.

A boat docked along the river at the pumping station

The third stop was a quarry located in Clarendon, not sure of the name of this quarry.

A small lake that has formed in one of the holes of the quarry

The next stop was the bathing area of Salt River, where we enjoyed not the warm and cold salty water of the river but some spicy fish tea.

Salt River Clarendon

Next it was to one of the Oldest Churches in Jamaica, the St. Peter's Anglican Church located in a community call Alley.

St. Peter's Anglican Church

We then visited Alligator Hole, known not for alligators, but for crocodiles and manatee (sea cow). Unfortunately even though some of the members of the group got to see a lone manatee and some shots of the manatee, I had no suck luck.

Alligator Hole

The final photography stop of the trip was at Guts River, on the black sand beach where the river meets the Caribbean Sea.

The beach at Guts River

I had fun on the trip and I am already looking forward to the next trip, where I am sure I will have fun, see new places and of course get more photos!