From the amazing Pitch Lake, the world’s largest deposit of natural asphalt, to the beautiful Toco Beach and Lighthouse, Trinidad and Tobago is a great place to grab your friends and family, pack up your cars and go on a road trip. But because we Trinis always like to put our own spin on things, even our road trips have a slight twist (and some turns, pun intended). Here is a list of eight things that “bound to happen” when you go on a “Trini” road trip (Not to be confused with Road Trip TT tours).
1. You won’t leave on time
There is the scheduled time that the group plans to gather at a meeting place and then there’s the “Trini time”. Each Trini is secretly hoping that the others are moving according to “Trini time” because basically, they are late.
2. You pack way too much food (yet you eat it all)
Normal people on road trips pack small, portable meals like snacks, finger foods and sandwiches. Trinis? We bring all our cooking pots and dishes filled with pelau, cole slaw, provisions, lentils, fried plantains, curried duck, dhalpouri – almost every Sunday lunch dish you could think of. And of course, you have to walk with your bottle of pepper sauce.
3. Someone wants to stop by “their” doubles man
Despite all the food you packed, someone always suggests getting doubles on the way and claim that they know where the group can get the best doubles. But when the group gets there, they are disappointed and you spend the rest of the trip arguing about where the best doubles in Trinidad and Tobago really is.
4. You stop by almost every bar to use the washroom
There is always that one person on the trip that needs to use the washroom at least five times on the way. But this never bothers the group because usually it is the best excuse to stop by a bar and “take ah drink” while we wait.
5. Someone always spills something in the car which makes you realise you forgot the napkins
There is always that one person who insists on eating and drinking while the car is in motion and then spills. This is when the group realises that nobody packed napkins so you decide to stop by a minimart to pick up some. Hey, look, there is a bar across the street. Well since we here…
6. You are always spotting people to “hail out”
Trinidad and Tobago is a small place. It is easy to run into “yuh padna yuh use to play football with” or a relative that you are never quite sure how exactly you are related, so you just call them your “cousin”. Every so often on your road trip, the driver will either honk the horn and do the standard “hail out” signal that says, “My, I haven’t seen you in so long, I hope all is well” or one of the passengers will be hanging out the window, having a quick chat as the car continues its route.
7. There is always a carpool karaoke session
You might take forever to agree on a music mix but when you do, be sure that you will spend the major part of your trip belting out the latest soca songs, parlour dub (most of the time incorrectly because no one really knows the words) or even your favourite Sesame Street songs.
8. You will get lost at least twice
Unless you have made this trip several times, you will definitely make some wrong turns. Either the GPS system will send you down a dead end street or you will lose signal, the driver refuses to ask for directions or when you do ask for directions from another Trini, they are like, “take a left by de mango tree, and drive straight dong until you see Tanty Mavis’ house.”
But in the end, we promise that when the road trip is over, you will have had a bellyful of laughter and the most memorable experiences. So what are you waiting for? Call up those friends and plan a road trip next weekend! Better yet, join Road Trip TT on one of ours!
