On arriving into Port-au-Prince customs, I was quite curtly refused change when I used a twenty dollar bill to pay for the $10 entry fee but then moments later a passport official laughed loudly while trying to teach me how to say "thank you" in creole. This exchange was only the beginning of my Haiti in contrast. From the airport to the Royal Oasis hotel I white knuckled the thirty minute drive through the frenetic, pot holed streets of Port-au-prince, only to be rewarded with fresh watermelon juice on a silver tray when checking in to the Royal Oasis Hotel.

The the aptly named Royal Oasis Hotel was tucked on a formerly residential area high up on the hills of Petion-Ville, it was a walled garden oasis over looking a shambled Port-au-Prince still struggling from the 2010 earthquake that killed so many of its residents. It was a struggle to find accommodations in Haiti and I am really glad I settled on the Royal Oasis. While it was more than $100 a night, it had a great buffet breakfast and the free shuttle to and from the airport took away the anxiety of arriving in a new country unsure on how to get from point "A" to point "B". The rooms were modern and well appointed with views toward port-au-prince and the sea.