“Arrested for Wearing Camouflage”, “”Drinking at 10-years-old”, “Men Gain Power from “Benjo”” … a Visit to Antigua and Barbuda, the Birthplace of the Online Casino

I heard that in Antigua and Barbuda non-military people can be arrested for wearing camouflage and 10-year-olds can legally drink. It is also the birthplace of online casinos. The Domain Island Tour has gone to find out the truth about these rumors. The ccTLD (country code top level domain) for Antigua and Barbuda is “.ag”.

* This fact-finding mission was undertaken in early February, 2020.

◆Where is Antigua and Barbuda??

Antigua and Barbuda are an island nation in the Caribbean Sea between North and South America, also a popular resort area. The name of the country combines the names of the two main islands, Antigua and Barbuda. Locals do not say “Antigua,” but pronounce it “Antiga.” The land area consists of 443km2, with about 80,000 people. It is a member of the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom. The currency used is the East Caribbean dollar.

= Table of Contents =

◆Tourist Shopping Street Looks Like a Ghost Town

◆Why Non-military People can be Arrested for Wearing Camouflage

◆World Heritage “Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites”

◆365 Beaches, so you Can Go to a Different Beach Everyday

◆Men Power up with “Benjo”- : And the Dining Situation in Antigua and Barbuda-

◆Purchase a Nationality at the Birthplace of Online Casinos -Around Antigua and Barbuda-

◆Can Elementary School Students Legally Drink?

◆How to Purchase a SIM & Test the Internet Speed

 


◆Tourist Shopping Streets Looks Like a Ghost Town

You can access Antigua and Barbuda via Canada or the US. We went to Antigua and Barbuda after visiting Montserrat. On the Domain Island Tour, we’ve ridden in many small propeller planes, and landing is always the same. Lots of shaking.

We arrive at V. C. Bird International Airport. We head downtown.

It’s a sunny day. The strong sunshine of the subtropical climate.

There’s a great deal of livestock farming centered around sheep and goats; they are left to pasture free-range near the solar panels installed by the airport. Since they eat the plants and keep the area around the solar panel trimmed for free, this can reduce management costs by 30%.

It took about 20 minutes by taxi from the airport to downtown and cost $11. There’s loud reggae music playing. Even at Jackboy Hill in Montserrat, the reggae was thumping.

Many ladies braid their hair and put it in buns.

There are many locals on the main street, but the shopping street for tourists is like a ghost town. There’s no people here.

“Major cities of the world from here” is often found in tourist spots. This way to Tokyo. It seems half-baked to me. Please include the distance.


◆Why Non-military People can be Arrested for Wearing Camouflage

Wearing camouflage (Cammies) is a prohibited fashion in Antigua and Barbuda.
Japanese people will be surprised, but it’s true.

According to Chucky, the taxi driver, you are not allowed to wear it at all, only military personnel are allowed to wear it. The first time a police officer catches you, you will be warned, but the second time you will be arrested.

By the way, if you would like Chucky to guide you around the island, please contact him here.

Just to be sure, I asked five local people around town, but they all said “It’s Illegal”. You’ll be fined $2,000 or imprisoned for a year if you get caught. The British government site also states, “Wearing camouflage is a crime for anyone, including children.” In point of fact, I never saw any camouflage fashion during my stay.

Why is it illegal to wear camouflage clothing? In 1995, a powerful hurricane “Hurricane Luis” made landfall in Antigua and Barbuda, leaving about 3,000 people homeless. According to Chucky the taxi driver, some people wanting food wore camouflage clothes in order to steal supplies, making it impossible to distinguish between the military and the general public. Thereafter, wearing camouflage type clothes was prohibited. More recently, in 2018, a customs officer was prosecuted and imprisoned for having a camouflage uniform that resembled the Armed Forces of Antigua and Barbuda (ABDF). The camouflage uniform worn by the ABDF looks like this.

Reference source http://abdf.gov.ag/potential-junior-non-commisioned-officers-cadre-0115/

Actually, many countries prohibit wearing or possessing camouflage clothing. The reason is that civilians wearing camouflage can be confused with soldiers and the police, and could be accidentally targeted by terrorist organizations. There are 11 countries that prohibit wearing camouflage, and (as of September 15, 2020) it is also illegal in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. But an older gentleman on the beach just laughed and said, “I wore camouflage trousers on the beach, and it was no problem.” They may look the other way when it comes to tourists.


◆World Heritage “Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites”

Nelson’s Dockyard is a World Heritage Site of Antigua and Barbuda, registered in 2016. The shipyard was completed by the Royal Navy in the 18th century and is said to be the oldest existing shipyard. Admission is $20.80 East Caribbean dollars.

The site is beautifully maintained and lined with old stone buildings. After the British acquired Antigua and Barbuda as a colony in 1632, Nelson’s Dockyard became the center of a British naval base that kept an eye on French Guadeloupe, located south of Antigua.

The buildings, built in the 1700s, have been restored and are now transformed into a museum, a hotel, a restaurant, a naval officer’s dormitory, and more. This is the museum.

The museum had ship figureheads on display, including these lovely ladies. Ships are called by the female pronoun “she”.

There are also other tourist spots.

Here’s a souvenir shop. A&F Sails. They sell T-shirts.

At the yacht harbor, there’s Immigration Control for the people who arrive on yachts (Immigration office). The yacht harbor is also home to sailing and yachting competitions.

World Heritage Site “Antigua Shipyard and Related Archaeological Sites” (Antigua and Barbuda) #theta360 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

A boat that crossed the Atlantic Ocean. From the United Kingdom, James spent 116 days rowing 3,479 miles (approx. 5,600 km) manually, from Spain across the Atlantic to Antigua and Barbuda.

He needed 8,000 calories a day to row a boat, so he lost 15 to 20 kilos in 100 days. At Nelson’s Dockyard two hours of leisurely walking was enough for me.


◆365 Beaches, so you Can Go to a Different Beach Everyday

There are 365 beaches in Antigua and Barbuda, so with 365 days in a year you can go to a different beach each day of the year. All these warm and calm Caribbean beaches are open to the public. Ronda Thomas, a jazz singer from Antigua and Barbuda, sings a song called “365 Beaches”.

We asked the locals to recommend a beach.

 

  • the beach recommended by our taxi driver

There is also a cafe and bar where you can relax by this beautiful beach. Marine sports are popular as well.

Antigua Village, the beach recommended by our taxi driver #theta360 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA

 

  • Everyone is looks good on Instagram at “English Harbor”

Looking out over English Harbor from Shirley Heights hill. This is a superb look out point where you can take pictures of the beautiful sea.

This is a photo from the beach at English Harbor.

 

  • Mamora Bay where you can stay at the villa of Mr. Eric Clapton, god of guitar

You can stay for USD $50,000 per week, that is. There is also a drug addiction rehab facility called “Crossroad Center” opened in 1998 by Eric Clapton.


◆Men Power up with “Benjo” -And the Dining Situation in Antigua and Barbuda-

A drink made by adding milk and sugar to edible seaweed harvested from the Caribbean Sea is called “Benjo’s Semoss”. Whatever it is, it seems to be a stimulant, and men who drink it are supposed to have enhanced erectile function. Illustrations of high waves rushing over the bottle give you an idea of its strength. The two male members of the Domain Island explorers tried it. However, we noticed no change. Too old maybe? The big wave didn’t come. But it was pleasant to drink with an almond milk taste. It seems that local people like these kinds of health drinks. $8.05 East Caribbean dollar.

 

Sugarcane cultivation is popular in Antigua and Barbuda. You can buy it on the roadside. A little bit of sweet juice came out.

 

Speaking of local cuisine, salt fish (on left side of the photo), which is salted white fish, is famous. The green paste on the right side of the photo is a combination of spinach, okra, pumpkin and eggplant. The things in the front that look like charred chikuwa are fried banana.

 

We stayed at a hotel in downtown, and I asked the staff to tell me a popular local restaurant, so they recommended this pizzeria, “Big Banana.” A shop with eye-catching illustrations of bananas wearing sunglasses. There’s even a branch at the airport.

The lady clerks. Their hair is so cute.

Medium size seafood pizza. $26.09 East Caribbean Dollar. We had to wait for an hour, but it was delicious with lots of toppings. It was pretty big, so 3 people could eat to their fill.

 

“Ana’s on the Beach” a restaurant in Antigua Village

You can enjoy delicious seafood dishes while looking out over the sea.

A snack of meat sauce on top of fried banana. $39.13 East Caribbean Dollar.

Grilled white fish called Mahi Mahi. $36.52 East Caribbean Dollar.

Shrimp fried with spicy gejang. $39.13 East Caribbean Dollar.

 

Seafood restaurant “Papa Zouk”

A stylish atmosphere. The walls were painted with fish and tropical women.

Fried shrimp and fried chicken. Here it is called calamari. $30 East Caribbean Dollar

Deep fried fresh fish. $60 East Caribbean Dollar.

 

A large supermarket like Costco called “1st Choice”

All the vegetables are from Antigua and Barbuda. If you pay with a credit card, you will be asked to show your passport.

On the left are ripe plantains, in the middle are unripe plantains, and on the right are bananas. Plantains are a type of banana, also called the cooking banana, because they are harder and have less sugar than banana, so they require cooking, for example steaming, boiling or frying.

The unripe plantains are very popular.

There were five types of soy sauce for sale. But the taxi driver says there are no Japanese restaurants in Antigua and Barbuda.

IRON BEER is a non-alcoholic juice. It tasted like guarana. $2.2 East Caribbean Dollar.

There was also a lottery ticket booth.


◆Purchase a Nationality at the Birthplace of Online Casinos -Around Antigua and Barbuda-

  • A car race track. It seems that a cousin of our taxi driver has participated before, in a Mazda RX7.

The 500m track.

 

  • The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was built to hold the “ICC World Cup 2007” hosted by the International Cricket Council. It can accommodate approximately 10,000 spectators. As a long-time British colony, cricket is a popular national sport in Antigua and Barbuda.

The name of the stadium comes from Mr. Viv Richards. He is from Antigua and Barbuda and is a former West Indies Cricket representative. In the long history of cricket, he is considered to be one of the best players in the world.

The color of the seats is based on the design of the national flag.

 

  • The license plate number varies depending on the type of car. In Antigua and Barbuda, the first letters of the license plate letters indicate the type of car. For example, the license plate for ordinary cars starts with the letter “A” or “ABC”, “C” is for large cars, “R” is for rental cars, “BUS” is for bus license plates, “TX” for taxis, etc.
    At the bottom of the license plates is written “LAND OF SEA AND SUN”.

Police cars have the letters “ABP”. The “POLICE” on the front is reversed for some reason.

 

  • In 1994, Antigua and Barbuda passed a law to issue the world’s first operating license for an online casino. The Online Gambling Licenses issued in Antigua and Barbuda are highly reliable, so even now, many online casino operators prefer Antigua and Barbuda to obtain a license for their online casinos.https://mybookie.ag/

https://www.wildcasino.ag/

 

  • Japan does not allow dual citizenship, but Antigua and Barbuda does and sells its citizenship for $100,000 USD. More than 40% of the passports issued to foreigners by the country were issued to Chinese people, in Grenada that number is said to be over 80%.

referenceproblems

 

  • The“Devil’s Bridge” In stormy weather you are likely to be swept away by high waves.

 

  • Found a bubble tea shop. Unfortunately, it was closed.

 

  • A house pointed like a ship.

 

  • Pirana Joe. I was wondering if I could eat piranha! But it was a T-shirt shop.

 

  • Antigua and Barbuda is and independent nation, but still a member of the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom. Trials are held in England via Skype. However, there is an industrial Court. The email address uses the Antigua and Barbuda domain “.ag”.

I barely saw “.ag” except in government agencies and a few shops.


◆Can Elementary School Students Legally Drink?

There was an internet article called: “In Antigua and Barbuda you can drink from the age of 10”. I asked five locals in the town if this was true, but they all vehemently denied it. Then, when I asked at what age people are allowed to drink, many people answered 18 years old, but others said 21 years old and some said 16 years old. Charles, a taxi driver with five wives, answered “18 years old”.

I checked again on the government site for Antigua and Barbuda. There it said that drinking and purchasing alcohol was legal from the age of 18. This business that you can drink at 10 years old is wrong.

reference
Results From The 2005 National Survey On Drug Use Among Secondary School Students

World Travel Guide > Antigua and Barbuda

There was also an explanation that the drinking age was changed from 16 to 18 years old under the Liquor Law of 2015. The local people all have different ideas about this, so it may be because of that change.

reference
tripadvisor.com


◆How to Purchase a SIM & Test the Internet Speed

I bought an Inet SIM card using “.ag” at the airport. It was 3GB, $30 USD per week. It was 33 Mbps when I measured it at the hotel.

The WIFI in the hotel room was 1.5Mbps. GiGSKY’s eSIM was 3.6Mbps. Glocalme doesn’t work at the airport, but it works in town. The speed is 6.1 Mbps.


■ List of Places Visited

■ For access to Antigua and Barbuda click here

■ For “.ag” domain details click here

■ For “co.ag” domain details click here

■ For “com.ag” domain details click here

■ For “net.ag” domain details click here

■ For “nom.ag” domain details click here

■ For “org.ag” domain details click here

Montserrat, #4 of “The World’s Least-visited Countries”

Once popular Montserrat is now the 4th least-visited country in the world, in spite of being nicknamed “The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean”. Since the late 1980s, hurricanes and volcanic eruptions have caused catastrophic damage, scaring all the tourists away. It’s difficult to even make a hotel reservation. Nowadays, are there any sights to be seen on Montserrat? We went to find out. The ccTLD (Country Code Top Level Domain) for Montserrat is “.ms”.

* This fact-finding mission was undertaken in early February, 2020.

◆Where is Montserrat?

Montserrat is a volcanic island in the Caribbean Sea between north and south America. It is a British overseas territory. The local language is English and the currency is East Caribbean dollars.

= Table of Contents =

◆#8 on the List of Shortest International Flights

◆Difficulty Making a Hotel Reservation Online

◆The Old Capital Plymouth – A Ghost Town / The New Capital Little Bay – Under Construction

◆Water that Will Make you Want to Come Back to Montserrat

◆What to Eat on Montserrat? Why is there “Yakitori”?

◆Interesting Things Around Montserrat – Don’t Forget Departure Tax and Your Tiny Boarding Pass

◆Finding the “.ms” Domain Around Town

◆How to Purchase a SIM & Test the Internet Speed

 


◆#8 on the List of Shortest International Flights

To get to Montserrat from Japan, you need to fly via Antigua and Barbuda. It takes 49 hours, 25 minutes to get from Japan to Antigua and Barbuda. From Antigua and Barbuda, the distance to Montserrat is about 48km and the flight takes 30 minutes. The flight is operated by Liat Airlines, which operates many of the flights around the Caribbean. This route is ranked #8 on the “10 Shortest International Flights in the World”.

In order to balance the plane, small passenger aircraft usually weigh passengers at check-in (also known as the “Getting Weighed in Public Humiliation”).

We can see the propeller plane we are going to board.

The pilot today is a lady. Very cool.

Including the pilots, only 8 can fit into the small cabin.

After takeoff, we can soon see Montserrat.

And we are ready to land.

We arrive at the John A. Osborne Airport of Montserrat after about 30 minutes. It takes about 1 hour from Haneda Airport to Osaka International (Itami) Airport, but we made it to another country in 30 minutes. This airport is the smallest yet on the Domain Island Tour, it looks like a house.


◆Difficulty Making a Hotel Reservation Online

For our tour of Montserrat, I tried to book a hotel through the usual large booking sites, but everything came up for Montserrat in Buenos Aires, Argentine, not Montserrat the island. I could not make a reservation. Even remote places like Ascension Island and Tuvalu could be booked through such sites… Finally, I took a look at the Montserrat Tourism website, and found two hotels listed.

I chose the “TROPICAL MANSION SUITES” because they have a homepage. After inquiring by email, I was able to make a reservation. The hotel is about 1 km from the airport.

The reception staff welcomed us with a smile. Check-in went smoothly.

The large and spacious room was fully air-conditioned. Very comfortable. The bathroom was very clean, and the water pressure in the shower was excellent. If you can’t find accommodations on the usual hotel reservation sites, I recommend checking the official tourism website.


◆The Old Capital Plymouth – A Ghost Town / The New Capital Little Bay – Under Construction

In September 1989, hurricane “Hugo”, with wind speeds of up to 60 m/s or more, hit Montserrat and caused damage to more than 90% of the island. Then, in July 1995, Soufrière Hills, a volcano 915m high, erupted for the first time in 300 years. At that time, two thirds of the population had to be evacuated, and Britain sent warships to help rescue people from the disaster. Two years later, in 1997, the volcano erupted again. Plymouth, the capital city, was overrun by volcanic ash. Again, in 2003, the volcano had a major eruption. Many buildings were destroyed.

To see the damage, we first take a walk on the north side of Soufrière Hills. The buildings seem to have gently returned to nature, and some have almost completely disintegrated.

An abandoned hotel.

There are all kinds of ruined building to be found here.

“Zone V” on the south side of the island is a no-entry zone.

Inside this zone, there used to be a recording studio called “AIR Studios (Associated Independent Recording)” owned by George Martin (the producer for the Beatles), but it was forced to close by the 1989 eruption.

A Sugar mill dome, formerly used to crush sugar cane and to make sugar. A flock of free-range goats passed in front of me.

Currently, Brades is the temporary capital, but we’re going to Little Bay, which is now under construction as the new capital. Little Bay is north of Plymouth, the former capital.

The police station, fire department, post office and prison are all in the same spot.
The police station.

The fire department.

The prison. Barbed wire wrapped around a high fence.


◆Water that will Make you Want to Come Back to Montserrat

Are there any tourist spots on the current version of Montserrat? I checked a pamphlet I found at the hotel reception entitled: “Top 50 things to do in Montserrat”, and decided to try some of the suggestions.

First, we head to Jack Boy Hill, where the local young people like to barbecue. We went by taxi. The charter fee for a day was 200 USD.

Jack Boy Hill, complete with roaring reggae music. The music isn’t coming from the barbecue area, it’s from the speaker system on the car of someone who came to hang out. Nice sound system.

Quite a few of the local young people are barbecuing.

The chicken was kindly given to us by a young lady. The sweet and spicy barbecue sauce was delicious!

I gave them some Japanese chocolate as a token of our gratitude and it was soon gone.

For tourists, Jack Boy Hill is a scenic spot overlooking the gorgeous seas of Montserrat and the Soufrière Hills volcano.

 

After Jack Boy Hill, we went to the nearby Runaway Ghaut. There is a legend that if you drink the natural water here you will surely return to Montserrat again.

So anyways, I drank some.


◆What to Eat on Montserrat? Why is there “Yakitori”?

As a British overseas territory, Montserrat cuisine revolves around British and Caribbean food.
We enjoyed some local cuisine at Isles Bay Beach Bar, recommended to us by the taxi driver.

Fish & Chips, $45 East Caribbean dollars.

I ate mine with malt vinegar, a vinegar of fermented barley malt and corn extract. It’s one of those things, fish and chips in the UK can’t be eaten without it. The flavor is like malt and vinegar.

Today’s Grilled Fish lunch. $35 East Caribbean dollars. A very tasty white fish, with no odor.

Someone swimming waved at me.

 

I thought we could eat dinner at one of the restaurants around the hotel, but the restaurants I found on Google Maps were all closed. It’s a Sunday night so not only the restaurants but pretty much all the shops are closed. Only the Richard Samuel Shop was open.

 

So, for tonight’s dinner, we chose the hotel restaurant.

“Blackened Catch of the Day” was the special. $55 East Caribbean dollars. The fish is perfectly grilled and easy to eat, soft inside like chicken and again, no fishy odor. The side vegetables were also fresh and delicious.

“Chicken Yakatori”. $50 East Caribbean dollars. “Yakatori” I assume is meant to be “Yakitori”. Although it looks a bit too brown, it was delicious with a grilled ginger flavor. I was surprised to find Japanese food on the menu on an island with so few tourists, 14,000 km away from Japan.

 

The Montserrat English breakfast. Johnny cake was served instead of toast. Johnny cake is a kind of cornmeal flatbread. It tastes a little like doughnuts, but drier.


◆Interesting Things Around Montserrat – Don’t Forget Departure Tax and Your Tiny Boarding Pass

A made-in-Japan truck with “Taiyo Kenki Rent-A-Car” written on the side drove by.

 

Supermarket “Aravins Enterprises Inc“.

Vegetables are imported from Florida.

You can buy imitation crab too.

This is a spicy sauce that will set your mouth on fire like a volcano. $12 East Caribbean dollars.

 

At first, I thought these guys were coming back from fishing, but it turns out they are mobile fishmongers.

 

The local grown-ups playing a game. In Cyprus I saw people enjoying backgammon while sitting on their open terraces. What kind of game is this?

 

Souvenir shop “LAST CHANCE”, near the airport.

There are no souvenir shops at the airport, so this is your last chance to buy souvenirs, as the name suggests.

It’s quite spacious inside.

There’s volcanic ash for sale. $13.5 East Caribbean Dollars.

 

A carnival to celebrate St. John’s Day is held every year in late December. It seems people go around wearing unique masks for this carnival.

 

Black sand on Woodlands Beach.
Is it black because of the volcanic ash?

鮮やかな色をしたトカゲがいました。

 

Non-reserved seats on the flight from Montserrat back to Antigua and Barbuda. Be careful not to lose it, as this small receipt will be your boarding pass (right side).

Also, there is a departure tax. Embarkation Tax is $10, Airport Tax is $4, for a total of $14, plus a $37.50 departure tax if you do not return to Antigua and Barbuda within 24 hours.

That’s what it says at the immigration desk.


◆Finding “.ms” Around Town

The “.ms” domain is often associated with Microsoft. However, “.ms” is the ccTLD domain (top level country domain) assigned to Montserrat. Which has nothing to do with Microsoft. But there are cases where Microsoft uses “.ms”.

appcenter.ms

devcamps.ms

Microsoft also operates “xbx.ms” and “wndw.ms as URL shortening services. The “.ms” used by the people of Montserrat could be found everywhere on the island.
 

Montserrat Red Cross redcross.org.ms

Water and Electric Company mul@mul.ms

A Florist msjflowers@candw.ms


◆How to Purchase a SIM & Test the Internet Speed

I bought a 3-day, 1 GB, local SIM at FLOW. It can be used on other Caribbean islands as well. $16 East Caribbean dollars.

The speed is 2.8Mbps. It was nice and stable.

There’s also a Digicel store on Montserrat. The Wi-Fi at the Montserrat Airport was 1.2Mbps. GigSky’s eSIM was 7.1Mbps. Wi-Fi at the “Tropical Mansion Suites Hotel” where we stayed was 4.7Mbps. There’s no difficulty connecting to the internet on Montserrat.


■ List of Places Visited

■ For access to Montserratclick here

■ For “.ms” domain detailsclick here

■ For “.com.ms” domain detailsclick here