i love this, it remind me of my childhood going to school in a coche, and Lazaro the horse will be watching for the motoconcho,,,smart horse

i like it also and I hope it goes from the Hilton to the international cruiser port

Nice to see some imagination being put to the test! More traditional and pro-tourist ideas needed. More security, Clean-ups and good maintenance will help foster a better image and experience.

Now they want to be like the great city of Santiago?

as long as these carriages do not go at night ,,,the lighting along the Malecon is so bad that it is diffcult to see anything in front ,,

X-Man,

One of my earliest experiences having come back to DR as a child was the Coche ride around Santiago. Brings back a lot of memories. DR needs to offer more of these traditional offerings to lure more people and tourist. How about some close to authentic Campo Experience? With fogón cooking and burro/mule rides to the river/streams? And there are many other traditional experiences to be concocted out of our real past! All the modernization pieces are important, BUT what gives a place some semblance of originality are those traditional pieces that modernization often pushes aside or eliminates completely.

The ones in Santiago are out all the time at night. I think that they should add lights to the carriages so drivers can see them.

SAJOMA has these carriages riding around all the time.

atabey,
I thought that SD wanted to be little nueva yoi?

LOL That's it ! I'm gonna buy me one for transportation around town.

Well we do have carriages around Central Park. But I guess we can say that some experiences can and should be shared. The little "Nueva Yoi" idea I guess refers to the building of a Metro and some other infrastructure. But for DR to truly stand out, it needs to incorporate the better parts of what makes NYC vibrate without losing sight of those things that are authentic and offer the traveler a welcomed break from the eternal cement, high rises, and all the modernity experience.

The Metro is a solid and necessary component to SD's current and future prosperity. But we also need to address the need to create oasis of cultural exchanges via a lively and safe day/night life experience. When the Metro is completed far fewer cars will be needed to get from one point to another in SD. That will be very welcomed news for both the citizens, visitors, and the environment.

Now I agree totally with Josean that much more needs to be done in the education sector.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/....en-you-reach-the-top/2#post159007

For those of you who would like to read how a desperately poor nation picked itself up and took advantage of open market access to the USA, endured many hard years-but relatively few decades worth!- of labor and pains to obtain parity with Europe and is fast gaining near parity with the USA, check out the link to this article on DT's Forum section.

DR can learn a great deal from South Korea's experience.

Written by: Atabey, 14 Dec 2011 1:26 PM
From: United States
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/....en-you-reach-the-top/2#post159007

For those of you who would like to read how a desperately poor nation picked itself up and took advantage of open market access to the USA, endured many hard years-but relatively few decades worth!- of labor and pains to obtain parity with Europe and is fast gaining near parity with the USA, check out the link to this article on DT's Forum section.

DR can learn a great deal from South Korea's experience.

it can observe it, and that is about all. it cannot duplicate it. the human attributes, and cultural dynamics, are not equal. equal access to capital, technology, and opportunities, does not mean that outcomes will be equal. it is people who are the critical determinants, and we have different outlooks, and value systems. we believe in instant gratification...they believe in long term planning, with deferred successes.

we like to live large, as soon as we can, and consume, rather than save. Koreans in New York own most of the fruit stands. they have enough wealth to live an ostentatious lifestyle, yet some buy their work clothes at the Salvation Army. our guys but Fubu, and 250 dollar Reeboks with the first paycheck. they believe in community, and group help. it is the Eastern way. when the Indians bought up Elmont, New York, large groups pooled together to buy one house, for one family. when that family settled in, they moved on, same strategy, to the next. we do not even have a sense of community sufficient to inform us that it is not appropriate to awaken our neighbors at 2 am with our stereo system being played at full blast. you believe that they got to where they are because of market access? dream on

Dreadlocks
Well said....in fact all Asians do, it's in the culture.

When I was stationed in Korea all adults were given the unwritten rule.....when in public all adults shall discipline children when caught doing something wrong, it was a moral obligation.

Asian children never disrespected their parents, adult family members even strangers, Asian children have high regards and respect towards the elderly.

In America all we have is..... "It takes a village to raise a child" only because we still haven't found their parents yet.

I thought you were helping organize the Taxi operation-!

(Reuters) - New York City's financial perils have worsened because the state governor is rejecting a bill that would raise $1 billion by selling taxi medallions, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday.

The money raised by the taxi medallion sale would help the city cope with next year's $2 billion budget gap, and the $3.8 billion deficit in the following year.

"We have $5 billion deficits we're trying to close, and $1 billion would make a very big difference in terms of how we meet our obligations to balance the budget," the mayor told reporters.

Cuomo late Wednesday said he would veto the bill to sell 2,000 taxi medallions because it did not require 100 percent of the new cabs to be specially equipped to handle wheelchairs."

I've heard a good number of Dominican taxi drivers have organized to help the Mayor in his effort. Those Dominicans and their lack of forward thinking. But Dready knows better! ;)

Written by: xwill7, 14 Dec 2011 11:42 AM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
Now they want to be like the great city of Santiago?

Easy My dear friend! Now you are pushing me!

Capitai is Capitai and the rest is Monte & Culebra...

Don't mess with my Malecon and my Colonial Zone! LOL!!!!!!!!!

Pun Intended :)
Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

Written by: xwill7, 14 Dec 2011 12:42 PM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
atabey,
I thought that SD wanted to be little nueva yoi?
Oh dear Lord!

Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even if hell freezes over?!

That is Sadddddd. LOL

I spent part of my childhood in the Malecon/Colonial Zone areas. Good memories in grand part, but that is only if I bypass the experience of my last trip there. Huffff!

penjo,
We have the greatest baseball team too jajaja

Written by: xwill7, 14 Dec 2011 3:11 PM
From: United States, El cuarto bate
penjo,
We have the greatest baseball team too jajaja

Hahaha!!

Don't say that too loud. There is a Licey team! LOL.

Amen to that. I said that once in front of my Capitai friends and they are still attacking me that I am a turn coat who gave up The Capitai over a girl from Santiago! LOL :).

Capitai Capitai Capitai!!!!

La cibaena te amara muchacho!!!

Licey, jajaja no le tengo miedo

Riosm and Dread. I'm in total agreement with you guys....Again!.....Something's wrong here. I don't know what it is...But I'll find out! ..Then, watch out!

Okay, The carriages will be beautiful just to look at. Even more fun to ride. Hopefully, there will be a lane of traffic just for them. Also, heavy trucks and buses should be prohibited from transiting along the malecon boulevard.
Also, pedestrian malls should be designated permanently from el malecon to Zona Colonial. No motor vehicles allowed at any time!
Also, Let's try not to abused the horses that do all the work and get little in the way of proper food. Let's treat them kindly, please!

Well at least they will have more daily riders than the METRO and produce organic fertilizer to boot!

["Well at least the will have more daily riders than the METRO and produce organic fertilizer to boot!"]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, Josean! We've had a short cease-fire. Now it's all-out war again!!!!... Grrrr!

Who ever talks crap about Santo Domingo get a life. You can say all you want, but Capital es Capital, "lo demas es monte y culebras". And a really cheap imitation. But then again, imitation is the best from of flattery. And el Licey is ten thousand million times a better time than the Cotorras from "ei sitio".

Written by: riosm, 14 Dec 2011 2:48 PM
From: United States
Dreadlocks
Well said....in fact all Asians do, it's in the culture.

When I was stationed in Korea all adults were given the unwritten rule.....when in public all adults shall discipline children when caught doing something wrong, it was a moral obligation.

Asian children never disrespected their parents, adult family members even strangers, Asian children have high regards and respect towards the elderly.

In America all we have is..... "It takes a village to raise a child" only because we still haven't found their parents yet

interesting you address the disrespect for the elders issue. a few nights past, i sat in an internet cafe, awaiting my turn at a terminal. i must have been there the better part of half an hour, when one became available. a young girl, of , maybe, sixteen years old, tried to force her way in front of me, despite the fact that she had only just arrived. i told her that it was my turn, whereu

became ebullient and aggressive, in a most unpleasant manner. i am too old to get into confrontations with a child, one who could be my grandchild, so i simply got up, and left. such a thing would NEVER happen in an Eastern culture. a teenager would not even contemplate disrespecting his or her elders. so, when Atabey believes that market access , and foreign loans, and access to trade, will fix third world economies, and societies, it shows that he does not understand the problems.

capital es cemento y bajo... lo demas es aire puro y limpio jajaja

When SD can get real plumbers to fix all of the sewer smells, then come talk to me

Jealousy and envy gets you no where.

"i am too old to get into confrontations with a child, one who could be my grandchild, so i simply got up, and left. such a thing would NEVER happen in an Eastern culture. a teenager would not even contemplate disrespecting his or her elders. so, when Atabey believes that market access , and foreign loans, and access to trade, will fix third world economies, and societies, it shows that he does not understand the problems." -Dready

Sorry that you had that glitch to your day, Dready. As to the pertinent question of development you will always miss the boat on the particulars with regards to DR BECAUSE you fail repeatedly to make the effort to understand the reality of DR's evolution as a nation.

Have you any idea what DR was before you got there? Do you think the massive movement of hillbillies, especially after the assassination of Trujillo, coupled with the enormous shift after the aborted 1965 Civil Unrest were calming events? The absence of significant investments

in Primary and Secondary education has made things far worse than they aught to have been. Thus, these many ill-educated and mannered youngsters roaming around in their materialistic nether world of consciousness, oblivious to correct behavior and civilized attitudes. Their parents in the main also poorly educated. Then you add that wonderful population explosion from the even worse off Western part of the island to the mix, and whoa-la a 'marvelous combination" is produced.

What you observe is troubling and no doubt frustrating Dready. But it can quickly and systematically be reduced over a generation with SOLID investments in PRIMARY and SECONDARY education and training. Add a Nation-wide adult education program to the mix and even better results will be noticed.

DR was never an oasis of calm and modernity Dready! Within her locked chambers lived a massive poverty and unenlightened populace

Read some history of DR Dready, you still have some time left in the tank.

Atabey informs

DR was never an oasis of calm and modernity Dready! Within her locked chambers lived a massive poverty and unenlightened populace

neither was Korea. in 1960, only 8 % of the populace had high school graduate status, at a minimum. by 2000, that figure was over 60% the difference is that they got there, and we have not. it is not as though they were starting off with a distinct advantage. then again, they were....social capital.

If only we can get both parents [should we find them] of children in the DR to teach there children to respect Adults and WOMAN in general then we can add.....respect for other's property no dough crime would drop in general across the board.

RESPONSIBLE PARENTS RAISE RESPONSIBLE CHILDREN WHO ONE DAY WILL BECOME RESPONSIBLE PARENTS THEMSELVES.

After all children see how their parents treat each other.....is an indication of how they will treat their future spouses.

I'm retired now after working 26 years in the public school system and 19 years with problem adolescence's the hardest part was always dealing with their parents.

We can learn a lot from the Asian culture.