Trinidad is the "big sister" island to Tobago - over there life is totally different from what is found on Tobago - life in Trinidad is humming, with cosmopolitan cities, delightful old buildings and colonial architecture (unfortunately now being over run by modern glass structures...) large scale shopping, malls, cinemas, restaurants and nightlife and - arguably - the world's biggest and greatest Carnival. Trinidad Carnival has spawned and inspired several other Carnivals around the globe wherever "Trinis" have settled including - Labour Day Mas in Brooklyn, Notting Hill Carnival in London, Miami Carnival, Mas in Toronto, Jamaica's Orange carnival and more.

There is a serious side to the big island as well - art galleries, museums, parks and green spaces. The heartbeat of Port of Spain is the Queens Park Savannah, where the Emperor Valley Zoo and Botanic Gardens are both found. There are world class wildlife sanctuaries at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, Nariva swamp, Pointe a Pierre Wildfowl Trust and active leatherback turtle protection patrols at Matura and Grande Riviere beaches. The population are descendents of people who migrated here from all over the globe - India, West Africa, the Mediterranean) and many still practice various religions. Today there are many notable religious structures including the Divali Nagar complex, the Hindu Temple in the Sea, mosques, churches and cathedrals....

Trinidad's creativity and musical diversity deserve special mention. Calypso flourishes here and some of it's most outstanding expressions during the 1900's came from early Trinidad calypsonians like Kitchener, Sparrow, Melody, Atilla, Spoiler. Today's kaiso masters include David Rudder, Shadow, Shorty, Machel, Shurwayne and the avant garde styling of 3 Canal.

Then there is the steelband - conceived in the slums of Port of Spain in the post-World War II years, this unique instrument was invented when unemployed young men in the streets discerned musical notes when beating a discarded steel oil drum (hence "steel drum" or "steel pan") .... from first playing "Mary had a Little Lamb", Trinidad's top steelbands are now full orchestras with over 100 players performing classical compositions, popular music and of course calypsoes. The quality of Trinidad's steelband performances is unmatched anywhere in the world.

There is more still - Trinidad's Spanish heritage has left a thriving musical tradition at Christmas - the Parang or Paranda - songs which tell the story of the birth of Christ, in Spanish and with Latin rhythms are very popular with a large cross-section of the community. The Asian musical influence is extremely strong - with a totally Trinidadian hybrid called "chutney" music which is Indian calypso music. Very interesting! At the classical level, Indian dance is popular and classical sitar music flourishes, notably through Mungal Patasar who, after graduating at the top of his sitar class in India, returned home to Trinidad to create beautiful crossover music combining the sitar and steelpan (PANTAR), ragas and calypso. He singlehandedly popularised the 'sounds' of India outside the local Hindu communities.

So this is Trinidad - a complex, cosmopolitan community of 1 million people living in a modern Caribbean society. A visit to Trinidad is a completely different experience from a visit to quiet, laid back, sedate Tobago with her fifty-five thousand god fearing people living near the sea. Trinidad and Tobago are as different as two islands can be.