Travelingbug.org

Buenos Aires- Part 3 Crime

Crime is apart of life no matter what city you are in around the world.  You could be in New York City, Washington, D.C, or even Des Moines, Iowa and get robbed by somebody on the street.  While traveling through South America (Buenos Aires in particular) you will start to hear stories of people getting cameras, money, or even Ipod's stolen while walking down a street.   

I traveled through South America for almost 6 months, and I lived in Buenos Aires for almost 2 months.  I had no problems with people trying to rob me, nor did I have anything stolen from me during this time period!  Again, I had zero problems.  So do not listen to people who say South America is too dangerous to travel through, because if you are a smart traveler you will avoid shady situations.  During my trip I was careful about not flashing money in the streets, I would take pictures and then put my camera back in my backpack, and I didn't wear any jewelery.

Buenos Aires - Part 2 Transportation around the city

When I was living in Buenos Aires, Argentina I found that getting around the city was very easy and very cheap!  Locals and backpackers travel through the city by the same methods.

Colectivo (Bus)

The bus is the cheapest and easiest means of transportation around Buenos Aires.  You will be able to find a bus stop on almost every major street intersection.  The buses run 24 hours a day.  There are plenty of buses running in the morning through the evening, but when it gets to be past 11:30pm the buses start to be few and far between.  You could end up waiting 15-20 minutes for your bus instead of 5 minutes. 

When I arrived in Buenos Aires (Bs As) I was so confused on what bus I was supposed to get on to arrive at my desired location.  I had never really used the bus in my life, because I always had a car to get around in the States.  I quickly learned the only way I was going to learn what bus take was by buying a paperback guide book called "el Guia T."  This guide has every bus's scheduled stop and the route that it takes through the city.  Without this book I would have spent countless hours riding random buses.

Buenos Aires -Part 1 Intro to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina is my favorite city around the world!  It has it all!  It has great food, night life, and beautiful people.  Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, and has a population of roughly 14 million people (with surrounding areas).  It is located on the River Plata directly across from Uruguay.  It is hard to explain the electric feeling that Buenos Aires has by using words.  It has the culture of South America with a touch of Europe.  Buenos Aires is known as the Paris of South America, but I think of it more as a cross between New York City and Barcelona, Spain.  Even by comparing Buenos Aires to other big cities there are so many differences that make Buenos Aires unique.  Buenos Aires (Bs As) has so much to offer the budget traveler: its very inexpensive to travel through, tourist sites, the food (asado and gelatto ice cream), the world's best tango dancers, and the best futbol (soccer) in South America.

Here is video from CARP (River's home futbol stadium)

Iguazu Falls- Video of the Week

This video of the week comes from Iguazu Falls.  It is a huge waterfall that is located on the boarder of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.  The video is shot from the Argentina side of the falls overlooking the "Devil's Throat" (el garganta del diablo) section.  If you want more information on Iguazu falls check out my Blog I wrote about the falls.

Should I always carry my passport?

Thank God that I never lost my passport while I was traveling the world!  During my trip I did meet travelers that did have their passports stolen while abroad.  Trying to get another passport is a headache that you don't want or need during your world trip.  There are a couple of things that you do not want to lose while you are traveling: atm card, credit card, and most important your passport.   

Before I left on my trip I had made two color copies of my passport and had them lamented.  I hardly ever carried my passport with me while I was walking around cities being a tourist or while I was going out at night.  I would keep my passport back where I was staying.  Most hostels have a lock box for you to keep your belongings in.  Some hostels have lock boxes but no locks.  So on your trip I would also suggest that you bring your own pad lock to lock up your things and keep them secure.

Ipod- new songs during your trip

I can't tell you how many times I listened to the same songs on my Ipod during my trip.  I basically stopped listening to my Ipod, because I had listened to them so many times.  By the time I made it to SE Asia I had been traveling for about 7 months, and I needed a new play list.  I had no idea how this was going to happen until I arrived in Vang Vien, Laos.

There was this internet cafe that was located across the street from the only Indian restaurant in town.  This internet cafe would allow you to drop off your Ipod one day and pick up your Ipod the next day with new songs on it!  They would charge you $1 US Dollar to upload 12 songs. 

Throwing a Grenade in Phnom Phen, Cambodia

When I traveled through SE Asia I had heard a lot of stories from other travelers about how you could shoot AK-47's, M-16, throw Grenades, or even shoot a rocket launcher in Cambodia's capital Phnom Phen.  I was traveling with my friend Howard from Brighton, England, and we decided to hire a Tuk-Tuk for the day and check it out.  The driver took us to a military base about 20 minutes from the center of town.  There were soldiers there and then other guys dressed in street clothes that spoke English.  They showed us a menu, and we had to just tell them what we wanted to shoot or throw.  This video is of my friend Howard throwing a grenade at this military base!  Enjoy!

Tubing in Vang Vien, Laos

I have never seen any place like Vang Vien, Laos.  It is like an oasis in the middle of the desert.  I had been traveling through SE Asia for about 3 weeks, and was having the time of my life.  Almost every backpacker that I had talked to since arriving in SE Asia was telling me about this town called Vang Vien.  It is known around SE Asia as the "chill out town" for backpackers.  When I arrived there, all the stories I had heard about were true.

There is no other reason to stop here other than taking a "break" from your traveling.  Vang Vien is a small town, but it has a couple of main things that are going on.  I was traveling with about 6 people that I had met on the "slow boat," and we were able to find a place to stay on the main street the street.  You can't believe how cheap it is.  I paid $1 US Dollar a night to stay in a hotel with another traveler that had a room with 2 beds, our own bathroom.  I am not saying this was the Ritz Carlton, but it was a nice place.

Flying into Chile

Before I left on my world trip I had not met anybody who had traveled South America.  I didn't have anybody to give me tips on the ins and outs that you learn in hostels.  I thought the only way to travel great distances was to fly.  So I booked a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile through Aerolineas Argentina. 

It was my first plane flight that I was taking after leaving the States.  Right after checking in at the airport (EZE), I was instructed that I had to pay an "airport" tax.  It was 60 pesos ($20 US Dollars)!  I had to go to the entrance of the airport to a special office that was set up to collect money from travelers.  They attach a sticker to your plane ticket that you have to show an employee before you go to customs.  I had never heard of paying an airport tax.  I think in the State's all the fees are in the price of the ticket.  I prefer the State's way of doing it, because you take care of all the fees at one time.  At the airport tax window, they do not take credit cards.  You have to pay cash!  When traveling outside of the states, I hate to use my dollars if I don't have too, but I had no other option since I couldn't use my credit cards and didn't have any pesos left.

$10 Guitar

After traveling the world for 11 months I got to be pretty good at killing time.  I can't tell you how many hours I rode on buses, boats, cars.  Or how much time I spent waiting in bus stops and in airports.  I wish I would have kept count...With so much time on your hands you start to think of different ways to spend your time.  I listened to my Ipod hours upon hours, and also read numerous books. 

Before I left on my trip I had two goals.  The first was to learn Spanish and the second was to learn to play the guitar.  After traveling 7 months I still had not even attempted to play the guitar.  I was starting to think to myself that I was wasting time by not getting a guitar.  I had rented a bike in Hue, Vietnam and had been riding all over the city.  As I was returning from the countryside I passed a guitar shop in the downtown area.  I stopped my bike and asked how much the guitar was.  The sales lady brought out her calculator to show me how much it was and it was, and it turned out to be 16,000 Dong ($10 Us Dollars).  I couldn't believe it.  I rode my bike back to the guest house and got my money and went back to the shop.  I bought the guitar and a carrying case for it and I was on my way!