Bogota London-style

After a tiring 17h bus ride though the Colombian mountains I am back to where I started, my beloved Bogota. Despite my mud-protection efforts most of my body feels a bit burned (I don´t want to know how it would have been without it).

not that I got my liquidity back I decided for a “deluxe” transportation back to Bogota (for 3$ more).

mind the difference between the two red bank notes :D

a very typical snack in Colombia. It doesn´t really have a taste but reminded me to very crunchy crackers.

looking out the window

I started using my tablet more and more during the trip

This time I decided to stay in one of the modern parts of the city. I read some Articles describing Bogota as being as cosmopolitan as Buenos Aires (after all it has 9 Million inhabitants). So why not give it a second chance after my first dodgy impressions.

And yes, Bogota can be very different. This time I looked for hostels in the trendy neighborhood of Chapinero. After the Caribbean flair of my last destinations this suburb is gives you a pretty strong culture shock. All the buildings are of British brick architecture. There are stylish cafes, pubs, boutiques and indie stores. It looks much more like a trendy neighborhood in of London (from what I remember). Also the people here are as western as possible in style and looks (also they actually speak decent English). Though language doesn´t pose a big obstacle here anymore. I practiced my Spanish in speed-talking Medellin and the sloppy Caribbean slang. When I got into the cab that took me to my hostel I could almost hold a regular conversation with the taxi driver. They speak so slow and clearly around here, it makes you almost forget how much you usually struggle to get through. Very rewarding.

So now I am sitting in the Café Verona (Café / Irish Pub mix) drinking my cappuccino and write on my laptop as if I was in Melbourne and it actually feels like what all the locals around me are actually doing. So I take back some of my previous negative statements regarding this city. It is surely big enough for a large variety of experiences.

Below you find some impressions from my last ride and my arrival. There will be more tomorrow.

At night I explored a little bit the night life around the area. Some of the bars and clubs (since it is Saturday). Northern Bogota has a pretty cool night life. I was glad that I checked it out. Tomorrow I am going to check out some more neighborhoods in the north. You will read of it soon.