Bolivia

[Prawn_86]

The Republic of Bolivia, named after Simón Bolívar, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west. From 1839 Sucre was the seat of government until the administrative capital was moved to La Paz in 1898. Sucre remains the constitutional capital and seat of the Supreme Court.

[Prawn_86]

Read the book 'Marching Powder' for an interesting insight into a Bolivian prison. Crazy stuff...

[fleeta]

Hey, i´m currently in La Paz travelling and it is a pretty crazy city. The best thing to do here though is to go to a pena (traditional stage show). I went last night and it was awesome and I got pulled up on stage to dance with a Bolivian girl. The musicians are great and so are the costumes. Otherwise, highlights of La Paz are the Witches Market where they sell all kinds of weird stuff such as dried llama fetuses and Moon Valley which is this bizarre limestone formation just out of the city.

The best thing about Bolivia is that it is so so cheap. They make these sultena pastry things that are like pasties. You can grab a couple of them and a coke for like A$2. The pena show which was one of the most expensive was 3 course meal and show for A$25. Anyone can live like a king here.

[Prawn_86]

Hey Fleeta,

That sounds great! We are ging to try and get to South America next year.

Whats the safety like in Bolivia? Do you feel safe on the streets and stuff? And can you get away with english only or do you need some spanish?

[fleeta]

Hi Prawn.

Great forum by the way.

I had an english speaking guide in Bolivia from Magri Turismo who was great. Outside of La Paz english isnt very widely spoken and I think it would have been hard to get around without an english speaking guide as the transport system is not intuitive at all.

I was walking the streets at 11pm at night, no worries. Saw a few passed out drunks and beggars but all in all felt pretty safe. During the day they often have protests (we saw a big one that closed major roads), but there is good police prescence and feels safe. The biggest concern is the poor footpaths and steep streets as I rolled my ankle badly!

[Joncya]

Well if your a tourist that come from 1st world country and you want to visit 3rd world country, sure you can live like the king, because it is much cheaper there. The value of your money is much bigger than their currency, no wonder.

[travelheart.eu]

Hey, I don't think is difficult to learn some spanish. Also it is very useful for other American countries and sometimes in other parts of the world too.
Then you could be indepenedent of any englishspeaking guides, spend less buying directly from local people or just know them better.

[travelheart.eu]

By the way anybody knows a cheap conenction from Europe or US to Bolivia? I am stuggling to find something but all flights are extremely expensive or there is no flights at all :(

[Prawn_86]

Hi TravelHeart,

Welcome to ATF :)

I am currently on holidays so cant write much, but as far as i know most flights into sSouth America are expensive due to not many airlines operating those routes, hence no price competition

[buddinghealth]

I think an English speaking guide would be a great idea, visiting these sort of countries is a real adventure. Much of SE Asia is now very 'easy' to travel through which can take the fun out of it, South America is still up and coming and offers good opportunities for travellers I think

[danviettravel]

Hey, i´m currently in La Paz travelling and it is a pretty crazy city. The best thing to do here though is to go to a pena (traditional stage show). I went last night and it was awesome and I got pulled up on stage to dance with a Bolivian girl. The musicians are great and so are the costumes. Otherwise, highlights of La Paz are the Witches Market where they sell all kinds of weird stuff such as dried llama fetuses and Moon Valley which is this bizarre limestone formation just out of the city.

The best thing about Bolivia is that it is so so cheap. They make these sultena pastry things that are like pasties. You can grab a couple of them and a coke for like A$2. The pena show which was one of the most expensive was 3 course meal and show for A$25. Anyone can live like a king here.

I have a friend living there and she also told me this!
Well! It sounds so interesting that I want to have a holiday to this country at once!