Loafing around in Alicante, Spanish style

This year it hasn’t been a warm summer in London. And somehow all of my last few vacations have been to coldish places. So I desperately wanted to have a warm and relaxing European getaway before summer was over. So at the last minute in August, I booked a short 5 day break to Alicante as it had direct flights from London. And of course, it was a hot place as the weather in Spain is always warm. And what a vacation it turned out to be!

View of Costa Blanca, from Altea

I hadn’t really researched much about what to do when there. But it turned out, there was a lot more to do than I would have expected. Which was definitely a bonus. The whole coast around Alicante is known as Costa Blanca and is full of touristy things to do. There are islands nearby, beaches to sunbathe in, towns to visit, castles to explore and amazing shopping to splurge on. So, over the 5 days, we managed to do a lot of different things:

• Alicante and around: Explored Old Town, the promenade and the local beach - Playa de Postiguet, trekked up Castillo de Santa Barbara and visited the amazing beach of San Juan
• Nearby places: Drove to the nearby villages of Villajoyosa, Abril, Altea and Elche and spent time on the beach as well as walked through town
• Island of Tabarca: Took a ferry to Tabarca island and swam in its hidden coves
• Shopping: Shopped at the Spanish brands - Zara and Mango - which have huge stores here, offering better variety, and at lower prices than London

But most of all, what I found most different about the vacation was the long 3 hour lunches we had on the beaches and the daily siestas we took when it was too hot to be outside. That really helps you set the pace for a relaxed enjoyable vacation.


Alicante and around

Getting there

While landing in Alicante, I found the Spanish scenery quite a contrast to London. London had been very green, while Spain had lot of interesting but brown landscapes on the way. There were some mountains but they seemed to be full of dried brown stepped fields. After the mountains also, most of the area looked very brown, with some small shrubs or greenery scattered here and there, but mostly brown. It still looked quite picturesque from the air though.

While landing, Alicante looked like a spread out industrial and boring city (all the houses had swimming pools though!). It did scare me a bit initially as I hadn’t researched by then whether there was enough to do in the city or not. And the first views were not encouraging. The airport was small and I took the shuttle bus (c6) to town. It was a quick ride, but even this ride did not look inspiring. The landscape was all brown and dry, and the outer city just felt like it was full of industrial buildings everywhere. I did have a moment of doubt whether I had chosen the right vacation spot or not.

When I got down at the bus terminal and walked to my hotel, all my doubts went away altogether. I first walked on the palm lined waterfront. And then through Old Town. The walk turned out to be quite enchanting. And the weather had also got warm by then. So it all felt perfect suddenly 😊.

The Old Town

The Old Town was full of colourful yellow and orange buildings everywhere, with the cobbled streets in between. And there was some pretty architecture to observe all around. It was always a pleasure to walk in this area as it was the most active place around.

Streets of Alicante

During afternoons, all the restaurants were full, and people would be sitting outside in the streets having a lazy lunch in the sun. Some of these streets were also lined with trees which made it easier to be outside. The temperatures were really hot during the day and so everyone preferred to be inside. So the town would become totally empty after lunch, from say 3-7 pm when everyone was off for their siestas. It was a bit difficult for me to do that the first day if you are not used to daily siestas. But by the end, I was also totally in the zone 😆.

And then evenings again, the town became alive and there would be people all out of their homes, eating and shopping. There were lot of small squares with palms trees giving shade to people who were lazing there. It seemed like the regular place for everyone to get together. The streets here were lined with antique iron lamps which would switch on every night. And it gave the town a very old world charm. The whole ambience in this part of town was always lively even at midnight. In fact by then, people would still just be starting their evening.

We spent a lot of time in this part of town, mostly just walking around, doing a bit of shopping, seeing some sights and just generally chilling when we were there. We did hear one day of a boat dance party which was planned but we got to it late. But its definitely something to do if you can.

One of the days we had to get our car filled with petrol and I followed google maps to find a petrol pump. I think I must have landed at the smallest petrol pump in the world! It was literally just a pump setup on one edge of a square, right on the road! I actually drove past it once and had to take a full round to come back to it to find it. It was definitely an interesting experience.

The Promenande

The main promenade of Alicante is on one edge of the Old Town, and runs all along the beach. One side of the promenade is lined with restaurants and local markets, while on the other side you can see all the yachts parked in the water. And as you walk, you come to the local town beach.

The Playa del Postiguet beach was a long one with the castle on one side of it, then the high-rise resorts and then the hundreds of people in their coloured umbrellas, in the water. The sunset from there was striking. The beach was too crowded though and I decided not to go there at all.

Summer concert

The promenade was full of people every time I went there, enjoying a stroll outside next to the water. They had some small trinket markets there, mostly run by the Africans. One of the evenings, they had a free summer concert going on in the open, where I sat for a bit. Most of the women in the audience were using paper fans, it was so hot. I haven't seen anyone use such fans for years now, but clearly it was a thing in Spain.

One of the days when we had lunch on the Promenade, there was a group of old Spanish musicians singing and playing Spanish music all afternoon. It was lovely to just sit there, under the palm trees, listen to the music, enjoy the food and just observe people walking around with nowhere to reach. And the breeze from the sea making it feel cooler than it was. It felt so perfect to be there. How much I miss this in London?!

Castillo de Santa Barbara

View of the castle from the ferry

Castillo de Santa Barbara is a small castle on top of a mountain, right in the middle of Alicante. It is visible from across the city and overlooks the main beach. One of the evenings, we walked up the castle which was a 30 mins walk up the road. Apparently you can walk from Plaza del Carmen but we took a longer route along the road. This route went around the mountain and then had a steep climb up through the forest hills. The forest walk was refreshing, though there an almost deafening sound of crickets on this which felt quite out of place. Overall, it was a nice short walk up, though given it was still hot and sunny, it wasn’t as easy as expected.

The castle

The castle on top, though small was impressive. It had a wall all around, and many smaller buildings and towers inside. You could easily explore it for an hour. It was partially bright with sun and sometimes in the shade. It definitely felt better once the sun had set. The castle had great views of the city below, the beaches, its blue waters, and the hills beyond.

Sunset over Alicante

We also got to view an impressive sunset over the city. They also have some cafes for people who want to spend more time there, plus they were also getting ready for a concert in the evening. So the castle definitely felt like a hub of activity and worth a trek up. It was especially refreshing while coming down when the weather got cooler and breezier.

Eating out in Alicante

Spain is a foodie’s heaven. They love their food, and even the small villages we visited had multiple restaurants offering some great fare. Our favourite foods during the trip were patatas bravas, garlic prawns, fish or veg croquettes, padron peppers and spanish omelette. We ended up ordering the same things at most of the places we went.

The Spanish really love long lazy lunches, and most of our lunches turned out to be 3 hours long along the beach, as the waiters took their own sweet time to get the menu, take the order, get the order, get the bill and then the machine to get paid! Not that we were complaining, as the long lunches were totally welcome during the hot afternoons.

Nou Manolin

In Alicante, we went to Nou Manolin twice for dinner. Its a famous restaurant but as we had no booking, we sat in their bar on the ground floor. And the ambience was very lively. There was the bar in the middle, with lot of green decorations. And it was full of people both evenings. They serve such huge servings of starters that one of the days, I didn’t even have a main course! Their paella is to die for. I had the lobster one and loved it totally. But most of it, I loved the overall lively feel of the place.

One evening, we had dinner at Casa De Leon, again in the Old Town which had a very interesting Spanish fusion menu and I loved it. It had outside seating which is always preferable. And one afternoon, we walked to La Tavernas del Gourmet for lunch which had great reviews. Once at the restaurant, we realised they had a place to sit outside also on the promenade. So we just chose to go there, enjoy a nice meal while just sitting outside in the sun enjoying the warm lazy air. I had one average meal in Alicante which was at a vegetarian place called Bodhi Green. That was definitely a bad idea as they took the vegetarianism to the next level. Definitely not a place for me!

Of course the Spanish eat their dinner late, starting at 9 pm. Then go for drinks after 12 and then go partying after, staying out till very late. We never got past the dinner as we were too tired with the siestas and long lunches by then 😜 but the areas of El Barrio and El Casco Antiguo are good to go for drinks while websites recommend to go to the Puerto area after 4 am for partying.

Shopping in Alicante

Spain is known for its Mango and Zara, and I recommend it totally. The prices are cheaper, the clothes variety more colourful. The shops here were open till very late at night (9/10pm depending on the day) plus the sales made it such a pleasure to shop. There were also loads of local boutiques and shops selling clothes and locally manufactured shoes (apparently this region is famous for its shoes too). They were always a pleasure to browse through and shopping is one of the things I would recommend to anyone going to Spain.

Hotel in Alicante

We had booked a relatively inexpensive hotel called La City Mercado for our stay. But it turned out to be just perfect for us. Its location was its best part. It was right next to the Old Town which ensured that we were able to walk or take local transport to all the places we wanted to go to. It was walking distance from the shuttle I took from the airport, 10 mins walk from the central stations where all the car rentals were located and minutes from the tram/bus stations to San Juan beach. We were located right in the Old Town, again walking distance from all the sites of the town, the Castillo de Santa Barbara, supermarkets, ATMs as well as the party areas. And the hotel was clean, with nice convenient room and good quality service. All for a very reasonable price. Totally worth it!


San Juan beach near Alicante

Tram to San Juan

One of the days, we spent only on the nearby beach of San Juan. It was a bus ride away from Alicante, and even though it is technically in a different city, it felt like being within Alicante itself. Getting there is easy - there are multiple options. You can either take tram L3 or L4. Or a few of the bus options. We decided to take the tram and it was very very convenient (and cute). It took us about 20 mins to get there. The tram route was along the beach and it felt like the area was continuously inhabited all the way, lined with holiday apartments along the coast. It was an enjoyable and short ride to the beach.

San Juan beach

The beach is apparently 7 kms long and on both sides there were small mountains. All along it, there were high-rise hotels and restaurants. Right next to the beach was a walking promenade, lined with palm trees. And once at the beach it was heaven. The sun was out, there was a breeze, the sand was white, the waters were deep blue, full of waves, the beach was lined with colourful umbrellas and thousands of people were there. All enjoying this paradise 😊.

We spent a couple of hours on the beach, alternating between sleeping on the sunbeds in the shade and swimming in the warm waters, going up and down with the waves, and swimming deep in the ocean. It was heavenly, as if time had stopped and we were just floating. I loved the day spent there, totally relaxed, with nothing to do and nowhere to go (other than back into the water when the temperatures felt too hot!). The water was warm, but coolish enough after the hot sun outside. And there were loads of waves which made it fun swimming in the waters. This beach was definitely the high point of my trip and we did not want to leave at all.

We had lunch at one of restaurants along the promenade - Lorea which served Basque food. It was bit tough to get something I could eat but whatever I got was tasty. And then sadly it was time to get back to Alicante. It was very tough to leave the place. But we did manage to pull ourselves away somehow 😜. We took the bus this time (no 22) which again took just 20 mins back to drop us to the centre of Alicante town.


Nearby villages of Villajoyosa, Abril, Altea and Elche

We spent one of the days driving to some of the nearby villages on the Costa Blanca and what a revelation it was. Each village had something different to offer. Our start to the day (as all days in Spain) had been a bit late and we decided to rent a car. It easy to just walk to the car rentals near the station and get one. I did manage to get a much cheaper rate, booking online while at the car rental shop than what they were offering us!

We took the day as it came, first driving east, towards the village of Villajoyosa (or La Vila Joiosa) which was about an hour away. The drive was mostly through motorways and some small roads. And it was picturesque. Most of the time, the route was lined with bare brown mountains on the side but at times we would glimpse beautiful houses on them. They were mostly orange and yellow coloured villas all on mountain tops, with views of the beach below. It looks like the entire area is full of holiday homes, and why not? The sun, the warmth, the palms, the glistening blue water and the waves. No wonder Spain is so popular among holiday home owners in Europe. Its paradise.

Beach at Villajoyosa

We first drove to Villajoyosa and just looked for the beach on the GPS. All the parking along the beach was full, so we parked a bit inside the village and then walked to the beach. The first views of the beach were magnificent. Golden yellow sand, with blue waters, scorching heat with green palms to provide shade and colourful houses all along the way. There were hundreds of people on the beach, all either in the water or sitting under colourful umbrellas. It felt like a great place to relax. And it was really hot that day too, just the perfect excuse to get into the water. I went into the water only for the a bit but found the sand too hot to walk on.

The rest of the time, we just sat by the restaurants on the promenade and had a nice 3 hour long lunch in the typical Spanish leisurely way. The food was the usual we would order - tapas orders of garlic prawns, patatas braves, spanish omelette and some fish. It felt nice just to sit and have a nice long lunch without a thought to bother. Just perfect.

Beach at Abril

After the lunch, we thought of driving to another beach, and from the map, just picked the beach of Abril. And it turned out to be even better. The whole area turned out to be quite a richer high end area with huge holiday homes lined with trees everywhere. You could feel the richness of the place just looking at the cars and the people around. The beach there was awesome too. It had mountains on both sides with some of the peaks covered with clouds even in summer. This beach was more windy than the previous one and that’s why felt cooler. The water was a deep blue, and the beach though pebbly was full of umbrellas and sunbeds everywhere. It felt awesome to be out there after a heavy lunch. So we got our 2 hour daily siesta here on the beach. And when the weather got cooler, we left to explore the old town of Altea.

Streets of Altea

It took us a bit to find a parking near the old town, known as Casco Antiguo. The Altea old town was enchanting. It was full of narrow cobbled streets, up and down the hill, lined with white houses all around. Just like you see in pictures from the islands in Greece. There was small shops everywhere and people were selling their locals wares. There were also loads of restaurants all around.

Streets of Altea

The architecture is very Moorish, and the squares on the top reminded me of Granada. There was a church on the peak which was worth exploring. From the top, we could also see some grand views of the sea, the beaches and the mountains around. This was my most memorable view from the entire trip. And I totally enjoyed our stroll in this village.

After the third stop of the day, we were in two minds whether to visit another place or not, but then decided to do it anyways. Our last stop of the day was the city of Elche which was famous for some palm groves. This was not a coastal village and turned out to be a much more modern and bigger city. But its city centre still had a nice small town feel to it.

Grand Basilica

We parked near the city centre and explored the area on foot. We first walked to the Grand Basilica which was quite grand and currently full of people. They were showcasing the religious play called misterio which is enacted there once a year. Then we walked around to the palm grove park and the old museum which had lights on and looked heavenly at night. But it was too late to visit the places as they had shut down. So we ended up just walking around a bit and finally stopping for dinner. We had a leisurely Italian dinner at one of the local restaurants, Lungo Mare and were on our way back by nighttime.

Museum at Elche

There are some other scenic villages on the coast which are worth visiting, like Javea and Novelda. And Altea apparently has many great restaurants, including Michelin star ones. But as I quite often say, for the next time 😁. We had a very fun-filled day visiting these villages, and even though we started with no plans, we ended up doing a lot. The villages were quite similar but unique in their own way. They had the typical beaches, but the old towns were full of colourful houses and made for a fine few hours of strolling around in a cosy atmosphere. All in all, definitely worth a visit.


Tabarca Island

My last day was spent in the island village of Tabarca, very close to Alicante. Its easy to get there, you can just take a 1 hour ferry ride from the Kontiki boat company on the promenade. They have multiple ferries going there every morning. When I tried to get on one, it got full just 2 people before me in the queue and they told me to get the next one. I had to get in with a bit of senti, as my flight was later in the day. But it did help as I got to spend enough time on the island.

Main beach on Tabarca Island

It was a very interesting trip, as I didn’t enjoy it at first but then realised how much the quaint island had to offer. The island is quite small and you can walk all around it in 20-30 mins I think. When you land, you walk into the first beach which was crowded to say the least. That did put me off for a bit as I didn’t feel like getting into the water then. So I walked around the island a bit which was bare and hot. There was a tower and some small buildings to explore. I ate at one of the crowded restaurants next to the main beach and by this time I still thought the place was too touristy.

Streets of Tabarca

Then I walked into the small village and my view changed. The village had the narrow coloured streets which made it quite an enchanted place. There were cafes and local restaurants, squares with benches, small churches and the island walls, all providing magnificent views.

One of the smaller coves

And while walking around the village, I also came upon hidden coves with stone structures and cliffs all around which were just perfect for enjoying the sun. There were small groups of people going into the waters in these protected areas, snorkelling, sunbathing and swimming. And this felt perfect, away from the crowds on the main beach. And the water was such a deep blue, it was breathtaking. I spent some time in these areas and then it felt like worth coming to this little paradise away from the mainland.

It was a bit hot earlier when I was in the main beach but had got cloudy and windy later which made the whole experience more enjoyable. The ride back in the ferry was also amazing. I sat in the front of the ferry, outside in the sun with the wind blowing in my face. And it was a spectacular ride!


And just like that, the trip got over. The weather had been awesome the time we were there, warm and comfortable. People around looked very chilled all the time. Altogether, there was something very calming about being there, forgetting work and just slowing down for a bit.

And so I found it very tough to bid adieu to such a mesmerising place. We had such an amazing time in Alicante, and it was such a surprise too as we hadn’t expected there would be so much to do. But it turned out to be the perfect vacation - with its mix of sun, water, beaches, food, villages, castles, islands, shopping.. And most of all, the relaxed pace of life to forget about everything else you’ve left behind. And feel fine with not doing too much. It was perfect. And I would suggest a trip to Alicante anytime, totally worth it!

A week in Japan, exploring Kobe and around

Japan during cherry blossoms

This year around the cherry blossom season, I got a chance to visit Kobe for a week on a work trip and then explore the places around on the weekend. I had visited Japan during the cherry blossom season just last year, but I still loved being there again. Most of my week was spent at work, but on the weekend I got a chance to see a few new places and enjoyed the experience. I visited Kyoto again, went to a local onsen at Arima village and visited the famous castle at Himeji.

And of course, I was once again impressed with the people and the culture of the country.

Workweek in Kobe

It was a long way to get to Japan as it was cherry blossom season, all major flights were already booked and I had to take a connecting flight through Helsinki. At the Helsinki airport, I noticed a lot more flights to Japanese cities, as compared to any other European airport. And then I remembered that the two countries share a very old and deep relationship.

Finland looked quite bare and snowed out from the air, with only a little bit of green here and there, while Japan was the opposite. The first views of Japan (once I woke up!) were of small green islands appearing in the water, with snow laden mountains visible far off and loads of fog everywhere. I hadn’t realised till then that Japan was quite a mountainous country.

Being back in Japan brought about an explosion of feelings (again), of its deep culture, its uniqueness and differences from the rest of the world and its eccentricities. Again I felt like an explorer, standing open-eyed in front of a country which has so much to offer to someone willing to explore. And immediately, I felt again that Japan is a juxtaposition of extremes. The old and the new, the polite and the kinky, the open and the closed. There are so many words which come to mind when thinking about Japan as a country - exotic, calm, deep, contradictory and so on. And it was the same this thing around as on my last visit to the country.

I had flown to the Osaka airport as it was one of the closest airport to Kobe. The airport is located on an island, connected to the mainland through a long bridge and it was about 1.5 hours drive to Kobe. As expected, the airport was very efficient and I was soon on my way. The road till Kobe was all along the port, totally industrial and very boring. So even though it was along the sea, it wasn’t really too exciting to look out.

Kobe

Kobe felt like a nice little city, modern with high-rises but with the mountains right next to it, providing it a lot of warmth and naturalness. At night too, the city looked awesome, with all the lights on and twinkling. The city felt a bit alien though at first, with so less written in English. It was not a typical touristy town, I could see that early on. And it felt like any other modern town in Japan, with high rises, steel and glass all around.

View from Nunobiki herb garden

There are a few things to do in Kobe but we didn’t have much time during the week. One day, we took a cable car and went up the Nunobiki herb garden which was right behind our hotel on one of the hills. It was a sunny day and so we enjoyed being out in the sun. We took the cable car up and got off midway. We then explored the area a bit, passing through some typical Japanese gardens. All along the walk up to the peak were herbs and flowers, set in various landscaped gardens. There was a glasshouse with some flower decorations set up. And we got some panoramic views of Kobe and the port down. You could also walk all the way down next to the Nunobiki waterfall, or just take the cable car down. And we ended up taking the cable car down. But it felt nice to be out and about for a bit.

One day we walked out from the hotel to a small street nearby which was lined with expat trader houses, and small shops from different countries. Apparently these were all houses of people from trading partners of Japan from much before, like British, Indians and so all. The small cultural houses felt nice after all the only high-rises we had seen around. It turns out Kobe is quite a multi-cultural town as such, as compared to some other Japanese towns, as it was one of the few and earliest Japanese towns which were open for business much before Japan opened up. But it wasn’t so apparent to me initially.

We did not go out of our hotel much though other than dinner at Kitano club which was a restaurant with a scintillating view of the city, especially at night with the twinkling lights and high-rises all around. I also went to Gaylord’s restaurant which is owned by a friend of mine. Its apparently one of the oldest Indian restaurants in Kobe, and I loved that I could eat Indian food there. Kobe is of course famous for its Kobe beef and sushi, but given my food preferences, I hadn’t been able to eat much of the Japanese food when I was there. So I really welcomed the Indian food!

About the Kobe hotels
I was staying in Crowne Plaza which was a multi storey hotel with the mountains on one side and the city on the other. The view of the city from the room windows were all beautiful. It had multiple restaurants on the 34th, 35th and the 36th floors with great views of the city but the restaurants all closed down by 830 pm! So you always need to hurry up if you want to eat dinner😜. The hotel was conveniently located for all travel around. If you take the lift to the bottom floor, you are right at the metro station as well as the Shinkansen, ready to explore all of Japan!


Trips from Kobe

I made Kobe my base for my weekend travels around. To be honest, it may not be the best option as its quite a lacklustre town. But it was definitely convenient to travel around.

Visit to Kyoto

On the last day of our training, we had half a day left and went for a quick trip to Kyoto, which given the fast bullet trains was so much more efficient and convenient than I would have thought. We took the Shinkansen from Kobe, which took about 30 minutes to get to Kyoto. Apparently you can take the slower trains too for much cheaper but we didn’t know. While going to Kyoto, we got a direct train, with one stop in between at Shin Osaka. And while coming back, we took a connecting one through Shin Osaka. But the train connections were very convenient and regular. Buying the tickets was a bit complicated though, as we had to buy both express tickets and fare tickets. And so had to stand in line after buying the tickets from the kiosk, as they only sell the express tickets.

Kiyomizudera temple

I had been to Kyoto before in cherry blossom season, so this time I explored a few places I hadn’t seen before. We first took a cab to the Kiyomizudera temple. On the way we drove by the river which had a few cherry blossoms just coming out. And lots of people were walking there, wearing kimonos. At the temple, the last time I had not gone in, but this time I explored the whole complex. It looked so beautiful, so serene and so majestic, I again loved it.

One of the smaller shrines

There was a main shrine and many smaller temples all around it, with most of the structures built of wood. After visiting the main temple, we walked on the mountains to visit the smaller stupas and temples. We got a view of Kyoto from the top, but there were not a lot of cherry blossoms. Most of them were just blooming. And I could already imagine how it would look like in just 3-4 days.

From the temple, we started walking towards the river, through the markets. We walked into a whiskey shop which was selling a lot of exotic and rare whiskeys. Then we walked along the river, where there were a few cherry blossoms just blooming. And on the other side, we could see the old houses, made of wood, from a time far away.

One of the Kyoto streets

We soon reached Gion and walked on the Pontocho alley. We knew we would need to eat soon and restaurants would also shut early. So we tried a lot of the small restaurants in the area which all looked very inviting. But most did not have a lot we could eat, or would have been tough to find something to eat given their limited English speaking skills. We tried searching on apps and find some good restaurants but they were all booked out!

During all this searching, we also walked next to the very small canals in this area, which were lined with cherry blossoms which had bloomed a lot more than any of the others we had seen. And the canals provided a great photo opportunity finally. Being in Kyoto always gives the feeling of having come back to a world from a long time away. I loved the blossoms there and the whole ambience, it was like reliving a year ago.

We had to walk around a bit to search for a place to eat, and then finally walked into a touristy place offering western food. It was right next to a canal and had some great cherry blossoms which provided a nice ambience as we sat outside for a bit next to the canal. Soon though it got too cold to sit outside and we sat inside for dinner. The food there was really bad but at least we were fed.

Anyways, we were done with our half day trip by then, and took a cab to take the Shinkansen back to Kobe. Wile driving back we realised that right next to the restaurant there were some cherry blossoms in full bloom which we had missed. Anyways, we took the Shinkansen from there and were very soon back in Kobe and all settled in.

I also realised this week that cherry blossoms blooming dates are so variable in the country. It was supposed to be peak season in Kobe the week and weekend I was there (as late as the week before, that was the forecast). But it had got cooler the last two weeks and the blossoms had got delayed by a week. People were planning picnics this weekend and they all had to postpone. And this year Tokyo peaked earlier than Kyoto, while last year, Kyoto peak was before Tokyo (which is normally the case).

So we had been extremely extremely lucky to have seen what we saw last year. Especially since we had booked our trip almost a year in advance. Generally tourists travelling from far with less flexibility would not be as lucky as we had been.


Day trip to Arima Onsen

On the Saturday, it was supposed to be a rainy day, so I kept the plan for the day more focused on indoor activity rather than outdoors and took a trip to the onsen in the nearby village of Arima. I first had to get an umbrella from the hotel where I was staying as it was so sunny. And then was off to the Sannomiya train station. As I was walking to the station, I walked past 2-3 Nepali-Indian restaurants on the way. Which I found quite interesting. That's a sure sign, that the place is touristy 😜.

I was also trying to take out cash that day and it turned out to be surprisingly tough as there were not as many ATMs around as I would have expected. I first walked to the ATM the hotel receptionist had told me about. And it turned out it didn’t even accept international debit cards! Thankfully, there was a Nomura ATM around to save the day.

I was earlier planning to take the underground to Arima, but I missed the train. Then I realised, there was also a bus option to get to Arima. Given that it was Japan, I decided to be adventurous and take the bus from Sannomiya bus terminal. The terminal was so huge, with trains, metro, buses and all the shops, that it took me a bit of help to get to the bus terminal within the building. It didn’t help that most people didn’t know English and there were very few signs in English.

The bus took about 45-50 mins to get there and it was an interesting experience altogether. The weather was very rainy and fresh. And the bus went through a tunnel, into the mountains. The whole drive was then through mountainous areas, with the bus stopping at many small villages on the way, like Tanigami and Hanayama. The mountains were mostly bare and sometimes the peaks were covered with fog. There were loads of bamboo trees lining the road side along the way. All villages had small streams flowing through them. And the village houses were sometimes pretty and sometimes not. And all along the bus route was the train line running next to it.

Arima village

When I got down at Arima, it was like I had come to a different era altogether. Arima is quite popular as a resort spa town and there were loads of tourists around. But still, the village felt very small, with wooden houses everywhere. There was a small river flowing through the middle, and still to bloom cherry blossom trees around it. It almost felt like an alpine village, with the mountains and the wooden houses, plus the rainy and cloudy weather.

I tried finding the onsen and it wasn’t easy to get around without English. So I walked into a hotel and got all the information I needed in one go. The onsen in Arima are apparently the oldest springs in Japan and they have two onsens there - the golden and the silver springs, both with different minerals and different properties. Both of them were walking distance from the centre, and I went to the closer one, called the Kin No You So.

It was quite an interesting experience to be there. All the systems around were working like clockwork, so it was all very convenient. There was a place to keep the umbrella, place for the shoes, kiosk to get your tickets, a queue for key to the lockers, lockers to keep clothes and so on, one after the other. There was a queue to get into the onsen as it was the weekend, so I had wait a bit. There were a few separate pools inside, all with different temperatures and minerals. The water was too hot though and I couldn’t stay more than 30 mins. But I did feel refreshed once I got out.

After that, I walked around a bit in the village and it was quite cute to be there. I walked through the market, with the wooden shops on both sides. And saw some of the pretty wooden houses around. It felt like I was in a different era, not the glitzy Japan we all know but a more older calmer slower Japan.

There were buses back every hour to Kobe, so I caught one of the last ones. And as expected, the buses left exactly on time from the bus stop. I was soon back to today’s age with the high-rises and the fast pace of Kobe. It almost felt that day that I had visited the Japan of old, from a different era. And felt very relaxed after being there.

In Kobe, I had dinner with Indian friends at the Gaylord restaurant, one of the older Indian restaurants in the city, running since 1973. As my friends had been staying in Japan for years, I learnt some more interesting titbits about the country, and as I said, Japan continues to amaze me.

The Japanese wear suits when working, and when not in suit means they are not working 😜. They mostly have mistresses and work very late. There is also apparently a huge Gujju community in and around Kobe, They are all third generation and have been staying there for a very long time, as Kobe was the only city open to trade while Japan was still closed. There is also a Jain temple and Gurudwara in Kobe, which I never expected!

Apparently, for all its law and order, Japan does have a very strong underground mafia (I guess anyone who sees movies knows that already, but for me that was news). They deal in drugs and fight each other, but are extremely polite to the locals. A funny scene I heard of was that when the Mafia Yakuza boss is running in the park, his 6-7 bodyguards run around him in suits. And when anyone passes them, they all bow to passers-by in synchronisation. In suits, while running😂. That is a sight I would like to see sometime.

The mafia regularly give gifts to the community and help the locals as they need their support to survive. They pay off the Japanese police, so looks like the Japanese police is also corrupt. And the mafia are supposed to have very cruel rules, especially of cutting off fingers. And hearing of all this really burst the Japanese bubble for me. So the Japanese again are this mix of extremes, honest and corrupt, lawful and lawless.


Himeji castle 

I decided to visit the Himeji castle on my last day as the weather was sunny and I hadn’t been there before. As usual, it was easy to get there with the convenient Japanese train travel. You just walk to the station and can buy tickets as there are regular trains going to all the major stations. For Himeji, I didn’t take the Shinkansen though as it was more expensive. I took the JR from Sannomiya and it took about 40 mins to get there. As Himeji was a touristy destination, they were announcing in English which helped.

The train ride was mostly right next to the ocean, and I saw grand views of the sea, the islands and some resorts on that route. I also saw the bridge to Akashi and Shikoku islands on the way. It was sunny too, so I saw some very fascinating views.

The town of Himeji seemed to be centred around the castle and the moment you get off the train, you can see the castle right in front. The path from the station to the castle was about 10 mins and it was lined with shops on both sides. I had lunch at the farmers lunch place - Sorairo kitchen, which thankfully had vegetarian options in the menu, explained in English. I had a pizza made in the Japanese style and then walked in to the castle.

Himeji castle

Himeji castle is a huge complex by itself. It has the main 7 storeyed white keep which is the most photographed part of it. And then all around, it has the castle walls, some small palaces and lot of towers as lookouts. There are many smaller gates and pillars inside. And the complex is surrounded by a huge moat. Everywhere in the castle, are planted hundreds of cherry blossoms trees, which would add to the magnificent views of the castle. At this time of the year though, they were just about to bloom.

View of Himeji

As soon as I entered the castle, I came onto a huge ground surrounded by the cherry blossoms. People were already picnicking in the garden even though the flowers hadn’t bloomed yet. This part of the castle was free to enter. When I got in, I first walked to the west bailey which had a long corridor displaying the history of the castle. It has been there for centuries, ruled by different families over the years. Princess Sen seems to be a famous occupant of this place. And it has strong defences setup too, all hidden under the beauty of the main keep. I also got some interesting views of the city outside, which was surrounded by hills on all sides. The city was bigger than it had earlier appeared.

Himeji Castle

The main keep is a beauty in white, perched on top of a small hill and visible from far away. It is built fully of wood and had been renovated multiple times. It has tiles and pillars, with stone walls for protection. There are multiple spots from where you can take pictures of this, each even better than the one earlier. And when merged with cherry blossoms, its a sight to behold. I can only imagine what it would look like when the blossoms are in full bloom.

View from the castle

It was very crowded this time of the year and there were long queues waiting to get inside. Inside the keep, I was surprised to see all the 7 floors were made of wood and were supported on two huge wooden pillars in the centre. It was built in the 14th century and is still standing tall, almost as it was then. Each floor has windows and places for weapons for soldiers to fight. It was a bit claustrophobic inside though especially with 1000s of tourists! Thankfully the foundation is strong and it doesn't fall apart as it feels it would. There are symbols of the families who built it inscribed outside. And the views from the window is a nice juxtaposition of the old and the new - the old castle walls against the gardens surrounding it and the huge modern city, all enclosed in a bowl.

Apparently there was a night festival also going on for sakura, which can be experienced in the evening when the castle is all lighted up. I had to get to Kobe before night, so I missed out. I did find a great cherry blossom there to get a nice pic though. I did a bit of shopping in the local department store and took the JR train back to Sannomiya.

And was off to Kansai airport in Osaka. The highway to the airport was lined with lights all the way, the shiny glitzy Japan we all know of, with high rises and lights dazzling everywhere. Its interesting how in a day, you can get from where to where in Japan.

At the airport, the counter opened only 2.5 hours before the flight while I turned up 4.5 hours before so I could chill in the lounge 🤣. It clearly din happen. Also a lot of the restaurants closed by 930 pm which was such a bummer. Anyways I got to eat some Udon noodles in one of the restaurants and was ready to come back to London.

Stay in Sannomiya Kobe Union hotel 
I was staying in a small boutique hotel in Kobe during the weekend and was surprised at how convenient it was. The rooms were small as per Japanese standards but everything else was great, especially the service.


Other things to do in and around Kobe

There are a few other things to do in and around Kobe if you have more time. I didn’t this time, but maybe for some other time...

• Roko cable car: You can take the cable car to go up the Roko mountain and spend a half day there
• Sakura tunnel: You can see a tunnel of cherry blossoms, and its about 15-20 mins bus ride from the city 
• Shukugawa: Line of cherry blossoms along the river, is about 15 mins train ride away 
• Awagishima: Is an island nearby, takes about 1 hour to get there 
• Wakayama: Beautiful countryside nearby, need a car to get there though

Impressions of Japan

• My first thought on landing in Japan was, how polite is everyone! I actually had a feeling of how nice it was to be with very polite people again. If there is someone walking behind you, he/she will wait behind you if you suddenly stop, and not try to cross you. Everyone who is providing any service will bow to you, especially in the Shinkansen. Everyone was so quiet in the trains, not talking to anyone else. And they all wear masks. I had a very interesting experience. We asked one of the guards how to take the connecting Shinkansen from Kyoto to Kobe. He did not know English and couldn’t help us. But once we boarded the train, the ticket master came to tell us how to get to Kobe! And it looks like the guards from the Kyoto station had told him to help the Indian lady on the train to get to Kobe😜. I am still amazed at this level of helpfulness and can't get past it
• It still felt a bit tough to get by with English. People speak much less English than what I was expecting. My friend said that most of the Japanese do know English as they are taught in school. But they are too shy to be wrong. So they prefer to not help you as their English is not great and they don’t want to be wrong. That makes more sense than most of the country not knowing English! Though I don’t mind some wrong English if it helps. But of course, when they can speak, they are extremely helpful and take a lot of effort and spend time to help you.
• The Japanese keep quite to themselves. And have too many rules. While coming down from the herb garden, no one would sit with a stranger in the same gondola. They would rather let it go empty and go onto the next one! Which led to long queues. Also there was a service person cleaning the gondola seats before the next person got it. Japan really has a very different standard of cleanliness than anywhere else I've been
• The Japanese have their dinner too early, at 630 pm! So a lot of the restaurants closed down by 10 or so. So we all needed to be extra careful everyday to get to the restaurants on time
• People follow the rules too much. I was checking out from my hotel an hour later and the receptionist said he would charge me extra for the one hour too! I tried asking him for a discount and he didn't get what I was asking him for 😝. Sometimes I feel Japan and India are quite on the opposite ends of many metrics

Argentinian cities of Ushuaia and Buenos Aires (3)

Patagonia around El Calafate (1) 
Patagonia around TDP (2) 

The blog below covers our stay in two of the cities in Argentina, Ushuaia and Buenos Aires. 

Day 10: Explore Ushuaia town; trip to Martillo island to see penguins; stay at Hotel Canal Beagle
Day 11: Ushuaia - trek to Esmeralda lake; flight to Buenos Aires (late night); stay at Hotel Park Tower
Day 12: Buenos Aires - explore Plaza de Mayo, San Telmo, Puerto Moreno waterfront; stay at Hotel Park Tower
Day 13: Buenos Aires - explore La Boca and Caminito, Cafe Tortini; see tango performance; stay at Hotel Park Tower
Day 14: Buenos Aires - explore Recoleta cemetery, central Buenos Aires; New Years Eve at Puerto Madero; stay at Hotel Park Tower
Day 15: Flight from Buenos Aires to London (afternoon)

The grand Buenos Aires

Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world and we spent two days there, exploring the town, do a short trek and take a trip to Penguin Island. In hindsight, we could have skipped it altogether. Then I spent 3 days in Buenos Aires which I totally enjoyed. For its culture, its beauty, its liveliness and its sun. It is a city with a soul of its own, a character of its own, a city I can see being enjoyable for longer periods of time too, not just as a tourist. 


Day 10: Exploring Ushuaia town; trip to Martillo island to see penguins

This day was quite a relaxed one for me, where I walked around and explored Ushuaia at my own pace. First and foremost, I woke up to Spanish music being played in the streets outside our hotel, which was a great way to wake up and kept me in bed longer as it was quite enjoyable to sleep to 😜.

Waterfront in Ushuaia

I walked all along the waterfront in the morning as it was quite charming. It was lined with lot of huge yachts and boats all along, with the sea channel and snow covered mountains behind it. As I kept walking, the other side of the waterfront past the port looked even prettier, with widely spaced coloured houses on the hill across the channel and small boats all moored in the water. It was quite a picturesque walk all along, changing from the commercial to a more rural feel.

On the way, I also walked into one of the local handicrafts markets and was surprised with the kind of things I found. They were the kind of stuff found in India and Africa, and was totally in contrast with how how developed and first world Argentina felt otherwise. Also, they were surprisingly quite cheap, so I bought a few to get back home. 

Ushuaia

Then I walked a bit in the city, and the high street. Ushuaia didn't look like a typical European town , which all look pretty no matter which country they are in. Even though all around there was nature, with high mountains on one side and the sea channel on the other, I still had to find beauty in the photos I was taking. That was because the city was so commercialised and looked industrial, that a lot of buildings were not pretty. There was beauty, but you had to look deeper to spot it.

Penguin Island

Some of my friends went to see the penguins on Martillo island which was a half day tour from 830 am - 4 pm. The tour was too long and apparently not as impressive as you only got to see the penguins from afar. My friends however, unexpectedly ran into a humpback whales and a few sea lions on the way, which turned out to an unexpected benefit.

Sea lions

Humpback whales

In the evening, we had dinner at Kalma and it was one of the best dinners we had in the country - very tastefully made food in a nice little place hidden among the residential parts of the city. A great find again.


Day 11: Trek to Esmeralda lake; flight to Buenos Aires (late night); stay at Hotel Park Tower

Wide valley in trail to Esmeralda lake

Today we did a short trek in one of the nearby forested areas, and then were off to Buenos Aires late at night. We took a shuttle bus to take us till the start of the Esmeralda trek from the tourist centre right in front of our hotel. It took us about 30 mins to get there and was through pretty mountains and scenic forests. It was the easiest trek we did on this trip, almost felt like a walk in the park 😀. It was 1.5 hour walk one way, 5 kms long with only 200 metres of total ascent. So we could enjoy the views around more than usual. 

Trail to Esmeralda lake

The walk was again picturesque, through green forests filled with huge tall trees. And then we walked through two huge open valleys with mountains on both sides which had been created during the glacier period of our earth's history. And the last part of the trek was right next to a small stream coming from the lake we were going to. All in all, it was an easy walk through very open paths and quite crowded with lot of tourists taking advantage of the good and warm-ish weather. 

Esmeralda lake

The end of the trail was the lake which had a unique greenish hue to it. Behind the lake were huge snow covered mountains which were feeding the lake. We were there for an hour, I sat at one end of the lake admiring the view and taking in the sunshine. It was great to sleep in the sun even though it was cloudy and dark in between. There were some grassy areas with stones against which you could sit. There were also lots of people there as it seemed like a popular place for tourists. Some of my friends went for a walk around the lake which was a bit of a obstacle race. And the walk back was also quick, and soon we were back in Ushuaia. 

Flying off from Ushuaia

Our flight was in the evening, so we had some time in between and we had a late but heavy lunch at Hard Rock cafe. I realised then that as much as bad press food chains get, they are perfect when you are looking for comfort and quick food options. Our flight was an hour late, so we spent a lot of time at the airport. It was a very small and simple airport right next to the ocean. While taking off the views were incredibly beautiful. Of the city spread out between high mountains and the sea. And even while landing in Buenos Aires, you could see the neatly laid out streets in squares, all lighted up. Half of it in yellow street lights and half in white! 

Ushuaia had a few other touristy things to do, like trekking up a glacier, taking the boat to a lighthouse, taking the train to the national park and so on. They also have loads of winter snow activities here. But in hindsight, I would say that Ushuaia has stuff to do but more so in winter than in summer. 


Day 12: Buenos Aires - explore Plaza de Mayo, San Telmo and Puerto Moreno waterfront; stay at Hotel Park Tower

I spent three lazy days in Buenos Aires and they were all lovely, spent in exploring all the interesting areas of the city, eating different kinds of food, seeing the tango dance and so on. The first day started late though as we had reached the city at 2 am in the morning and the hotel only by 3 am. We were surprised though to see how much of the city was active and alive even that late (or early!). The local airport was located right in the middle of the city though and it was very convenient to get to our hotels.

It was raining in the morning but got sunny and warm in the afternoon by the time I got out. And it felt so amazing to be out in the warm sun, especially after all our time in the mountains in Patagonia. Though I had to deal with mosquitoes, lots of them. Something I haven't done for years, being in London.

Paris of the East

BA is a very pretty city with a lot of depth. It is known as the Paris of the East and you can see how it was built with love and care. The central area is full of grand stone buildings with wide tree lined streets and lots of open spaces everywhere. It was a pleasure to explore it though it was easy to see how it has gone down over the years. Especially with all the overhead wires spoiling all the views.

It has many different areas for tourists to visit, all of which have a different character. The main ones popular with tourists are Retiro (the central area with touristy buildings), San Telmo (with antique shops), La Boca (football stadium and lot of street art), Puerto Madero (for the waterfront), Montserrat, Recoleta and Palermo. They are all closeby and easily walkable or uber-able. Though I later learnt that uber is illegal in the city!

Paris of the East

The first day, I had a lazy breakfast at the hotel and finally got out only at 4 pm. It wasn't so bad though as there was light till almost 11 pm as it was summer, so there was still a lot of time to explore around. Most of my day was spent in walking and seeing the sights nearby. I first walked from Retiro (where my hotel was) to San Telmo and then Puerto Madero. I first got onto Florida street which is a shopping street and apparently the oldest street in BA. It was pedestrian only, had nice shops and was very cheap. There was a very laid back vibe to it, with the sun shining bright and I already started enjoying being in BA already. I also noticed people were offering 'cambio' (currency exchange) everywhere, I wonder why as I had heard that blue dollars which were the higher rate you could get in Argentina for USD was not available anymore. Still it seemed to be the biggest business for all the guys on the street.

Casa Rosada

Then I wandered around in the tourist area around Plaza de Mayo which had a huge tower in the centre of the garden and Casa Rosada next to it, famous for Evita’s balcony presence. On the same square was the cathedral (Cathedral Metropolitana) and the city hall called Cabildo. Both was huge and pretty. You can walk to the Congreso building on Avenida del Mayo but I decided to move towards San Telmo. The whole ambience was enjoyable to walk but it get too hot at times too. I did not mind it much though 😊. 

Then I walked on Bolivar Street on my way to San Telmo, which was an area famous for its antique shops and free tango dancing. On the way I passed some awesome buildings including another church which was quite charming. The street felt like a bad area, so I changed to a parallel street called Defensa which felt more touristy. And safer! Even though it was just the parallel street. It had lot of antique and clothes shops all the way, which were fun to browse. The whole walk was through small but grand cobbled streets, lined with trees everywhere. It was quite a pleasure to walk by and felt like I was back in Europe, just a bit warmer. The street leads to the square called Playa Dorrego, which is where apparently Argentinian independence was first declared.

Tango on the streets

At Playa Dorrego, there were lot of small stalls selling stuff. And a restaurant which had free open air tango dancing. I saw one of the performances going on, where the lady sang a few songs and then danced along with a partner. It was the first time I had seen tango and was surprised why I hadn't seen more of it before. It is a lively dance, with quite pronounced and sensuous steps. It was good to just sit there in the sun and chill for a bit, watching the dancers come and perform. It inspired me to go and watch a proper show too, something everyone had told me to not miss but I hadn't booked yet.

Puerto Madero waterfront

My next stop of the day was the waterfront area of Puerto Moreno which was a bit of a walk from San Telmo. It was all along a small river that flows through the city, lined with restaurants on both sides and a few bridges crossing it. The walk was quite pleasing, with lot of people on both sides enjoying the walk. There were also a few war ships kept there as museums which were full of people exploring them. The mood of the waterfront was calmer around sunset and changed suddenly and became livelier when the place was all lighted up.

Quite and serene

I had dinner at a seafood restaurant called Sorrento which had a nice ambience. But was also a lot more expensive than other places because of its location. After dinner, I did some more touristy stuff like walk to the Obelisk (a symbol of BA) and the Teatro Colon. The whole place was quite lively still, with people wearing summery printed clothes and being out in the streets at night. It did not feel that anyone wanted to call it a night, even at 11 pm!

About the Park Towers hotel

Breakfast with a view

I was staying at the Park Towers, a luxury hotel near most of the places to visit. It was in Retiro and a great place to stay, with panoramic views of the city outside. The breakfast there was amazing, with a nice view of the city outside. And I loved the service and relaxing environment it provided. They had a nice open pool which was shared with the adjacent Sheraton hotel. And the massage even in such a high end hotel was relatively cheap by London standards. 


Day 13: Buenos Aires - explore La Boca and Caminito, Cafe Tortini; see tango performance; stay at Hotel Park Tower

My second day in Buenos Aires, I thought I had figured out what to do, so was planning to have a long day of things to do. However, I again started out late after a breakfast in the hotel and left my hotel only at 2 pm. My first stop of the day was the La Boca area. The uber I took there had a driver who spoke English, so I learnt a lot from him. Apparently uber is forbidden but not illegal in Argentina. So you need to sit in front when you order one. He said Argentina looks like Europe and is like India. Even though it looks grand, it’s people are poor and the politicians corrupt.

He also scared me a bit about the La Boca area. He said La Boca was an unsafe area, especially after 4 pm. And that he even though was a local would not go there after that time. He also told me that in the two block area around the stadium, you can walk around and nothing happens to tourists. Outside of that, there were no guarantees 😁. I think he scared me a bit more than was needed, but I did see the point he was making, as the area was a lot more run down there than the other places I had seen in the city.

Around La Boca

The Boca Juniors stadium was huge, painted in its yellow and blue colours. The shops all around were selling football stuff and had graffiti of Maradona, Messi and other players painted on their walls. The area was full of football fans who had come there to see this famous place. For me though, as I didn't know much of the history, it was just a colourful and lively place. 

Caminito

Two blocks down from the stadium was the Caminito area which was a tourist hot spot. It was like an outdoor market full of tourists, shops, tango and a total riot of colours. People were selling local paintings and handicrafts, all so colourful and attractive, at quite cheap prices. There were loads of Pope Francis statues there, I wonder if he was from the area. A lot of the bar had windows with famous Argentinian people peeping out. And there was tango dancing going on everywhere, in all the restaurants.

Caminito

People were sitting out and eating the whole time. It was like a street fair and party there. Its a place to spend a lot of time, just enjoying the vibe and liveliness there. I could have spent hours here but I left around 4 pm given what the uber driver had said. And it turned out to be true, it took me 15 mins to find an uber driver to take me out of there! 

More tango dancing

My next stop was the famous Cafe Tortini which was listed as the meeting place where lots of Argentinian history has happened. When I reached three, there was a queue of about 20 people! But I got in within 15 minutes. It had a very parsi-cafe feel to it, with the old world charm, a cosy setting and an interesting food menu. I had a late lunch there, the typical thick crust pizza that is an Argentinian specialty. And I liked the time spent there.

I stopped at Galerias Pacificos for some errands which is a high end mall and could have been anywhere in the world. And my last stop of the day was a Tango show at Aljibe. My hotel had booked it and it costed 60 USD for the show, without the meals. The restaurant sends a shuttle which picks up the guests from the hotel. The dance show is for about an hour with about 4 musicians and 8 dancers performing multiple pieces over this time. 

And the performance was totally outstanding and mesmerising! I don't have words to describe it, how time flew watching the performance. It is a very active dance with a lot of energy and keeps you enthralled throughout. One of the performances was with two ropes with a stone at the end which makes a sound when it hits the ground. And that was an unexpected fabulous performance. I think I enjoyed it even more than the tango dance! Very soon the performance was over and the shuttles again drop you back to your hotel. While coming back, I was again amazed by how fabulous the city looked at night, with its twinkling lights and liveliness, even at night.


Day 14: Buenos Aires - explore Recoleta cemetery, central Buenos Aires; New Years Eve at Puerto Madero; stay at Hotel Park Tower

Recoleta cemetery

The last day I first visited the Recoleta Cemetery which is listed as a place to visit. It was a huge area which had huge mausoleums of the rich and powerful of the city. Though impressive, I wasn't sure about what the big thing is to see there. Eva Peron's tombstone there though is very popular with everyone.

Congreso

We then walked to one of the art museums nearby, Museo National de Bella Artes, but since it was New Years everything was closed that day. There was a walking tour also that I wanted to go to which was again cancelled given it was New Years (apparently the walking tours are must-dos when in BA). So we decided to just walk around and see some of the sights around as most of the places would not be open. We walked to the Obelisk through some very posh areas like Retiro. The place was full of huge mansions, just like in Europe. We then also saw the National Parliament, the Congreso which looked just like the Palace building in Budapest.

Puerto Madero, before the fireworks

For the evening, we hadn't booked a place for dinner and it turned out to be a problem as it was New Years and none of the places were taking any more bookings. I walked to Puerto Madero and walked around a bit on the waterfront for some time. It was quiet till about 9 pm and it looked pretty before all the crowds came in! None of the restaurants had any tables free though. I also tried two of the cafes but they both had a very long queue and were only offering meat burgers. So that option didn't work either.

Meal for the day

We were about to give up when I reached the Dandy Deli, a small cafe kind of place in Hilton hotel. It was on the waterfront itself and had a long queue of people outside (no wonder given everything else was closed). It was offering a very expensively priced meal of sandwich, salad, pepsi and ice cream - but at least it had food 😆. They took an hour and a half to serve but it was totally worth it. I ate there and sat outside for some time. It was awesome! With the wind blowing, not so cold weather next to the river, crowds walking past, music playing and the promise of a new year. It felt amazing and uplifting just being there.

New Years fireworks

And soon around midnight, the fireworks started and the whole place became even better! There were fireworks everywhere, behind the ships, from the shops, around the bridges and the whole place lit up. Lot of people were still partying till late, as a lot of the restaurants had outside music playing and everyone was still dancing till later in the night. There was a huge crowd there suddenly though which was a quite scary. But overall, it was a nice way to bring in the new year. And I was happy.


Day 15: Flight from Buenos Aires to London (afternoon)

Architecture in central Buenos Aires

Today was our last day in Argentina and time to bid goodbye to the city. We took cabs to the airport and were on our way home. During this ride, I also realised that BA is not all grand and perfect. The areas outside the central areas are not the same and don't have all those huge stone buildings we had seen earlier. Outside it was the a lot more rundown, with simpler brick houses and the real life. And I realised what the uber driver had told me, Argentina is an interesting mixture of the first world and the developing world.

And while leaving, I felt a bit sad to say goodbye to all the fun experiences we had in the country, all the way from trekking to tango dancing. Argentina is definitely a place I can see myself coming back to someday. 


Impressions and some interesting observations during the trip

• Chile felt like quite a religious christian country. It was also much greener than Argentina. Maybe because of the direction of the rain carrying winds which blow from the sea
• Most people here speak Spanish. Its a bit tough getting around with English at times
• Most people in Argentina and Chile are white, with very few mixed people (I observed at least). There seems to be very little native influence left in Argentina. Also people are from different European lineage, with quite a few from Italy. Both countries promoted European immigration hugely, leading to this mix of people
• I observed lot of pictures of native Americans at multiple hotels, of them being painted head to toe in very interesting patterns. I read later that these were the Selk Nam people who used to roam Patagonia in the olden days and they are extinct now. Imagine, an entire race of people vanishing, just like that?
• When I talked about my trip with friends, it turns out everyone did the same activities and visited the same locations when they went to Patagonia. So its a good idea to not see others' photos before going, else the place may lose its novelty factor 😜
• Tourism in Argentina is expensive. Otherwise its not an expensive country, like eating local food, buying local handicrafts, for taking cabs etc.
• Blue dollars (where you get a much better rate changing cash dollars with local dealers than the official rate) are no more available in Argentina. So don’t bother carrying those USD notes everyone told you to
• When you enter Chile as a tourist, you get an entry pass with the passport. Keep that safe, as whenever you show that to any of the hotels and restaurants you go to, you don’t need to pay the local tax
• Service is very very slow here and everyone takes their own time. There are long queues everywhere, which move very slowly. So be patient!