a month ago i went out to bogota, colombia to visit a friend, paloma. it certainly was an experience, i just hoped for more.
on january 7th, i flew out from ohare to georgia to transfer my flight out to bogota.
the last time i saw a sky like this was in amarillo texas. the beautiful of nature is therapy like no other.
initially, when i got off the plane, i could smell the pollution. the beautiful smell of pollution, the same smell i get when i travel to hong kong. it brought back fond memories, and it made me miss hong kong. beside, the nostalgic scent, i thought it was interesting to see the pat downs of cargo staff.
after over an hour of waiting in line at immigration, i finally reached the doors that led me to paloma and her very kind parents. i was extremely excited to see her, and as she was me; her first suggested experience for me in bogota was to go to a small gathering at her friend's place. which is where i drank, smoked, and got to meet a lot of her friends.
since my flight to bogota was in the evening, i couldn't really get a good view or feel of the city. to be honest, it didn't feel any different than being in states, except that everyone spoke spanish, or had an accent that accompanied their english.
well, when i woke up in the morning, i woke up to the view above. not bad i'd say. nice green mountains. mountains without snow caps; they're like extremely large rolling hills.
so all within 24 hours, i tried my first colombian beer, cigarettes, and coffee. all i must say is extremely delicious.
the above photo, is of "zona t", which means t-zone. it's the area of the "hip" joints and go to places. basically chicago's viagra triangle. it has nice upscale bars, lounges, cafes, restaurants, and shopping. though i spent some time in this area, it's funny to say, i don't think i spent more than an hour at any of the establishments. many cafes and bars had outdoor seatings. though i did eat in a colombian chain restaurant, crepes and waffles, but my state of mind was definitely not there.
a few repetitive things i noticed about bogota, military/police, cabbies, and catholicism. they all were everywhere.
and a few photos from my trip...
