Buenos dias

Relocceta cemetery
Sab Telmo
Music is in the Argentine blood

City centre

Dakar
La boca
A novel idea to make some money
Outside the Boca junior stadium
La Boca again
Cemetery
Space party - crazy one

Music again - this time on the subway or the subte
Flee market
La Boca
Space party
Tango in San telmo
Hola….
I´ve been in Argentina for a few days now and its great. The hostel i am staying, the people you meet from around the world and the Argentines as well. Its just fantastic. For example i meet a Swiss guy, all of 18 years and he is bagpacking across SA. I dont think i would have ever had the courage when i was his age to do that.
Buenos Aires is a great city with tons of things to do and see. Its got culture, history, friendly people, awsome nightlife- still hungover from yesterday, or was it day before. And the best poart is that unlike Brazil its cheap.
There are awsome place to visit like San Telmo – live Tango going on, beer flowing. Really nice. San Telmo has your European style pebbled streets and has got its own character. I dont know what is it with these South Americans. I mean their dance. Brazil has samba and Argentina has Tango. If Salsa is sexy then Tango is sensual. The intensity with which they dance its just fantastic.
For an Indian it isnt very difficult to get used to Buenos Aires. The europeans find it a little difficulty with the poverty but we´re kind of immune to it i guess. But unike our big cities BA isnt cramped. The economy of argentina went bust in 2001 but now things are looking up.
Then there is La boca, the palace where the soccer team Boca juniors came from. BA is all about its neighbourhoods. La boca was earlier a slaughter house and there were blood stains on the walls. The authorities found a novel solution to this and painted the walls and in different colours. Now La boca is a tourist attraction with tango shows and thousands of tourists flocking there. A little touristy i think but still nice. La boca is a run down neighbourhood and from the poverty comes the rise of excaptional soccer talent. I saw kinds playing there and those guys are definattely better than any of our international players. I am serious.
BA is very easy to walk around. Not alot of people speak english but you can get your way around with a map. Brazilian women are hot but the Argentine women are no exception. And they are really frindly as well.
The adventage of staying in a hostel is that not only is it cheap, you meet alot of people and make friends easily. Like yeaterday we went out to a club and there were two guys from isreal, one from norway, myself, two brazialian girls and another one from america. An awsome cocktail if you ask me. There are people from all over the world. Japanese, koreans, swiss, brazilians, isrealies, argentines, germans, brits- the most unfirendly, scots, aussies. Some have only come for christmas and new years but alot like me are bagpacking around SA.
I am going to be in Buenos Aires till new years because its a great place to party the up into the andes before going to mandoza – the wine capital of Argentina before going into Patagonia which i am sure will be the highlight of this country.
Ciao

Going to the moon would have been easier

I love being an Indian, there are no two ways about that. Ours is a country we all need to be proud of. Unlike the imperielist Europeans and and also the Japs, we have never invaded any country or have tried to impose our way of like or views on any civiliasation. And at that we all need to be proud of.
But for the first time i have ever regreted being an Indian was when i had to apply for my visa to South America. My plan was to travel 5 or 6 months in Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Bolivia and from where i see it, this should have been a piece of cake – getting the visas that is. But this could´nt have been further fromt the truth.
I dont know how difficult by journey through these countries is going to turn out considering i am doing it all alone, but the difficulty is getting the visas was down right disgusting. The travel agents all had the same reply – nahi ho sakta. Its not that I was wanting to go to the moon and as how thigs turned out that would have been simpler.
Holdiing an Indian passport is a punishment and thats despite my passport being well stamped with alot of visas before i applied for the first visa which was of Brazil. The thing that really pisses me of is that all the Europeans and ofcourse the Americans dont need no visas to go to any of the countries i planned to visit. This is really unfare. Its them who actually need to be scrutinized because you never know where again they might intend to set up another conlny. Which brings me again to my ealrier point. India has never invaded any country. I know i am missing the point but it pisses me off immensely that it has to be so difficult form Indians to get visas. Ahhh.
Till the time my Brazil visa came which took 1 complete month, anxiety levels had reach bursting point. I´d left my job for a specific puspose – to travel and it seemed that it would´nt happen.
Eventually after a wait of a month my Brazil visa came after which i presumed that it would be plain sailing. Wrong again. Peru also took nearly 3 weeks and Argentina took another 2 weeks. But they are right when they say that if something has to happen for you then the world will conspire to make it happen.
Eventuially things did fall into place and i am now on my way.