It was hot in B.A.. 85F. Borneo kind of hot, not as humid though. š Iām used to it. No problem.
I showed the taxi driver the address and he seemed confused. He made a few calls, and I could only pick up one word, which was “Matienzo”. It was the street name of my hostel. So, I thought he must be lost. I wrote down hostās phone number on a piece a paper and showed to him. The driver refused to take a look, just said, āNo. No.ā. A few minutes later, I wrote down the hostel name and showed to him. Again, he said, “No. No.”.
I guess he was trying to tell me, “I got it.”
I am the kind who likes to chat with taxi drivers and get a sense of what the local life is like. But in B.A., in that taxi cab, I felt paralyzed. I couldnāt communicate with the driver. I didn’t think he understand any English. Any!
Oh well, I sat back and enjoyed the view.
From airport. On the highway.
Macho taxi driver paid for toll
Oh, hi there! š
Streets
Saw a giant flower
A horseman (I'll find out who he is in the next few days)
The taxi driver didn’t put the AC on. I could have requested it but I didn’t. I let the window down and enjoyed the view.
About 45 minutes later, I reached the hostel. I gave the driver a big round of applause. Finally, I saw a smile on his face.
Conventillo de Lujo, in a very quiet neighborhood
Conventillo de Lujo, entrance
A middle-aged lady rushed out the door, and hugged me tightly.
“I’ve been waiting for you. I’m Amy, your host. Welcome.”.
I did my research about the transportation in Buenos Aires. Bus ride from EZE airport to my hostel seemed pretty manageable and inexpensive. So, I had my heart set on using the bus service. I’ve always liked public transportation. HOWEVER, because I decided to take my carry-on with me, so I thought I should ārewardā myself by ordering a pick-up. Does this make sense? Haha. Why stress? I have plenty of chances to have bus rides later.
Everything went smoothly from checking-in, custom and all that. I even had an empty seat next to me during the long flight and made a new lovely friend, Priya. You know how much I like Indians. š I told her about the fire at Torres del Paine since she’ll be going there in a few days.
Coming out from the custom area, I expected to see a big, golden sign with my name on it. Nothing. Hmmā¦ I scouted around for my name. Nothing. So I thought there might be traffic. I should just wait.
15 minutes later. Nothing.
I walked around the Arrival area a few times. Nothing.
30 minutes later. Nothing. I started to sweat a little.
Should I leave? Would they charge me? Were they waiting at a different Arrival hall? The taxi booth was right there, but I couldn’t leave.
I asked a lady at the Information counter for help. She answered in her very broken English that I could go to the phone booth and call the hostel. I was told by the hostel host to not to exchange any pesos at the airport, so I only had dollars with me. Sigh.
So, I waited another 15 minutes.
Thatās it.
I pushed my luggage to an Internet center at the airport and asked for help. I showed them the phone number and they said itās not an Argentina phone #. Oh Gosh. I was so confident that the pick-up was going to work out, so I didnāt even write down backup phone #. Sigh.
I quickly checked internet and found another number in the email.
The lady at the counter helped me to call and we found out that the hostel had mistakenly thought I was going to arrive tomorrow!! Not cool! The host apologized and quickly gave me direction to come to hostel.
Oh well!
I bought a taxi ticket at the taxi booth ($43, they accepted USD) and off I went.
The porter asked for tips. I felt bad that I didnāt have any small change with me. š
Yup, yup. I am ready for my trip to Argentina. Last minute packing, as usual. When I start packing too early, I tend to over-think. So, last minute is the way to go, super efficient. When thereās a deadline, thereās a miracle. Believe it.
All packed. It didnāt take me long. Gathered a few things here and there, had a few dilemmas, but got over them pretty fast. It was a little tricky to pack for city and nature trips, not to mention with very different weathers. Buenos Aires is super hot right now, but Patagonia is chilly and windy. Thanks to Stacieās invaluable suggestions, I managed to pack the most essential (almost).
Tata!!
All packed and read to go
I love my Deuter 55+10 backpack. It has a detachable small backpack to be used for day trip. The bag is very well designed.
It even comes with a transport bag! Deuter, beautiful.
Deuter in transport bag
Next to it is my Lowepro Passport Sling. Lowepro offers a few camera bags. I chose their Passport Sling because it doesnāt look like a camera bag and can be used as a handbag at the same time. Nothing screams “tourist” like a bulky camera bag.
See their video here.
I love high performance gears. They instantly make me āhigh performanceā as well. Hehe.
I wasnāt planning on bringing my laptop, thought an iPad would do just fine. But a tradeshow in February requires me to work while I am in Argentina. After realizing I couldnāt get away without a laptop and I definitely wanted to bring my SLR, I reassessed the packing situation. Oh dear, I had to take a small carry-on with me. For a moment, I really struggled to accept this fact. But I quickly get over it.
“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
So, tata!
Backpack, carry-on + a camera/handbag
Itās really a small carry-on. I make sure it fits under the seat. You know, in America, some planes are getting smaller and smaller (like my head is touching the ceiling kind of small). I definitely donāt want my carry-on to go in the cargo.
Kai with my bags. Either he is a giant or my bags are not that big!
See what I mean? Small bags. Kai is bigger than the backpack!
Whatās in the bags, you might ask?
See below for a summary. If you are planning a trip to Argentina too, I hope this list would help you.
Iāll tell you after the trip if I have used all the items! Or if there were any items that I wish I had brought with me.
I probably could have cut a few more things. But I want to be comfortable and don’t want to waste time doing laundry every other day!
Clothes:
– A few short-sleeved tees and a few long-sleeved, button-down shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 dress, 2 tank tops, shorts, undies, bras, robe, silk thermal top & pants, waterproof pants, windproof jacket, a medium size hand-towel (some hostels donāt offer towels)
Shoes:
– 1 pair of tango shoes, sandals, Vasque hiking shoes (didnāt pack any heels)
Supplements:
– Liquid vitamins, energy boost drinks, bee pollen, some misc. vitamins, Cliff bars, mints
Medicines:
– Zero. Wanted to bring Midol, aspirin and 5-htp, but didnāt get time to buy any.
Toiletries:
– Travel- sized skin care, shampoos, etc. (yes, I like to smell good whenever I go), minimal makeup, some tampons for emergencies, travel-sized skin epilator (I donāt shave, nor wax), sunscreen (even for the lips, UV is strong in Patagonia)
What else are in the bagsā¦ hmmmā¦
Electronics:
– Cameras (SLR and point & shoot) and lenses, memory cards, batteries, chargers, adapter, convertor, earphone, Kindle loaded with books, calculator/alarm clock, Merriam translator
Am I forgetting something?
Accessories:
Oh, Wallaroo Jasper 50+ UPF hat with chin-strap (so that it doesnāt get blown away), a wool hat, sunglasses, gloves, scarf, headband, a wristlet and a runnerās waist pouch (not the bulky one! It hugs the skin, youāll never know itās there!)
I didnāt bring trekking poles with me, no space!
Of course, most importantly: passport, cash and credit cards.
Thatās about it.
Dropped Kai off at Radim’s (thanks, Radim for taking care of my baby).
Off to the airport.
0 Spanish skill. 1 backpack (well, +1). 30 days. Argentina, here I come!
p/s: I threw my hat on the toilet counter at the airport, and landed right under the automatic soap dispenser. Can you guess what happened next?
Evil automatic soap dispenser
Washed my hat and now it has a wet spot.
Stylish wet hat
&*%%$$#$#
Next post: My Perfect Plan Backfired! Coming soon …
Hot pot (or steamboat) meals are one of my favorites.
Hot pot is basically a simmearing pot of stock placed at the center of dining table. Plates of raw ingredients such as beef slices, shrimps, bacon, tofu, eggs, mushrooms, noodles, etc are prepared in advance.
A hot pot dinner party is really easy to organize. Guests can bring their favorite food to cook. You just have to prepare the stock. It’s hard to mess up. š
Friends and family come together and sit around the table. Everyone can place their choice of ingredients into the pot, and have fun. The dinner setting is casual and the dinner usually lasts for hours. It’s an awesome way to bond with family and friends.
I especially love to have hot pots in winter. š Imagine enjoying a big pot of soup, with fresh ingredients, on a cold snowy day; ohhhh… that sounds perfect to me.
An electric hot pot (less than $40) works well for me. I might even get an extra one so that I can have two pots going at the same time (one pot for my vegetarian friends).
In Asia, there are many restaurants offer hot pots in buffet style. You pay a flat fee, and you get your choice of stock in a hot pot, then you can pick whatever raw ingredients you like from the fridge. Isn’t it fun?
Server adding stock of your choice to the pot (Nagomi, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Cook your own meal!
My sister and my niece (hot pot cooking lesson for kids? :))
Happy days
Outdoor hot pot with my family (Kuching, Malaysia)
To celebrate the success of our 1st MAGIC Sourcing tradeshow, we (Arjun, Supriya, Karan and I) let loose and enjoyed an afternoon of zip-lining fun at Bootleg Canyon (Boulder City, Nevada). It was a super windy and cold day, but we had so much FUN!
If you are ever in Vegas, give flightlines a try! BC Flightlines ((http://www.bcflightlines.com) is only about half an hour from the Strip.
