Monthly Archives: January 2013
Vegetarian options in Colombia
The other day I met a Colombian lady who recently turned vegan after visiting a homeopathic doctor who learned the arts of herbal medicine in China and India.. I asked her how she survived in this meat-loving city. She said the magic word – tofu! I asked where I could possibly get it because after […]
Colombia’s road obstacles
Wanna play a real life TV game? Drive in Bogotá! Here you have to actively avoid the endless obstacles on the road. It drives you crazy and turns you into a completely different person who is permanently agitated, impatient and angry. Plenty of people juggle at the crossroads to make a living because they can […]
Rustic Beauty
The impressionist landscape that looks like what Pissarro would have painted is a three-hour drive away from Bogotá. It is one of the most intact colonial villages of Colombia. Villa de Leyva a dramatic setting lying on the edge of a mountain range. The hilly lush landscape of rich greens, red roofs and bright blue […]
China’s reputation abroad
English Bulldog Kira apparently they are good at skateboarding and surfing?! The other day I went to a friend’s wife’s parent’s country house. It’s very popular to have country houses among those Bogotáns who can afford it, because they hate Bogotá so much.. The one I went to was more like a palace though.. After […]
Bogotá – The nameless city
A typical address marking in Bogotá The streets in Bogotá are governed by numbers. Just numbers. You don’t have any names at all (well, apart from a few in the old town area – check my previous post). To some, this is godsend, to others, like me, this is a nightmare. For those who like numbers, […]
Venezuelan late night snack
Went straight for arepas the other day after a blasting night at Armando Records.La Areperia Venezolana is where everyone goes after a night out on Calle 85 (‘Street 85’, yes, very imaginative). It was the London experience relived – to have the hang-over cure of a kebab on the way home from the club in […]
A-RE-PA!
The reason for writing about arepa is that it embodies quintessentially what Colombian cuisine represents – filling, comforting and warming. Arepa is so commonly eaten in Colombia that its status can be compared to that of toasts in the UK! Arepa is consumed as breakfast, a snack, lunch and dinner. Put it simply it’s a […]
Never judge by appearance
Coriander from wikipedia Coriander from Bogotá The other day I wanted to make Mexican so I went to the supermarket for some ‘cilantro’ (coriander), as they call it here.. It’s quite a commonly-used herbs so I didn’t expect any difficulty in my search. To my surprise, after spending five minutes in the fresh herbs section […]
The journey to Bogotá’s hottest club!
Armando Record is the talk-of-town at the moment! The killer combination of a relaxed joint, constant reliable supply of good music and a happy crowd is sucking up all the party-goers in town! The interior: Cool tones, retro, geometrical shapes, idiosyncratic (or simply strange?) The crowd: Think arty-farty; moustached customers and DJs The music: Latino, indie, lounge, techno Random […]
Tamal = 糉!!
I have found my 糉（Zong, or 粽 in simplified Chinese..) in Colombia! But, rather than sticky rice, salty egg yolk, fatty pork and mung beans wrapped in bamboo leaves, a tamal is cornmeal, carrots, boiled egg and chicken in banana leaves. It’s not really the same but it’s the closest that the country would ever come […]
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