Monthly Archives: March 2013
Happy go lucky Colombians
The other night I witnessed an incident when it was pouring outside. I have mentioned before that when it rains here, it’s a downpour. A buseta was just pulling over. Some passengers were trying to get off. There was a puddle right in front of the buseta’s exit doors. A few girls came off the minibus. But for […]
Banana as main course
After a 4-month Colombian life, I have got accustomed to having at least half a banana on my main course plate, although most of the times, half a banana here is more like one whole banana elsewhere. From being a curious surprise at the beginning, something that had always been looked forward to, it’s now […]
Bogotá chitchat topics
You may have already noticed that I talk a lot about transport, whether it’s good or bad. Well, the reality is, transport is a fundamental problem that affects the daily lives of Bogotános, which means that it has found its way to conversations with frequent presence. You’re going into a meeting with your clients, you […]
The almighty but lethal deep fried piece of fat
The deep fried pork, skin on, with layers of fat and meat, is synonymous with gratification, joy, and indulgence. To be precise, the essence is in the skin. Without the skin it doesn’t get qualified to be called chicharrón. It has a determinedly solid status in the hearts of Colombians. The dish was propagated by the […]
Colombian Custard Apple
Continuing with the ‘everything-is-bigger-in-Colombia’ series, this post features the king of all tropical fruits – guanábana. Its size simply astounds; its delicately sweet fragrant, mesmerises; its creamy texture, satisfies. Simply amazing. First time I saw the fruit, it was among the mountain of guanábana, on one of these fruit trucks that loom the streets. The […]
Now, let’s take on some tasty intestines!
When the Colombians eat their lovely deep fried fat, they thought, ‘What would go best with that? Ok, let’s fry up some intestines to go with it!’ The plate of chopped up sizzling tubes may look grotesque. It may look more at home on the table of Adam’s Family than in a restaurant. But how […]
How to move around Bogotá
Counting four months since I first arrived and having had repetitive safety training advice that’s so constantly reeled that it’s become part of my subconscious, I have by now gathered enough intelligence to be able to take on the streets with confidence! So I thought I should at least make some contribution to the world and […]
Colombian minibuses
They are devils on four wheels. The minibuses of Bogotá are reckless; they do whatever they wish, drive however they want, because they think they are the only vehicles on the roads. Their signature annoyance practice is to take over you, get in front of you and then stop, so that they can pick up […]
Passion fruit
I come from places where passion fruits are known to be black crinkly ping-pongs. So when I was first told that this yellow gargantua with immaculate smooth skin, maracuya, is passion fruit, of course my reaction was skepticism. Colombian passion fruits not only look more ‘attractive’ than the Australian ones, but also are bigger, at least double the size. […]
All out for a piece of health!
Just like Marmite, Ciclovía has a love and hate relationship with people. Every Sunday and public holiday from 7am to 2pm, more than 121 km of roads is blocked for people to exercise on. It is the day on which half the city is out for sports. The most popular choices are cycling, running and rollerblading. […]
onechineseincolombia.com 