Ochen Priyatna

I was watching the Netflix documentary about a trans-siberian railway trip and it reminded me of the travels in Kazakhstan. When i read through the blog posts i did on the travels, i immediately felt a wave of regret having not documented down the travels i had to South America a year ago. Since no travels are allowed thanks to COVID-19, i thought it is good time to take a break from travelling and to take a trip down memory lane while documenting down the LATAM travels.

My journey started with a long flight from Singapore to Buenos Aires:

Singapore --> Dubai (8 hours)

Dubai stopover (7.5 hours)

Dubai --> Rio de Janeiro (15 hours)

Layover at Rio (2 hours)

Rio --> Buenos Aires (2-3 hours)

I kinda lost track of how long the flights took since I was also flying across multiple time zones: I departed Changi Airport on 28 Dec 9pm, and arrived in Buenos Aires on 29 Dec 8.40pm - seems like i took a day but accounting for time difference, i took about 34 hours to arrive. Holy sheet that was the longest i've been on flights ever!

I believe this was my flight from Dubai to BA? I have no idea the horror I was putting myself through in a 19+ hr flight.

Since i had a 7 hour stopover in Dubai, i took the chance to check myself into a lounge. I sourced around for deals on lounges and finally landed on using the free lounge access available for AMEX Krisflyer Ascend card. That granted me with a private cabin (where i closed my eyes for 1-2 hours) and also gave me a great place to take a shower to freshen up in the middle leg of my 34 hour journey. 

I arrived at Buenos Aires late and night and frantically looked for an Uber to bring me to my hotel. I recall it being relatively dodgy since it was dark, I was in a strange town and everyone spoke Spanish mostly (even my uber driver). So i had to rely on Google Translate which was like engaging with the locals in a game of broken telephone.

Thankfully I arrived at Konke hotel after winding many dodgy and dark streets. It was a comfy 3-start hotel which served very yummy breakfast and was a short journey to the city's attraction. Took a rest for the night to prep myself for the Buenos Aires travels the next day!

Took a long walk down Buenos Aires streets to check out a few mom-and-pop shops but all referred me (in a mix of broken english & sign language) to a telco store down the street. A terribly inefficient experience I would recall as I had to register my personal information at a Movistar telco (no visitor data sim cards) and then proceed to a pharmacy to get a top-up. Took me about an hour and a half to get myself connected. Next on the list of a money changer which i found in Abasto Shopping mall, albeit the rates were pretty shitty.

Interior of the beautiful Cafe Tortoni

I knew i wanted a cup of Coffee, and maybe a snack. I googled that the churros here were pretty good so I got some. Kinda like an Ang Moh version of Dou Jiang You Tiao (Soy Milk with Fried dough sticks)

Pardon my phone but here's a relatively nice pic

The staff were nice to help me snag a pic with the churros

So there was a little episode in the cafe. Being new and curious, I was sipping my coffee while earnestly spying on what my neighbours were having. Many were having club sandwiches and cold stuffs which I was not keen (Hello Asian Stomach) but i spot some table having a chocolate like sauce to go with churros. I couldn't find chocolate on the menu, so I called the waiter over in an attempt to obtain my chocolate dipping sauce.

Ola! <points to table> Chocolat Saus?

Waiter: ????? <crosses arms> chocolat nada, sucre, dulce??

<points to Churros> Chocolat? <takes Churros out to mimic dipping> Saus?

Waiter: ?????? Chocolat Nada

<points at neighbour> that saus! that chocolat sauce?

Waiter: AH! Dulce! Si si <mumbles something to himself which may be a silent curse at my ignorance>

The waiter arrived with my Dulce de Sucre which was indeed the "chocolate sauce" I had thought my neighbours were having, but it turns out to be a form of caramel sauce which was also a delightful dip for my churros. I thank the waiter (I can't recall but I hope I gave some tips) and headed to the next location - MACBA.

MACBA was not at walking distance so I had to take a short bus ride there. Surprisingly Google maps was extremely helpful and gave me exact directions of where the bus stop was, and where to alight. MACBA, like any other attractions I had been to, had a snaking queue outside. Bear in mind, I was touring Buenos Aires on a Monday so these are all tourists. It is relatively common for tourists to drop by Buenos Aires before heading down to Ushuaia to take a trip to South Pole. While queuing at MACBA, I actually saw a certain HK actress with her boo but i did not interrupt them since I reckon it would be extremely weird to do so. The queueing took about 2 hours (?) and when I finally managed to enter the place, the museum ran out of English brochures and I went around with a Spanish one. Haha thank you Google Translate.

People mountain people sea at the queuing area

The famous pool exhibit where you could experience being "underwater"

Featuring an interactive exhibition which simulates a certain body part

I personally think interactive exhibits are a great way to get more people attuned with art

Another interactive exhibit that portrays how humans connect but I have to say it was rather difficult to isolate and stay calm when there are many eyes in queue staring at you 

I label this the big foot. Is that the Sun or a slice of pineapple

Many abstract modes of art which took me some time to interpret. Although there were some, like these, where I kinda threw in the towel

I thought this was pretty cool considering that it was an exit door

Got myself a pool postcard to remember this unique exhibit!

It seemed like a really long day but I wasn't gonna end it hungry (despite having some yummy coffee at the MACBA cafe). So I did a quick google again (kudos to google maps allowing searches in the area) and found a top-rated steak restaurant an Uber ride away.

On my way there, the Uber driver was fumbling with his GPS and continuously checking his route. Thereafter, he told me that Maps was leading him to a road that was supposedly dangerous because it was close to the slums in BA. Many cars were hijacked along that road so it wasn't safe. He approach the road cautiously and made sure that we didn't have any vehicles ahead or behind us (the classic vehicle sandwich). Once we got to the end of the road, he heaved a sigh of relief and said that Police were on patrol that day so it was rather safe. We then took a road running parallel to the slum area and I could see dilapidated buildings that were "cordoned" by railway tracks. It was definitely interesting to note that these slums could co-exist amidst the shopping malls and highways that are located in such close proximity. The driver mentioned that BA has extremely high standards of living in Latam and many locals found it hard to keep up amidst inflation and the rich pushing up SOL. This also made me reflect about the situation in Singapore - are we progressing faster than some of our people can keep up with, and in the process, we have left them behind?

Inside of Villegas Resto

Downside of doing this post a year late is that I have zero recollection of the location names i've been to. Thankfully, the pictures captured the name of the restaurant on the menu and I was able to find it. Google Maps has also been tracking me and knew I had been to the place 2 years ago! Gosh

Glasses galore 

These are in Argentinian pesos which is stronger than Chilean pesos (imagine my confusion) but much weaker than USD so no this restaurant does not rob. The place is relatively affordable as $600 argentinian Pesos summed up to about ~SGD 10 for steak. The Argentinian peso had depreciated quite abit over the past year so I reckon the steak cost about SGD15 back when I travelled which was still affordable considering this was a $$$ restaurant along a nice street

Welcome bread is my favourite. With tomato Salsa!

Asked the waiter for a recommendation and wala they recommended an Argentinian Malbec whoop

I believe this was a Medallon de Lomo that I ordered. I'm not a diehard steak fan but look at that thick cut

Ordered some grilled veggies cuz balanced meal

check out the medium rare

got the waiter to snap me a pic of my new year eve eve meal (and the takeaway since Jean was bragging about how good takeaway steak is)

The waiter tried to take a selfie but pressed other buttons instead so this snapshot is all I have of him

final bill came up to 1225 Apesos which was about SGD20 now (maybe about SGD30 when I was there) which was extremely affordable considering I had a steak, vege, bottled water, wine and bread!

This pretty much sums up Day 1 of Latin America travels which was a great start since I explored quite some ground of BA! Day 2 will consists of the domestic flight to El Calafate and more adventure awaits!