La Paz – You interest me

La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia, not sure I love you but I definitely don’t loathe you. I’m not sure like my new friends at Loki Hostal I could move in for weeks or months but I definitely need some more time there to explore.

 

 

 

I was in La Paz for 2 separate days. We wanted 2 whole days there but our plans got somewhat changed and altered due to terrible buses fro Copacabana (That’s another story!!! See “Bus Dramas in La Paz). It would have been better to have 2 consecutive days in order to experience more such as horse riding and treks to the devils tooth or cycling along “Death road”. When I got to La Paz, after much bus travel and adventure, I wanted to just chill and relax. The Loki Hostal instills this in you as well so allow 4 days here if you want to do extra activities.

 

 

The city I know little about really, except that it’s populations is over 1 million, the houses in and around the city are rather closely compacted and spotted around the hillsides. The snow capped mountains can be viewed in the distance, and the temperature is warm to hot during the day. There are few parks though it seems there is a concerted effort to change this and have a more green and art filled la Paz. I loved the Museo de Art with amazing graffiti painted directly onto the walls. The colours and vibrancy of this art really bring life to this part of the city.

 

Walking around I a little scary at times as it is known for crime and theft, but I think this is more of a placebo then anything as I really was quite safe. There are cafes and restaurants speckled around though I also noticed a lot of varieties of fast food. Our favourite was actually an Indian place, The Star of India. It was very true to Indian food and so nice to have a change as you do tend to tire of pasta, dry breads, BBQ chicken, rice and thousands of potato fries!!

Nights out were spent with the Loki crew and then kicking on to another hostel bar Oliver’s Travels. Drinks are cheap and the entertainment is ever flowing. There is also Wild Rover, another well known hostel. These are safe and fun for young travelers. Meet some locals at these bars and then you can explore the other local bars and clubs.

 

I’d definitely go back to La Paz. It’s extremely cheap for food, accommodation and even most entertainment. The ways of Bolivia are somewhat backwards but here are also some fun and inspiring new things!

For example the “Zebra crossings” really they take this literally. People dressed as Zebras help you to cross the roads in the evenings and mornings. They dance around and have great fun with passers by. This is largely due to the fact that the traffic is very dangerous and crossing the road at times seems next to impossible!

 

Enjoy La Paz, Bolivia.

Love to hear your thoughts and experiences.