Bogotá: a metropolitan 21th century city with lots to offer, from its charming colonial historic neighbourhood to its fancy modern districts and some amazing views.As in any huge city, there is lots of traffic. But congestion has been reduced significantly with an impressive public transport system: the Transmilenio. The red buses run on dedicated bus lanes (really exclusive, not like the bus lanes in London aka parking spaces) and provide fast transport through the city. The system is highly complex and must have been thought out by some really smart people!
Bogota offers a wide variety of cuisines: we go for Chinese and Thai (twice!). We enjoy the historic neighbourhood La Candelaria, spend almost a whole day in the impressive Museo d'Oro, and admire the views from the 50th floor of the Torre Colpatria (a skyscraper with viewing platform). But we get even better views from the nearby mountain Montserrate. How to get there? Of course with a cable-car (teleferico) built by Swiss engineers VonRoll in the 1950's.
We also spend a few days in the residential neighbourhood of Suba, where Senora Carmen Sanchez has us stay with her. This way, we experience Bogotá life as the locals do. At a nearby shopping mall, I get a haircut (4 USD). Cows graze in between new housing developments. If the modern shopping mall is not for you, there are tons of mini shops in between all the residences selling from bread to mobile phones. On Sunday, all the families of the neighbourhood gather on the field near the mall and let their colourful kites fly. There are easily 200 kites up in the air. What a sight!
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