Thoughts on BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - Walking around Chapinero 🇨🇴

Bogota Evening Walk and Curfew

1:41 We haven't focused on this evening. Let's all wait for this rabbit to pass. So this evening in Bogota, we have a curfew starting at about 10 p.m. and there's not really anything I do after 10 o'clock anyway, so it won't affect me. I could see for some people that are here, this could be quite disconcerting. I also understand for those who are thinking about coming here to Bogota, that that could certainly have an impact in how they feel as far as having a different way of doing things than in the U.S.

2:40 I know some people are unhappy in the United States. There's some people watching this video and they want to try something different. And lockdown aside, Colombia is quite different than the United States. But I wanted to do some more exploring, and I guess this isn't really exploring. I've already pretty much seen what this neighborhood has top to bottom. But even so, we'll just take a look around, maybe check out a different direction than you had seen me check out earlier.

Exploring Chapinero and Graffiti

3:21 And so here we're going south. So earlier we've walked north on this main thoroughfare, so you might recognize that. And in that instance, I was heading from south to north. And this instance, I think I'm going to head from north to south and kind of give a little bit different view. Of course, a lot of things are closed, not just because of the curfew, but also just it's the weekend. This district, aside from being a popular tourist district, certain parts of it are really only going to be lively Monday through Friday, and more so during business hours.

4:01 I've walked this road a number of times and it seems like a lot of people, mostly commuting. So, a lot of the traffic on this road seems to be a lot of commuters. And while you'll see some on this road tonight, it's not going to be bumper to bumper like it is usually in the mornings and the afternoons on weekdays.

5:12 I guess I'll chime in and out, kind of just as thoughts come up. I figure we could do this walk and talk as long as the battery lasts, or as long as my energy lasts. I think actually, I was thinking this battery lasts around one hour, but I'm mistaken. I think this battery lasts roughly two hours, the battery for the Osmo Pocket, that is.

5:43 But here we are, we're approaching the park. Oh no, we're not. Know what I'm saying? I'm definitely not used to Bogota like I am Medellin. Of course, Medellin being a smaller city, kind of easier as far as not having to think about density. In fact, in Bogota, some buildings look similar to other buildings, and some entries to various streets look similar to various other entries to streets. And also, the city has a lot of green.

6:16 So sometimes you think you're at a park or you're about to be in a park, and there's just a lot of trees. It's very beautiful. I don't want to point that out like it's a bad thing. Certainly, if I pulled out my phone and accessed my maps, I'd be headed to the park. But since I've already shown everyone that, I will check out a different direction.

6:40 And some of you also may recognize some of what you see from my building videos. And I'd like to do a second building video and a second graffiti video here in Bogota. Definitely a second building video.

7:02 I'll just be here for about 10 more days, and I have a physics test coming up. So I have to account for my physics and my programming. But I would like to get at least two solid filming days out of the next 10. I may be able to do it one, but it'll probably take two in the Candelaria neighborhood. And that's another popular neighborhood for travelers, and they have a lot of cool buildings down there.

7:33 They have the traditional, you may have seen it's got a lot of college students in the neighborhood. It's the old school Bogota, these kind of cobblestone streets. But they also have a lot of graffiti there, and that's really interesting.

Graffiti Art and Legalities

7:47 I go back and forth on my graffiti videos. I know it's really interesting, it's interesting to me too. I recognize I'm probably going to bother some people at some point with some of my videos. But I don't want locals to have the impression that I'm going to come to their city and just show off what some perceive to be negative.

8:09 Perhaps I don't really think it's positive or negative necessarily. I do think it's kind of got to be frustrating as a business owner, and I certainly don't encourage any kind of criminal activity like that. But on the other hand, some of what I capture is definitely legal. Some of it, you can tell, perhaps is even commissioned by a business center. They wanted to show off their coffee shop, or perhaps their bicycle shop, or whatever kind of business they have.

8:38 And this mural type of thing can really, really catch the attention of people walking by and people driving by. So I wouldn't call it all bad, wouldn't call it all good. I just want to show it for what it is.

8:54 And rather than doing kind of a tour style or talking about it, leave it for what it is and let people watching come to the conclusions that they're going to come to when it comes to observing. And certainly, people have their preferences, or people like different styles, certain kinds of styles over others.

9:28 All these cities have talented artists, and it's interesting. I'm kind of curious, something relevant. I'm kind of curious what the smallest city or town in the world is that has had some kind of street art or graffiti, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Perhaps a metro of 100,000 people.

9:55 If you know of any small cities, definitely let me know down in the comments. If one that has that sort of street art scene sticks out, I've heard that it's popular throughout the Americas. Certainly, it's popular in the United States. I've enjoyed a lot in the San Francisco area. Certainly, it's popular in Latin America.

10:18 A few other hot spots I'm familiar with: Berlin, Germany, Shibuya, Tokyo. And Berlin, Berlin, Germany. I have a graffiti book somewhere, it may be in storage, but it shows a lot from all over the world. It's really cool to see.

Observing Bogota's Evening Scene

10:44 I'll go ahead and say this now: definitely follow all the local laws and rules. I'd encourage any kind of criminal activity anywhere in the world. But yeah, as far as I know, observing graffiti is not a crime. Taking a video or a picture of it is not a crime. So hopefully, if that changes, someone will notify me or I'll find out in advance.

11:26 As you can see, most people are staying in this evening. Not a whole lot going on. I noticed a number of restaurants are closed. I'm not sure if it's a if they're required to close early through the curfew situation, or if that's something that they've elected to do themselves.

Bogota's Population and Venezuelan Crisis

12:02 Bogota is the capital city of the country Colombia. I think it's the official population actually is something like 8 million. But I spoke with a local who mentioned that due to the crisis in Venezuela, it is more likely that the total population of Bogota is more like 9 million because you have tons of people fleeing Venezuela. It's really a tragic situation, and Colombia and Venezuela share a border.

12:38 And naturally, Colombia is the largest economy. I'm not mistaken that sure is a... well, no, I am mistaken actually. Brazil also has a border with Venezuela, but it's up there. It's one of the options that if someone is fleeing Venezuela and they're looking for a place that is more stable with more opportunity, then they are likely looking at Brazil or Colombia.

13:14 I have heard there are Venezuelans in the United States. I haven't encountered any Venezuelans in the United States personally. But I would imagine that that would also be a popular destination for people looking to get out of Venezuela, which is, from what I understand, a failed state. The country cannot provide basic things to its citizens.

13:44 And so yeah, from my understanding, a day's pay for an average worker's pay in Venezuela, they'll earn enough money to buy say, two eggs. And that's definitely not enough for one person to live on each day. And it's really, really sad.

14:14 Do I think that I'll go there at some point? It depends. I'm not going to rule it out, and I'm not going to say affirmatively that I will go. If I do go, I will definitely have to line up a lot of things in advance. Obviously, the visa is going to be the most important. But I'd also be looking to hire various handlers, people that are local to places like Caracas, that they know their way around.

14:52 Safe ways to exchange money, for example. I've heard it's very, very dangerous to exchange money in Venezuela, US dollars in particular, because of the widespread poverty. And so it's not a, it's not a destination I'm going to go to on the drop of a hat, let's put it that way. And it's toward the back of the list, just for common sense reasons.

Future Travel Plans and Priorities

15:12 I think that by the time I get there, I'd like to have seen most of Latin and South America. So before I would go to a place like Venezuela, and of course, this is a maybe. This is a hypothetical situation. I have no plans and you know, to do this. But of course, I've had to consider it because I'd like to visit most of the countries in the world.

15:40 So that would, if it happens, that would come after Brazil, after Chile, after Argentina, after Uruguay, after Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, Bolivia. Of course, Pedro is next after Suriname, after Guyana. Probably after a number of Caribbean islands as well: Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda. A lot of these places.

16:16 This sounds bad just because if something happens to me there, I'd like to have seen a lot of other stuff first. It's, I don't mean to make light of the situation. I will warn you now, I do have kind of a dark sense of humor, for better or for worse. It helps me deal with things.

16:42 And that doesn't even get into the places I want to see in Southeast Asia. Of course, it was in Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia. Even a place like Brunei, that's pretty small, I'd like to go there. What else besides those in Southeast Asia? Of course, it's not in Southeast Asia, but it's in the broader, it's the closest westernized country would be Australia. I'm in Australia, I'd like to go to Australia.

Travel Aspirations and India

17:27 Europe, of course, there's a lot of Europe that I need to see first as well. Western Europe, Eastern Europe. And then, India. India is the most important and above all these other countries because, for those who don't know, I am half Indian. So I do need to see India. I have not been yet, but that's definitely a major priority of mine.

17:51 And yeah, why don't we chat on the camera for a bit? So yeah, I know that's a lot of places and I went off on a bit of a tangent there. But I'm really, really looking forward to a lot of these travels.