A bridge between academia, industry and general public. Focus on innovation, trade and GVCs. Side interested areas are behavioral economics and neuroscience. Build connection at personal level by sharing my personal experiences in life, work and study.
June 2018. Summer 2018. There were two Vietnamese girls who had a passion in traveling and exploring Latin America culture, decided to take a challenge to discover a part of the world where before, back in Vietnam, would they never imagine they could put their feet on. And let me tell you the story of those two Vietnamese girls in that trip. Exciting. Fun. Nervous. Sad. Thrilling. All kinds of emotions. I hope when reading these posts, you could also experience a part of Latin America countries, and who knows, you could – one day – explore Latin America and fall in love with them – just like I do.
We got the visa from Colombia and Chile – but to be honest, the time we spent in Colombia and Chile cannot be said that we already traveled there. But at least, we went there and stayed there, so in a way, we visited Colombia and Chile.
1. Colombia
The trip to Colombia can be said as a lesson for us from how to get to another country to how to survive with 30 hours on bus.
Thinking back, I have to say we – the two Vietnamese girls were too brave for this trip – to be brave enough to cross the border between Ecuador and Colombia by ourselves without any Spanish in hand or any internet to communicate through google translate – once Colombia was well known as a country of heroin and mafia.
Want to know more details, please contact me – as this can be considered as a lifetime experience for me. Nervous. Thrilling. But worth learning.
Nervous enough that I cannot even take a good photo
This was Colombia through my eyes..
This mini supermarket chain is very popular in Bogota – it’s like OXOX in MexicoBogota through the carSomehow it’s like the US – with lots of building in brown brickFar there were full of Colombian people – who were standing on the two sides of the street to welcome the Colombian national football team returning from World Cup 2018 in Russia after being defeated by England through penalties.
2. Chile
We only visited Santiago de Chile – the capital of Chile – the largest city in Chile and also one of the largest and developed city in the Americas. Chile – like most other countries in Latin America were colonized by Spanish – therefore, their language is also Spanish, but in some ways, different from Spanish in Ecuador.
When reaching Santiago de Chile, you will be surprised first of all by the graffiti around the city with many amazing photos. Unfortunately, I didnt have any photos of graffiti art here, but it was really amazing to look at.
The other notable thing is the Andes mountains – which you can see from most points of the city. Wherever you are in Santiago, you can see Andes mountains.
Like thisOr thisOr even this. Wherever you are, Andes mountains are always behind you 😛I read this somewhere in Natgeo, where it described very beautifully about watching sunset: “No matter what time it is, there’s someone in the world right now watching a sunset. This golden hour is perhaps our most universally adored sky show, yet it dazzles in so many different ways across the face of the planet. A sunset over the tundra appears quite different from one highlighting the shoreline of a lake, while cloud patterns, air quality, weather, and seasons change each view. Sunsets inspire artists, prompt national parks to playfully compete over bragging rights, and convince us to take a moment for the suspended drama of a slow but steady transition from day into night.” This was a photo taken from San Cristóbal Hill, where you can watch the breathtaking sunset at Andes mountains and the modern city of Santiago de Chile. Simply stand there. Take a photo. And let time pass. You can only feel thankful and amazed again by our Mother Earth.Look into my eyes, what you can see?The colour, the light, the shape of cloud..Sunset maybe more amazing with me inside the photo :))) hahahha
With Spanish colonization, Santiago de Chile offers you some sites and tourist attractions that if you visit there, you should spend some time exploring these places.
Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral – which is located in the Plaza de ArmasHola Santiago de Chile – with the Ecuadorian scarfInside Santiago Metropolitan CathedralPalacio de La Moneda – where the President of Republic of Chile worksMercado Central – where you can find a lot of sea food – both cheap and luxurious foodInside the marketA spot near central of Santiago de Chile – Chilean people – both adults and kids come here to challenge each other in playing chessA typical street vendors in Santiago de Chile – where you may find some souvernirs
Talking about Chile, we can never forget about wine. Chilean wine has taken the world with its delicious wine and thanks to the ideal climate for growing wine with lots of sunshine over the year and not too cold during summer, Chile can be considered as a paradise for wine and also for wine tour if anyone feel interested in buying wine back home and visiting beautiful wine yards surrounded by Andes mountains.
We didnt have enough money and also interest in buying and trying wine there. We were also not lucky enough to visit the vineyard when it was the collection season. But behind me are all grape trees, and if it was its right season, it would have looked like the below photo. A panorama of the whole vineyard in Santiago de Chile. We visited Vina Aquitania – which we could visit by bus – and it was free to wander around the vineyard, except if you want to go on a tour, you have to pay for the fee.
Foodaholics
The seafood soup was really good – and not too expensive. Visit mecado central for these sea food.Super big hamburger and delicous too. But seriously, it’s too big for one serve.Hot dog in ChileAny any serve in Chile was just too big. This was for one person.A little bit like “Keo ho lo”, but this was actually strawberry with sweet sauce
Some other silly moments of us in Chile
Together on bus – actually bus in Chile is really expensive!Heyy!! WTH! Killing eyes to anyone. Standing next to me was a Haiti guy who can speak 4 languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and the one who translated for us when we needed to buy a sim card in Chile.On the cable to the San Cristobal HillFrom the top of the Hill – Santiago by nightStupid face :))))“Hi hung” face when eating too much!The feeling when sitting alone next to a couple in the cold weather under sunset of Andes mountains
So that’s our Chile trip – short but also many new and fun experiences. Chile is beautiful with the nature spreading from desert where is so ideal for star gazing to the ice spots. Only a minus point maybe Chile is too expensive – almost similar to the price in the US.
Thank you – Chile and Colombia – we met in a short time, but somehow still impressive, right?
Thao Trang Nguyen 
Gorgeous post. Did You love world’s best music Cumbia in those countries?
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I didnt have a chance to enjoy Cumbia in Colombia. Definitely would learn about it after your recommendation.
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