we did have a couple days where we had some free time during our recent business trip to santiago, chile. one was the day we arrived, which was at 6am on a sunday so obviously we didn't have to work and the other was the day we were leaving. on the day we were leaving, our flight out of santiago was at 8pm and since we had to check out of the hotel by 12pm noon we had some time to kill. we took advantage of both days where we had some free time and walked around town a little bit. glad we got some free time to do that because santiago is just a beautiful city (or maybe i've just been living in taipei county too long). i will post photos from the day we left in another post, in the meantime here are photos from the day we arrived...
this is the street just outside our hotel, which was situated in an upper class suburb. within a few blocks, we saw a few embassies including that of our beloved human-rights-violating, poisonous-toy-making friends across the strait. most of the streets around this area looked like this, which reminded me a lot of west side vancouver, which is also an upper class neighbourhood. just a beautiful and easy-going area.
the sidewalk. would you look at that??? not a scooter in sight!!!
so, from near our hotel we took a bus to downtown santiago...
this is the old central station which has now been turned into a exhibition hall. just one of the many old historical buildings around town.
central market, which sells mostly seafood with some fruit and veggie stand here and there. also, lots of what looks like really good restaurants with good local cuisines inside. too bad it was really early and we already ate breakfast.
one of the many seafood stands inside the central market.
typical building in santiago.
forgot the name of this area but this is basically the busiest area in downtown santiago equivalent of taipei's ximending or tokyo's shibuya. it was around 8am in the morning when this photo was taken that's why the place looks so dead. we walked by it later on in the afternoon and it was just packed with people. by the way, if you ever go to santiago i highly recommend cafe haiti.
photo with our host aldo.
main post office located in plaza de armas.
also located in the plaza is the national cathedral.
the presidential palace.
the yard inside the presidential palace.
the museum of visual arts.
one of many churches and cathedrals around town.
santa lucia hill. a hill with great views located right in the middle of the city.
left to right: our host aldo, myself and my colleague berton.
statue atop the hill.
view from the top of the hill
the day happened to be the marathon of santiago. with a few thousand participants, it was a pretty big event where they close down some of the main roads in the city. it started pretty early but still back up traffic in certain areas.
sidewalk along the main street in downtown. look again! not a scooter in sight! i'm loving it!
Friday, April 25, 2008
santiago walkabout - part 1
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2 comments:
What a beautiful city! I know it is tough to be away from family, but when you get to see such a beautiful place, you at least have to feel happy with your job and career and what not, right?
bryan... yes, i do tend to complain a lot, but at the end of the day i do feel very blessed, happy, lucky and fortunate about my job and career. i feel the same about these business travels. altho' being away from family is really difficult, i get to see the world on all-paid trips while i get paid as well.
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