[BusyBoyKK]

Note to Mods, if you think this thread violates any rules/guide lines, please de-list. Thank you.

I was in Argentina 2 months ago on a business trip. Lived in a Buenos Aires suburb, missed some usual tourist places in the city but roamed around like a local.

Happened to go on a road trip to Rosario in a VW Gol.

Rosario is in Santa Fe province and 352 KMs away from the place where I lived (Canuelas, Buenos Aires Province). It is the 2nd / 3rd largest city in AR and known for it's history.

Sharing some pictures for your pleasure.

We drove the VW Gol.


A road-side "dhabha" where we did not stop. Instead we opted to stop at gas stations.


While exiting Canuelas.


Something caught our attention at a gas station. This belonged to the Shell gas-station service person.


Something else also caught our attention.


Bs.As has some really wide roads. One particular express-way has 18 or 20 toll gates in one direction. Below one is on our way to Rosario while by-passing Bs.As.


This is a common sight on a sunny day, people usually park their cars next to the roads and spend hours there.




A glimpse of the express-way we took. Ring road around Bs.As is too good and the express-way to Rosario is equally good. We could maintain a good average speed.


Argentina Flag Memorial (Wikipedia: The National Flag Memorial (Spanish, Monumento Nacional a la Bandera) in Rosario, Argentina, is a monumental complex built near the shore of the Paraná River. It was inaugurated on June 20, 1957, the anniversary of the death of Manuel Belgrano, creator of the Argentine flag, who raised it for the first time in an island on the opposite shore of the river on February 27, 1812)


The white VW Gol.


Plaques at the flag memorial.


Inside the civic court yard.


Some keen visitors.


Parana River.


That's where we are going next. A view from the Tower.


From the tower.


Nice car parking.


The restaurant belongs to Messi and food was messy. Did not like it.


From the tower, below the tower


Court yard-1


Court yard-2


All the way..


to the end.


That's where I was.


This is kept as a war memorial.


Only few pictures, sorry for the disappointment but my camera ran out of charge. My mistake as I did not charge it enough.

This is my first thread, I now understand how much effort it takes in presenting a thread with pictures and content. Kudos to all those TBhpians who patiently upload tens of pictures and present information in detail.

Thanks for reading and not throwing tomatoes or eggs.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues forum. Thanks for sharing!

[mayankjha1806]

Its a fantastic set of pictures, wish we could see more of this place. The thread gives a good glimpse of the place and there is no question of throwing rotten tomatoes or eggs . The place looks beautiful and clean, and pictures have come out well.

The thread does not have any signs of a first thread, surely the next attempt would be better.

[BusyBoyKK]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

The thread does not have any signs of a first thread, surely the next attempt would be better.

Thanks for your kind words mayankjha!! Such appreciation to my first publication will take me a long way.

Rosario is indeed beautiful compared with Buenos Aires. We all were..love at first sight with the place. Wide roads, colonial era-kind of buildings, long walks, river side houses, just beautiful!!

[aryasanyal]

Very nice and different travelogue. I have heard of the beauty of the Argentine countryside and your post has indeed shown that.

Did you get a chance to visit Patagonia? It'll also be great if you are able to share photos of Buenos Aires city, in case you have any.

Would love to know more about the city, culture, transport options available, approximate cost of travelling and routes that you followed to get to Argentina.

[BusyBoyKK]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

Would love to know more about the city, culture, transport options available, approximate cost of travelling and routes that you followed to get to Argentina.

Thanks aryasanyal! Argentina is a lovely country, greenery around Bs.As, wide roads, country side is full of vegetation. Our client is a global agri major from AR, located in a village.

I did not visit Patagonia, we were planning but did not have time. We were weighing options between Uruguay and Patagonia. Uruguay is just 3 hrs by speed boat (across the river) from Bs.As.

Bs.As Autonomous City:
Bs.As is more European than any other Latin A city. I mean, people's mind set, the architecture, weather (esp winters), small cars etc. Proper urban planning is evident. It is a huge city with people from all walks of life, rich-poor, old-new disparity. Still, I felt Latin A has many similarities to India. Esp AR is like India fast fwded by 10 years.

People:
Nice people, they are genuinely interested about others, I encountered many asking about India, Gandhi, Anna Hazare etc. etc. They are very very friendly, open minded, laid back and informal though. People are fashion-lovers, it is considered as the fashion capital of Latin A.

Getting there:
Getting to Bs.As is tire-some. I flew Qatar Air, Chennai to Doha (4.5 hrs), Doha to Sao Paulo, Brasil (13.5 hrs), 1 hr stop-ver, same flight from Sao Paulo to Bs.As (another 2.5 hrs). At the end of the flight, I wanted to run away and get some sleep. While returning, had a transit of 22 hrs at Doha. Qatar provided a 3 * hotel with all expenses included. Got a chance to roam around Doha too. I would rate Qatar are excellent and recommend. They ensure complete comfort during the long flight. Tickets to Bs.As can cost any where from 80K to 1.1 lac.

Other routes include - South African from Bombay to Johannesburg, and then to Bs.As direct. Malaysian too flies to Sao Paulo, Bs.As from KUL via Johannesburg but quite long flight. Emirates is starting or started flying to Bs.As. Otherwise, if you have valid EU visas, you can fly via LHR or Paris or Amsterdam.

Transportation in Bs.As:
City buses (AC and non-AC; public, mostly private-operated; good old Mercedes to some latest Volvos) are very commonly seen in Bs.As. As in any other city, they are crowded during peak hours and are also known for pick-pocketers, so be wary while traveling. We were advised not to, but I think compared to India, we are used to such pick-pocketing in public transport.
Metro trains (under ground) connect the city to almost all corners. Widely used and most convenient.
Metered Taxis are very common and you will see familiar yellow-black combinations there too. Taxis ranging from Renault Logans to Chevys to Fords to Opel to few Toyotas etc. They are bit expensive but reliable.
Most of the people there own small hatch backs ranging from VW, Renaults, Fiats, Fords, Peugeots, Chevys, very limited Koreans or Japs. Market is dominated by European or US cars. You can also see some big cars, mostly VW, Audi, few BMWs and almost negligible Mercs. I think they have some reservations against Mercs because Merc is a successful commercial auto maker there and people don't tend to relate them to expensive cars and spend money. They believe more in VW, Renault, Ford, Chevy than on any others.

Transportation around AR:
In one-line - buses, flights. Railway network is poor and we can see many double decker inter-city coach buses. Road transport is widely used and most of the parts the only means. For distant places, flights are common but expensive.

Language:
People there hardly speak English, Spanish being their only language. Remember it was a colony under Spain. If you know Spanish, you will not have troubles. If you don't know Spanish, still you can manage but with difficulty. I understand that they generally study English during school but then don't have a practice of using and hence not well conversant. But they love to talk in English (which ever form) and have high regards for those speaking. They expect you to teach them English and are quite happy about it. Nice people.

Food:
Food there will be a major problem for most of us Indians. All you get widely is beef or pork. Vegetarians hardly have any options, just salads, fruits and you do get rice and wheat but getting spices or chilly powder is almost impossible. So, be prepared and stack up well.
Vegetables and fruits are of high quality and taste. They are mainly agricultural country. There are few Indian restaurants though.

Weather:
AR's landscape is flat. Hot summers (around 25-30 c), cold winters (-1, 0 to 8/10). It being below equator, seasons are opposite to India. So when we have summer here, they have winter and during their summer we have winter here.

Some more info:
Indian Embassy (Embajada de la India) there is focusing on increasing trade between India and AR. They have been conducting some fashion shows with Indians designers, cultural programmes, road shows about our economies, inviting businesses, promote tourism etc. etc.

AR was once considered as a major economic power. Generally, people there are averse with their govt, like how we are with our govt. Corruption is rampant, development seems to have slowed for quite some years, high inflation. They had a painful history, esp during 60s, 70s, 80s.

Argentinians are fond of cars and races. They were hosting F1 till late 90s. They don't have an indigenous car maker. All automobiles are manufactured by foreign makers in AR. Heavy trucks - Scania R8, Volvo Globetrotter types are seen everywhere. Heavily customized/tuned cars quite normal. Two wheelers are also seen more in number - light weight Chinese 75 CC mopeds to high-end bikes.

Overall, lovely place, too far, nice people.

Few pics of Bs.As for your pleasure. Thanks.

Argentina National Congress, Buenos Aires.


I like this colonial-era like architecture.


One of the three of Santros that I have seen.


World's widest road, some 20 lanes I think (or may be more than that).




Again, the colonial-era like architecture.

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by BusyBoyKK

I did not visit Patagonia, we were planning but did not have time. We were weighing options between Uruguay and Patagonia. Uruguay is just 3 hrs by speed boat (across the river) from Bs.As.

Bs.As Autonomous City:
...

People:
...

Getting there:
...

Transportation in Bs.As:
...

Transportation around AR:
...

Language:
...

Food:
...

Weather:
...

Overall, lovely place, too far, nice people.

Thanks for all the information! Really appreciate it.
Have heard and read a lot of this country but came across very few first-hand experiences.
Probably the first on Team-BHP.

So did you visit Uruguay? Montevideo is counted amongst one of the finest and most liveable cities in the world. Do share your experiences, if possible.

Originally Posted by BusyBoyKK

As in any other city, they are crowded during peak hours and are also known for pick-pocketers, so be wary while traveling. We were advised not to, but I think compared to India, we are used to such pick-pocketing in public transport.

I am a fan of Argentine movies especially Ricardo Darin's, and Nueve Reinas showed this aspect of Buenos Aires pretty well.

Originally Posted by BusyBoyKK

Few pics of Bs.As for your pleasure. Thanks.

It's truly been a pleasure looking at them. Thanks again!

[BusyBoyKK]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

Probably the first on Team-BHP.

So did you visit Uruguay?

There is one more AR thread that I came across (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...miliar-us.html)

My Uruguay plans had to be shelved because I had to come back for some personal emergency. Reserved for sometime later.

[amitwlele]

@BusyBoyKK - Thanks for sharing the wonderful pics. Also in addition to that your subsequent post which gave quick information about AR was very good.

This must be the first AR TL on T-BHP. Any more pics to follow?

[s@tan2s@int]

Originally Posted by BusyBoyKK

There is one more AR thread that I came across (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...miliar-us.html)

My Uruguay plans had to be shelved because I had to come back for some personal emergency. Reserved for sometime later.

Hi Busy boy. Thanks for sharing..Brings back memories of my trip to Buenos Aires way back in 2002.

Hope you had a chance to visit the famous "la boca" neighborhood in Buenos Aires. The colorful houses and the markets are photographers delight.

Puerto Madero has some great restaurants for the the adventurous types. Did you try any of those restaurents ? Florida street a busy shopping areas is also a must visit.

Keep the pics coming. thanks again for sharing

[anjan_c2007]

BusyBoyKK nice to go through your well written and illustrated travelogue on Argentina.The neatness all around, orderly traffic and parking manners are things that we need to emulate.
Reading about Rosario, I remember the very old Jim Reeves country song "My Heart is in Rosario". Though its all about the late crooner's sweetheart, it does not have much to say about Rosario.

[BusyBoyKK]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Also in addition to that your subsequent post which gave quick information about AR was very good.
This must be the first AR TL on T-BHP. Any more pics to follow?

Amit, thanks for your kind words. I feel really bad for not taking many pics. I should have spent some time for that. Filling up the void with some Googled pics below.

Originally Posted by s@tan2s@int

..memories of my trip to Buenos Aires way back in 2002.
..famous "la boca" neighborhood in Buenos Aires
..Puerto Madero
..Florida street a busy shopping areas is also a must visit.

Satan2Saint, I am glad you could connect this thread to your trip. I had a smile on my face when you mentioned those places. I have been to all those.

La Boca - just one word - colorful. Btw, you must have heard Boca, one of the famous football clubs. Most successful franchisee in AR. People are just crazy about it.

La Boca - Buenos Aires (courtesy: respective sites)


Puerto Modero - couldn't believe my eyes. Not sure if you had seen the latest infra development with all modern-style tall-risers at Puerto Modero, totally opposite to what you see on 9th July Avenue or Carlos Pellegrini (the widest road pics above). I believe all this developments happened after 2002. It was a treat to eyes during the night.

(PUERTO MADERO | BUENOS AIRES | ARGENTINA - Sitio Oficial)
Puerto Modero - Buenos Aires (courtesy: respective sites)


Yes, those restaurants, in fact on our way back from Rosario we went to Puerto Modero to have Sushi at a famous Jap resto.

Florida Street is a different story all together. Those street hawkers and those expensive shopping malls, mid-range shops, many restaurants, theatres etc.
For others, Florida Street is Bs.As's Koti (Hyd), TNagar (Chennai), Karol Bagh (Delhi).

Florida Street- Buenos Aires (courtesy: respective sites)

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

..are things that we need to emulate.
.. "My Heart is in Rosario"

Thanks Anjan! That is a relevant lyric to Rosario. Nice place, not chaotic like Bs.As. Especially, liked those long walks, forgot names of the places street though.

Just wanted to share this piece of info too - while in Rosario we stayed at this colorful youth hostel Hostel Rosarino (The Hostel | Hostel Rosarinos 938) for few hours. Not very clean but very very economical. Youth Hostels are famous across Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. They work out to be very economical but provide very basic amenities, we felt enough for the 4-5 hours we stayed there.