Archive for danielhamilton

A guide for those thinking of visiting Rio de Janeiro for the first time

May 21, 2013 Brazil, Personal 3 comments

Several times a year, I get excited emails from friends and acquaintances heading off to Rio de Janeiro for the first time.  The request is always the same: can I recommend some places to see, restaurants to visit and attractions that are “off the beaten track” for most tourists.  To my shame, I usually only manage to tap out a few quick thoughts before returning to deal with the rest of my ordinarily-enormous inbox.

I’m writing this blogpost so that next time the request comes, I’ve got something more meaningful to point people at.

One doesn’t have to have visited Rio before to know that the city is inspiring, intimidating, uplifting, depressing, hectic and tranquil in equal measure.  Taking into account the satellite cities that surround Rio, its metropolitan area is close to fifteen million people – making it virtually impossible to get to know each area well.

I don’t claim that the below is by any means a definitive guide to Rio – but it is guide to the things I like and the things I enjoy doing while in town.  Boa sorte e divirta-se!

Keeping safe

I’ll start by addressing the big elephant in the room when it comes to any discussion about visiting Rio: safety.

Rio’s reputation for violence amongst would-be tourists is slightly undeserved.  The overwhelming majority of visits to the city are entirely trouble free.  Cariocas are, by nature, extremely warm and friendly people – but it’s important to always keep in mind that you will be visiting one of the most socially polarised cities in the world where crushing poverty can often be found only a stone’s throw from gauche opulence.

There are a few basic steps you can take to make sure that you stay out of trouble.

I rarely carry a wallet when out in Rio and instead usually only carry one bank card and a small amount of money with me.  If you are coming from London you might want to think about keeping a credit card and a couple of larger bills in an Oyster card holder – that’s what I usually do.  If you’re in the unfortunate enough to be mugged, just hand everything over straight away and calmly walk away afterwards.

Unless I’m going out for an evening at a friend’s house or at a restaurant in a very safe neighbourhood, I usually don’t wear the nice watch my parents bought me for my 21st birthday as it would only serve as a target for an opportunistic mugger. You don’t really need a watch in Rio as most main roads in the city are lined with huge digital clocks displaying the time and temperature.  Additionally, nobody in Rio cares about being on time anyway so, even if you’re half an hour late for your appointment, nobody will care…

While the beach is a huge part of Rio culture, you should generally avoid the seafront promenades after sundown – particularly Copacabana. The beach can become a gathering point for druggies and other people up to no good in the evening.  On a positive note, there is actually relatively little other than residential buildings and condominiums located on the beachfront (most bars and clubs are a couple of streets back) so you won’t be missing anything when it’s dark.

Buses are safe to use during the day but can be a pretty bewildering experience if you’re using them for the first time.  If you’re in any doubt, shout the name of your destination at the bus driver before getting on and you’ll either get a thumbs up or a thumbs down.  Unless you know exactly where you are going, you should use taxis later in the evening – generally speaking, the drivers are honest and the fares affordable (make sure they turn the meter on!).

The Rio de Janeiro Metro system is modern, clean and safe to use at all times but is subject to some delays as the city prepares for the upcoming Olympics and World Cup.  It has an English-language website and journey planner which can be found here.

My final piece of advice in terms of safety is a pretty simple one: be sensible. Don’t whip your iPad out while on the bus, stay on well-lit roads rather than taking short cuts through parks or alleyways you’re not familiar with and avoid using your camera on the street outside of established tourist areas.

Do not attempt to enter favelas (slums).  People who live in favelas are very proud people who react badly to foreigners who view their communities as a tourist attraction.  If you choose to take the bus while in Rio then you will pass close to a number of favelas.  These buses are safe but you should not take photographs or leave the bus while passing through.

If you take a realistic view of risks to your own safety when you’re in Rio, you’ll be fine.

The Christ Statue and the Sugarloaf

I’m not going to offer a detailed write-up of either of these attractions as the chances are they’re already top of your list of places to visit.  If you have bizarrely decided to visit Rio without knowing anything about either of the city’s most iconic landmarks then you can find their English language websites here and here.

Both attractions are well worth visiting but, if you’re very short of time, you should prioritise the Sugarloaf over the Christ Statue as you’ll get a much better view of Rio and the surrounding bays from there.

There is a fair bit of walking involved in visiting both attractions so you should consider taking some water up with you – if only to avoid having to pay the rip-off prices the Gombeen men selling water at the summit charge.

Copacabana 

Along with Ipanema, Copacabana is probably Rio de Janeiro’s favourite neighbourhood.  I wouldn’t say it was a disappointing place to visit but it certainly has an air of faded glory about it with many of its more glamorous residents having long decamped to Leblon, Ipanema or upcoming neighbourhoods like Barra a little outside the city.

Copacabana is home to my favourite place in Rio; the Forte de Copacabana (Copacabana Fort).  The Fort is an old military base built on a rock that juts out into the bay, giving you a fantastic panoramic view of the Copacabana Bay, the Sugarloaf, Ipanema, Leblon and a number of islands just off the coast.  When I was growing up the Fort was closed to non-military personnel but is now home to the Naval History Museum and is one of the best places in Rio to take photos of the city’s amazing surroundings.  There is a restaurant and a couple of cafes which are an excellent place to watch the sundown. Don’t miss it.  You can find its website, including prices and opening hours here.

If you want to experience a taste of what Rio de Janeiro must have been like during colonial times, you should head for the stunning Copacabana Palace on the seafront.  A favourite of visiting Russian oligarchs (I too wish I could afford to stay in the Palace’s $5000-a-night ocean view suites), the drinks aren’t cheap but you’ll struggle to find anything matching its opulence and grandeur anywhere else in the city.

Best beaches

Beach culture is entirely synonymous with Rio de Janeiro and it’s more than likely that your plans when visiting will involve a visit to one or more of the city’s famous beaches.

You will undoubtedly have heard of Copacabana and Ipanema, both of which are very easy to reach by public transport and certainly worth visiting your time in Rio.  It is perfectly acceptable to head to and from the beach using public transport (even if you’re covered in sand!), although some bus routes stop a couple of blocks back from the beach.  In the case you find yourself dropped off on a crowded street back from the seafront, just approach any passing person and say the word “praia” (pry-ah) and they’ll be sure to point you in the right direction – which shouldn’t be any more than two or three hundred metres.

One of my favourite things to do is to take a bus to Leblon and to walk along the seafront through Ipanema to Arpoador – a huge rock jutting out into the ocean that acts as an unofficial “border” between Ipanema and Copacabana. It’s a very relaxing walk that will take you along one of the nicest stretches of beachfront in the city.

If you want to give this route a try, take any bus to Leblon, turn your back to the mountain towering above you and simply walk towards the rocky peninsular jutting out into the sea in the distance.  The distance from Leblon to Arpoador is about three miles and can be very leisurely walked in about forty minutes.  You can either take the pavement or walk along the sand itself with the water lapping at your feet.

You could choose to stop off for a swim en route to break up the walk (although you should avoid swimming in Leblon as the water is often quite dirty) but I prefer to wait until I get to Arpoador out of some kind of notion of having “earned” the right to swim after a good walk!

Arpoador is a particularly good place to swim as the rocks have created a small bay which is completely free of the powerful undercurrents that exist along much of the coastline without damaging the ability of waves to form.  If the waves are big enough and you are feeling brave then you can even jump off the rocks into the water – but be sure to time your jump with the arrival of a big wave so as to avoid injury!  It’s also a great place to watch sundown, with many people gathering on the rock each evening to cheer and clap for the sun as it disappears into the ocean.

Personally speaking, I draw zero enjoyment from sitting on a densely-crowded beach with 100,000 (at a conservative estimate) other people fighting for space.  As such, I tend to avoid the beach at the weekend – but that’s just a matter of personal preference.

If you’ve got a little bit longer in Rio, I would recommend that you head a little outside the city to Barra da Tijuca (usually known simply as “Barra”).

One of the wealthiest areas of the city, Barra is home to miles and miles of sandy beaches that feel far less hectic than the beaches in the city.  While some of the beaches in Rio were damaged by unsuitable 1960s tower blocks and land reclamations to increase road capacity, the more modern developments in Barra are far more sympathetically built.   During the week the beaches in Barra are almost deserted, meaning that you can properly relax without crowds of people around you.

While many Cariocas will recoil in horror when you tell them you are intending to travel “all the way” to Barra to go to the beach, it’s actually a surprisingly easy journey that will give you a great overview of the city’s varied social mix (including briefly passing alongside the Rocinha slum and the Barra condominium complex which is home to Ronaldo) and some sweeping views of the sea that hit you unexpectedly as soon as you leave a dark, congested tunnel complex.  Buses 309 (from Centro to Alvorada via Botafogo and Avenida Sernambetiba) and 333 (from Rodoviaria Bus Station to Barra via Avenida Sernambetiba) will get you to Barra in half an hour to forty minutes, depending on the time of day.

If you do visit Barra, my recommendation would be to press the bell to stop the bus as soon as you pass lifeguard post number seven (you can’t miss the posts – they’re located every kilometre along the coast with their numbers painted prominently on them).  Aside from being a nice spot of beach, there are a couple of very nice huts on the promenade that serve excellent seafood dishes.   Buses to return to the centre of Rio can be picked up on the same side of the road as the beach (heading east) and run every fifteen minutes or so.

Buying souvenirs

While Rio most certainly has its fair share of tourist tat (think key-rings, embarrassingly clichéd t-shirts and zippo lighters), you can actually pick up some relatively nice souvenirs during your visit.

For a full overview of all the souvenir options open to you, I would recommend that you haul yourself out of bed on Sunday morning (after no doubt binging heavily on caipirinhas the night before) and head to the Feira Hippie in Ipanema.  The Feira Hippie – or “Hippie Fair” in English – is home to the city’s largest collection of arts and crafts; including Brazilian-made jewellery, watercolour paintings, wooden pestle and mortars, carved parrots, bows and arrows, wooden pestle and mortars etc.  There’s something for everyone there – and, even if you don’t see something you like, the fair is worth a visit in itself.

Getting there is fairly simple.  Just take any bus heading to Ipanema and get off at Praça General Osório (pronounced “Prash-ah Zheneh-ral Osorio”) and you’ll see a mass of tents occupying a park in the middle of the square.  The fair is technically open from 07:00 to 19:00 each Sunday but most stall-holders will have packed up and gone home by about 14:00.

While there are many excellent bargains to be had at the Feira Hippie, its prices have risen sharply in recent years in line with both rising incomes in Brazil and an increase in tourists visiting the city.  Feel free to haggle with the stall-holders, most of which will speak enough English to be able to cut a deal with you.

Many of the stallholders at the Feira Hippie take part in a far smaller fair that takes place each weekday evening in Copacabana.  I tend to find that the prices in Copacabana are slightly lower, especially for paintings.  If you want to give this fair a try, then just head for the Copacabana Palace and you’ll see a number of tents filling a large traffic island just across from the hotel.

Where should I eat and drink?

Food is a huge part of Brazilian culture and is something the people of the country are extremely proud of.  Despite a proliferation of American-style burger joints having popped up all over the country in recent years, Brazilian families – rich and poor – still eat the country’s traditional dishes on the majority of days.

“Traditional food” tends to mean some kind of chicken, beef or pork accompanied by black beans (feijão), rice (aroz) and farofa (toasted manioc flour, best used to soak up meat juices).  Fish dishes are also popular, particularly salted cod (bacalao).

With so much open space, Brazil is one of the largest meat-producing countries in the world, making products such as steak and prime rib incredibly affordable.  As an additional benefit, Brazil’s sheer size means that the majority of meat comes from free-range farms where pigs and cattle are able to roam freely without being pumped full of the chemical stimulants we’re used to in Western Europe and North America.

You will find a huge number of what appear to be steak houses wherever you go, although these restaurants will be very happy to serve chicken, pork or vegetarian dishes.  Away from traditional foods, Brazil’s huge Italian (the pizzas in Brazil are widely considered the best outside of Italy), Japanese and Lebanese communities mean that there is always a wealth of food to choose from wherever you go.

While there are bargains available, you should not expect to find particularly cheap deals on restaurants while in Rio.  As a rule of thumb, if a restaurant’s décor is up to the same standards of a reasonably expensive restaurant in Western Europe then you can expect the prices to be virtually equivalent to those you pay at home.

It’s very difficult to give a definitive list of the best restaurants in Rio but I would certainly recommend you consider the following during your visit…

Bar / street food – At the end of nearly every street in the centre of Rio, you’ll see a small bar with a number of plastic chairs outside.  These bars (or “botequins”) are some of the greatest examples of social integration in Rio because, as the evening progresses, they’ll fill up with all sections of society – from the wealthy managing director of an investment bank to the porter who runs his building.  The bars are usually neighbourhood-focussed so entering them can be pretty intimidating as, if it appears everyone knows each other, it’s because they probably do.  If they’re located in a good neighbourhood, then feel free to go inside.  Order an Antarctica Original (a big, ice-cold beer) and a couple of hot pasteis from the food counter.

In the main tourist areas, big efforts have been made to try and emulate the spirit of these local botequins by offering drinks and tasty snacks at very affordable prices.  If you’re minded to give one a try, I can recommend nothing more than to head for Pavão Azul on Rua Hilário Gouveia in Copacabana for a steak and cheese sandwich and some cod croquettes (bolinhos de bacalhau).

A little up the scale from the “rough and ready” nature of botequins, you’ll find similar food and drink at Boteco Belmonte which has branches in Ipanema, Jardim Botânico, Copacabana, Urca, Lapa, Leblon and Flamengo.  Another good option is Conversa Fiada in Ipanema.

Bar Urca – An institution in my family, Bar Urca is one of my favourite places in the world, let alone Rio de Janeiro.  Located in the bohemian Urca district of the city overlooking the Guanabara Bay, the restaurant is split into two parts the downstairs being a fairly informal bar where you can grab some snacks and a beer and take them to eat on the harbour wall across the road while the upstairs is a formal restaurant with bow-tied waiters.  In honesty, both options are excellent.

My recommendation would be to arrive early for dinner and order a selection of pasteis de camarão (shrimp) and quieijo (cheese) (like a small pasty but lighter) and a beer and linger on the harbour wall for a while, watching the sun disappear for the evening.  After a few beers, head upstairs and grab the moqueca camarão a baiana (shrimp stew from the state of Bahia in the north of Brazil).  A portion for two will easily do for three of the most ravenous eaters.  While the meat dishes are also good, you’d be a fool not to focus on fish while here.  It’s a very special place you should not miss out on.

Quadrifoglio – One of the nicest restaurants in the city, Quadrifoglio has three branches: an expensive one and a heinously expensive one.  This is Rio de Janeiro high society at its peak – think customers in remarkably-press white linen suits, imported French wines, smooth piano music, annoyingly quadrilingual waiting staff and immaculate white table cloths.  The food and atmosphere, however, almost makes up from the horror you’ll experience when paying the bill.  The selection of meat and fish dishes, from the Italian-inspired menu is mouth-watering.  The more upscale and intimate of the two branches can be found on Rua J J Seabra in Jardim Botânico while the more fun and upbeat Quadrifoglio Cafés are on Avenida Borges de Medeiros by Lagoa (the view from the new ‘Lagoon’ restaurant complex is not to be missed) and Rua Dias Ferreira in Leblon.

Lapa – If you’re up for a big night out, you certainly shouldn’t miss out on visiting Lapa.  Located very close to the city’s business district, Lapa was for years a largely abandoned and sketchy part of town which was avoided by all by the hardiest of Cariocas.

Thankfully, some shrewd local businessmen seized the opportunity to renovate Lapa’s stunning colonial Portuguese buildings and create an area that is home to some of the city’s best nightlife and live music.  Walking through Lapa, you’ll pass by a bewildering number of restaurants and bars but I’d recommend you head to Rio Scenarium where there’s live music every night until about 05:00.  Feel free to try one of the many street stalls selling beers and caipirinhas.  You’ll find an extensive bar guide on the Time Out website.

Steak – Over the past couple of years, a number of churrascarias have opened up across the UK, meaning that the “all you can eat meat” concept is not as new for Brits as it once was.  What will be new, however, is the quality of what you are served in Rio’s churrascarias.  Churrascarias vary widely in terms of price, from pretty expensive to extremely expensive.

Right at the top end of the scale is my personal favourite, the Porcão which has branches in Ipanema, Botafogo and Barra.  A dinner for two would set you back about £100 there – which is ridiculous when one considers the relatively low salaries most Brazilians live on.  Further down the scale, you can’t go wrong with Churrascaria Palace on Rua Rodolfo Dantas in Copacabana or Carretão which has branches in Copacabana and Ipanema.

If you’d prefer to try a steak without the “all you can eat” element, File de Ouro on Rua Jardim Botânico is a superb bet.  The Time Out review explains what to expect there far more eloquently than I can.

Pizza – As I’ve already mentioned, Brazil has one of the largest immigrant Italian communities in the world.   This has given rise to a vast number of excellent pizza restaurants which can be found right across Rio de Janeiro.  My two favourite pizza restaurants are Diagonal Pizzaria and Pizzaria Guanabara, both of which can be found on Avenida Ataulfo de Paiva in Leblon.  Both are extremely relaxed, stay open until 04:00 every day and serve an excellent calabresa (Brazilian sausage) and onion pizza.

Other sources to look at – I wouldn’t claim that the above recommendations even touch upon a fraction of the many excellent places to eat in Rio.  Do draw inspiration from some other sites such as the excellent EatRio.net or the ever-reliable TripAdvisor.

Is there anywhere else I should visit in Brazil?

To answer this question adequately would require several more thousand blog posts.

In a nutshell, though, you should certainly consider visiting the seaside party resort of Buzios which can be reached by bus in about two hours from Rio.  During the summer months, Buzios comes alive as tens of thousands of Cariocas head there to enjoy the open-air nightclubs and fantastic bars and restaurants which line the Rua das Pedras.   Try Takatakata and Chez Michou for starters.

If you’ve got a couple of spare days then you should certainly consider taking the short and relatively inexpensive (about £60 per head if booked a month or so in advance) flight to Foz do Iguacu on the Brazilian-Argentinian-Paraguayan border.  I’ve written a blog post which looks at what you might expect to see in Foz.  It’s one of the best places I’ve ever visited, so you should certainly give it some thought.

What have I missed?

I appreciate I’ve not actually listed any suggestions about where to stay in Rio.  That’s because I stay with family when I’m here so I don’t have a clue.

If you know me and I’ve directed you to this page, please feel free to ping me an email with any other questions you might have and I’ll try and help.

Otherwise, have an excellent trip.

Visiting Nagorno Karabakh – easier than you might think (part two)

May 16, 2013 Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, Uncategorized One comment

In part one of this blogpost, I examined how to go about getting to Nagorno Karabakh, obtaining a visa and where to stay when in the country.

Things to remember

Several months ago, I read article by the conflict expert Tim Judah in which he described Nagorno Karabakh as “as far as you can go“.  He’s right.  Karabakh is an isolated, mysterious and troubled corner of globe – but one no truly intrepid traveller can afford to miss.

Visiting Artsakh (as the locals call it) is an incredibly interesting and exhilarating experience that very few people have the opportunity to enjoy.  Getting to the country is a long and complicated process (see my previous blog post for information on travel and visas) that requires careful planning.

The second you cross the border between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, you’ll know you make the right decision to visit.  The words “Nagorno Karabakh” roughly translate to “mountainous black garden” – an accurate description given the imposing mountains and abundance of fresh water and lush vegetation that greets you everywhere you turn.

Driving along the road from Armenia into Karabakh’s capital Stepanakert for the first time you’ll be struck by the quiet, calm nature of the place – particularly if you’re arriving from manically hectic Yerevan.  This impression of calm is a slightly misleading one.

Nagorno Karabakh has only been independent for twenty years, prior to which it had formally been allocated to Azerbaijan by Soviet Russia as a result of Stalin’s “divide and rule” policy which sought to prevent single ethnic groups (in this case, Armenians) from becoming too strong.

During the war, Stepanakert was besieged by Azeri forces for months on end – sending tens of thousands of shells raining down on the city.

Evidence of ruined buildings is now relatively limited on the road into Stepanakert and the city itself is buzzing with the construction of new homes, schools and hospitals.  A short drive outside the city, however and you’ll see the shells of buildings gradually being reclaimed by nature.

The Azeri government has vowed to recapture Karabakh and conducts frequent military exercises along the border designed to demonstrate their military firepower.  For their part, the Karabakh military forces have vowed to detonate the valuable Azeri oil pipeline that runs close to the border if any military incursion into their territory takes place.

The fear of war is ever-present with all adult males taking part in regular military training exercises designed to ensure the country is prepared for an attack.

Coming from a country where the ever-present fear of war does not exist, it is only natural that you will wish to ask questions about the conflict and its legacy.  From past experience, it’s perfectly safe to do so but you should keep in mind that every single person in the country has a father, son, grandson, brother or cousin who either fought or died in the conflict.   It’s not uncommon to see disabled war veterans or those with shrapnel injuries while travelling around Karabakh. Make sure any questions are approached in a sensitive manner.

Armenians identify strongly with Russians and knowledge of the Russian language is universal.  There are a number of theories as to why this is but my personal conclusion is that the former Soviet Union provided a degree of collective safety to Armenians following the 1915 genocide of 1.8 million of their citizens and the loss of a large chunk of Eastern Armenia to the Ottoman Empire.  If you have any negative feelings towards the Russian Government, it’s best that you try and keep these to yourself as you are unlikely to find a sympathetic audience in Karabakh

Armenian and Russian are universally understood in Nagorno Karabakh.  While you’ll find a reasonable number of English speakers at the main hotels in Stepanakert, you should try and familiarise yourself with a few Armenian and Russian phrases before you go, if only to be able to thank people in their own language.  I am told that Azeri/Turkish is understood by the majority of those over the age of 40 but you are unlikely to receive a positive reaction if you attempt to use it.

Nagorno Karabakh is a democracy that adheres to the rule of law.  The country held successful Presidential elections in 2012 which received top marks from international election observers (myself included). Crimes against foreigners are unheard of, although you should be conscious that Nagorno Karabakh is a poor country in which ostentatious displays of wealth are unwise.

With the above points understood, you’ll be ready to enjoy the unique experiences the country has to offer.

Getting around

As far as foreigners are concerned, Nagorno Karabakh is a public transport-free zone.  There are no organised tour buses, no trains, no metro stops and no trams.

Despite the lack of formal public transport services, the region is actually fairly easy to get around as a result of a combination of Karabakh being a relatively small place and the abundance of affordable taxis that are easily available.

If you’re looking for a “grand tour” of Karabakh by taxi then you have two options.  The first is to ask your hotel to arrange a driver for you – which they’ll be happy to do.  They will probably also be able to arrange an English-speaking guide for you too.  While your hotel won’t be consciously attempting to rip you off, they will want to ensure you get the very best driver and car for your journey so you are likely to pay a premium for this.

My personal preference is to print out a map of Nagorno Karabakh and point at the various places I wish to visit.  Even if the driver doesn’t understand English, he will be able to read the Latin script you show him.  You may wish to write a list of the places you’d like to go in numbered order – although ensure they make logical geographical sense. If you show interest and appreciation to your driver for the sites he shows you, he’ll be even more inclined to show you then nooks and crannies of the country that are off the usual tracks.

Hiring a taxi for a whole day should cost somewhere in the region of 40,000 Drams – a considerable amount in Karabakh but a fairly affordable sum for a foreign tourist.

Friends on the ground tell me that a bus service does operate fairly frequently between Karabakh’s main towns but I have never made use of any of these services.  If you are confident that your Russian of Armenian is up to scratch then you might want to brave it…

A cash economy?

Most guidebooks I’ve come across issue pretty hefty warnings to travellers recommending that they withdraw copious amounts of Armenian Drams before travelling to Karabakh – or risk being unable to pay for anything.

While it’s fair to say that Nagorno Karabakh has a cash-dominated economy, I’ve never had problems using credit and debit cards in hotels or restaurants in Stepanakert.  You are also able to use cards in larger shops and restaurants in Shushi and Vank but, as a general rule, you should use cash outside of Stepanakert.

My recommendation would be to ensure that you travel to the area with around 200,000 Drams (about £200) in cash for four days.  This should be more than enough to cover the cost of your transportation to and from Karabakh as well as incidental expenses such as taxis and snacks.  With a bit of luck, you should have a surplus of cash left at the end of your visit which you can either spend back in Yerevan or covert back into pounds.

If you need to get hold of more cash during the course of your journey, there is an ATM in the reception of the Hotel Armenia.

Stepanakert – the capital city

Stepanakert will inevitably be your base for visiting Nagorno Karabakh. A city of roughly 70,000 people, about half of the country’s population is based here.

While it would be going too far to describe Stepanakert as a metropolis, there’s enough to do in the area to keep first-time travellers occupied for at least a couple of days.

I would recommend seeing the following sights:

  • “We are the mountains” statute – pictured to the right, the statue has become an unofficial “mascot” for Nagorno Karabakh.  The foundations of the statue go down several metres into the ground, symbolising the ancient presence of the Armenian people in Nagorno Karabakh and the fact they are rooted in the country’s soil.  No trip to the region is complete without stopping for a photograph here.
  • Memorial Complex – a great place to visit to learn about the conflict with Azerbaijan as well as to pay your respects to those who died.  Many of the graves are decorated in an elaborate and poigniant style.
  • Stepanakert Market – I often think that visiting markets is one of the best ways to gain insights into a country’s culture and traditions.  The bustling market in Stepanakert is a “must visit”. You can buy everything here – from traditional daggers and carpets to fresh fish imported over the mountains from Armenia.  You can also buy fresh Zingalov Hats (see the “food and drink” section below) that are freshly made in front of you.
  • Artsakh State Museum (4 Sasunstsi David Street) – located in Stepanakert, the museum hosts a good collection of memorabilia from the 1990s conflict, as well as some more historical artifacts from the country’s history.

Aside from visiting the small number of tourist attractions the city has, I would also recommend taking a couple of hours to just wander aimlessly around the city.  There are no “no go” areas of the city, so feel free to explore side streets, graveyards and any other sites that look interesting.

Wherever you go you’ll never be very far from a cafe serving delicious, turbo-charged Anatolian coffee and may well meet some interesting people along the way.  I was once humbled to meet the owner of a smoke-filled cafe who told me of his love for the British as his wife had been flown to Manchester for life-saving surgery after being hurt in a shell attack.  He wouldn’t let me pay my bill.

If you want to mix with some fellow travellers and English-speaking locals then I would recommend visiting the Hotel Armenia’s bar in the evening. It stays open until the last customers leave and does a terrific selection of flavoured shishas, meaning it can get rather smoky inside if it’s too cold an evening to sit outside.

If you need the help of a friendly English speaker then a lady called Anaida and her team at the reception desk of the Hotel Armenia on Renaissance Square should be able to point you in the right direction.

Shushi

There are few towns in Nagorno Karabakh that suffered as much during the conflict of the early 1990s than Shushi (note: the town is often called by it’s Azeri name ‘Shusha‘ in various guidebooks).  Perched in a stunning location on a hillside about ten miles from Stepanakert, Shushi was once one of the largest Armenian towns in the world and the heart of the Caucasus silk trade.  It retains some of its historic buildings but saw scenes of some of the most bitter fighting during the Karabakh war.

War stories about Shushi are legendary in Karabakh. The town served as a base from which the Azeri army launched missile and shell attacks on Stepanakert before being dramatically recaptured one night by Armenian forces. The military operation saw scores of Armenian soldiers scale a steep rock face at 03:00, driving out the Azeri army and effectively bringing an end to most serious fighting in the Karabakh conflict.

Visiting Shusi will give you a unique perspective on the influences of both Christianity and Islam on Nagorno Karabakh.  Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, which was used by the Azeri army to store missiles during the war, has been fully restored and should not be missed.  Similarly, you should make an effort to visit the Yukhari Govhar Agha mosque which, while no longer in use, is protected by the Nagorno Karabakh Government.  You should also visit the town’s ancient fortress which has been at the heart of some of the great historic battles for control of Shushi.

If you have time, try and pop into the Shushi Museum which has some great examples of Karabakh art and other cultural artefacts from the town’s rich history.

In an effort to boost tourism the Nagorno Karabakh Government has constructed a 17km-long walking trail from Shushi to Stepanakert which passes alongside mountains, rivers and waterfalls.  You might want to consider getting a taxi to Shushi in the morning and then spending the day walking back to Stepanakert with a stop-off for lunch at one of the small villages along the way.

Your other option in respect of Shushi is to save your visit there until you are heading back to Yerevan as you will have to pass by it.  If you speak to your hotel, they will be happy to brief your taxi driver to first take you to see the sights of Shushi en route back to Armenia.

Vank

Once a fairly anonymous town, Vank has been heavily invested in in recent years by a former resident who made his fortune in Russia.  Passing through the town, you’ll see a string of newly-built buildings and statues, including a rather bizarre hotel built in the shape that is supposed to resemble the Titanic and an elaborate carving of a lion into rock on the hillside.

Architecture aside, the number one reason for visiting Vank is its proximity to the famous Gandzasar monastery which dates back as far as the 1200s.  Located at the top of a long and winding mountain pass, Gandzasar is probably Nagorno Karabakh’s biggest tourist attraction.  Aside from being a stunning example of Armenian religious architecture, the church is home to a wealth of attractive stone carvings and stunning views down across the valley.

If possible, I would recommend visiting Gandzasar earlier in the day as the whole complex gets gripped by fog as you get closer to sunset.  On one occasion I visited Gandzasar, I could barely see more than two or three metres in front of me!   There’s a very good restaurant in the town centre (see the food and drink secton later in this blogpost) where you can stop off for a delicious lunch.

If you have more than a couple of days in Nagorno Karabakh, then I’d also suggest visiting the town of Hadrut when you’ll find further examples of 13th and 14th century chuches.

Keep safe

A number of people visit Nagorno Karabakh in order try and gain an insight into what it’s like to be in an active conflict zone.  If this is the reason for your visit then you will likely be disappointed as the vast majority of the country has a quiet and relaxed feel to it.

The Government of Nagorno Karabakh takes security issues exceptionally seriously and does not take kindly to visitors to the region that seek to stray too close to the border with Azerbaijan.  Snipers operate in this are and by doing so, you are putting not only yourself at grave risk but also endangering the lives of Karabakh Army soldiers (many of them young conscripts) who may be sent in to get you out of trouble.

Conflicting reports exist about whether or not it is possible to visit the cities of Agdam and Fizuli – both of which are ghost towns and former strongholds of the Azeri army.  Agdam is not technically part of the territory of Nagorno Karabakh but is temporarily held by Karabakh forces due to its use as key staging point from which the Azeri army launched rockets and shells into Armenian neighbourhoods.

I have visited both places with no problems in the past but understand that, depending on the general security situation, visits may not be possible.  You will pass several military checkpoints en route at which you may be denied permission to progress further if the security situation is particularly bad.

If you do manage to visit Agdam or Fizuli – a moving and extremely interesting experience – you shouldn’t go on about what you’ve seen there to locals when you get back to Stepanakert.  Agdam was an ethnic Azeri town but, even in victory, Armenians take no pride in or draw no satisfaction from its current state and have indicated it would be returned to Azerbaijan in the event of a settlement recognising Nagorno Karabakh’s independence.

The Halo Trust has done an exceptional job at removing land mines from Karabakh.  Indeed, I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days with their team in the country in order to see the painstaking work they do to rid the region of these evil weapons (although I can’t claim to have been told that walking across a certain field was safe as it “only has anti-tank mines in it”!). Keep your eyes peeled for signs marked “UXO” which indicate the presence of mines and avoid those areas at all costs.

Food and drink

No travel-related blog post from me would be complete without a quick delve into some of the local food and drink.

As a starter, I’ll say that while the food is Karabakh is fresh and delicious, it is far from varied.  With the exception of a few restaurants serving Georgian dishes and pizza, the menu of most restaurants in the region reflects the area’s cultural homogeneity.

Arguably the most iconic and unquestionably ‘Karabaki’ dish (as opposed to more broadly Armenian) is Jingalov Hats (pictured to the right), a flat pancake-like dish filled with fourteen different types of herbs.  It has a pretty unique taste and, according to friends on the ground, can only be found in Karabakh.  I can’t really do justice to by describing it but it’s tasty, healthy and filling.  I asked a friend for the recipe so that I could try and make it in the UK but was rather dismissively told this would be “impossible”.

In addition to Zingalov Hats you will also find some of the best BBQ food I’ve ever tasted.  The best option is to order a “tapas-style” range of chicken, pork, lamb and beef dishes to share amongst those you’re dining with.  The meats are always beautifully marinated as absolutely delicious.

Being the South Caucasus, you may also want to order a Georgian khachapuri – essentially a big cheese pie.  It’s not healthy but it is delicious. (If you really want to compound your unhealthiness then order the khachapuri with an egg on top).

In terms of specific restaurants, I am rather hamstrung by my inability to read Armenian script – and therefore inability to actually known the names of the restaurants (!) – but will nonetheless attempt to make some recommendations…

My personal favourite is a small restaurant on the outskirts of Stepanakert, about ten minutes walk from Renaissance Square.  If you are standing on the steps of the Hotel Armenia with your back to the hotel, take the first turning on the right down the hill.  Keep to the right hand side of the road and walk for about ten minutes (you will pass a number of newly-constructed residential blocks on the right hand side of the road and a school/sports centre on the left) and you will reach and restaurant that is part indoor and outdoor with a small stream running through the entrance area.  The staff are extremely friendly, the food excellent and the drinks cabinet well-stocked. They also have a selection of English-language menus which can be helpful for non-Russian and Armenian speakers.  After dinner, there’s a small nightclub about 300 metres up on the other side of the road.

Looking slightly closer to Renaissance Square, you will find the very comfortable bar and restaurant at the Hotel Armenia as well as the trendy ‘Russia’ restaurant.  ‘Russia’ is owned by a wealthy local who made his fortune in Moscow and is arguably the country’s most upmarket venue – imposing black marble and granite being the order of the day.  I last attempted to go to ‘Russia’ on the night of the 2012 Presidential election but was turned away as the venue was hosting the President’s victory party.  The prices here are higher than elsewhere but still very affordable for those coming from Western Europe and North America.

Another place that should not be missed is a small restaurant in Vank, not far from the famous Gandzasar monastery (this is probably a good place to have lunch after visiting).  It’s impossible to miss: just look out for a cylindrical building on the banks of the river.  The walls of the restaurant are decorated with traditional Karabakh carpets, daggers and assorted other memorabilia.  This place serves the best Jingalov Hats I have tasted.

I have a basic rule when I travel that, as a first resort, I will always drink the locally-produced lager. You can’t go wrong with a chilled Kotayk or Kilikia.

So, you’ll be asking, “what’s the local moonshine like?”.  Quite nice, actually.  Most restaurants have a decent selection of home-made plum, pear and grape liqueurs which are generally best served chilled. They’re incredibly pure and go down particularly well after large amounts of BBQ food.  High quality and affordable vodkas are available at ally restaurants, along with the world famous Ararat cognac.

In terms of food safety, I’ve never had cause to worry about standards of hygiene at restaurants in Karabakh.  Indeed, the relatively isolated nature of the place means that the majority of meat comes from locally-reared and slaughtered animals who haven’t been fed the usual cocktail of stimulants and antibiotics that all to often finds its way into food in Western Europe and North America.  I have heard conflicting reports about whether or not the tap water is safe to consume but, just to be safe, it’s probably worth sticking to bottles water.  While I’ve never fallen victim to dodgy milk in Karabakh (they’d have to do a lot to improve upon the plague-esque strain of ‘Montezuma’s revenge’ the milkshake stand at Tbilisi Ortachala station gave me), Armenian friends insist that ‘Westerners’ should avoid drinking unpasturised milk.

If you’re a smoker, Nagorno Karabakh is the place for you.  It appears almost obligatory to smoke when in a bar or restaurant.  As a non-smoker I certainly felt like the odd one out!

What have I missed?

I hope you’ve found the information above useful.  If there’s anything I’ve missed then just leave a comment below and I’ll see if I can help – or at least point you in the right direction.

Visiting Nagorno Karabakh – easier than you might think (part one)

May 14, 2013 Armenia, Personal One comment

Looking through the report that shows me how people have come to land on this website, I noticed that a fair number of people have done so after looking for information on how to visiting Nagorno Karabakh.  Their queries range from wanting information about how to actually get into the territory to concerns about whether the region is safe for tourists to visit.

I’ve decided to write this blog post to try and answer some of these questions.  Please do leave a comment below letting me know if you find this advice helpful or if there are any other areas you might like information on.

I’m passionate about Nagorno Karabakh – or Artsakh, as the locals call it – and I’m incredibly keen for more people to see this beautiful, inspiring and incredibly moving part of the world.

Do you really want to visit Nagorno Karabakh?

Going to Nagorno Karabakh is not a small undertaking.

If you’re travelling from London, you will have to factor costs of around £400 for a return flight to the Armenian capital Yerevan, £50 for the transportation from Yerevan to Karabakh’s capital Stepanakert and hotel accommodation in both cities.  While the cost of food and travel inside Nagorno Karabakh is cheap, your flights and accommodation costs are likely to set you back at least £600 before you’ve even set foot in the region.

You will also need to consider whether you can cope with the long journey.  There are currently no direct flights from London to Yerevan, meaning that you’ll have to change planes (likely in Paris, Warsaw or Moscow).  With changes, the total journey time from London to Yerevan can range from seven to ten hours.  The journey from Yerevan to Stepanakert itself also takes around six hours, passing along some crowded mountain roads.   In the summer months, the extreme heat from the Armenian sun can make travel to Karabakh quite uncomfortable with snow and ice making travel to the region fairly treacherous during winter.

If you’re hoping to find many of the facilities you’d usually associate with tourist attractions – shops, restaurants, massage parlours etc – then Nagorno Karabakh is not the place for you.  While I’ve had some of the most fun nights out of my life in Nagorno Karabakh, you need to be relatively creative!

The final point to remember is that Nagorno Karabakh remains the subject of a bitter dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.  The Azeri Government consider any entry into Karabakh to be illegal entry into the territory and declare anyone who visits the territory to be “persona non grata”.  If you attempt to visit Azerbaijan after visiting Karabakh, you will at best be refused entry and at worst arrested for illegal entry.

If you’re not put off by the above comments then do read on…

Getting close to Karabakh

Nagorno Karabakh was the subject of a bloody and acrimonious conflict in the early 1990s as the local Armenian population fought to free themselves of control from Azerbaijan.  Thousands of Armenians and Azeris died in the years leading up to the ceasefire.

Nagorno Karbakh’s eastern border with Azerbaijan is closed and the country can only be accessed through a warren of mountainous roads leading from the Armenian capital Yerevan.   In a further complicating move, Armenia’s own western border with Turkey is also closed.

As such, if you wish to visit Nagorno Karabakh then you will first need to get yourself to Yerevan.

While there are no direct flights from London or the United States, there are plenty of indirect routes that will get you there.  Another option – and one I would recommend – is to first fly to the Georgian capital Tbilisi, spend a few days there and then take the overnight sleeper train from Tbilisi to Yerevan.

The visa process

Since January 1st 2013, citizens of European Union countries have no longer required visas to visit Armenia.  You resolutely do, however, need a visa to enter the territory of Nagorno Karabakh.

While Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh enjoy the warmest possible relations, speak the same language and periodically appear to share political leaders, they are legally two separate countries.  The independence of Nagorno Karabakh is not legally recognised by any other country in the world – including Armenia.

Don’t worry, though; the process for obtaining a visa for Nagorno Karabakh is surprisingly easy.

As soon as you get to Yerevan, ask your hotel to arrange you a taxi to the Nagorno Karabakh Government Representation Office at 17a Nairi Zarian Street.   It’s about ten minutes in a taxi from the centre of Yerevan.

When you arrive at the office, ring the buzzer and you will be let in.  The visa office is located on the first floor of the building and is signposted in English.

Upon entering the visa office, you’ll be greeted by a stern-looking lady who will interrogate you about the purpose of your visit and what you want to see while you are there.  It’s important that you give this some thought as you’ll be asked to make a list of the towns in Nagorno Karbakh you want to visit during your trip to the region.  If your visa is successfully issued, you’ll be given a piece of paper which specifies which areas of Nagorno Karabakh you are allowed to visit.  While I’ve never been asked to produce it for inspection, this document is technically subject to inspection by police at any time.

As a general rule, writing down the following towns should ensure you don’t miss anything: Stepanakert, Martakert, Martuni, Askeran, Hadrut, Vank, Shushi and Tigranakert.

After submitting your form, you will be asked to progress to the cash office on the second floor to hand over 3000 Armenian Drams (roughly £5).   After producing proof of payment to in the visa office, you’ll be given a time to come back to collect your passport.

In order to ensure you get your visa on the day, I’d recommend getting to the Representation Office no later than 11am.

How do I get from Yerevan to Karabakh?

So, having obtained your visa the next challenge is getting to Karabakh itself.

If you’re not travelling as part of a formal tour group, the easiest thing to do is to take a taxi.  There are a number of buses that leave Yerevan for Stepanakert each day but I am told they are incredibly slow and uncomfortable.

There are no train services to Stepanakert and, despite a modern airport having been constructed, no flights.  The airport, which was supposed to open in the summer of 2012, remains closed due to Azeri threats to shoot down any aircraft attempting to fly into Karabakh.

Your hotel in Yerevan will be able to arrange a taxi for you.   From my experience, they’re always very keen to ensure you get the very best car possible but if you’re travelling during the summer months when temperatures hover around late 30s then I would strongly recommend you check that the vehicle has air conditioning!

The drive to Stepanakert should take about six hours and is a surprisingly smooth journey through stunning terrain.  You’ll see numerous lakes, ravines and mountains en route.

Do make sure you take lots of bottled water and, if possible, try and stop off for lunch in one of the many family-run restaurants that line the roadsides.  Your driver will probably have a favourite restaurant where you’ll be able to get a delicious lunch of vegetables, flatbreads and cured beef.

Even if you’re travelling in the middle of summer, I’d recommend bringing a light jumper for the journey.  Even though it might be 40 degrees when you leave Yerevan, Karabakh lies several thousand feet above sea level and can get quite chilly at night.

Where should I stay?

For a country with a population of little more than 120,000, Nagorno Karabakh has a surprisingly good selection of hotels.

My personal favourite is the Hotel Armenia on Renaissance Square in “downtown” Stepanakert.  It’s a modern, four star hotel with comfortable rooms, an excellent bar and restaurant and English-speaking reception staff.  The other benefit of staying at the Hotel Armenia is that every man, woman and dog in the country knows where it is – which can be very helpful when you’re speaking to taxi drivers who can’t utter a single word of English.

The Hotel Armenia is located right in the centre of Stepanakert, directly next to the country’s Parliament and close to a number of very nice restaurants.   It serves as an excellent base for exploring the rest of the country.

Rooms go for around £35 per night at the Hotel Armenia, although it is possible to book perfectly passable hotel rooms in the city for as little as £15 a night.

Will I be safe?

The formal position of the British Foreign Office and United States State Department is to recommend against all travel to Nagorno Karabakh and the areas close to its borders.  The chief reason for this recommendation is that an Azeri invasion is possible at any time and Nagorno Karabakh’s borders are not patrolled by any international peacekeepers.  They’re covering their backs.

In reality, the situation inside Nagorno Karabakh is very stable.  Crimes against foreigners are entirely unheard of.  Indeed, it would offend Armenian cultural sensibilities to be anything other than hospitable and welcoming to foreign guests – particularly those who have made the long and difficult journey to Nagorno Karabakh.

The small numbers of tourists that visit the region each year could not be made to feel more welcome.  Just spent five minutes in one of Stepanakert’s smoke-filled bars and you will likely be approached by one of the many (usually English-speaking) young locals who will give you invaluable advice about what to see, eat or drink.

While the region is safe to visit from a tourist point of view, there are some security considerations you need to keep in mind.

The front-line between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan is an active conflict zone in which troops are killed on a monthly basis.  Under no circumstances should you either ask to visit or attempt to visit these areas.  If you do accidentally end up close to the border, you will likely be met by a Nagorno Karabakh Army patrol who will point you back in the right direction towards safety.

Similarly, a number of people are drawn to Nagorno Karabakh because they want to see sights such as the ruined city of Agdam which was home to 100,000 people prior to the outbreak of war.   These areas are resolutely “off limits” to foreign visitors and indicating to officials in Yerevan that you wish to visit then will likely see your visa application turned down.   Please don’t take the risk.

In part two of this blogpost, I’ll explore some of the things you should see, eat and drink while in Nagorno Karabakh…

Assessing David Cameron’s EU speech: “in Europe, not run by Europe”

January 23, 2013 European Union No comments

Yesterday, France and Germany celebrated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Elysee Treaty. While rarely mentioned today, the signing of the Treaty was hugely symbolic, formally ending hundreds of years of enmity between the two states and committing them to pursuing a “shared vision” for the future of Europe.

“My heart is overflowing, and my soul is grateful,” said an emotional President Charles de Gaulle in perfect German, after he and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signed the document at the heart of the relationship that has guided European integration for the past five decades. After a symbolic silence and a solemn hug, Adenauer spoke only to splutter “I have nothing to add.”

The then British Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home neither sought nor was granted an invitation to the historic proceedings.

Nothing much has changed since. The united front displayed by the leaders of France and Germany that cold January morning in 1963 has, at least as far as matters of European integration are concerned, remained impregnable and unshakable.

Excluded from the talks surrounding the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952, negotiations over the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and the Elysee Treaty in 1963, the European Economic Community the United Kingdom entered in 1972 was already fashioned in the mould of twenty years of Franco-German cooperation.

Winston Churchill once said that, as a people, the British are “with Europe, but not of it”. The same logic could be applied to the European Union. While the United Kingdom has long been a member, its foundations, structures and processes have long appeared remote – even alien – to the British way of doing things.

As the process of European integration has developed through the signing of the Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon, the answer to the problems of the day has always been the same: “more Europe.”

With the exception of the early days of the Blair government when the Prime Minister was keen to demonstrate his evangelical devotion to the European project, the British position on each of these Treaties has been almost identical. The public have protested (in ever-increasing numbers) and Parliament has voiced its disquiet.

Yet, for all its huff and puff, Britain has always signed on the dotted line. The United Kingdom has, with some carping, consistently gone along with the consensus of “ever closer union” first enshrined in the Franco-German-led Treaty of Rome.

David Cameron’s speech today was the most significant given by a British Prime Minister on the topic of Europe since Margaret Thatcher’s address to the College of Europe in Bruges in 1988. Curiously, many of the challenges identified in that speech are as relevant today as they were twenty-five years ago.

To be more specific, Mrs Thatcher called for “Community policies which encourage enterprise” and a Europe that was not “protectionist.” “It would be a betrayal,” she said “if, while breaking down constraints on trade within Europe, the Community were to erect greater external protections”. “To supress nationhood and concentrate power at the centre of a Europe conglomerate,” she argued, “would be highly damaging”.

Regrettably, that is precisely what the overwhelming majority of the British public think the European Union has spent the following quarter of a century doing.

The EU’s own internal market remains incomplete and riddled with protectionist measures that cost businesses and members of the public billions of pounds a year while, when it comes to international trade, protectionism and the concept of “fortress Europe” is seen as increasingly attractive by many in Paris, Athens and Berlin.

This stands in stark contrast to the internationalist foreign policy pursued by the Coalition Government in the United Kingdom which has tended to emphasise building links with emerging markets in South America and the Far East, as well as rejuvenating the Commonwealth as a forum for trade promotion.

The European Union’s democratic structures are seen as aloof, remote and even corrupt by a British people who were sold the benefits of a EU membership on the basis of trade but have instead been buffeted by directives mandating the weights greengrocers may sell their products in, the number of hours workers are allowed to remain on duty, and the type of light bulbs they may buy. While the political parlance in the United Kingdom has shifted towards localised accountability decision making, the EU appears more remote than ever.

The Prime Minister’s speech today was an effort to outline the kind of Europe the people of Britain could learn to at least live with, if not love. It stressed the importance of economic competiveness, an end to protectionism, and increased transparency in governance and budgetary processes.

There was nothing fresh or unsurprising about this rhetoric. Comments from British Prime Ministers for European reform are nothing new. Indeed, on Tony Blair’s visit to the European Parliament in 2005 he called for an EU designed to “enhance our ability to compete, to help our people cope with globalisation, to let them embrace its opportunities and avoid its dangers”.

What was different about this speech, however, is that it wasn’t simply a restatement of the vague aspiration of “renegotiation” but an explicit warning to the rest of Europe that Britain was no longer willing to accept European Union membership at any cost. For the first time, a British Prime Minister spoke in realistic terms about the possibility of Britain leaving the EU if renegotiation and reforms were not secured.

The Prime Minister has put EU governments on notice: Britain is no longer willing to accept a settlement with the European Union.

The Prime Minister’s speech will have disappointed those who wished to see an immediate “in/out” referendum but it was broadly aligned with the British public’s view that they wish to be “in Europe, not run by Europe”.

In reality, it’s too soon to say if Britain will leave the European Union. Opinion polls show that the public is divided on the issue on outright departure but overwhelmingly supportive of British membership of a pared down, reformed European Union in the image of that outlined by the Prime Minister today.

The challenge for the Prime Minister in the coming months will be to prove that he is willing to match today’s rhetoric with real action. Unless he does, this speech will be remembered as just another call for “reform” which ultimately came to nothing.

We should register our discontent about Azerbaijan’s human rights record

January 22, 2013 Uncategorized No comments

On Wednesday, two key resolutions will be debated in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe concerning human rights in Azerbaijan.

Such resolutions will be crucial in persuading President Aliyev and the Azeri government to pursue much needed human rights reforms in a country where stunning economic success has yet to be matched with respect for freedom of expression and assembly.  With the outcome of the vote on a knife-edge, Conservative delegates must send a clear message in support of democracy and freedom of speech and vote in favour.

The first resolution, authored by Maltese MP Joseph Grech and Spanish Senator Pedro Agramunt calls upon the Assembly to endorse a report prepared by the Council of Europe’s special envoys for Azerbaijan outlining “growing concerns with regard to rule of law and respect for human rights’, and calling for the “full implementation” of basic freedoms including freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association.

The second resolution focuses on the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan; including journalists, bloggers and peaceful protesters sentenced to lengthy prison terms for opposing the Aliyev government.  The report concludes that the judicial process in Azerbaijan “can be and appears to be abused for political ends, in order to intimidate, silence, or otherwise neutralise opponents seen as threats by the ruling elite, both activists of secular or religious opposition parties and independent civil society activists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and journalists”.

In a telling sign, the report’s author German MP Christoph Strässer was denied a visa by the Azerbaijani government for three years, preventing him from entering country in order to meet with opposition activists and others opposed to the Aliyev regime.The adoption of these resolutions is a crucial step in ensuring Azerbaijan complies with promises it has made to the UK Government to bring about democratic and judicial reforms.  Such reforms are painfully necessary.

Since the adoption of the country’s current constitution in 1995, Azerbaijan has not held a single free and fair election.  There is currently not a single opposition Member of Parliament sitting in the country’s National Assembly.

In 2011 alone, 50 domestic and foreign journalists were harassed or attacked while more than 70 political prisoners remain behind bars.

While President Aliyev authorised the release of a number of political prisoners in December, scores of journalists and human rights activists remain behind bars.  Hooliganism charges are still pending against photographer Mehman Huseynov, human rights activist Ogtay Gulaliyev and student union leader Dayanat Babayev; all of whom face the threat of significant jail time if prosecuted.

Journalists continue to be regularly threatened, assaulted or harassed with impunity in Azerbaijan, while carrying out, or in retaliation for, their work.  Indeed, the independent human rights organisation Freedom House supported by former US President Bill Clinton ranks Azerbaijan’s press as “not free”, indicating that the country has one of the world’s most hostile media environments.

There have been no serious investigations or prosecutions into the dozens of physical attacks against journalists in recent years, including into the murders of newspaper editor Elmar Huseynov in 2005 and writer and journalist Rafiq Tagi in 2011.

In 2012, there were many cases of violence against journalists, as they covered the protests leading up to and surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Baku last May, which were often dispersed by the police using excessive force. In April 2012, reporter and Index on Censorship award winner Idrak Abbasov, was brutally beaten and hospitalised while documenting house demolitions by the state-owned oil company SOCAR.  One month earlier, Khadija Ismayilova, one of the few independent investigative journalists, who has investigated high-level corruption in Azerbaijan, was the subject of a vicious smear campaign including the release illegally-recorded footage of her engaged in sex act online. Nobody has been brought to justice in either case.

There has also been a recent crackdown on the right to freedom of assembly and association.

In November 2012, new legislation was introduced increasing punishments for those involved in unauthorized protests.  Fines for taking part in such protests were increased to up to £1,000 for participants and £3,000 for organisers.  The law came into effect on 1 January.   On 12th January, a protest was held in the centre of Baku in reaction to the suspicious death of an army cadet.  More than twenty men were subsequently charged and fined various amounts ranging from 300 to 600 manat (roughly equivalent to pounds).

With the lack of free independent media and the restrictions on citizens’ ability to freely express their views through protest actions, the internet remains a key realm for freedom of expression. However, it has become increasingly encroached upon with the Azerbaijani government blocking select websites featuring opposition views, and monitoring the internet use of protest leaders. Many of the journalists, bloggers and activists charged or arrested appear to have been targeted by the authorities because they have expressed critical political views online.

Azerbaijan’s story is not solely a negative one.  Fuelled by oil exports, the country has made impressive economic advances in recent years.  Baku’s glistening, modernistic skyline and the progressively-improving living standards of the country’s people are testament to that success.  Additionally, the government has gone to great lengths to tackle Islamic extremism and its root causes.

Despite all of these positive advances, human rights concerns remain an inconvenient afterthought for President Aliyev and his government.  If Azerbaijan wishes – and it does – to be seen as a modern, democratic nation, it can no longer put off much needed reforms.

Thank you, President Kirchner

January 3, 2013 Argentina 2 comments

It’s no secret that British newspapers have had a tough time recently.  Battered by the global recession and a decline in profits brought about by the rapid growth in online advertising, newspapers are facing the prospect of display revenue dropping below £1 billion for the first time in 2013 – a 9% year-on-year decline.

The decision of the Argentinian Government to take out a prominently-placed advertorial in The Guardian (full text here) should therefore be welcomed.  A free and vibrant press that is able to criticise political leaders and fearlessly hold the government of the day to account should be welcomed.  The press needs private-sector financial backing in order to prosper and thrive. Sadly, true press freedom is something all too few countries enjoy…

I would question, however, whether the ~£6,000 or so the Government of Argentina spent placing the ad could have been better spent at a time when the country is facing IMF penalties for failure to meet its inflation deadlines, a situation that could see the country face expulsion from the G20.   Similarly, with Brazilian economic growth projected to slow to 1% in 2013, Argentina will no longer be able to rely on its neighbour’s economic coattails to grow.  Surely now is the time to be saving for a rainy day?

Nevertheless, it’s not for a Briton to question the intentions of the sovereign government of Argentina.  With UK-Argentina trade having totalled only $1.4 billion in 2011, the efforts of the Kirchner government to boost trade with and investment in the UK should be welcomed.

The advert also gave us another change to laugh at the preposterous nature of Argentina’s irredentist claims to the Falklands Islands…

From Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro

December 26, 2012 Argentina, Personal, Uncategorized No comments

It has actually been a few days since I arrived back in Rio de Janeiro from Buenos Aires but a combination of spending a couple of days in Terespolis in the hills outside Rio and Christmas has dealt a blow to my good intention of keeping this blog relatively up to date.  Nevertheless, I hope you find my account of visiting Buenos Aires of interest…

After a painless 90 minute boat journey across from the Uruguayan town of Colonia on the other side of the Argentina-Uruguay river plate, I arrived in the early evening in Puerto Madero, the main port in Buenos Aires.  After hailing a taxi, I headed across to my hotel (the affordable, hospitable and comfortable Aldeano II) a stone’s throw from the Argentine National Congress to dump my bags and relax for a while.

Given that Uruguayan cash machines only appear to dispense bank notes of relatively high worth, I was unwilling to take any more money out at the port in Colonia to buy a substantial lunch.  The result of this meant that the residual coins I was able to scrabble together were only enough to buy a measly bottle of water and a rather forlorn-looking croissant.  As such, after a quick rest at the hotel, I was ready to go in search of good.  Having had such a glut of steak while in Montevideo, however, I couldn’t cope with yet another identikit red meat dinner – however delicious they might be.

My mind turned to conversation I’d had with a friend in the summer where he mentioned that Argentina was home to a large community of diaspora Armenians who are hugely influential in economic, political and cultural circles in Buenos Aires.  As such, I concluded, there must be a number of Armenian restaurants in the city.

A quick scan of Google threw up a restaurant called ‘Sarkis’ in Villa Crespo, close to the fashionable Palermo Viejo district.  It was a fairly drab evening outside with some light rain so I thought it safe to ignore the warnings about long queues to get a table and chance it.  Arriving at the restaurant and walking past the fifty or so people queuing patiently to get a table, I walked up to the waiter guarding the front door and greeted him in Armenian (“barev!”), hoping that this brazen approach would be enough to help me skip the huge line.  For whatever reason, it appeared to work and I was ushered to a table in the corner of the restaurant within the next ten minutes.  I muttered a hearty “shnorhakalutyun” (thank you) to the manager.

Having secured a table I was, for want of a better term, hoist by my own petard in that I was handed an Armenian language copy of the menu.  They were either attempting to call my bluff or assumed I was actually Armenian!  Either way, my Armenian menu was quickly swapped for an English version.

In short, the food was exceptional and the service brilliant.  The basturma had a great smoky taste, the lavash was light and fresh and the lamb khorovadz was as good as any I’ve had this side of the South Caucasus.  Eating Armenian food in Argentina might seem like a strange thing to do but I couldn’t possibly recommend ‘Sarkis’ any more.

Free walking tour

There’s no more appealing word than “free” in the English dictionary so, when I noticed that there was a free walking tour around Buenos Aires, I immediately marked it down as something I would like to do.  (If you want to read no further than this, you can find details of this excellent and highly commendable tour here).

I arrived, as advertised, at the Plaza Italia close to the centre of the city as advertised at 11am the next morning and joined a diverse group of other tourists from the United States, Canada and Australia under the statue of Garibaldi on his horse.  We were soon joined by the English tour guide Jonathan who has been based in Buenos Aires for a number of years and conducts a free tour each day, asking only that those who take part are generous in their tips at the end.

While I’d had the chance to explore the city a bit before, it was a terrific way of getting to know the “real” Buenos Aires beyond simply seeing the main squares, boulevards and tourist attractions.

Given that taxi prices are ridiculously low in much of South America (apart from Brazil where, like everything else, they’ve become a rip-off), I’m often adverse to using public transport when a taxi can get you from “A” to “B” for only a couple of pounds.  It was therefore quite an experience to be taken on the British-built Buenos Aires metro system, riding along in the wooden tube carriages and dodging a litany of pick-pockets along the way.

Another highlight of the tour was visiting the Abasto neighbourhood where the famous tango singer Carlos Gardel has lived and where an entire industry has grown up around his memory, including bustling theatres and shops selling tango outfits, as well as the numerous street murals commemorating his life.

In Abasto we also learned about the legend of Gaucho Gil, a legendary figure in the country’s popular culture who has come to be regarded as a saint by many Argentines.

To explain Gaucho Gil’s story in a nutshell, he was a farm-worker on the estate of an extremely wealthy widow with whom he gradually entered into a relationship.  The wealthy widow was said to be obsessed with Gil, much to the annoyance of both her brothers and the local police chief, who had designs on the said widow.  In a fit of anger, the police chief ordered Gil that he must leave the village and never come back or else he would pay with his life.  Gil then spent the subsequent twenty years living a nomadic existence in various parts of Argentina, performing various Robin Hood-style acts as he went.  Gil eventually grew bored of this existence and returned to the village.  When the police chief found out that he was in town, he immediately went to confront Gil and order his to leave.  In the meantime, Gil had heard on the grapevine that the police chief’s son had been taken violently ill that day.  Upon encountering the police chief on the road, Gil told him that if he were to say a prayer for him, the son’s life would be spared.   The police chief had not heard of his son’s illness, rubbished Gil’s suggestion and slit his throat, killing him.  Upon returning to the village, the police chief found out that Gil had been telling the truth and immediately said prayer, repenting for what he had done.  His son was then automatically resurrected and the police chief spent the rest of his days letting everyone know about Gil’s saintly credentials.

The Catholic Church has refused to beatify Gil, yet this has not stopped many Argentineans holding him in very high regard.  After having it pointed out to me, I noticed that a large number of cars and shops have red ribbons tied to them; the official mark of Gaucho Gil, modelled after his bandana.  There are many shrines (such as the one pictured) around the country and prayers can be offered to Gil for any reason, including calling upon him to heal a family member or bring you wealth or praying for bad fortune to fall upon your enemies.   If Gil was to be formally ‘adopted’ as a saint by the Catholic Church, his ability to conduct ‘dark’ acts would be muted.  As such, many are content to see his ‘saintly’ status remain in limbo.

Plaza do Mayo

As our tour guide Jonathan told us, no visit to Buenos Aires is complete without a visit to the Plaza do Mayo.  The square contains some of the most famous buildings in the city, not least the imposing Metropolitan Cathedral and Casa Rosada (“Pink House”), the seat of the Argentine Presidency.

The most interesting thing about the Plaza do Mayo from my point of view, though, is the ongoing presence of the ‘Mothers of the Plaza do Mayo’, a group which sprung up in the late 1970s in opposition to the military dictatorship to demand answers from the government about ‘disappeared’ loved ones.  The number of people murdered by the Argentine military junta that ruled until 1983 is a matter of some debate but estimates suggest the number may be as high as 30,000, of which 9,000 remain unaccounted for.

Each Thursday at 15:30 the ‘Mothers of Plaza do Mayo’ continue to gather in the square to demand action from the government of the day to do more to investigate the fate of their loved ones.  By pure coincidence I happened to be in the square at the time, so was able to witness the incredibly humbling spectacle of many, mainly elderly people marching and holding up pictures of loved ones whose fate remains unclear (read: whose bodies have never been recovered).  Given the age profile of the crowd, I can only conclude that many thousands more parents have gone to their grave never having received answers from the government.

While on the square, I also had the chance to hear about another group, the ‘Grandmothers of Plaza do Mayo’.  It is said that, under the military dictatorship, 400 pregnant women who opposed the regime were allowed to give birth to their children and murdered shortly after; their babies being handed to supporters of the regime.  Having constructed a DNA database of all 400 of these women, the group allows those who have doubts as to whether those claiming to be their mothers really did give birth to them to have tests to establish whether not they were the children of one of the 400.  If they are found to be, the people who raised them can face trial for the kidnapping of a child and being accessories to murder.  To date, a total of 107 cases have been identified.  I cannot think of a more chilling discovery to make than that of those you had always thought were your parents having been complicit in the murder of your birth mother.

San Telmo, Puerto Madero and Recoleta

Aside from the serious nature of Plaza do Mayo, Buenos Aires is a terrific place to socialise.

San Telmo is amongst the oldest neighbourhoods in the city and, along with Puerto Madero (of which more in a moment), my favourite part of Buenos Aires.  After stepping out of the crowded Plaza do Mayo, you are within seconds transported to quiet, shady streets lined with historic buildings housing bars, restaurants and artists studios.  To my mind, it’s one of the most European-feeling parts of the city with a distinctly colonial feel.  Walking around San Telmo, you get some insight into how it must have felt to live in Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20th century when Argentina was seemingly-irreversibly on the up and the country ranked 6th in the global league table of most prosperous nations.  It is one of the few parts of town where genuine thought and care appears to have been put into maintaining historic buildings, as opposed to letting them decay.

Not far from the colonial-style San Telmo is Puerto Madero, Argentina’s main port.  While it remains in active use as the main terminal through which people and goods enter and leave Argentina, the most historic part of the port has now been given over to tourism.  Speaking to friends who visited the city twenty years ago, they described how the port area was considered a squalid and dangerous area of the city.  Thankfully, the regeneration of the area means it is now home to the best hotels in the city and a string of upmarket restaurants catering for tourists and the elite of Buenos Aires society.  As the photos below show, it’s a fantastic place to go for a walk but, if you intend to eat, make sure you bring credit cards!

No trip to Buenos Aires would be complete without a visit to Recoleta, a historic part of the city which is home to the famous cemetery that provides a final resting place for Eva Peron.  If you haven’t been to a Catholic graveyard in South America before, then it’s quite an astonishing sight.  While in the UK we are used to seeing relatively simple gravestones, even for the most significant of historic figures, the mausoleums constructed to house the graves of the Argentina elite are on an unmatched scale of grandeur and pomposity.  Sadly, my camera ran out of battery half way through visiting the cemetery but I managed to capture a few shots which I hope underscore this observation:

   

Political pygmies and social inequality

For most part, Buenos Aires is a middle-class city with living standards that are comparable with most European cities.  I would say, however, that the feeling of gaping social inequalities is stronger in Argentina than any other country I’ve visited in South America with the exception of only Brazil.

The whole city has a slightly uneasy air about it.  Upon first glance, Buenos Aires has a sense of style, sophistication and self-confidence not seen elsewhere in South America with immaculately-maintained tree-lined avenues and expensive boutiques dominating the centre of the city.  Upon slightly deeper examination, it’s clear that the city is crumbling; architecturally and socially.

While repeated waves of Peronist Presidents have issued lofty pledges to address these problems, a quick visit to the square in front of the National Congress very clearly indicates the lack of progress they have made.  No more than fifty metres from the Congress, the square is home to semi-permanent tent city filled with homeless people are downtrodden to the point they don’t even bother pestering tourists and the prosperous Portitos who pass them by for money.

The conflict over the Falkland Islands is, in 2012, considered by many in the UK to be a long-ago fought conflict of little significance today.  In many respects, though, the combination of arrogance, aggression and petty nationalism demonstrated by General General Galtieri and his military junta in 1982 has characterised Argentine politics ever since.

Looking at the country’s most recent leaders, we’ve witnessed the Presidencies of the supposedly ‘reformist’ yet ultimately vainglorious Carlos Menem, the gombeenism of the late Nestor Kirchner and the ludicrous Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner who not only cooks the books to hide the country’s spiralling inflation rates yet resorts to demagogic nationalism to bolster her popularity.  Her ‘door-stepping’ of David Cameron in a corridor at the G20 to discuss the status of the Falkland Islands was not the actions of a respectable head of state but rather those of a 1980s union official.

While the stellar growth of the Brazilian economy has kept Argentina’s economy afloat for the past few years, international financial institutions steer resolutely clear of investments in the country as a result of its decision to default on its debt obligations in the late 1990s.  With Brazilian economic growth projected to fall to only 1% next year, tough times lie ahead for Argentina.

I pity the people of Argentina – a proud, educated and passionate people – that they have allowed themselves to be ruled by such pygmies.

Without prejudice

While Foz do Iguacu, Asuncion and Montevideo were all places I was visiting for the first time, I had the change to visit Buenos Aires three years ago and had already seen many of the city’s main tourist attractions.   I’m extremely glad I came again though as the trip was a great opportunity to get to know the city well and go beyond some of the more establish tourist trails.

One question I was repeatedly asked by friends when returning from Buenos Aires for the first time and expect to be asked again was whether or not there is any residual resentment towards the British with regards to the Falklands War.  While I’m sure there is the odd person out there who harbours a grudge, just as there are some dinosaurs in the UK who still spew hatred against Germans over the Second World War, I’ve never encountered anything other than generosity and kindness when in Argentina.  This is true for everyone else I’ve spoken to who has had the chance to spend time in the country, so don’t let any fears in this respect put you off.

From Montevideo to Buenos Aires

December 20, 2012 Personal, Uruguay One comment

I had read before coming to Uruguay that the country’s citizens deeply resent either their country or their people being compared with Paraguayans.  Without wishing to enter into a debate about the merits and disadvantages of each country, it would be easy to understand their dislike for such a comparison for no other reason than the two people have nothing whatsoever in common.

The easiest way to compare the two would be to say that Paraguay is, like Brazil or Colombia, an explicitly Latin American country in respect of its culture, customs and ethnicity of its people while Uruguay is, like Argentina, an isolated slice of Europe rather uncomfortably stranded at the fag-end of South America.

In many respects, the rather European and comparatively opulent style of Montevideo made it seem a little unremarkable when compared to the “wild west” nature of Asuncion.  It was, however, a very pleasant place to spend a few days, even if it did an certain air of familiarity to it.

The Old Town and Port

Having arrived into town quite late at night and being unable to get to sleep as a result of the prehistoric conditions in my hotel (of which more later), I had a relatively slow start to my first day in Montevideo.

After a late breakfast and few plans as to what I was actually going to do with the day, I made a rough plan to go and see some of the city’s tourist attractions.  Given that my hotel was located just off one of the city’s main roads, I decided to take a walk around the area near my hotel in order to do some people-watching and soak up the atmosphere.   This turned out to be quite a good plan as my random wanderings led to me, after just a few minutes walk, to the city’s set-piece square, the Plaza Independencia:

   

     

Before coming to the square I had already concluded that there was relatively little about Montevideo that could be described as particularly Latin American.  Sure, there were a few traders dotted around the edge of the square selling traditional goods but the majority of the buildings – from the glass-edifice of the President’s office to the peculiar Palacio Salvio – would not have been out of place in Europe.

On the western side of the Plaza was a large ornamental gate which marked the formal entrance into the city’s Old Town; a pleasant mix of modern boutiques, souvenir shops and cafes with shady terraces that looked like highly agreeable places to spend a few hours.

Eventually, I came to the square that was home to the City’s Metropolitan Cathedral.  While I always enjoy visiting cathedrals when on trips – if only to look at their astonishing architecture – I was particularly keen to see how the building compared to that I had seen in Asuncion.  The two buildings could not have been more different.  While Asuncion’s cathedral had an almost Protestant air to it with bare white walls, sparse decorations and seemingly-acres of open space, Montevideo’s was the very epitome of how you’d expect a Catholic church to look.   An imposing grey structure with thick walls to keep the building cool during the ravages of the Uruguayan summer, the floors were covered in ornate tiles and its ruby red and marble walls were covered in elaborate monuments to saints and fallen heroes from throughout the country’s history.

A few minutes on from the cathedral I came to the city’s port district.  After a couple of wrong turns that took me to a part of the seafront filled with crumbling buildings that was clearly not intended as a place for tourists to visit, I found myself back on the main thoroughfare.  While the port itself is largely devoid of charm, largely because it is active use as the main means by which people and commercial goods made their way between Uruguay and Argentina, its surroundings are well worth a visit.  I was particularly taken with the Mercados do Portos, a former fishmongers’ hall which is now home to twenty or so bars and restaurants serving a delicious range of fresh fish and barbequed meat dishes.

After a couple of hours of rest back at the hotel, I returned to the Mercados do Portos in search of dinner.  As it was a Monday evening and very, very few tourists appeared to be around, a lot of restaurants had taken the opportunity to cut their losses and close early.  I was more than a little sceptical about those places that were still open; concluding their elaborate décor and the warm welcome I received at the door for so much as looking at the menu in the window would result in their being tourist traps with disappointing food and extortionate prices.  Nevertheless, I settled on a place called El Peregrino.

I shouldn’t have been so cynical.  El Peregrino was, in a word, outstanding.  Controlled by a craggy-faced old-timer with a name like Giovanni, Mario or Serafino, I was immediately handed a platter of cheeses, chutneys and garnishes which could never easily have served as a meal in themselves.  Indeed, Giovanni looked a little disappointed when I only wanted the Uruguayan Ham platter as a starter.  He quickly perked up when I ordered a steak which he enthusiastically claimed was “from his brother’s farm”. (I am sure this comment was deployed for marketing purposes and his brother actually works in the kitchen, along with the rest of the extended family but anyway…).  Without going into too much further depth, the food was remarkable and the bill, at £25, outstanding:

   

Full of steak and fuelled by the type of joy de vivre one can only get from a good bottle of Argentine Malbec, I retired to bed a happy man!

Walk to the river-front

I must confess that, after a day in Montevideo, I was beginning to run out “tourist attractions” to visit.   I was starting to get a bit bored.   Rather than let this developing sense of boredom develop into a sense of full-scale apathy that could have seen me kill the remaining couple of days aimlessly surfing the internet, I found a map of the city and decided to go for a long walk in order to see a bit more of the place.

The most logical route I found which would allow me to cover a lot of ground and also get to see as much of the famous river promenade as possible. NB: I say “river promenade” but, for all intents and purposes, it is a coast-line.  The river plate (“Rio de la Plata”) that runs for 290 miles between Uruguay and Argentina which, at the mouth of the river, reaches a distance between the two countries of 140 miles.

After having spent much of the past two weeks grappling with the searing heat, the fresh breeze coming off the river was a more than welcome arrival.  The mixture of breeze and slightly overcast day meant I was able to cover a huge amount of ground without so much as breaking a sweat.  At half-kilometre intervals along the promenade were posts marking the distance walked; something which encouraged me to set myself a goal of covering 10km before dinner.   My route was as follows:

If you’re in Montevideo I would strongly recommend following the same trail in order to ensure you cast the net a little wider than just the river-front areas closest to the city centre.  Indeed, the parts of the river-front closest to the main port have very little charm about them with a string of rather unpleasant high-rise buildings providing the backdrop for what is essentially just a long slab of concrete abutting an expanse of murky, brown water.

It’s only when you’ve walked a couple of miles along the riverfront that you come to a string of very pleasant parks, yacht clubs and a string of memorials commemorating Winston Churchill, Mahatma Ghandi and the victims of the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide:

   

   

After having covered ten miles on foot, I didn’t feel like walking back so jumped on a bus back to Plaza Independencia that cost less than £1 and took about half an hour.

Don’t stay at the Hotel Austral

Before I mention Colonia – a beautiful port town that links Uruguay to Argentina – I just wanted to give a dishonourable mention to the place I stayed: the Hotel Austral (or “Hotel Awful” as I mentally nicknamed it).

To be clear, I should have known it would be bad.  After all, it was only £25 a night.  But I didn’t realise it would be that bad.

Before I launch a full-frontal assault on the establishment, let me first highlight some of its positive points.  Or rather it’s only positive point.  The Hotel Austral is supremely well located, literally a stone’s throw from most of the cities main thoroughfares and less than ten minutes walk to both the Old Town and the riverfront.  There are some excellent cafes, bars and ornate squares just seconds away.  If you’re somebody who can overlook almost anything negative about a hotel as long as it is well situated, then the Hotel Austral is the place for you.  The breakfast, particularly the freshly-squeezed orange juice, is also very pleasant.

However…

If you are fond of even the most basic of creature comforts, such as having running water in your bedroom that doesn’t have an unwholesome pong to it or a mattress that doesn’t look like a relic recovered from the top of Mount Ararat after an archaeological expedition to recover items that were onboard Noah’s Ark, then this isn’t the place for you.

After checking in, I headed up to the room in the gloriously retro lift which involved having to both close the door behind you and close a wire-mesh gate before it leapt, with surprising speed, up to my fifth floor room.  Except it wasn’t “retro”, the lift just hadn’t been replaced since the mid-50s.

Entering the room, I was almost overcome with a smell of mustiness and damp.  Thirsty, I turned on the tap in the bathroom to encounter the aforementioned pongy water which smelt like a mixture of gone-off eggs and one of those sulphurous health spas luvvies adore going to.

I dumped my bags and marched downstairs to request a bottle of water, only for the duty manager that the hotel “doesn’t stock those anymore”.   Exasperated, I resolved to try and find some clean water somewhere.   Anywhere.  Eventually, I found my way to the breakfast room on the first floor where, through a glass door, I could see a water cooler.  Salvation!  Treading carefully, I managed to pilfer a jug from the unlocked kitchen attached to the room, filled it and carried my precious Amber Nectar to my room.  Each morning, before I left the hotel for the day, I hid the jug in my suitcase so that it wouldn’t be collected by a cleaner.  Each night, I performed by ritual of forcing my way into the breakfast room in order to access something the United Nations describes as a fundamental human right: clean drinking water.  You shouldn’t have to do that in a hotel, even when it only costs you £25 a night!

I probably ought to have read the reviews of the hotel more closely before booking.   I also should have avoided reading the reviews of the hotel after I had already checked in, for one of the reviewers mentioned a horrific experience of having been woken in her room in the early hours covered in bed bugs.  While I am sure I suffered from nothing other than mosquito bites during my time in Montevideo, the very thought of them possibly being present in the hotel led me to conduct lengthy, Google Image Search-led investigations as to what could have caused the bites.  This sense of irrational paranoia meant each of my three night’s sleep were interrupted several times by me abruptly turning on the lights to check whether or not I was under attack by nocturnal carnivores.

For the sake of your ability to drink clean water and broader mental health, don’t stay at the Hotel Austral!

Visit Colonia

There are several ways to reach Buenos Aires from Montevideo.  The first and fastest option is to take a 45 minute plane journey across the river plate, yet this also the most expensive.  The second is to take roughly a three-hour boat trip from the main port into the centre of Montevideo directly to Puerto Madero in Uruguay.  It’s a relatively expensive journey, costing roughly £50.  The third and by far the cheapest option is to take a bus a couple of hours across the country to the port of Colonia and to then catch a passenger ferry to Buenos Aires from there.  I went for the third option, largely because it allowed me to spend a couple of hours outside of the confines of metropolitan Montevideo to see a bit of the Uruguayan countryside from the bus window and a few of the sights in Colonia.

The bus journey itself is perfectly pleasant, stretching through the Montevideo suburbs and through some damp-looking countryside that reminded me of the Welsh Marches before ending up at Colonia’s bus station.  Thankfully, the bus station isn’t miles from the town centre as it is most South American countries but within a couple of minutes walk of both the Old Town and the passenger port where you can pick up your ferry to Buenos Aires.

Colonia del Sacramento (‘Colony of the Saints’) to give it its full name is a place is one of the most historically significant places in South America with its ownership having alternated on several occasions between Brazil and Uruguay.  Indeed, the Brazilian – or rather Portuguese – influence on the town is very clear to see in the traditional architecture of both private homes and tourist attractions such as the historic lighthouse and Basilica.   My time in Colonia before having to set sail for Buenos Aires was very limited but I managed to take some quick photographs:

I regret not having more time to explore the town and would recommend that if anyone else finds themselves connecting to Buenos Aires from Uruguay, they might consider spending the night before the journey at one of the many very comfortable-looking guest-houses dotted around the Old Town.

As I write this, I can see the Buenos Aires skyline fast-approaching in the distance.  Having been to BA before, I’m a lot more familiar with the city than I have been with other places I’ve visited during this trip.  Nevertheless, I look forward to covering lots of new ground, safe in the knowledge that a 40-mile stretch of water now stands between me and the Hotel Austral!

From Asunción to Montevideo

December 17, 2012 Paraguay, Personal One comment

I don’t really know why I wanted to visit Paraguay.  In honesty, nobody else did either.  In the run-up to the trip, I wasn’t able to find anyone who’d visited before from the UK.  I thought I might be able to pick up some more tips from friends in Rio but none of them had ever been either. Indeed, in her 85 years of living in South America my grandmother told me she’d “never heard of anyone going to Paraguay”.

It would be fair to say that Asuncion is hardly on a par with London or New York City in respect of how much there is for a tourist to do.  Indeed, I realised that I’d been to nearly all of the recommended “tourist attractions” after just a three hour walk around what can only generous be described as the “city centre”.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the trip and would certainly come again if the opportunity arose.  Prices are extremely low, the local and ex-pat communities are generous to a fault and the city has a pleasant, almost colonial feel to it with its tree-lined avenues, shady squares and plentiful public parks.  If you’re looking for somewhere to get away from things, Asuncion is a safe and relaxing bet.

Here are a few impressions of the city…

(The photo above is of the Presidential Palace)

Quality of life

Asuncion is an exceptionally long way from anywhere.  With the exception of the eastern city of Ciudade del Este some five miles away on the Brazilian border, it’s fairly isolated with the Argentine capital Buenos Aires taking about 18 hours by road, Rio de Janeiro 22 hours and Montevideo 22 hours.

As such, the type of “border hopping” so many of us have grown used to in Europe where we go for weekends in Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin is impractical.  The city is also relatively poorly served by air, with only a handful of direct flights to major population centres around the continent.   There is, for example, no direct flight to Rio de Janeiro.

Despite this isolation, I’d say that the people of Asuncion enjoy a fairly high quality of life.  The city is relatively run-down but it’s not dirty.  Residential and shopping areas are usually found on tree-lined avenues that provide much-needed shade from the excessive heat, modern shopping malls are popping up all over the city and there’s an impressive array of bars and restaurants to choose from.

One of the most surreal and enjoyable parts of the trip was being invited by a German I met in a bar in the town centre to visit his club, Club Alemane de Asuncion.  While I was aware that there had been significant German immigration to South America, it was nevertheless surreal to sit in the baking forty degree heat in a club created for the German community that was decked out in Bayern Munich paraphernalia and had posters up advertising a monthly Oktoberfest theme night.

Church and state

Before coming to Asuncion, I had been warned that the city’s striking Catholic Cathedral was very often closed to visitors.  Indeed, when I turned up early in the morning the gates surrounding the church were padlocked and its cloisters had a rather deserted feel about them.  Walking by later that day, I spotted an opens side door and decided to seize the opportunity to have a look around.  I was the only visitor, apart from a cleaner who turned up just as I was leaving.

There were two things that struck me about the Cathedral.

The first was its simplicity.  Visiting many Catholic churches in various parts of the world, I’ve grown used to them being rather opulent and grand in nature, with elaborate frescoes and statues of assorted saints filling every spare inch of wall space.  With the exception of wall backing onto the altar, the church felt almost Protestant in its appearance with relatively bare masonry, plain wooden benches and orderly floor tiles.  It was nevertheless an incredibly peaceful sanctuary from the burning heat of the midday Paraguayan sun.

The second thing to strike me was the amount of Paraguayan national symbols found on both the façade of the building and inside the church.  Aside from Serbia, where the Orthodox Church was been intrinsically linked to the notional Serb ethnicity since the days of the Rastko Nemanjic (later Saint Sava) in the late 1100s, I’ve never seen so many national symbols in a church.  The front of the Cathedral has large ‘Republica Paraguay’ crest chiselled prominently into its masthead and a Paraguayan flag sits on the altar alongside religious imagery.

It’s often said that the only thing that stood between dictator Alfredo Stroessner who ruled with an iron fist from 1954 to 1989 and total power in Paraguay was the power of the Catholic church.  I can’t help but feel that the decision of an earlier era of the Catholic hierarchy in Paraguay to incorporate state symbols into religious life stopped Stroessner seizing control of his country’s flag and national imagery for his own PR purposes in the same way as so many other despots have done so in the past – and will sadly do so in the future.

Sitting inside the church, I began imagining all the covert pro-democracy meetings that must have taken place on the pews during Stroessner’s thirty-five year reign of terror.  As I was leaving, I noticed a small plaque commemorating Pope John-Paul’s visit to Asuncion in 1988.  A year later, Stroessner was ousted.  I’d love to know if, as in the case of Solidarnosc in Poland, it was John-Paul’s intervention that gave the democratic opposition the impetus they needed to bring about change.

Brazil is the new US

Visiting Brazil in the early 90s, it was clear that the country was in the grip of a fairly substantial and deep-seated obsessed with the United States.  Shops displayed quality-affirming signs telling customers their goods were ‘made in the USA’, fashion malls and businesses complexes had names like ‘New York City Centre’ and ‘Downtown’ and small boutiques were often branded ‘Miami Style’, ‘Florida Fashion’, ‘Style USA’ and such like.  Furthermore, American flags adorned most retail businesses.  As Brazil’s economy soared during the early 2000s, the country’s obsession with America as the depiction of style, sophistication and aspiration fell away in favour of a new-found sense of national pride and confidence.

No doubt spurred on by admiration at Brazil’s economic miracle, it appears that in today’s Paraguay an association with the country and its attributes is seen as a positive thing.  Walking through Asuncion you encounter, in quick succession, the ‘Brazil Nail Bar’, ‘Brazil Fashion’ and numerous travel agents advertising family tourist packages for holidays to the country’s resorts.  The Brazilian flag flies over Asuncion’s malls in the same way the US flag once did in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Despite its protestations to the contrary, Brazil might not quite yet be a forceful world power but it’s certainly a well-liked regional one.

Taiwan looms large

Ever since President Nixon’s landmark visit to mainland China in 1972, the people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) have been forced to endure a process of ongoing humiliation as country after country has switched its recognition from Taipei to Beijing.   Today, only a handful of countries continue to recognise democratic Taiwan as the true representatives of the Chinese people with Paraguay and its six million citizens being the largest of this group.

After spending a couple of days in Asuncion, it’s incredibly clear to me that this is a relationship that successive governments of the Republic of China have heavily invested in on both an emotional and financial level.

Undoubtedly the most significant manifestation of Taipei’s commitment to its relationship with Paraguay is the country’s sparkling new National Congress which was given to the country as a gift from Taiwan.  I rather brazenly walked into the Congress and successfully passed through the security scanners before being stopped by a security guard who pointed me in the direction of reception.  After a brief conversation in broken Spanish, the same receptionist agreed to give me a tour of the impressive building.

 

Financial issues aside, it’s clear the Republic of China has made a genuine effort to invest in emotional aspects of the relationship.  Several plaques and messages of support from Taiwanese Presidents are evident on the walls of the National Pantheon of the Heroes which celebrates the country’s war dead, while the Chiang Kai Shek College continues to operate.

While it’s impractical – however much we may wish it was possible – for large trading countries like the US and UK to ignore Beijing in preference for Taipei, it’s encouraging to see Asia’s most vibrant democracy continue to maintain an outpost of diplomatic recognition in South America.  Long may it continue.

White power

During my visit to the National Congress, I was briefly shown a poster showing the photographs of the country’s eighty Congressmen.  It was striking to notice that, with very few exceptions, nearly all the faces on the poster were as white as mine despite roughly 80% of the population being mixed-race ‘Mestizos’ with native Indian heritage.

Recent examples from other South American countries have shown that the alienation of large parts of the population from the political process can only lead to the election of demagogues like Bolivia’s Evo Morales hell-bent on creating tensions between ethnicities.

The country’s political class – in particular the Colorado Party who had held office successively for 61 years – got a shot across the bows in 2008 when the “red bishop” Fernando Lugo (who is white) won the Presidency on a centre-left ticket that received widespread support from poorer, Mestizos voters.  While the conservative political classes were shocked to lose to the centre-left, Lugo generally focussed on moderate social reforms during his time in office and rejected overtures from Hugo Chavez to join his anti-Western alliance.   Next time they may not be so lucky.

It’s clear to me that, if Paraguay is to avoid falling under the spell of the Chavez/Morales/Correa cabal, political parties of all hues need to do far more to include Mestizos voters amongst their candidates for office.  These efforts need to be aggressive and immediate.

On an election-related note, the city is covered in posters in advance of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in April:

   

On to Montevideo

Given that everything had gone with complication in Asucion, I had a strange feeling as I dragged my hungover carcass through the sweltering heat of the city’s crowded bus terminal that something was about to.  And so it came to pass.

I had checked, checked and checked again on the bus station’s website and that of each of the bus operators to check that a bus did indeed run from Asuncion to Montevideo on a Sunday.  “No, no, no, Lunes, Miercoles, Sabado!” came the response from a rather gruff lady behind the counter.  “Today go no bus Montevideo!”.  Eventually, I found out there was a flight running a few hours later which, while double the price of the bus, would get me to Montevideo in 2 hours 20 minutes as opposed to 21 hours.  I booked a ticket, headed for the airport and touched down in Montevideo a little after 7pm.

I’ve not yet had any real opportunity to look around the city but it’s worth saying that the city’s airport is the nicest I’ve passed through anywhere in the world.  It’s a genuinely impressive building that looks more like a spaceship than an airport.

After the oppressive heat of Asuncion, pulling out of the airport in a taxi and almost immediately finding myself on a seaside promenade with a cool (I say “cool” but it was probably still about 25 degrees) provided some much needed respite.    I’ve read before that Montevideo has the highest standard of living of any of the South American capitals and this certainly appears to be the case from what I’ve seen so far.

Anyway, after a good night’s sleep I’ll explore the city properly…

(The image above is of one of Asuncion’s amazing Catholic graveyards)

Time to sever our Kremlin links and forge a new alliance

December 16, 2012 Council of Europe No comments

This article first appeared on ConservativeHome.

Since his arrival in Downing Street in May 2010, David Cameron has been an indefatigable advocate for human rights.

The government’s staunch support for the Arab Spring, culminating in the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, the holding of free and fair elections in Tunisia and sweeping constitutional reforms in Morocco are a testament to its record on this issue. David Cameron’s personal leadership in bringing about tougher sanctions on Europe’s last dictatorship in Belarus and the increasingly unstable regime in Tehran are a testament to his personal commitment to realising democracy around the world.

Fifty years ago, the Council of Europe was established as a formal means by which to forge voluntary cooperation on issues such as technical and legal standards, democracy and human rights issues. Included within the CoE is the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) which brings together MPs from all member countries to discuss topical issues of concern to citizens across Europe. Human rights issues are ordinarily top of the agenda.

While its legislative and political influence has been gradually eroded by the rapid development of Brussels-led supranationalism, the fact that the organisation’s membership stretches beyond the borders of the EU means that the Council of Europe remains an effective means by which Western European countries can share legislative experiences and build relationships with political figures in Turkey, the Ukraine, Serbia and emerging democracies in the South Caucasus.

Throughout Britain’s membership of the Council of Europe, the party has sat in the European Democratic Group (EDG), a technical group comprised of a range of conservative and nationalist parties either ideologically opposed to the EPP’s federalist polices or unwelcome in its ranks. Originally comprised of respectable parties such as the British Conservatives and its allies from Scandinavian states, the group’s work has become increasingly dominated by representatives from Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.

In recent times, United Russia members of the group have demanded the EDG vote to stifle debate over press and media freedoms in Russia, to block the so-called Magnitsky Act designed to bring prosecutions against those involved in the violent torture and murder of Russian human rights lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and to pass motions on Abkhazia and South Ossetia that are contrary to the British government’s position in respect of Georgian territorial integrity.

It is clear we have reached a point where our continued membership of the EDG has ceased to be a means by which to build links with emerging democracies and become both an embarrassment to those who believe passionately in the values of human rights and democracy and a blunt tool with which our opponents can beat us.

The British Conservative cannot – and must not – allow itself to be associated with the unacceptable positions advocated by United Russia or its puppet master Vladimir Putin.

Before the Conservative Party’s split with the European People’s Party group in the European Parliament, party members were all too familiar with the poor ideological fit between our own market-liberal, anti-federalist party and the Christian Democrat EPP.

The divorce between the British Conservatives and the EPP was a torturously drawn-out and complex one, yet it resulted in the creation of both the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) in the European Parliament and the establishment of a new, pan-European political party, the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR).

While less is known in the UK about the AECR than the ECR, its membership base is substantial; including parties from other EU countries such as the Czech Civil Democrats and Polish Law and Justice alongside allies from Georgia and Iceland.

Prior to the formation of the ECR and AECR, an argument could be made that British membership of the European Democratic Group has necessary in order to avoid the party sitting in splendid isolation in the Parliamentary Assembly. This is no longer the case.

It is only now logical, given both the development and maturity of the AECR, that the group organises in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe under the “European Conservatives and Reformists” banner.

Aside from existing AECR members that would join the group are MPs from the Turkish Justice and Development Party led by Prime Minister Erdogan as well as plenty of others from the Balkans, Caucasus and elsewhere in Europe.

Just as the EPP held the Conservative Party’s pursuit of policies opposed to European federalism back, the pro-Kremlin EDG restricts the party’s ability to speak with a credible voice on the European stage on human rights and democratisation issues. Just as the establishment of the ECR group in the European Parliament gave the Conservative Party the ability to pursue our own, anti-federalist agenda, the creation of an ECR group at a Council of Europe level will give our party both the platform and the credibility to fight for democratic change in Moscow, Kiev and Minsk.

There can be no excuse for the party not implementing this change at the earliest possible opportunity.

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