Theres already a lot of great info about Bogota on the forum, so this sheet wont be too extensive but will inform you guys of some cool places that I went and people I met during my month long stay there.
There seems to be two places that most people stay in while in Bogota; Zona Rosa/Parque 93 and Candelaria, however, I found another cool barrio to stay in (I think member Ajiaco mentioned it before) and that is CHAPINERO.
This is a cool neighbourhood with a good amount of cafes, bars and small clubs, it also has a very large student population and is home to several Spanish language schools. Chapinero is the LGBT neighborhood of Bogota, so that may put some guys off, I thought it added to the eclectic, funky mix that makes the area so cool. Lots of trendy clothing stores, tailors, dance schools, tattoo parlours, etc.
I spent most of my time between carerra 7 and Avenida Caracas (do not venture west of Caracas after dark unless you want to get stabbed by a tranny hooker!) east to west and calles 50 to 72 north to south.
In a previous thread (Flying to Bogota tomorrow, any pointers?), I had asked if anyone knew if Bogota had a metal or skateboard scene, no one got back to me on that one (although the other info was mint) but I am happy to report to my fellow punk rocker metal heads, Bogota is HEAVY METAL HEAVEN!!!!! Many times I saw hot girls walking down the street wearing Slayer or Misfits tees, if you like to wear leather, spikes, long hair, etc, you will not be out of place in this town! Bogota is also home to ROCK AL PARQUE, a 3 day out door, FREE metal concert in July, Im thinking of coming back just to go! Bogota doesnt have a big hip hop scene, I met only one rap fan, more on him later.
I honestly didnt do too much partying in Bogota, my main goal was school and studying Spanish. The BEST place to go out in Chapinero is calle 51 and septima, theres about 6 bars right on this one block, I forget all the names but one is called Guadelaupe, another Suko and Colombia Beer House (I think), anyway, go there on a Friday afternoon at 1700 and you will see a a tonne of Bogota uni students getting pissed drunk, good times!
I went out a couple other nights for a few pints in Zona Rosa area (nothing special, Bogota Beer Company and an Irish Pub, both nice but a bit pricey), same deal in Parque 93, nothing too crazy.
However, I am happy to report that I went to both Andres Carne de Res , the one in Zona Rosa and the one in Chia (again props to G for the recommendation). The one in ZR is 5 levels and the one in Chia is one level but very long, they are both awesome experiences; lots of singing, dancing, eating and drinking. Not a cheap place to go (taxi cost 80K one way to Chia) but I would say its money well spent and an experience I wont soon forget!
I dont think anyone else on here has wrote about Bogota´s red light district, or ¨Zona de tolerencia¨ called Sante Fe, but I checked it out, so heres the deal: this place is fucking rough boys, dont go there alone and if youre rolling in a group, make sure one guy speaks decent Spanish (best to have a local tour guide, more on that later!). Basically its a run down part of town near centro full of strip joints, hookers and other various riff raff and dregs of society. I never saw a person sniffing solvents out of a bag until I went there and that chick was standing beside a teeny bopper prostitute who couldnt have been over 15, I dont really like seeing that kind of shit. We did go into a few strip clubs and they are fukcing wild (well compared to what Im used to back home), the strippers take guys outta the crowd onto the stage and suck them off and fuck them infront of everyone, for free! Also, they have rooms upstairs and you can screw these chicks (some are VERY hot) for 50K, I didnt partake but its definitely available and in your face. Also, seen quite a few people doing bumps in the washrooms, so that gear is definitely available too.
So the only hip hop head I met in Bogota is a super cool brother named Sio who runs the New Era barber shop in Chapinero (calle 55 10-92), he speaks perfect English because he grew up in Jackson Heights NYC and moved to Bogota 3 years ago. The walls of his shop are plastered with pics of hip hop legends and the shop is always blasting Biggie, Wu Tang, Mobb Deep,etc. He took me out to Sante Fe and introduced me to a tailor, showed me around Chapinero and helped me out a lot when I needed help with English Spanish stuff and of course gave me a nice haircut for 8K. If any of you guys are in Bogota and need an English speaking guy to help you out, go to his shop, just tell him your friend from Nova Scotia sent you, he´s expecting you guys!
About the girls, basically everything on this forum and in Bang Colombia about the Rola women is true, I actually had a good time with the ones I met. I relied soley on internet through colombia cupid, not the best talent but I met some nice chicks, got to practice my Spanish a lot and ended up shagging two. You can find English speaking girls here but speaking Spanish WILL definitely make your experience much more enjoyable!
I REALLY like Bogota, its a super cool city with loads of interesting sites to see, things to do and good nightlife, its definitely a cosmopolitan city. However, the weather can be shitty (lots of rain but as a Canadian I liked the more mild temps) and pollution from cars takes getting used to. People say that its dirty (some parts are for sure) but for my first South American city, I thought it was rather clean and I actually like graffiti murals everywhere. The richer parts of the city (ZR, Parque 93, Unicentro) and nicer and cleaner than many cities in NA/Europe that I've been to and the people are very well dressed and seem very well to do.
If you're thinking of going to Colombia, I highly recommend Bogota and all of the touristic sites as well (Montseratte, Botero and Oro museums, Andres, etc).
adios!
There seems to be two places that most people stay in while in Bogota; Zona Rosa/Parque 93 and Candelaria, however, I found another cool barrio to stay in (I think member Ajiaco mentioned it before) and that is CHAPINERO.
This is a cool neighbourhood with a good amount of cafes, bars and small clubs, it also has a very large student population and is home to several Spanish language schools. Chapinero is the LGBT neighborhood of Bogota, so that may put some guys off, I thought it added to the eclectic, funky mix that makes the area so cool. Lots of trendy clothing stores, tailors, dance schools, tattoo parlours, etc.
I spent most of my time between carerra 7 and Avenida Caracas (do not venture west of Caracas after dark unless you want to get stabbed by a tranny hooker!) east to west and calles 50 to 72 north to south.
In a previous thread (Flying to Bogota tomorrow, any pointers?), I had asked if anyone knew if Bogota had a metal or skateboard scene, no one got back to me on that one (although the other info was mint) but I am happy to report to my fellow punk rocker metal heads, Bogota is HEAVY METAL HEAVEN!!!!! Many times I saw hot girls walking down the street wearing Slayer or Misfits tees, if you like to wear leather, spikes, long hair, etc, you will not be out of place in this town! Bogota is also home to ROCK AL PARQUE, a 3 day out door, FREE metal concert in July, Im thinking of coming back just to go! Bogota doesnt have a big hip hop scene, I met only one rap fan, more on him later.
I honestly didnt do too much partying in Bogota, my main goal was school and studying Spanish. The BEST place to go out in Chapinero is calle 51 and septima, theres about 6 bars right on this one block, I forget all the names but one is called Guadelaupe, another Suko and Colombia Beer House (I think), anyway, go there on a Friday afternoon at 1700 and you will see a a tonne of Bogota uni students getting pissed drunk, good times!
I went out a couple other nights for a few pints in Zona Rosa area (nothing special, Bogota Beer Company and an Irish Pub, both nice but a bit pricey), same deal in Parque 93, nothing too crazy.
However, I am happy to report that I went to both Andres Carne de Res , the one in Zona Rosa and the one in Chia (again props to G for the recommendation). The one in ZR is 5 levels and the one in Chia is one level but very long, they are both awesome experiences; lots of singing, dancing, eating and drinking. Not a cheap place to go (taxi cost 80K one way to Chia) but I would say its money well spent and an experience I wont soon forget!
I dont think anyone else on here has wrote about Bogota´s red light district, or ¨Zona de tolerencia¨ called Sante Fe, but I checked it out, so heres the deal: this place is fucking rough boys, dont go there alone and if youre rolling in a group, make sure one guy speaks decent Spanish (best to have a local tour guide, more on that later!). Basically its a run down part of town near centro full of strip joints, hookers and other various riff raff and dregs of society. I never saw a person sniffing solvents out of a bag until I went there and that chick was standing beside a teeny bopper prostitute who couldnt have been over 15, I dont really like seeing that kind of shit. We did go into a few strip clubs and they are fukcing wild (well compared to what Im used to back home), the strippers take guys outta the crowd onto the stage and suck them off and fuck them infront of everyone, for free! Also, they have rooms upstairs and you can screw these chicks (some are VERY hot) for 50K, I didnt partake but its definitely available and in your face. Also, seen quite a few people doing bumps in the washrooms, so that gear is definitely available too.
So the only hip hop head I met in Bogota is a super cool brother named Sio who runs the New Era barber shop in Chapinero (calle 55 10-92), he speaks perfect English because he grew up in Jackson Heights NYC and moved to Bogota 3 years ago. The walls of his shop are plastered with pics of hip hop legends and the shop is always blasting Biggie, Wu Tang, Mobb Deep,etc. He took me out to Sante Fe and introduced me to a tailor, showed me around Chapinero and helped me out a lot when I needed help with English Spanish stuff and of course gave me a nice haircut for 8K. If any of you guys are in Bogota and need an English speaking guy to help you out, go to his shop, just tell him your friend from Nova Scotia sent you, he´s expecting you guys!
About the girls, basically everything on this forum and in Bang Colombia about the Rola women is true, I actually had a good time with the ones I met. I relied soley on internet through colombia cupid, not the best talent but I met some nice chicks, got to practice my Spanish a lot and ended up shagging two. You can find English speaking girls here but speaking Spanish WILL definitely make your experience much more enjoyable!
I REALLY like Bogota, its a super cool city with loads of interesting sites to see, things to do and good nightlife, its definitely a cosmopolitan city. However, the weather can be shitty (lots of rain but as a Canadian I liked the more mild temps) and pollution from cars takes getting used to. People say that its dirty (some parts are for sure) but for my first South American city, I thought it was rather clean and I actually like graffiti murals everywhere. The richer parts of the city (ZR, Parque 93, Unicentro) and nicer and cleaner than many cities in NA/Europe that I've been to and the people are very well dressed and seem very well to do.
If you're thinking of going to Colombia, I highly recommend Bogota and all of the touristic sites as well (Montseratte, Botero and Oro museums, Andres, etc).
adios!