contact details hey mate can you send me your contact as i am in la paz at the moment and would love to do what you did if still possible. my email is paulsluyters24@hotmail.com and any further tips. cheers paul from Tasmania
Awe Struck Hi there ,, just stumbled onto this site , sure is Done well,
I will have to send to my Niece and Husband ,, They've been on the world Bike Tour 3½ yrs
totally agree... watch out! i have not seen the drug thing in the drinks but i can say that most of the people working in there knows very well how to cheat people. their way is to be your best friend, sister or brother and you really think they are... and even if you think you are smart they knows how to do it in a "nice" way...
hold on to your money and check the bills too....and dont fall for their charm ....
I would recommend this I have also been on the same tour into the mines of Potosí, and would agree that this is a fairly accurate description of what you experience whilst in the mines. However I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is travelling in Bolivia, it is such an incredibly weird and creepy experience, that you cannot describe merely in words.
Perhaps it is insanity, and definitely suicidal if you have any breathing problems already, but otherwise it is equally insane to miss out on this. It is definitely not for the faint hearted, very heavy duty, but so worth it!
Please help Hey there,
I read your blog ages ago, before I arrived in South America, and have been obsessed with the idea of getting into the prison ever since.
Today my friend and I attempted to get in, using a method id read about on the internet. We turned up at San Pedro plaza and basically hung around for a while, making eye contact at the guards and hoping that eventually one of them would come and talk to us and let us in. My friend speaks fluent Spanish so we figured this would help. After about an hour a guard approached us, but only to tell us that we couldnt get in unless we had the name of a contact. Do yo u know if I could use the name stuart sierra as a contact still? Is there anyone i would need to clear this with first?
PLease reply as quickly as you are able to as i only have 3 days left in Bolivia and would be eternally grateful for your advice.
Samantha
Amazing Your blog is is mind blowing! I can believe you got in! I would love if you could provide me with the contact details so and my girlfriend can experience what you have spoken of first hand! My email is Charlie.Fitzroy@hotmail.com. Thanks so much!
Charlie the Aussie
My time in Varkala Hi, I have really been interested in reading these comments having been twice to Varkala the most recent time was a few weeks ago. I always felt completley safe on the cliff...I never went to the Funky Art Cafe or any of the other bars - I would eat my dinner in Cafe Del Mar and then wander around a little before walking back to South Cliff where I was staying, but I would walk alone and in the total darkness. I love Varkala and am planning to rent a house there for six months and I will def take on board the advise on being a single girl there alone and not be so naive to think because it is not London I can feel safe walking in the dark in empty roads...I never have got drunk there though and would not do so.
Reply I don't really have any further information on Stuart other than that crazy day when I met him inside of the prison. He seemed well and in good health when I met him. He is a fascinating and charismatic person that I will always remember and talk about with my friends. I will leave both your email address and message on my wall. You never know, someone with more up to date information may get in contact with you.
wow This was the most riverting, amazing, mind-blowing book i have ever read. After reading it once, i read it again immediately after, and then another two times after that. This book will stay in my top 5 for life............
Nice travelreport Thanks for a wonderful travelreport. I studied spanish in Leticia at The Amazon Spanish College and had a nice time in Leticia.
Daniel
http://amazonspanishcollege.com
Phone Number - Getting into Prison! Hi guys, if you want the number you have to send me a message, and not post to the wall. Posting to the wall does not seem to give me your email address so I cant reply.
Reply No, you don't have to take it. I don't touch the stuff myself. Its the adventure I do these things for. Let me know if you manage to get in. Have fun!
in La Paz Hey there Darren, loved readin your blog!!
am real interested in checkin out the prison..went there yestersay..saw some grabbage action and prisoners walkin in..i wanna see more so how can i get in, hope to hear from you soon!! take it easy! Alicia
cocaine hey...we are going to la paz in a couple of weeks. is it possible to visit and just not take cocaine. iam really not interested. or would that result in some problems for the groups or us???
thanks (great blog by the way)
Please listen. Hello, I am 28 years old, and considered an attractive single woman, as I am not married. I have been living in varkala with my NZ boyfriend for two years, and trust me when I say that I know the ins and outs of varkala. We are the only young foreigners living here by far. The only people living here are over 50 years old, and married or sngle and deal drugs or sleep with the locals. I have very solid evidence for this. I love Varkala, but have quickly learned to be extremely careful on the cliff.
Funky Art is one of the most dangerous places you can go if you are young and attractive. Ladies, be sure to have a man thatis not drunk with you. Some guys at Funky Art are cool, but trust me when I say they have seen everything, and don't really care when someone has been drugged. I havebeen blessed to be able to make friends with most on the cliff, and so was looked out for whne my sis and I were drugged at Funky. I seriously warn any unmarried women who go to Funky or Rock'n'roll, and don't forget that there is a high turn over of staff there, so don't think there is not one oout of the crowd that will do it. This is all from experience.
Best, Em
What a day that was?! A great blog, even though the story is somewhat exaggerated. Your a lucky boy Darren to have got those photos of the outside. Mine were confiscated. It was an incredible time and something ill remember for the rest of my life. Now back in England, I bet your glad I made you come in with me, it's a story that can be told over many a camp and christmas fire! I enjoyed it so much I went back a second time. As for the internet access, they didn't have it, but people could email them to an address and then workers in the prison would print out the emails to show the inmates their letters. Keep up the blogging, Peace, Ry
Hi Alex Take trainers, then sandles for river walking. Travel light, take a few T-shirts, 3/4 lengh trousers and shorts for swimming. A fleece, trousers and socks for night time. Cloths get trashed so nothing flash. Take blister plasters, tourch, water purification tablets and water bottle with strap. Waterproof bag inside small day bag sufficient. DEET repellant. Cigs for the soldiers. Walking boots will be too heavy! Expect to get dirty!
Shoes? Hopefully you check comments regularly, 'cause I'm leaving for Colombia tomorrow. :P We'll be trekking Ciudad Perdida and I'm agonizing over footwear. I'm an experienced hiker, and I know I'm bringing good trekking sandals; do you think I should also bring hiking boots with ankle support? I feel like I might appreciate them, but they're so...big. Your opinion would be lovely!
Thanks for this great blog, too. I've already sent the bikini machine gun pic to my wife, to let her know what I'll be expecting from her. :)
I find this very hard to believe Hi I have visited Varkala twice, three years ago so things may have changed since then but I find it hard to believe that drugging of girls is occurring. I pretty much lived at funkys for three and half weeks, and again for two weeks and Babu and his team were lovely, and i think of them as friends. I was a young girl backpacking for the first time and Babu and his staff couldn't of been more helpful. One of his staff would always offer to walk me home, not in a sleazy way but to make sure i was ok because it is so dark along the cliff during the low season, they helped me book trips, took me to the dentist when my tooth hurt, Babu even has got out of bed in the middle of the night to get his driver to come and take me to the airport because the taxi i booked had not turned up and i was about to miss my flight. There was a small group of us travellers that hungout there with all the staff and we often went on outings together with Babu and some of the other guys. I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe when i was there, the complete opposite which is why i stayed so long. Yes Babu does have an eye for the ladies, but it is always reciprocated and it is often Babu that is left heartbroken when they leave (well for five minutes until the next love of his life arrives) Holiday staff flirting with travellers happens all over the world and there never seemed to be anything more than that, I and other girls who were not interested were never pestered or hassled. Babu is lovely and i am looking forward to visiting him again in January. I would also like to point out that I hung out with male travellers who got on fantastically with him and the staff, Babu even arranging for the guys to have martial arts lessons because they were a bit bored during a rainy week. Anyway that's penny's worth
"Darren has a desire to learn, but not just from books, he wants to touch, smell, taste, hear and see the world. He loves interacting with people from different backgrounds and cultures and likes the challenge of getting to remote and unusual places. He is an outgoing and confident traveler that is always looking to take a step beyond the norm, often leaving him to face bizarre and unusual situations. Darren's blog has proven to be a big hit on the Internet and many people have requested that he write a book about the places he has visited together with the bizarre and unusual situations th... full info
paul sluyters
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contact details
hey mate can you send me your contact as i am in la paz at the moment and would love to do what you did if still possible. my email is paulsluyters24@hotmail.com and any further tips. cheers paul from Tasmania