They’re going to battle it out on the following points:

Safety & personal security

This one is easy, in Thailand you can pretty much wander anywhere you like day or night, with cameras, phones and everything else on display. In Latin America, every city seems to have no-go zones, the bus terminal areas are like the Bronx, you just can’t trust taxi drivers, and something you hear more often than you’d like is “Es muy peligroso”.

Winner: Thailand

Cost

This one is hard to judge as there is such a variety in costs across Latin America. Nicaragua, Bolivia and Peru are vastly cheaper than Argentina and Chile. That being said, the average local meal in Thailand is about US$1, in Latin America it is probably about US$2. And travel is generally cheaper in Thailand.

Winner: Thailand

Friendliness factor

Thailand is known as The Land of Smiles which says it all really. The moment you step off the plane in Bangkok, you’re made to feel totally at home with welcoming smiles wherever you go. BUT, and it’s a rather large but, is there a superficiality factor at play here? Are the smiles genuine, or dare I say just a clever ruse to empty your wallet?

There’s no doubt that it’s more a case of “what you see is what you get” in Latin America

Winner: Draw

Landscape

Thailand has some unbeatable beaches, some amazing jungle and some interesting mountains. Latin America has smoking volcanoes, 6000 metre Andes peaks, tropical beaches, the Amazon and of course a plentiful supply of picturesque Spanish colonial architecture. Say no more.

Winner: Latin America

Historical interest

Thailand has Sukhothai, and a couple of other ‘ancient centres’ dating back a few hundred years. Latin America has its Spanish colonial heritage, many UNESCO World Heritage towns, and of course it’s dripping in pre-colombian cultures like the mysterious culture of San Augustin in Colombia – an archaeologist’s wet dream.

Winner: Latin America

Food

Chips, beans, chicken, rice, savoury bananas, chips, beans, chicken, rice, savoury bananas, chips, beans, chicken, rice, savoury bananas, chips, beans, chicken, rice, savoury bananas, f**K I’m bored…compared to possibly (along with India) the best and cheapest food on the planet in Thailand.

Winner: Thailand

Music & entertainment

Repetetive Karaoke poop vs. Latin Rhythms, Salsa, Samba, Spanish influenced classical guitar, pan pipes…ahh just listen to the music!

Winner: Latin America

Language – Ease of learning the language

Spanish versus a strange tonal language that sounds like a cross between someone being strangled and animal noises, and is almost impossible to learn to read and write.

Winner: Latin America

Passion

How do the people express themselves? Do they get excited? Do they argue, debate, put their true feelings across? Do they kiss their lovers passionately in public? In Thailand, the natural response to anything whatsoever is to smile sweetly, and of course they wear their jeans and long-sleeved tops in the sea which is utterly ridiculous. In Latin America, the blood is hot.

Winner: Latin America

Conclusion

It’s a hard one. Latin America wins more outright points, but the food is stodgy and dull, it’s a bit more expensive and frankly it some places it’s downright dangerous. If you like safe and easy travel, Thailand is your place, but for the shear scale, diversity of landscapes and archaeological sites, and passion of the people, Latin America wins hands down.

Click on the play button above to listen to the Podcast we made from Cartagena in Colombia – our favourite city in Latin America so far. In this podcast we discuss finding accommodation in Cartagena, we record the sounds of the old town at night, and finish off with a discussion sitting on top of Castillo San Filipe – the largest Spanish fort built in the Americas.

Founded by the Spanish in 1533, Cartagena is Colombia’s and possibly Latin America’s finest Colonial city, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Shortly after it was founded it became the main Spanish port on the Caribbean coast, and was used to store gold and other treasure plundered from the Indians before it was transported back to Spain.

Due to the riches stored within its walls, Cartagena quickly became a target, and was on the receiving end of countless pirate attacks and five full scale sieges in the 16th century alone. The most famous siege (although not the largest) was led by Sir Francis Drake in 1586.

After a while, fed up with all the attacks, the Spanish decided enough was enough, and made Cartagena virtually impregnable by building huge 12 km-long walls around the centre, and a series of forts & castles at strategic positions around the city.

Cartagena old town is a living museum of 16th and 17th century Spanish architecture, and it would easily be possible to spend a week or two here exploring the streets, admiring the beautiful colonial buildings, and soaking in the street life created by buskers, acrobats, dancers and artisans selling their wares. Not to mention the pristine Caribbean beaches, islands & national parks within a day’s reach of Cartagena.

Cartagena is easily my favourite city in 3 months’ travel through Central America, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone heading to South America. Forget the security worries associated with Colombia, ironically Colombia is the country I have felt safest so far on my travels through Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them below as comments.

Links

Mompos, Colombia

The following podcast takes the form of an informal discussion between Tina and I, recorded last week, during our first week studying Spanish at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. We discuss the school, prices, and dangerous wildlife.

A day or two after arriving in San Pedro La Laguna by Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, Tina and I began studying Spanish at The Co-operative of Guatemalan Spanish Teachers. For a month or two before our trip began we had extensively researched countries and locations to study Spanish in, and settled on The Cooperative Language School here in San Pedro due to its low prices, its amazing location on the shores of Lake Atitlan, its community orientated philosophy and the fact that Guatemalan Spanish is very easy to understand.

We’ll be attempting to publish a new podcast every week whilst we’re here and will be studying for at least a month..You can listen to episode 2 of this podcast here.

Location map

View Larger Map

Further info

It costs about $82 for 20 hours one-on-one Spanish Language tuition a week (4 hours/day), although I have been told the prices may be increasing 10-15% shortly. You can choose to study more (up to 6 hours) or less should you wish to.

A homestay (living with a Guatemalan family) costs approximately an additional $85/week, and this includes three meals a day, but doesn’t include Sundays – which incidentally is the day in San Pedro that most restaurants seem to be closed.

Should you wish to stay in a guest house, you are looking at between $4/night (very basic indeed), $7/night (simple/mid-range), $10-$15 (private hot shower, & possibly other amenities).
Restaurant meals in San Pedro range from about $2 to $7 depending on where and what you eat.

Links

Our photos of Guatemala – including Lake Atitlan, San Pedro, The School, & Antigua
Podcast: Studying Spanish in Guatemala Episode 2
Podcast: Studying Spanish in Guatemala Episode 3
Video tour and interview with the coordinator of the school
Podcast: Studying Spanish in Cuenca, Ecuador

We spent 3 nights in Antigua when we first arrived jet-lagged to Central America. It is a great place to just relax and settle in to the rhyme of Guatemala (although most people will say that Antigua is not real Guatemala). We had been advised beforehand to NOT (under any circumstances) go into Guatemala City when we arrived because it is a very dangerous place. Therefore, we took a pre-booked shuttle (with Atitrans) straight from the airport in Guatemala City to Antigua.

Antigua offers many things to do: Spanish lessons, climbing the three volcanoes surrounding it, looking at the beautiful colonial architecture and churches, eating in some of the amazing restaurants and just enjoying the tranquil atmosphere. It is definitely worth a visit.

Antigua is by far the most expensive city to visit as a traveller in Guatemala. This is both due to its beauty, popularity and facilities. I was quite shocked about the prices when we arrived: 30 $ for a cold, damp, double room with semi hot shower that is a lot. But after a day of looking around I accepted that it is just expensive and there is nothing to do about it. Furthermore, on the second day we found a beautiful colonial style hotel (as you can see on the video) which had six spacious rooms surrounding a beautiful courtyard. The bathroom was communal (which doesn’t bother me) and it cost 25 $ per night which, considering the location, was fine. We enjoyed our stay there a lot.

The guest house we stayed in is called Posada Asjemenou on Calle Del Arco #31. Their email is asjemenou1@yahoo.com, and you can telephone them at 7832-2670.

You can also listen to a Podcast we made in Antigua, Guatemala here.

As I am already traveling with this huge monster of a bag, I can say one thing for sure "something has GOT to GO". I have travelled for years and years and am used to not bringing very much. I usually travel with about 12 kg, which is a good amount for a woman my size (I weigh about 58 kg). But this time I have brought 18 kg plus my small bag which weighs another 4kg. This means I am almost carrying HALF my own bodyweight now that is STUPID! However, it can be quite difficult to pack for a trip in which you will be spending time in both hot and cold countries (from -5 to +40). Furthermore, as you can see, I travel with a lot of equipment for video making and a lot of women’s stuff such as two electrical shavers, extra face creams, shampoo etc. But seriously..I NEED to empty out things from my bag in the very near future .

So there you go – don’t pack like me!

We spent 3 nights in Antigua when we first arrived jet-lagged to Central America. It is a great place to just relax and settle in to the rhyme of Guatemala (although most people will say that Antigua is not real Guatemala). We had been advised beforehand to NOT (under any circumstances) go into Guatemala City when we arrived because it is a very dangerous place. Therefore, we took a pre-booked shuttle (with Atitrans) straight from the airport in Guatemala City to Antigua.

Antigua offers many things to do: Spanish lessons, climbing the three volcanoes surrounding it, looking at the beautiful colonial architecture and churches, eating in some of the amazing restaurants and just enjoying the tranquil atmosphere. It is definitely worth a visit.

I thought I’d publish a list of what I packed for the trip. This list is also a lesson in how not to travel light! At the start of our trip, we’re intending to study Spanish for some time, both in Guatemala and probably Ecuador – for this reason I’ve packed some extra books. Also, as we’ve bought one way tickets, I’ve brought ‘a bit extra’ in case we end up living and working in Latin America. My bags are now so heavy (22.6KG for the main bag, 6 KG for the small bag), I feel like a pack horse. Here’s the list:

Clothes
1 Berghaus Gore-tex waterproof raincoat
1 pair Northface Terrainius Gore-Tex shoes
1 pair Billabong shorts
1 pair of board shorts / swimming shorts
1 O’Neil fleece (thick)
1 North Face fleece (thin)
5 t-shirts
1 vest top
1 pair jeans
1 pair cotton chino style trousers
6 pairs underwear
5 pairs socks
1 pair flip-flops
1 sun hat
1 beach towel
1 pair hot-pants style swimming trunks
Swimming goggles
2 pairs sunglasses (+ 1 case)

Electronics
Sony Vaio laptop computer + power supply
Canon Eos 20D digital camera + recharger + case
Canon Powershot G9 digital camera + recharger + case
Apple iPod 40G + charger
Iriver IFP 899 MP3 recorder/player + external lapel mics (for Podcasting)
Mini Sony Walkman speakers
1 LED head-torch (+ 2 spare Lithium batteries)
1 mini wind-up torch
160 GB external drive
1 Nokia mobile phone + charger
4 spare memory cards
4 spare Panasonic batteries for Iriver MP3 player
3 travel plug adaptors

Miscellaneous items
Roll-top waterproof bag
Box Earthoria Business cards
5 CD-ROMs in case with important software
2 pens
Camera cleaning tissues and blower
1 sleeping bag (comfortable to about 6 degrees C)
1 cotton sleeping sheet
1 extra light trek towel
4 pairs of ear plugs
1 eye mask
1 large padlock and keys (for room doors)
2 mini padlocks and keys for rucksack
Rucksack wire net security mesh protector
Rucksack waterproof rain cover
1 Money Belt
1 Leather wallet
1 Swiss Army pen-knife
1 small key-ring thermometer

Books
Spanish Dictionary
Spanish Verb Tables
3 x Novels
Footprint South American Handbook 2009
Canon G9 Canon User Guide
A4 pad of paper

Toiletries & medical supplies
1 toiletries bag
2 bottles insect repellant with DEET
2 small deodorant bottles
1 Gillette Mach 3 razor
8 spare razor blades
1 small shaving foam canister
1 extra small shaving oil canister
40 plasters
Nivea Factor 30 sun lotion
1 comb
Radox shower gel
Travel size shampoo bottle
Mini pocket tissues
Migraleve migraine relief tablets
20 Aspirin tablets
20 Ibuprofen tablets
1 tube Antihistamine cream
1 small bottle Iodine
1 packet water purification tablets
6 weeks of Nicotine replacement therapy patches