Why visit Venezuela: Silly Reasons to Visit in 2014

Venezuela's MINTUR entices tourists to visit using the tagline: chévere (translation: wow).

Venezuela recently launched a tourism drive entitled “que chévere es Venezuela” for Semana Santa or Holy Week, which traditionally is a long holiday in all of Latin American. Which brings me to ask this very important question: “who the hell is crazy enough to visit Venezuela these days? Venezuela is just blackhole of bad news these days. Skyrocketing inflation, food scarcity, crumbling public infrastructure, and spiraling criminality. You name it! This country has it. Read More ...

My un-Holy Week in Venezuela

Scenes of a sweltering Venezuelan Spring: (top-left) a smoky Caracas, (top-right) Plaza Francia in Altamira, (bottom-left) Plaza Bolivar in downtown, and (bottom-right) a mural in memory of the late Hugo Chavez.

I just got a free vacation in sweltering Venezuela (figuratively and literally), courtesy of my government. If it wasn't for the panicky decision-makers of that "office meant to protect Filipinos overseas," I would have already been on my way back to Manila, having finished my posting in Mexico on 31 March 2014. Instead, here I am in the land of the Bolivarian Revolution because some people thought it was on the brink of falling down. They foresaw an imminent repatriation of my compatriots because of the troubles (erroneously, I believe). Read More ...