Hong Kong Wong » Budget Travel Guide

5 Restaurants Recommended For San Jose, Costa Rica

HKW — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:25:05 +0000

Yeah, I love food. I love it so much that I often snap photos of what I eat to make my facebook friends jealous. Hell, I even embarrass the Japanese tourists with their big ass Canon 3CCD HD camcorders.

That’s how much I love food.

So when I get to a new city, good food is a priority. Here are 5 restaurants we discovered from our research, during our time in San Jose Costa Rica that would make a good starting point for you if you are ever there:

1. Cafe Mundo
Address: Calle 15 and Av. 9
Phone: +506-2222-6190
Cuisine Type: Italian
Hours : Mon-Thurs 11am-11pm; Fri 11am-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight
Price range: $5-$20

We ate at Cafe Mundo on our very first evening. The owner at our hotel (Casa 69) recommended it to us. With no signs out front, it took us a little while to find it. Good thing my blackberry had GPS built in. The restaurant is well hidden in an old converted mansion, and a great spot for people watching. The menu here, while varied, is mainly Italian. Options range from salads to pasta to steak. Wall murals by Costa Rican artist Miguel Cassafont adorn the place. Our waiter looked like a Russian hit man, but service was generally ok. The standard 23% surcharge for tips and taxes in Costa Rica adds up though, so bear this in mind before thinking you are going to splash it like a king.

2. La Esquina de Buenos Aires
Address: Calle 11, Avenida 4
Phone: +506 2223 1909
Cuisine: Argentine
Hours: M-F 11:30 am to 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm to 10.30 pm, Sat 12:00 pm to 11:00 pm, Sun. 12:00pm to 10:00pm.
Cost: $25-$30 per person

Insist you want to splash your cash? Well, La Esquina is the place to do it. This Buenos Aires restaurant is rated as the best place for a steak and glass of red in town by the Lonely Planet. Food was on the spot, and service was fantastic. When you walk in the restaurant, the colonial touch will make you feel like you’re in San Telmo (the oldest barrio in Buenos Aires, Argentina). In fact, the entrance door to the restaurant was actually imported from Argentina. My mouth still waters at the thought of those perfectly tender medium
rare filets. Yummy.

3. Vishnu
Address: Av. 1, between calles 1 and 3
Phone: +506 2256-6063
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian/ fast food
Hours: Daily 7am-9:30pm
Prices: Main courses $3.50-$5

Costa Rica, surprisingly, has alot of vegetarian options. Vishnu is one of them. A famous San Jose chain, Vishnu is where both gringo and tico veggies go to, thanks to its no frills prices and great food. They also serve freshly squeezed orange juice unlike many places serving jugo de naranja with 50 spoons of sugar out of a bottle despite claiming it to be ‘fresco’. What to start with? Try the very filling plato del día that includes soup, salad, veggies, an entree, and dessert for under $4 for lunch. Oh… and the organic fruit ice cream layered over pineapples and papaya… yummy. We will be back.

4. Tierra Nuestra
Address: Avenida 2 & Calle 15
Phone: +506 258 6500
Price: $20-$30
Hours: 24 hours
Phone: (506) 258-6500

Tierra Nuestra is a ranch style restaurant located between downtown and the embassy area. It has a Costa Rican campesino (farmer/peasant) style theme, as witnessed by the cups, onions and peppers dangling from the ceiling as soon as you walk in. The food is served on heaving wooden platters spilling casados. Even Tico families pack the place on weekends. But this place is not cheap. Our total ended up as US$56. But the portions here are huge, and frankly we should have gone more conservative as one dish was really enough for 2 hungry gringos with leftovers. Look out for Jeffrey, get him to serve you. He will try his best to chat up your girlfriend… and fail miserably. Adds to the amusement.

5. El Buen Comer
Address: Just off Calle 25bis
Phone: +506 233 3857
Cuisine: Latin American
Price: $5-$10

They say to leave the best for the last (but not the least). El Buen Comer would be that last but mandatory best. This is a restaurant we discovered on our very last day in San Jose before departing to Dominical and Santa Teresa. This simple looking restaurant from the outside may not immediately catch your attention, but as soon as you walk in, you will notice that there are almost no tourists. Instead, ticos pack the place, enjoying their healthy portions of casados, ensaladas and papaya shakes. This restaurant actually reshaped the rest of our dining taste here.

Got any other places that we should check out when we return to San Jose Costa Rica? I’d love to know. Please share them in the comments below.

A EuroTrip to Remember: An idea for this summer

HKW — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:22:49 +0000

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted again.

It’s been a few crazy months. I will be catching up with the posts. I really should be writing on here daily… gah.

In the mean time…

The photo to the right is a shot of one of the 5 Cinque Terre towns in Italy.

It’s been my dream to visit there ever since I last went to Italy in 2008. So naturally, I can’t wait to get back to Europe this summer and make it happen finally!

As the dates draw closer, I have started to plan our basic itinerary.

We will be there for a good few months, and I’ll be with some of my best friends, so I am very, very excited. It won’t be the first time I have done Europe, but the itinerary will be extraordinarily memorable, because I will be doing it together with extraordinary company.

Here’s what I have in mind right now.

1. June 2010 W1: Fly from NYC to London. Sort out some biz (will take a few days)
2. June 2010 W2: Fly to Portugal. Visit Lagos (and Lisbon again)
3. June 2010 W3: Head into Spain. Work through Rhonda, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba. Up to Madrid, take day trips to Toledo and Segovia. Then to Salamanca and Santiago De Compostela. Take the northern route to San Sebastien via Leon, then Bilbao, and finally Barcelona.
4. July 2010 W2: From Barcelona, get the ferry to Italy, see the Almafi Coast and Sorrento in the south along with Napoli before hitting Roma, then go through Verona on way to Florence, with day trips to Assizi and Siena.
5. August W1 Finish Italy with a few days at Cinque Terre.

August Trip Break: Travel with my buddy Scott for a few weeks. Then go live in Berlin for at least 1 month. Get some work done. See Potsdam and Dresden. I am also very curious about Turkey …supposedly a fantastic country, brilliant history, great beaches, nice food… easy to travel!

6. Late August: Head south to Greece then Turkey. Or east to Croatia and the Balkans (Split, Zagreb, Trogir, Pula, Dubrovnik in Croatia and Sarayevo and Mostar in Bosnia). The latter is what I’m thinking, as the weather would be cooling down a bit for the islands.

I haven’t yet discussed this with my travel buddies, so I should probably share this with them first and see what they think :) We still have a good few months, but I will keep everyone posted on this as it develops further…

February 17, 2009 — Make Your Normal Life a Vacation
August 11, 2008 — Was Your Flight Cancelled or Delayed? How to Claim for Compensation
August 4, 2008 — Monocle’s World Top 25 Liveable Cities for Quality of Life

No related posts.

Make Your Normal Life a Vacation

HKW — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:28:57 +0000

A few days ago, my friends Todd and Tynan from Life Nomadic called.

‘Hey man, we’re going on a chocolate road trip.”‘

‘What?’ I responded. Have my vegan friends turned chocolate fiends?

‘We’re going on a mission to find cocoa beans. Near Boquete. Are you in?”

I hesitated.

It sure sounds like an adventure, but I was in the middle of working on some stuff in Panama City.

And of course, there was my 21 day gym training. My trainer would not be happy.

I also just started taking spanish lessons (along with my handy Pimsleur audio set). How would I continue?

As I sat there in my A/C and Wifi equipped master bedroom, my laptop all setup for ‘work’ (not), and great restaurants at my doorstep, I was coming up with every excuse possible to just stay.

It would be more comfortable. I have work. I have commitments. I’ve also already paid for a whole month’s rent. I have milk in the fridge.

It was in that moment, when it hit me.

My excuses were lame.

The point of coming to Panama in the first place was to experiment implementing vacation with work life.

But so far, my ‘vacation’ has turned into my normal life back home.

I was eating at the same restaurants, walking the same streets., going to the same shops.

And if I stay, while I’d continue to enjoy $4 meals (like the Pollo con Arroz and Vegetales to the right), I thought to myself, would any of that change?

As someone who spouts and believes in pushing my comfort zone, new adventures, and living life to the fullest, deep down, I knew the right thing to do.

“I can work on the road. Do cross-fit with the guys. Hire an online Spanish teacher.”

So I made the decision.

“Ok… I’m in,” I said.

“Great! It’s going to be an adventure,” responded Tynan.

I knew it was going to be fun to travel with these nutters, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to work. I’ve always separated my work and my vacations. But maybe it’s time to experiment.

The very next day, with my backpack crammed full of what I thought as essentials, Todd and Ty drove to pick me up.

The adventure began.

To my surprise, I managed to more work on the 8 hour road trip than I probably would in days if I had just stayed where I was.

In the last few days, I’ve written a few articles, caught up with editing photos, got my product back on track, and instead of sitting at a desk with a view of a bunch of old buildings with cars honking 24/7, we are at an altitude of around 3000 feet in the mountains of Boquete.

The altitude not only means that I no longer need A/C with a cool refreshing breeze outside, but it also means a clear sky filled with stars at night, and clean fresh air.

And in between doing work, we have already had some crazy adventures.

Yesterday, we went to explore wild life at an animal rescue sanctuary. I got a rare blue African Macaw to sit on my arm, fed a Cockatoo, played with a Jaguarundi, and held a 2 toed sloth upside down… just to name a few.

The highlight was getting to hold a baby owl in my hands, blowing on it to keep it warm, while it looked lovingly at me with its big eyes.

It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

And today, as I write this, I’m recovering from an evening of horseback riding with a rodeo in the mountains. We’ve decided that today will be a day of work. Oh, I also got a new Spanish teacher who will be giving me 1-1 lessons on Skype in between.

In summary, I definitely think making your normal life a vacation is entirely possible. You will need to be willing to burn a few bridges, have the right equipment, business, and push your comfort zone. Hanging with the right people, like my Life Nomadic pals, with a good work/life balance and are up for doing cool stuff all the time certainly helps.

“Don’t Take a Vacation From Your Normal Life. Make Your Normal Life a Vacation”

February 28, 2010 — A EuroTrip to Remember: An idea for this summer
August 11, 2008 — Was Your Flight Cancelled or Delayed? How to Claim for Compensation
August 4, 2008 — Monocle’s World Top 25 Liveable Cities for Quality of Life

No related posts.

How NOT To Bribe A Panamanian Police Officer

HKW — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:36:39 +0000

Panama’s been getting more and more interesting.

Just the other day, I almost got arrested by 2 police officers.

Here’s the whole story, and what I learned from it.

Background

It was late at night. The local supermarket was open for 24 hours. I was bored. So I made a trip.

The roads were entirely empty. I felt pretty safe. But just as I turned a corner, a police van drove by very slow on the other side of the road. I noticed there was a cage on the back of the van. I felt amused, and wanted to take a photo.

But before I could, they rolled down the window, and started shouting at me in Spanish.

The van stopped. Crap. It was only me and then on this street in the middle of the night. I looked at them. They looked at me, and gestured me over.

My 2 Options

I figured I had one of 2 options:

1. Run as fast as I could, and hope they don’t shoot me in the back. (The probability was probably 50/50, depending on how often they practiced on the shooting range vs scamming tourists)

2. Go over and say hello. What’s the worse that could happen? Hey, maybe I’ll even learn some Spanish.

I went with the latter option.

Corrupt Cops

As I approached the van in the dim moonlight, I could see they were in police uniform, in what looked like an authentic van. Okay, should be safe, I said to myself.

But as I got closer, I could see the hungry look of the 2 cops inside. They way they looked around, with their eyes darting.. something was off.

In my very limited experience with police officers and CSI Miami, these 2 looked like what would be coined ‘Dirty Cops’.

That’s when I recall rule number 1 in situations like this:

1. Act Like A Dumb Happy Tourist

The first cop asked for my passport.

Pretended I didn’t know what he was asking for.

He asked for it again.

So I handed him my US driving license.

The truth is, I didn’t have my passport on me.

Oh man, this is turning into Prison Break, I thought to myself.

Fortunately, Cop #2 nodded. Phew. But Cop #1 stared at me. The other cop now said something about ‘dineros’.

Doesn’t that mean money? Are they asking me for a direct bribe?

I do recall reading on Tripadvisor that police officers get paid pretty poorly and often have side hobbies like this. It’s rare, but happens. All you have to do was to tip them off with a $5 or $10 note.

But herein lies the problem…

I only had 3 dollars on me.

‘Lo Siento!’ I said. ‘Solo Tres Dollares!’

They looked at each other, probably thinking damn, what a waste of time. These chinos so stingy! I thought I was going to get away with it, when the first cop pointed at the cup of water I had in my hand.

He grabbed it, and sniffed it.

‘Alcohol?’ he asked.

No you idiot. It’s water.

‘Agua Freya,’ I said.

He sniffed it again.

I figured I had to act fast, because in about 10 seconds they’d probably pull out their breathalyzer.

Then again, their damn breathalyzer was probably out of batteries.

Seeing that my options are running thin and my patience was running out, I took approach number 2:

2. Act Like A Chinese Triad Mafia

Panama happened to have a population that is 10% chinese. I happen to look like one of them. It also happened that my apartment was in the ‘Chinatown’ of Panama.

Perfect.

I told them that ‘mi chino amigos’ were just around the corner. I completely made that up. I figured if I told them I had chinese friends around the corner it would at least put them off a bit.

It worked. They looked at each other, and scanned me up and down, and looked confused about what they should do.

So I stuck out my hand for a handshake.

The first cop fell for it, and shook my hand, and handed back my ID, albeit somewhat hesitantly.

I ran away.

Lesson Learned

1. Minimize going out at night. Alone…. In the dark.

2. Police van stopping you with dodgy looking cops? RUN!

3. Carry more than $3. Just in case.

4. Make friends with the local triads

5. Believe in pattern interruptions. Believe. (thanks Tony Robbins)

Ok bedtime. Pura la vida!

Was Your Flight Cancelled or Delayed? How to Claim for Compensation

HKW — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:44:50 +0000

Flight Delays: Whose fault is it? CNN.Com

I hate flight delays. But more than that, I hate the complexity of the compensation process.

I just found out that my girlfriend’s flight home yesterday was delayed by more than 3 hours. It reminded me of a previous 5 hour delay I had with Easyjet in Prague, where we were not even given refreshments nor any compensation. Then again, I wasn’t exactly sure how I would go about getting it.

So I decided to do some research into this. The simple answer is: if your flight was delayed by more than 2 hours, you are most likely eligible for compensation.

I am hoping that my article will help you in the event of your next flight being cancelled or delay so that you know your rights.

Flight Cancellations

According to an article in The Guardian, certain airlines apparently always have cancellations on certain routes. This is because airlines put on the flights and if not enough bookings arrive the pull the flight. Quite annoying if you happened to be one of those booked on the flight!

In response to this, the EU (European Union) passed a new regulation in Feb 2005. Any overbooked or cancelled flights are required a payout of up to €600.

The amount of payout is determined by the length of time your flight was cancelled before your were due to fly, the distance from your destination and the delay suffered.

This applies to all flights with any EU city as a destination or port of departure.

Flight Delays

What is slightly trickier is the area of flight delays. As most flights do eventually do fly, while it’s equally annoying and frustrating, it enters a somewhat grey area, since you do get to your destination eventually. And by the time we get to the destination, we try to forget about this.

The long and short is:
All Airlines will be required by law to provide free meals, drinks and two phone calls, emails,
telexes or faxes to all passengers on flights subject to long hold-ups.

As long as your flight is delayed by 2 hours for flights up to 1,500 km, 3 hours for 1,500-3,500 km, and 4 hours for flights over 3,500 km. If it’s postponed by over 5 hours, you are immediately eligible for reimbursement of the ticket.

Any postponements of longer than 5 hours will make you eligible for reimbursement of the ticket, but only if you decide not to travel. If it continues into the night, hotel rooms, and transfer to it, must also be provided.

How do you claim compensation?

I discovered that lots of airlines actually remain to break EU regulation by NOT compensating following guidelines if they get away with it. Most airlines will not pay out until Her Magistry’s Court Service serves papers on their doormat. They may file a defense, but very rarely will the case go to Court because most people will NOT follow through.

But for those who do, airlines will usually stop short before having to go to court, as they will usually lose. Airlines rely on passengers giving up early in the complaints process or paying those who take it to litigation before the case goes to court.

So I guess the lesson is, to always follow through with your compensations. It’s worth the effort to, for those that are weaker will not be rewarded.

But for this same reason, I hate airlines just as I hate banks. They are passively aggressive. Banks will pursue you for ridiculous charges on their parts, but when it comes to reclaiming illegal charges back from them, they will NOT compensate if they get away with it. Airlines are the same. They are happy to charge you lots of money for being late for your flight, but the other way around, they will do whatever they can to avoid paying you.

What’s the other word for this? Oh wait… THIEVES.

EU Claim

I then discovered that there is a firm that will pursue your claim (for a 27% fee – no claim no fee). The company is called EU Claim (www.euclaim.co.uk). They log every flight cancelled or delayed, and then use this to put it to the airlines on your behalf.

There’s however a slight problem.

EU Claim is based in The Netherlands. The problem is, in the UK, only Solicitors can engage in court proceedings, including filing proceedings for a client based in the UK. I also discovered that Solicitors are also prohibited from pursuing “contingent fee” litigation under the Access to Justice Act 1999. Therefore, if they are not Solicitors, they “cant take your claim to court” legally.

EUClaim circumvent this by engaging with the Dublin/London based law firm Lavelle Coleman to do this on their behalf. They also have a unique database of arguments from airlines that refused to pay compensation under Regulation 261/2004, showing how most of these arguments are false.

So I’m going to give them a try. Just as I would get my accountant to do my taxes, I’m not a big fan of filing small courts claims myself.

I will post an update if it’s successful.

The long term resolution with compensation will work only if everyone takes action together. Court action needs to be taken, just like illegal bank charges. The airlines ‘cherry picking’ who they compensate is just one aspect of not adhering to EC 261/2004 guidelines from the Air Transport Users Council, but there’s not much can be done about it. And until we do, this will just continue on a case to case basis.

February 28, 2010 — A EuroTrip to Remember: An idea for this summer
February 17, 2009 — Make Your Normal Life a Vacation
August 4, 2008 — Monocle’s World Top 25 Liveable Cities for Quality of Life

No related posts.

Monocle’s World Top 25 Liveable Cities for Quality of Life

HKW — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:35:10 +0000

Copenhagen Denmark, the world’s most liveable city of 2008 according to Monocle

London-based Monocle magazine, a project of Canadian-born style columnist and jet-setter Tyler Brûlé, published the list this month.

Monocle named Copenhagen the most livable city, on the strength of its green space and “sense of humour” as Mr. Brûlé wrote. Munich, Tokyo, Zurich and Helsinki rounded out the top five.

Only three U.S. cities (Honolulu, Minneapolis and Portland) made the list, which also included 14 from Europe, three from Japan, two from Australia, and one, Singapore, from Southeast Asia.

High-profile cities such as London, Rome and New York were not mentioned by the magazine, which looked at smaller, user-friendly cities with vibrant arts scenes, plenty of parks and a friendly face.

A similar livability study published by The Economist last summer awarded Vancouver first place, while Toronto – snubbed by Monocle – placed fifth out of 123 cities.

The following is an excerpt from the Monocle article. If anyone has it or a scan, pls let me know!

Months of good-natured, frequently late-night and occasionally
jetlagged debate have resulted in this: our definitive (and a little
subjective) guide to the world’s most liveable cities

01 Copenhagen
Copenhageners rejoice: your city (and its design) has our gold medal

02 Munich
Pipped to the post this year, 2007’s champ still charms us every time

03 Tokyo
Behind the fast-fwd stereotype lies a big city getting the basics right

04 Zurich
Our continental European seat still impresses but occasionally irritate

05 Helsinki
Waterside revival, civic pride and a view to Asia bode well for the city

06 Vienna
Rooted in a rich but dark history, today’s Vienna is looking forward

07 Stockholm
Stockholm has stopped resting on its laurels and is booming once more

08 Vancouver
Culturally diverse Vancouver is gearing up for a greener Games

09 Melbourne
Vibrant, art-loving Melbourne is booming – and sprawling

10 Paris
Paris has picked itself up, ready to reclaim its place as a global city

11 Sydney
It has its problems, but changes are promised for the harbour city

12 Honolulu
Sun and surf make up for the 50th state’s occasional problems

13 Madrid
State regeneration on a huge scale is making Madrid more appealing

14 Berlin
A thirst for radical ideas makes Berlin our culture leader

15 Barcelona
Instead of pandering to tourists, the city is putting residents first

16 Montreal
Canada’s French capital steals our hearts, but leaves us less than green

17 Fukuoka
Japan’s quality-of-life and shopping capital lives up to its sizeable hype

18 Amsterdam
Tolerance and innovation are key to the Dutch city’s appeal

19 Minneapolis
A rustbelt revival is attracting young art, new money – and old problems

20 Kyoto
Green and arty Kyoto has been setting the agenda for centuries

21 Hamburg
Germany’s liberal publishing hub has to work harder to keep the talent

22 Singapore
High futurism is being met by more civic freedom in Singapore – at last

23 Geneva
Geneva is lovely but a little staid: the canton could afford a few changes

24 Lisbon
Don’t tell the mallrats, but Lisbon is becoming an Iberian cultural hub

25 Portland
Portland skis into our good books, but needs better connections

What do you think of this list? Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?

February 28, 2010 — A EuroTrip to Remember: An idea for this summer
February 17, 2009 — Make Your Normal Life a Vacation
August 11, 2008 — Was Your Flight Cancelled or Delayed? How to Claim for Compensation

No related posts.

Hong Kong Wong » Budget Travel Guide

5 Restaurants Recommended For San Jose, Costa Rica

Most Commented Posts

A EuroTrip to Remember: An idea for this summer

Related Posts:

Make Your Normal Life a Vacation

Related Posts:

How NOT To Bribe A Panamanian Police Officer

Most Commented Posts

Was Your Flight Cancelled or Delayed? How to Claim for Compensation

Related Posts:

Monocle’s World Top 25 Liveable Cities for Quality of Life

Related Posts: