Posted: 6/15/2014 1:57:46 PM EDT
|
Just got to Caracas. Picked up by our contact in his wife's armored Ford Expedition. Vests tucked in between the front seats as well. He claims most upper-middle class folks here have it and need it. The good news, is that he fills up his Silverado for $0.05. If your car runs LPG you fill it up for free. Oh, and civilian gun ownership is possible. Training/Test/Paperwork and you get to have/carry one gun only. Anyway, here's a pic from my hotel window, about the only place I don't think I'll get robbed.  |
|
Quoted: I knew a few people who left there because it was so bad. How long you in for? Leaving Tuesday. But if all goes well, I'll have to send a crew here and supervise. Our agent was the middle man between a rather large deal between a Helicopter manufacturer and the .gov here, and was named by name in a press release. Since then he's been a target. He's moving his family out of the country in a matter of weeks. Our hotel is really nice though. It's real easy to forget the endless mountain landscape filled with slums upon slums. And for a communist country, there sure is are an awful lot of high dollar brand advertisements. (Gucci, Rolex etc) Things really don't make sense here. |
|
Quoted:
Leaving Tuesday. But if all goes well, I'll have to send a crew here and supervise. Our agent was the middle man between a rather large deal between a Helicopter manufacturer and the .gov here, and was named by name in a press release. Since then he's been a target. He's moving his family out of the country in a matter of weeks. Our hotel is really nice though. It's real easy to forget the endless mountain landscape filled with slums upon slums. And for a communist country, there sure is are an awful lot of high dollar brand advertisements. (Gucci, Rolex etc) Things really don't make sense here. Quoted:
Quoted:
I knew a few people who left there because it was so bad. How long you in for? Leaving Tuesday. But if all goes well, I'll have to send a crew here and supervise. Our agent was the middle man between a rather large deal between a Helicopter manufacturer and the .gov here, and was named by name in a press release. Since then he's been a target. He's moving his family out of the country in a matter of weeks. Our hotel is really nice though. It's real easy to forget the endless mountain landscape filled with slums upon slums. And for a communist country, there sure is are an awful lot of high dollar brand advertisements. (Gucci, Rolex etc) Things really don't make sense here. Cartels still gotta have their bling 
|
|
Quoted: And for a communist country, there sure is are an awful lot of high dollar brand advertisements. (Gucci, Rolex etc) Things really don't make sense here. That's probably due to the fact that Caracas is currently the most expensive city in the world for expatriates living and working there. Just to give you an idea, Manhattan, NY is a paltry 39th globally. Stay safe. You are using a Russian passport, right?  |
|
Quoted: That's probably due to the fact that Caracas is currently the most expensive city in the world for expatriates living and working there. Just to give you an idea, Manhattan, NY is a paltry 39th globally. Stay safe. You are using a Russian passport, right? Quoted: Quoted: And for a communist country, there sure is are an awful lot of high dollar brand advertisements. (Gucci, Rolex etc) Things really don't make sense here. That's probably due to the fact that Caracas is currently the most expensive city in the world for expatriates living and working there. Just to give you an idea, Manhattan, NY is a paltry 39th globally. Stay safe. You are using a Russian passport, right? Interesting. The food and drinks even at this fancy hotel have been very cheap. Beers, coffees, sodas for two hours yesterday - US$7. The exchange rates are different here, depending on how you bring it. Cash US$ gives a really good rate, if you pay with a credit card you get raped. |
 Slums  As far as the eye can see... We had lunch in the "Safe" part of Caracas. Fantastic meals, and very high end restaurants. Lots of wealth to be seen in stores and on people. Then, with the reason we're here:  Leaving for FL again tomorrow. Short trip, but I think it was a successful one
 |
|
Quoted: Then, with the reason we're here: Leaving for FL again tomorrow. Short trip, but I think it was a successful one Is that a Red Cross bird? |
|
When I was there in the 1970s I was struck by the disparity of wealth as evidenced by the television ads for Rolex, Rolls Royce and other super luxury goods; and for the common people, ads for the govt. run lottery that ran every few minutes; and the dismal slumbs.
And there was a game show that was a blatant ripoff of Jeopardy where the contestants vied for bags of common groceries. Looks like years of communism only made things worse for the average guy. |