Santiago the underated

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So I rather liked Santiago de Chile. It gets a bad rap with travellers and indeed the lonely planet makes it sound very undesirable. Where exactly was all the smog thats supposed to be devil this rather orderly city?

Lets look at the evidence. Perfect weather or at least it was when I was there. Clear air...yup thats right. If Santiago was polluted then London really does live in Pea Soup. More?? Okay well the underground was rather fabulous and again would make Londoners weep were they to see what their third world cousins enjoyed. Indeed its difficult to see what makes a third world country ...remind me to look that up sometime. Okay well I could go on but lets just say that trendy shops, cafes, nightlife and a good dose of political and cultural awareness all informed my opinion.

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After Bolivia let me assure you Santiago, you were more than a pleasant surprise.

So having raced through Chile we deposited young Rei onto a plane for the UK the remaining amigos turned their noses east smelling mountain air and seeking a hint of Mendozian vino.