An Incomplete Guide to Santiago

Back to the big city again! There will be two more opportunities to return (for connecting flights). As with all big cities, it's suitable for citywalks and museum walks. The airport has a direct bus to the city center operated by two companies, one of which charges 3000 for a round trip and 2000 for a one-way trip. Card payments are accepted (with a fee), and it takes about 40 minutes. An Uber to the city center costs around 17000 during peak hours. Arrived very early, dropped off luggage and went to the Plaza de Armas. Lots of street performers, saw some protests but not sure why. Walked around the city hall area, listened to a mass at the cathedral in Spanish for the first time, and strolled down the pedestrian street. Climbed the Santa Lucia Hill, which was amazing. It doesn't look high and seems like a garden, but it also takes a while to walk. Although you can't see Santiago's skyline, you can still see the mesmerizing Andes Mountains. It's just like a mirage, a city surrounded by mountains. Later found out there's a day tour to a canyon three hours away, regret not planning for it! Visited the National History Museum, but unfortunately, everything was in Spanish. I roughly understood some of the developments in painting, culture, education, and writing in Chile. Encountered some students on a visit. Visited the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art 📍 Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (next to the National History Museum) 🕰 Closed on Mondays, open 10-18 the rest of the time 💰 Foreigners 10,000/person, foreign students 5,000/person (didn't ask up to what level for students) (locals or foreign residents 2,000, local or foreign resident students 1,000) in Peso, card payments supported (with about a 6% fee) 🕴🏻 Staff speak English, galleries and exhibits have English descriptions, prepare a 100 coin for the locker 💡 Highlight 1⃣️ Pre-Columbian America exhibition area Eight sections in total, introducing prehistoric cultures like the Inca, Maya, Mapuche, etc., according to the modern American countries (Mexico and southward, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, etc.) from natural and supernatural forces, beliefs, daily life. Most exhibits are ceramics, bronze, and woven items. 2⃣️ Chile before Chile Understanding the different cultures, ethnic groups, and history of this land in various regions (north, northwest, central, south) with a timeline that compares the development of Chile's land and the appearance of cultures around the world from ancient times to the present, including not only well-known cultures like the Maya, pyramids, Roman Colosseum, Athens, etc., but also China's Terracotta Army, Marco Polo's travels in China. 3⃣️ South Courtyard Beautifully arranged with a temporary exhibition mainly introducing artifact restoration and some artifacts currently being restored. Pre-studied Central American related topics, completely filled my knowledge gap about Central and South America! In Santiago, prepare 100 coins in case you need to use a locker. Supermarket prices here are generally lower than in Argentina, with a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. Even in Buenos Aires, the quantity and quality of fruits and vegetables are poor... It seems it's not cherry season, but I still achieved fruit and vegetable freedom, even had pineapple.. Pharmacies also have some European pharmacy brands (not available in China) at reasonable prices. At pharmacies/drugstores, you need to take a number before checking out and then wait for your number to be called. For currency exchange, since it was a domestic flight arrival, I didn't see any exchange services in Terminal 1, but there are two streets near Plaza de Armas where you can keep an eye on the exchange rate. On the first day, we exchanged some Chilean pesos at a rate of 0.8 with Argentine pesos (some were only 0.6 or 0.5), and by the second day, it was mostly 0.8. In these places, I can already read Spanish proficiently and have simple 'conversations' (question and answer type) in Spanish. Thinking about chatting as freely as in English, I guess by the end of the trip in South America I will be able to! The original plan was to stay in South America for half a year, speaking Spanish every day, it's hard not to learn, haha but I heard that Chilean Spanish is different from other places (faster pace, swallowing words?). Santiago and Argentine cities are very European... We found a lot of Asian food in Santiago! Got PTSD from eating pasta, haha. Found Taiwanese chicken cutlet (pollo chang), Chinese rice noodles (in supermarkets), Japanese dorayaki (Dream Chaser), so cool! Better than I expected! Just didn't realize it's already the third week, leaving Argentina so soon. So far, I've only seen (and heard) a few Chinese people on the streets of Santiago.