bickerss has left 557 comments

bickerss comments on Is a WILL written outside of Colombia legal?

I actually thought a will would be ''internaional'' - ie I have an australian will which details all my assets including those in Panama. The Panamanian Lawyers said that would be enough to avoid probate. The australian company said the could distibute any asset of mine in the world with this will. I will check again now after reading the above.

bickerss comments on Pacific Coast recommendations?

They are rally great pictures. I tried to book to Bahia Solano a few days ago but the flights were all booked out for the dates I was able to go - bummer!!

bickerss comments on Medellin Disco - 25000 pesos drinks Thursday

Thanks for your help all - will check it out; the place across the road from Circus. As for Universal - I have never liked it and has never been full when i have been (about 4 times), although some of my friends think it is OK.

bickerss comments on six months in colombia and six months in usa

I do 6 weeks wrk then 6 weeks leave in Colombia - its great!!

bickerss comments on Can I retire at my age with my savings

Consider Panama which is close to colombia and has great investment opportunities including an attractive pensionada program and investor visa programs http://www.businesspanama.com/latestnews/article.php?nid=257 Other way using Panama is to purchase property andhave it rented out short term basis while livin in Colombia. Rental returns are pretty awsome for nice apartments and there is a shortage of hotel rooms. Only problem I guess i if the USD keeps falling then the conversion to COP will decrease.

bickerss comments on Medellin Disco - 25000 pesos drinks Thursday

jajaj - thats a good one (ie never come back). I was at Palmitas last week but didnt seem to be cover for drinks. Looking for this as I guess its where people might be - Med is pretty quiet Thurs night and I am not a fan at all of Blue!

bickerss comments on Can I retire at my age with my savings

2.3 million for 4 people, no food - what were you drinking?? That over 1200 usd.

bickerss comments on Can I retire at my age with my savings

I had a look at Ecuador and was impressed buy the prices - beach areas cheap (ie Manta Canoa) and Cuenca, a beautiful city, cheap as chips.

bickerss comments on just wondering

You could easily do it on that money if you use some nous. Staying in hostels here is very expensive if you are seeking your own room ie 50,000 pesos to 70 000 pesos a night. Much easier to find an apartment to share ie around 400,000 to 500,000 pesos a month. If you dont stay in Pobalado the prices are a lot less. You can get a student visa for 700,000 pesos (1 year) in Medellin which will give u a cedula as well to make things easier. A few people I know here teach at the universities; and the money isnt too bad. The thing that sucks here at the moment is the peso strength, however the AUD has kept pretty level as it too is soo strong.

bickerss comments on Cheap Flights Within Colombia - Satena

I take Satena a fair bit and has not been too bad overall, although last flight was delayed an hr.

bickerss comments on Cheap Flights Within Colombia - Satena

Just checked aires on line - thought I was onto an even better thing - price 120,000 med to Bog (via manizales) but with taxes ended up bein 231,560.00 CO - bummer. Hopefully easyfly will be med to bog by the 27th - will check that out. A 10 k ticket would be lush!!

bickerss comments on Cheap Flights Within Colombia - Satena

Medellin to Bogota is Direct.

bickerss comments on Hiking to La Ciudad Perdid - when, where, how?

Go to the hostel there - Casa de felipe in Taganga or to Miramor in Santa Marta where it leaves from. The trek is normally 6 days and a good trip - was 440,000 last i heard. Worth doing and the views are speccy. Its not hard as you go so slow but the rain and mossies can be killers>!!

bickerss comments on Laureles - 33 Nightlife Area / Property

ok, thanks. Seems great value.

bickerss comments on Nightlife in Bogota

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/best-bars-in-bogota/ this post has a few still valid!!! The bar I mentioned before is Socorro - you may have difficulty getting in. Invitro in Chap Alto used to be packed on Wed. Very model type acress crown. Quibra Cantro (in Candalaria) is the grunge type one I mentioned before for Wed night.

bickerss comments on Nightlife in Bogota

The place i mentioned (where I cant remeber the name of the bar) is packed with hotties (up market hotties) - I will find the name for you. El Sitio is also much more up market (beers 9000 peso for a little can). I like Kukamakara - great vide, good crowd. On Wed nights there is a packed bar in Candalaria - wll get the name, more grungy though so not my scene. Cha Cha is good Wed as well. I am in Med now, but will be back in Bogota for a few days on about the 26th so if u r there we can grab a beer!!

bickerss comments on Laureles - 33 Nightlife Area / Property

Raay - do you know how much (about) apartments there sell for?

bickerss comments on Nightlife in Bogota

ahh - and there is a new hip bar on the 15th street below p 93, but the name escapes me. From 93 go dwn to 15th and tur right, its about a block along. Great place and hip. Ahhhh - and in zona rosa now a very upmarket bar just up from WOK. Very hip but sometimes gringos cant get in (well this one anyway).

bickerss comments on Nightlife in Bogota

Have a look under my posts - there is a long old one that is still valid. Lunabar is good - have been many times. Thurs is singles night. Salto is still good thurs fri and sat. Kukamakara is great - on the 15th below p 93. Has live bands fri sat. El Sitio (the new on) is the best, but exy. Its where the old Tabu was and has live musc and packed Thur Fri ad Sat. BBC's are now everywhere - p 93, cuico, usequen, zona rosa, zona g, 85 with 13. Irish pub is better. In 93 a bar called Calling London opened - good place. Also the one in Usequen has live bands on Fri. Babar was closed but now may be open. Dry Dancatoria on 85 with 13 - good place. Also for later Gotica or Cinemea (about 75 with 14). Cha Cha still going strong nd as always get to Chia for Andres del Carne Res.

bickerss comments on Laureles - 33 Nightlife Area / Property

thats an awsome pool - and awsome price for a 2 bed apt etc.

bickerss comments on Laureles - 33 Nightlife Area / Property

Nice pictures. Is that your building pool in the photo?

bickerss comments on I want to Learn How to Cook Sushi

Houston - no problems - i gathered it was a typo!! Thanks for th eino - but seems even more complicated than i would have imagined, and have trouble with two min noodles, so will go the course option!!

bickerss comments on I want to Learn How to Cook Sushi

yeah - bit rude i thought too!!!!

bickerss comments on Dentists in Medellin...cost of veneers

Dental Home, poblado Cll 10B # 28-90. Tel 3114921. 15% discount from paper flyer or flyers located in P lleres(Basillica).

bickerss comments on $40,000 to invest, Hate Uk, Want to live in colombia, Barranquilla or Cartagena

Lease and rent out apartments or start a tourist type agency of the type you see in Ecuador, Peru , Guat etc to cater to the foreigner. only ones I see in Cartagena speak only spanish and are quite basic.

bickerss comments on Current Living Expenses Medellin

good article - thanks!! Im hoarding dollars at the moment (partly by necessity) so hope it turns around in the medium term ie next few years.

bickerss comments on

Hey Robbi - whats Carnival like - I have always been meaning to go and check it out.

bickerss comments on Tourist VISA Requirements - US Citizens

Never been asked to show it on over 20 arrivals in country. The biggest problem may be from the airline from where you leave - some carriers follow the rule of the law. For other countrie where it ha been needed, i have used a printout booking from a travel agent that I have not paid for to get around the problem.

bickerss comments on I want to Learn How to Cook Sushi

Thanks all - will see how I go; I saw a cooking class being held in Carulla Oveido once for a promotion so will as there if they know.

bickerss comments on to live in Colombia ?

Bogota has ther most things to do and great pueblos nearby - its more 24/7, but the weather can be a real bummer. Medellin is great and is warmer though seems to rain a hell of a lot. It has a medium country style feel about it, and is quite sleepy until Thurs. I agree with Brian on Manizales - great city. Cali IMO can be a bit more dodgy; I like to visit for the party but not to live. It has a more latin on the edge feel about it. Cartagena and the coast are nice for a visit but I would not like to live there. My fav place there now is Rodadero - nice beaches, relaxed, good weather.

bickerss comments on I want to Learn How to Cook Sushi

ah ya - bit slow!! but got the pun on ''cook'' sushi after 7 tries. But anyway - so, to ''cook'' rice and ''prepare'' the sushi, anyone know where!!

bickerss comments on I want to Learn How to Cook Sushi

Why is that funny?

bickerss comments on I want to Learn How to Cook Sushi

all kinds - a course that covers everything basically.

bickerss comments on Present safety situation in San Agustin and Tierradentro?

Great pics - this is one place in colombia I have not been and its def on my radar!!

bickerss comments on Blackwater, está miranado posibilidades de inversión en Latinoamérica.

They changed to Peruvians.

bickerss comments on Blackwater, está miranado posibilidades de inversión en Latinoamérica.

They didnt go out of business, and have had their contract extended bythe state department; was the cause of a bit of controversy recently in Baghdad (with people and the government who wanted them out). The colombians are no longer contracted by them i dont think.

bickerss comments on El Dorado airport issues. What gives?

I fly air chance (france) and always have to go to the tax exemption counter, but never have to actually pay any tax. There was a security checkpoint after DAS where they scan you, and then another one with soldier type people who pat you down and search some bags randomly; They have always left me alone though. I have not kept any tax card when exiting, and have before got 90 day visas in Bogota (although my last one of that length was late last year).

bickerss comments on Safety of Cartagena-Medellin and Medellin-Pereira buses?

There is no way colombian Drivers are the worst in the world - try Kuwait or other middle east countries for that honour - or brazil; I was scared on some buses there!!. Have taken the bus from med to Cali and Periera and manizales. Didnt find it too bad at all. The next time I did it though, I took the shared mini vans - much faster and more comfortable ride.

bickerss comments on Laureles - 33 Nightlife Area / Property

Hi Robbi - thanks. What about as a lower entry point relying mainly on a capital appreciation of assets. Buying second hand in Laureles gives a lower entry cost and therefore (fr IMO) hedge a little against the possible loss of peso value? I have looked at many many of the new constructions from envigado to San Diego, and I think they are quite costly for 1600 usd a sq metre on average.

bickerss comments on Laureles - 33 Nightlife Area / Property

Sprigmace - it was for investment for rental property. I guess for more capital appreciation than the the foreign rental as most gringos like to be near to poblado; although that may change. I thought that the new places were on par price wise with poblado but old places were much cheaper.

bickerss comments on Tailors

Everfit I think does this - there is a store near to Tesoro (its like an outlet store and have been told its very very good for more formal type wear).

bickerss comments on Malaria Pills for Leticia - where can I pick some up in Medellin?

I buy doxy over the counter - problem is that here its used for STD's so you get a few funny looks!!

bickerss comments on Condos for sale in El Poblado - Medellin

I have sent you a message. rgds

bickerss comments on Insurance for Australian / Kiwi Tourists

Hi ozg, thanks - can u explain a bit more pls? I have checked out the DFAT website and Colombia is not on a travel exclusion or reconsider list (as per the statement in number 10 of the exclusion) 10. Your claim arises because you did not follow advice in the mass media of any government or other official body's warning: a. against travel to a particular country or parts of a country; The site states the below which I guess would negate cover in those areas, and in relation to a terroist incident there would be no cover wherever one might be in the world.: ''We advise you not to travel to the departments of Santander, Putumayo, Arauca, Cauca (excluding Popayan), Caqueta, Guaviare, Valle de Cauca (excluding Cali), Antioquia (excluding Medellin), Narino (excluding Pasto), Norte de Santander (excluding Cucuta), southern parts of Meta and the city of Buenaventura due to very high threat of terrorism from guerrilla organisations and drug related criminal activity. There is a high risk to your personal safety in these areas. '' I will however contact them and see what they say; and let you know. I mainly want the cover for emergency medical.

bickerss comments on Dubai World eyes investment possibilities in Colombia

Thanks for the post - what are some of the ways people have invested in colombia other than property and ie hostels? Anyone bought shares or invested in the market here ?

bickerss comments on Doing Time In Medellin

checked out a prison in quito last year - pretty amazing experience to see what it was like. There were families living thee (ie the mothers had their children) and little schools. The ladies had to work for their food or have their families bring it. Some gringo gilrs and sth african girls had been in there for 5 yers. Much like the book ''bolivian marching powder'' about the brit who was in Jail there in la Paz.

bickerss comments on Message from GIB

from the website - [edit] Criminal use Scopolamine has been used under the name burundanga, a jungle form of Rohypnol in Venezuelan and Thailand resorts in order to drug and then rob tourists. Delivery mechanisms include using pamphlets and flyers laced with the drug; however, spiked alcoholic drinks are the most common. [5] A nine part series on the drug, also known as "Colombian Devil's Breath", can be found on VBS.TV. In recent years the criminal use of scopolamine has become an epidemic. Approximately fifty percent of emergency room admissions for poisoning in Bogotá have been attributed to scopolamine.[6] Victims of this crime are often admitted to a hospital in police custody, under the assumption that the patient is experiencing a psychotic episode. A telltale sign is a fever accompanied by a lack of sweat. Scopolamine is used criminally as a date rape drug and as an aid to robbery,[7] the most common act being the clandestine drugging of a victim's drink[8]. It is preferred because it induces anterograde amnesia, or an inability to recall events prior to its administration or during the time of intoxication

bickerss comments on Message from GIB

english info here - trialed as a truth serum drug in the 60s' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopolamine

bickerss comments on leticia to bogota

try flights with satena - they fly there now, maybe cheaper.

bickerss comments on cheap flights to either Venezuela or Ecuador

leticia is ok, you cant drive there u have to fly. Aerorepublica or satena - you can cross into brazil there without a visa ie the town that joins leticia that is part of brazil. Easy to cross the river to get to peru as well.