I went to Venezuela in mid April and I survived no problem.
I flew from Peru with Avianca which I had booked online for about $500 return.
Virtually nobody speaks English there including at the airport. Luckily I had learnt enough Spanish to tell the Immigration officer how long I was staying etc.
I had contacted girls on LatinAmerican Cupid and managed to convince one of them to meet me at the airport. She could not speak a word of English but that wasn't a problem. She was 23, tall, skinny and double D's. Venezuelan girls are quite beautiful and the richer ones all have breast implants. They have this very enthusiastic way of communicating. She always called me Amore, Rey or Mi esposo bello etc. She was incredibly easy going, I loved it, I am never gonna date a girl in Sydney ever again.
I found a porter who could speak English and he hooked me up with black market currency exchange (I got 20,000 bolivars for US$100) and a car to drive us 200km to Valencia for 7000 bolivars ($35). It is actually quite hard to find money changers outside of the airport as they seem to have gone underground. If you want to get a better exchange rate you need a friend to hook you up with someone.
The drive to Valencia was pretty easy except for several near misses. Soldiers with AKs guard the road between the airport & Caracas. It's not as tight security as Sri Lanka though.
We stayed at the Lidotel in Valencia. I booked and paid online about $200 per night. It's a nice hotel but get this, food there is incredibly cheap, meals are $1-2 including room service and the minibar is complimentary. The hotel has a nice pool and a small gym. Unfortunately I broke the treadmill.
Security at the hotel was pretty tight with a high electric fence surrounding it. Seemed safer than Johannesburg though.
There is a big shopping mall across the road from the hotel so that is where we hung out. Movie tickets cost 150 bolivars (US$0.75) that's about 95% less than what I pay here in Sydney. There are plenty of shops but the prices for imported goods are the same as what we pay. Food & drinks are pretty cheap. You can get fresh orange juice or a coffee for 90% less than what we pay. The only noticeable shortage is chicken.
I saw a few stunners on their own in the mall and the few Venezuelan's that I interacted with were unexpectedly friendly but I think online is the only reliable way to find girls there.
We got a car back to Caracas and this time I paid the driver in US$40. It was a better car and no near misses this time.
Getting out of the airport was quite painful. The line to check-in is ridiculously long. Luckily I am Gold frequent flyer with Star Alliance so I could go straight to the front. There was only 1 x-ray machine in operation so it took an hour to get through security and they are pretty rough. They check your passport to make sure you didn't over-stay your visa and aggressively frisk all the men.
At the airport there is nothing to do and no decent food to eat but I made it out with no problems. My nieces are having fun playing with my left over Bolivars which are now worthless.
I flew from Peru with Avianca which I had booked online for about $500 return.
Virtually nobody speaks English there including at the airport. Luckily I had learnt enough Spanish to tell the Immigration officer how long I was staying etc.
I had contacted girls on LatinAmerican Cupid and managed to convince one of them to meet me at the airport. She could not speak a word of English but that wasn't a problem. She was 23, tall, skinny and double D's. Venezuelan girls are quite beautiful and the richer ones all have breast implants. They have this very enthusiastic way of communicating. She always called me Amore, Rey or Mi esposo bello etc. She was incredibly easy going, I loved it, I am never gonna date a girl in Sydney ever again.
I found a porter who could speak English and he hooked me up with black market currency exchange (I got 20,000 bolivars for US$100) and a car to drive us 200km to Valencia for 7000 bolivars ($35). It is actually quite hard to find money changers outside of the airport as they seem to have gone underground. If you want to get a better exchange rate you need a friend to hook you up with someone.
The drive to Valencia was pretty easy except for several near misses. Soldiers with AKs guard the road between the airport & Caracas. It's not as tight security as Sri Lanka though.
We stayed at the Lidotel in Valencia. I booked and paid online about $200 per night. It's a nice hotel but get this, food there is incredibly cheap, meals are $1-2 including room service and the minibar is complimentary. The hotel has a nice pool and a small gym. Unfortunately I broke the treadmill.
Security at the hotel was pretty tight with a high electric fence surrounding it. Seemed safer than Johannesburg though.
There is a big shopping mall across the road from the hotel so that is where we hung out. Movie tickets cost 150 bolivars (US$0.75) that's about 95% less than what I pay here in Sydney. There are plenty of shops but the prices for imported goods are the same as what we pay. Food & drinks are pretty cheap. You can get fresh orange juice or a coffee for 90% less than what we pay. The only noticeable shortage is chicken.
I saw a few stunners on their own in the mall and the few Venezuelan's that I interacted with were unexpectedly friendly but I think online is the only reliable way to find girls there.
We got a car back to Caracas and this time I paid the driver in US$40. It was a better car and no near misses this time.
Getting out of the airport was quite painful. The line to check-in is ridiculously long. Luckily I am Gold frequent flyer with Star Alliance so I could go straight to the front. There was only 1 x-ray machine in operation so it took an hour to get through security and they are pretty rough. They check your passport to make sure you didn't over-stay your visa and aggressively frisk all the men.
At the airport there is nothing to do and no decent food to eat but I made it out with no problems. My nieces are having fun playing with my left over Bolivars which are now worthless.