Argentina appears to be a pretty affordable place, but it doesn’t help that I spend my days doing next to nothing and eating next to nothing (1.5-2 meals per day). I’ve gotten it into my head that one is supposed to tip about 10%, so that is a small tax integrated into any meals or drinks with table service, which I am still mostly avoiding.
Day 8 (in which I start actual tourism by walking around town):
| Choripan & Fanta | 140 |
| Walking tour tip | 250 |
| Pizza & Wine | 400 |
| Drinks | 180 |
| Total: | 970 ARS (117.6 RMB) (USD 16.81) |
A “choripan” is a chorizo sausage on a bun, Argentina’s equivalent of a bratwurst and brotchen. A soda cost just as much as the food.
Day 9:
| (new) Hostel (3 nights) | 140 RMB |
| Pastries | 60 |
| Happy Hour Craft Beer | 220 |
| “Buffet” dinner | 118 |
| Total: | (188.24 RMB) (USD 26.91) |
Because my original hostel filled up and jacked up the price, I moved over to a cheaper one, and finally indulged my sweat tooth at a local bakery selling assorted sweets for 20 pesos each. There are a number of buffet style eateries, where you fill up a take out container and pay according to the weight of food. It was nice to get some rice and vegetables into my system.
Day 10:
| Shawarma | 340 |
| Water & wine | 90 |
| Empanadas (5x) | 85 |
| Total: | 515 ARS (62.4 RMB) (USD 8.92) |
Still too intimidated to eat in a proper Argentinian restaurant, but fast food and empanadas are keeping me alive.
Day 11:
| Breakfast | 150 |
| Gelato (1/4 kg) & Coffee | 219 |
| Mexican restaurant (burrito & margarita) | 550 (USD 13.94 + 0.41) |
| Total: | 919 ARS (114.24 RMB) (USD 16.33) |
Going out for Mexican food with a hostel friend, I tried out a payment with a Visa Debit card. It was easy and secure, but the 41 cent foreign currency transaction fee Wells Fargo tacked on (several days after the fact) makes this not such a viable option to preserve cash supplies.
Day 12:
| Hostel extension (2 nights) | 94 RMB |
| McDonald’s menu of the day | 250 |
| Bottle of wine | 85 |
| Empanadas (5x) | 85 |
| Total: | (144.9 RMB) (USD 20.71) |
Fast food like McDonald’s or Burger King costs about 350 pesos for a value meal (400 if upsized), but there is a strong culture for the discount meal of the day. Also not included: a yellow fever vaccination, which was free because of socialized medicine (technically public health). I should be writing a negative 80 USD for the savings over what it would have cost stateside.
Day 13:
| Breakfast | 150 |
| Laundry Service | 150 |
| Water | 25 |
| Ice cream | 130 |
| Happy hour craft beer | 300 |
| More craft beer | 100 |
| Beer at hostel | 160 |
| Total: | 1015 ARS (123 RMB) (USD 17.58) |
Laundry turned out to be not as cheap as the intel I received through the backpacker grapevine. I hit up the national museum of fine arts on its free day of the week (otherwise 200 pesos for foreigners) and took a stroll through the colorful neighborhood of La Boca (no costs incurred).
Day 14:
| Bus to Rosario | 990 [16.62 USD] |
| Hostelworld deposit | 6.33 USD |
| Groceries (for sandwiches) | 300 |
| Happy Hour at Gintoneria (3 cocktails and 1 premium empanada) | 525 |
| Total: | (260.5 RMB) (USD 37.24) |
So, I guess buses around Argentina will be quite expensive, costing close to double what I was expecting. On the bright side, the VISA credit card payment looks like it got a proper exchange rate with no additional fees (yet?). I’m trying hard not to be an alcoholic here. Ideally, I’d enjoy a bit of happy then have a nice meal, but outside circumstances tend to intervene.
The hostel in Rosario wants me to pay upon leaving, so that cost will get factored in with the next update.
Running Total: 2139.58 RMB (USD 305.83)
Daily Average: 152.83 RMB (USD 21.85)