Our first days in Buenos Aires

It was a twelve or so hour flight from Auckland to Buenos Aires and despite having the feeling that our Air Lineas plane was held together with plaster and wire we made it well. I say this as we sat in a section that had no onboard entertainment <(the projector was broken) and no music in one of our seats (there was simply no where to plug in your headphones). But the staff were very accommodating and unlike other companies not too fussy about the rules. And thank God for that, as if it weren't for a very nice Mexican lady giving us the idea to put our son to sleep on the floor, we would've had no sleep at all. It was our first flight as a family (long haul) and having very long legs travelling in planes is NOT my favourite thing. But the wine was plentiful and the food certainly tolerable. Enough about that. For anybody wanting some quick tips on flying with children, we have the following to add:

1. Make the most of the hostesses on the flight, they are generally extremely helpful (they hate screaming kids as much as the next person).
2. Ensure that you have appropriate toys (duh)
3. A trip to the cockpit is good for Dad and the child.
4. A chupeti/dummy/pacifier or drinking vessel will help with the equilibration of pressure in the ears (promotes swallowing).
5. ensure that at check in al of your needs are to be met - there are lots of restrictions that mean they will put you in the worst place possible (i.e. you must have a seat with an oxygen mask function (apparently not all seats have this), you must not sit near an exit (the best seats in coach) and you cannot be upgraded to first class for free (they offered me an upgrade but when I asked if the rest of the family ould come they withdrew the offer).
6. Ensure that readjustment to a new routine is carefully managed (we had our first ever midnight feast the first night in Buenos Aires). Young children don{t adapt the same way that adults do.
7. If you are flying to a city with poor footpaths and roads ' make sure you have a 4X4 style pram handy.

Right, so we spent two days in Buenos Aires, moslty sleeping and eating but also a lot of walking. Argentina has inflation of 30% so we were very concerned that we would be watching our pennies. And it is true that eating in most restaurants is very expesnive and buying things such as magazines, groceries and clothes is expensive, but there are still some tricks for the thrifty traveller:

1. Las tiendas (these are the shops that are not in permanent/semi-permanent locations such as those in the side walk (foot path) or in ferias (open air markets) are not subject to the same transaction regulation system. In any shop that is in a mall or street premesis all transactions must be put through an electronic system so that the tax department knows how much you're selling. The other thing is that these shops also tend to have employees who are paid legally and not on the black market, so whilst you may be hurting the economy supporting the tiendas (theoretically less revenue for the govt) - at the same time you may be supporting a black market where the labour is not well paid and there is no insurance/super annuation (social security) to speak of. That said, if you want that Boca Juniors shirt and you don't want to pay top dollar - your choices are severly restricted, and you best be getting on the subte (subway) to the nearest open air market (of which there are many).
2. I am a coffee lover, but I generall do not buy coffee from cafes in New Zealand because you basically have a 1/10 success rate on good coffee on a cafe per cafe basis. Here the odds are reversed. You will pay more for comfort, but generally speaking the quality of the actual beverage will suprise you. My god they make good coffee here. I will be addicted before we finish this trip. If you like yerba mate (the traditional drink of Argentina) many cafe's serve this, but in the cocido fashion (like a normal tea with milk). People tend to drink mate at home and drink cafe in cafes!
3. Buenos Aires is an enormous city, and the differences between different areas is astounding. If you are a thrifty shopper, some barrios may suit you better than others. I personally love the central city (avenida de Corrientes) as the shops have such ineresting things for sale, but I also enjoy Dorrega, San Telmo and Belgrano. More on Barrios in a later blog.
4. You will be asked for money from children, scammers, and all types of poor people. If you scream tourist or hang out in Puerto Madero you will be approached. Personally, it doesn't bother me in BsAs as it can in other countries (I will never forget some of the appauling tactics we saw in India). Generally any moneda (coin) is sufficient. Unlike Auckland - if you give them 10 cents in Queen Street they will call you a tight arse!
5. Travelling within the city is still cheap. For entertainment - the subte is by far the best, the art and the gente (people) are fun to watch. But during rushour you will be uncomfortable, and during the later hours it may be unsafe. I personally do not feel unsafe in BsAs - it feels very safe and I have walked the streets at extremely late hours of the night and without incident, but I could've been lucky as you will hear stories all the time about muggings and all kinds of evil scams that are perpetuated fromthe locals. If you are staying in Puerto Madero (you must be very wealthy) they have very high security (not unlike the Viaduct Basin in Auckland). Finally taxis - are still cheap. you can get right accross to the other side of the city for US$5 so if it is late or not convinient to catch the subte a taxi is only a little more than the price of a couple cups of coffee.
6. If you want to eat on the cheap - you will have to adjust to the different diet in South America. They eat sweet food for breakfast (if you haven't tried dulce de leche - you have my sympathies), and lots of pastries. Medias lunas (like a crossaint), and little cookies are cheap and tasty. If you are attached to your toaster oven, eletric kettle or fried eggs, then you will need to go to an expensive restaurant. For lunch and dinner I can recommend parilla and other food cooked in the asado fashion (BBQ) - you will no doubt have heard how well the beef tastes in Argentina, but for the first time I had tough as old boots beef in Puerto Madero of all places. Most dissapointed (mind you it was a smorgasboard). The smaller restaurants are best, people who take pride in their asados. If you go to a mall to eat - don't expect much but a high bill. If you like takeaway type food, there are many parillas (like a kiwi fish'n'chip shop) that will astound you. And Argentina has Pepsi everywhere - so you will have some choice in your beverage (unlike NZ which seems to be saturated with Coke products).

Well, that's enough for now. I was anxious about the price of things in Buenos Aires, so hopefully this is helpful for you. With inflation running so high, the global economic crisis affecting demand and the national economy hit with poor management, a history of tax evasion and sticky prices and then big shocks, this information may expire relatively soon, but fortunately for me things are ok.