Hosteria Cumbres Blancas: A Night at Esquel, Patagonia, ARGENTINA

I promised myself to finish all my Argentina related posts by this year. The list goes on here. Esquel is part of Patagonia, Argentina. We stop at Esquel from Bariloche before continued to Los Antiguos.

The impression of Esquel was the town is very organized. Not forgetting there is a mountain at the backdrop which is near the Los Alerces National Park.

That’s the hotel! Hosteria Cumbres Blancas
Staying at Hosteria Cumbres Blancas was a blessing. In a walking distance to Esquel’s only casino, the hotel has 2 storeys and they have a backyard parking area for guests.

The room I had was pretty decent. With 2 single beds, clean bathroom and if I have not mistaken, they have FREE WIFI in the lobby. It doesn’t have much rooms but the front desk service was excellent.

Our room with 2 comfortable single beds.

In this region of Patagonia, it is still cold during summer. It was around 15 degree Celsius at night and around 20 plus during day.  Like I said, we had comfortable night after a few rounds at the casino.

Decent bathroom with bath tub, no complains!
I won’t compare this hotel to the big guns in the city, I would rate this hotel above average. I’m not sure about the pricing but the stay was good. The hotel can be easily spotted at the main road near the casino. It is just a few stones away.

Hosteria Cumbres Blancas Address and Contact:

Av. Ameghino 1683
9200 Esquel, Argentinien
(0)2945 455 200

Hosteria Cumbres Blancas Map:

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Microtel Inns & Suites Malargue: One Night Stay in Malargue, ARGENTINA

Malargue is one of the towns located along Route 40, Patagonia Mendoza region of Argentina. Since we were on the road trip, we stayed at the Microtel Inns & Suites Malargue.
Located at the main road of Malargue (it is a very long stretch road towards the town center), Microtel Inns & Suites can be easily seen.

The first impression was the nice stony entrance. As I walked in to the lobby, I was entertained by the lobby staff. There, we got our keys to our rooms.

The walkway was made of wood, very nice. The best part of this hotel is FREE WIFI at the lobby. That was like the best thing to do in the middle of the night to update my blog as well as sending emails back.

The room was average, comes with a TV. Bathroom was okay, clean. That is the most important thing to me.

Room mate Steven was knocked out, too tired after the morning road trip.
We spent a night there so we didn’t have time to try out their facilities such as the sauna and the indoor swimming pool.

I was told it is one of the best places to stay in Malargue. To me, the stay was comfortable and the service was alright, nothing spectacular. Yet again, it is in Malargue, should we ask for more?

Microtel Inns & Suites Address:
Ruta 40 Norte,
Malargue Mendoza,
Province of Mendoza,
Cuyo, 5613, Argentina

Top 7 Places To Visit in Patagonia, ARGENTINA

Patagonia is a geographic region of the southern most of South America. Some named Patagonia as “Home of Gods” and “Foot of Gods”, it comprises the southernmost part of Andes mountains that is located in Argentina and Chile. I was in Patagonia earlier this year for 3 weeks which inclusive of 2 weeks of road trip. I would like to share my personal favourite Top 7 Places To Visit in Patagonia.

1. City of Mendoza

The Mendoza province of Argentina has been very popular for its vineyards and winery. Most of the locals will always recommend wines originated from Mendoza.

Malbec is one of the most popular types of wine in Argentina and it is said that the best wines comes from Mendoza, Argentina. One notable change in scenery in Mendoza region is the hazy condition of the landscape. I was told it was the natural moist from the ground. The city of Mendoza also has lovely restaurants and also a casino at Sheraton Hotel. You can travel to Mendoza by air or by land.

*Check out my story on the Route from Cordoba to Mendoza HERE*

2. UNESCO World Heritage City of Cordoba

As the second largest city of Argentina, Cordoba is one of the first Spanish colonial capital of the region. Declared in 2000, as World Heritage Site by UNESCO, some buildings here are dated in range of hundreds of years old.

The Cathedral which is perhaps the most emblematic structure in the city of Cordoba. Cordoba is located at the north of Mendoza and east of Buenos Aires.

*Check out my full story on Cordoba HERE*

3. Lake Alumine, Nuequen

If you love camping, this could be a perfect place for you. I bet not much people would know about this place. Lake Alumine is located at Nuequen, with many lodges and resorts surrounding the area. I was there camping with the 4×4 Expedition group for one night. It was my first time in my life camping. The experience was surreal. With the breathtaking view of Lake Alumine, this could be one of the preferred weekend getaway in Patagonia. Lake Alumine is located in between Malargue and Bariloche.

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Restaurante Chino, Tenedor Libre-Parilla Libre: A Chinese Restaurant in Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz, ARGENTINA

The nearest town to the famous Perito Moreno Glacier is Rio Gallegos. Many opted to stay one night at Rio Gallegos for the Perito Moreno Glacier tour, as the tour usually commenced in the morning. In Rio Gallegos town, the street is ever busy with restaurants, shops and also a casino. Shopping in this part of the region promised fine goods from Patagonia region, most notable the Patagonia wines and chocolates.

Despite the fact of the famous Patagonia grill lambs available almost at every restaurants, there is a Chinese “influenced” restaurant among them offering a slightly different menu. The place is called Restaurante Chino, walking distance from the Rio Gallegos town’s main road.

Did I see Chinese Fried Rice? It was everybody’s favorite that evening

Praises must be given to our local tour guide, Bobby for bringing us to that place. As we had been travelling for days in Patagonia region, having fried noodles was more than a blessing. The reason I mentioned Chinese influenced because the wife of the owner is a Chinese and most food were cooked by her.

Stir fried food and others available too

Can you spot the stir fried noodles?

Like most Chinese restaurants, Restaurante Chino charged a fixed price for its buffet style food. Drinks will be charged differently. The restaurant also served the famous grill Patagonia lambs. The food was good and the price was very reasonable.

The grill section which includes grill lamb, sausages and others. It’s a buffet, eat all you can!

So if you are in Rio Gallegos and craved for something different, Restaurante Chino is something you can consider.
Thank you for reading.

Restaurante Chino, Tenedor Libre-Parilla Libre Address:

9, de Julio 27,

Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz,

Argentina

Tel: (02966) 428578

Travel Moments: A Chilean’s Proton Wira Spotted in Argentina’s Buenviaje, Patagonia, ARGENTINA
Route 40 Argentina, the loneliness highway in the world. Completing almost the whole Route 40 took us almost 2 weeks when we were there in January. The whole expedition is made possible by 4×4WorldExplorer.com
We were stopping at this small town called Buenviaje from Route 40, Patagonia, ARGENTINA for our fuel stop. As we were queuing up for our turn my team driver, Chuan was like “Is that a Proton?”

He then blasted on the team’s walkie talkie and everyone went out their cars to check out that car. It was a Proton Wira indeed. For the look at it, it was the first generation Proton Wira. The best part was, it was owned by a Chilean who was refilling his tank in Buenviaje, Argentina. Argentina has cheaper petrol / fuel than Chile, many Chileans would cross over to Argentina for a short trip and refill. It is a similar case to Singaporeans entering Malaysia.

We asked him, “Is the car good?” He answered happily “This is a very good car!” – in Spanish. Our national car, Proton wasn’t that bad after all.

Whatever the reason was, what are the odds of seeing a Chilean Proton Wira in the small town of Buenviaje, Argentina.
For more information of this expedition and more upcoming expedition, please visit 4×4WorldExplorer.com. 4×4WorldExplorer.com has been traveling most part of the world. Please do check out their upcoming Amazon expedition.
More Argentina related posts will be coming! Thanks for reading!

My Articles on Malay Mail newspaper, Malaysia

Malay Mail is one of the oldest newspaper companies in Malaysia. Established in 1896, it is the first daily newspaper in Federal Malay States, now Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The newspaper is available FREE in Klang Valley only with a circulation of 100,000 copies daily.

I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to them for publishing my articles on their newspaper. It was published on 4^th of May, 2010 and it was a 3 full pages coverage. My humble articles are as below.

Stepping Into The Home Of Gods: My 2 weeks adventure in Patagonia, Argentina

Livin’ La Vida Loca at La Boca: An unforgetable experience in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Check out the online version of Stepping Into The Home Of Gods, HERE.

Check out the online version of Livin’ La Vida Loca at La Boca, HERE.

Thanks for reading!

Whisky with Glacier Ice on Patagonia Argentina Cruise, Los Glaciares National Park, Santa Cruz, ARGENTINA

This was the Patagonia Argentina cruise (pic below). Patagonia Argentina cruise is one of the few cruises that offered the glacier tour in Los Glaciares National Park, Santa Cruz, ARGENTINA.

The 6 hours cruise tour cost us around 295 pesos (US 90) excluding meal. It was a double decker cruise, air conditioned.

The highlights of this cruise were the Los Glaciares National Park which has the largest glacier in the world, the Perito Moreno (see picture below).

The cruise tour did not inclusive of any meal. However, they had light meals, snacks and drinks for sale on board. One of the most popular drinks was the whisky with glacier ice. It cost around USD 6 – 7 per glass. This was it looks like (pic above).

The taste was actually quite similar with a regular whisky with ice, just that the glacier ice didn’t melt that fast. Ever wonder how does the glacier ice looks like?

Check this out! This was an actual glacier ice. The ice was very compact and solid, hard to break. Holding the ice was tough as it was freaking cold. Though it was summer in February, but it was really cold on the cruise. Temp was around 10 degree celsius.

You may also wonder how large Perito Moreno is since it’s the largest glacier in the world.

Well, check this out. This was how huge the Perito Moreno compared to the double decker cruise. In fact this was taken at the edge of the glacier, as it covered the whole valley!

The colour of the glacier was so blue, it was simply beautiful. We spent some time around Perito Moreno glacier site.

The 6 hours tour was definitely worth it. There are also options to hike the glacier on a full day glacier tour. Most hotels and resorts in El Calafate offered Los Glaciares National Park tours. Price varies depending on cruise and tour vendors.

Bardas Blancas, Route 40 – Patagonia, ARGENTINA

Bardas Blancas is a small town in Mendoza, Argentina. We passed by this small town as we travel from Malargue to Neuquen. Bardas Blancas is located along the famous Ruta 40 or Route 40. I took a lot of pictures around this area but I selected the best few to post it up here.

Traveling on the road is fun in a way that I always kept my camera close to me. Whenever I spotted something nice, I will start shooting. Same goes to the scenery around Bardas Blancas. Check out the color tones of the mountains.

In Bardas Blancas, there were quite a number of small rivers running across the plain.

Though there was presence of water, most of the plain were still dry.

Dust were every where. It was an usual sight in Route 40.

The streams and the mountains.

The rivers and the mountain.

The beautiful mountains of Patagonia. What a natural beauty of Patagonia. Look at the different color tones created naturally.

Route 40 is considered as the loneliness highway in the world. While traveling on Route 40, we had a spare petrol tank and also there were a few mechanics among us. We have met a few travelers who ran of petrol in Route 40. We often help them by selling them a couple liters of petrol, good enough to last them for the next petrol station.

The best way of traveling along Route 40 will be using the GPS. The team had a few Garmin GPS with Argentina and Chile map. It was really handy especially looking for petrol stations and places to camp and eat.

For more information of this 4×4 expedition and more upcoming expedition, please visit 4×4worldexplorer.com. 4×4worldexplorer.com has been traveling most part of the world. Please do check out their upcoming Amazon expedition.

More Argentinian posts will be coming! Thanks for reading!

Route 40 – Cordoba to Mendoza Scenery, ARGENTINA

Route 40 Argentina, the loneliness highway in the world. Completing almost the whole Route 40 took us almost 2 weeks when we were there in January. The whole expedition is guided and made possible by 4x4WorldExplorer.com

After staying a night in the 2nd largest city in Argentina, Cordoba, we moved on to Mendoza, best known for its wine.

We departed from Cordoba using Route 20 and then we cut back to Route 40 before we reached Mendoza. The scenery in Route 20 was amazing (will post later). However, upon reaching Route 40, the scenery changed completely.

The scenery of the end of Route 20 from Cordoba. Please take note about the hazy sky. It was not haze, actually it was moist! Yes, moist!

The whole area was completely covered with natural moist from the ground. Thus, the sky was very gloomy as well. Not the summer time sky I was expecting.

This picture is taken along the Route 40 reaching Mendoza.

Even with the moist, the soil was quite dry. I know it did make sense but you can tell from the picture. Most of the plain were covered by dirt and dust.

I could describe this only amazing!

Probably with such conditions, Mendoza produced the best wines in Argentina!

For more information of this expedition and more upcoming expedition, please visit 4×4worldexplorer.com. 4×4worldexplorer.com has been traveling most part of the world. Please do check out their upcoming Amazon expedition.

More Argentinian posts will be coming! Thanks for reading!

Tresor Casino De Bariloche, Patagonia, ARGENTINA

Casinos are everywhere in Argentina. Almost in every town we visited. One of the most memorable casinos out of all I visited in Argentina was the Tresor Casino De Bariloche in the lovely city of Bariloche, Patagonia. Out of the few places that I fell in love in Argentina, Bariloche is one of them. I wish I could own one of the apartments to stay there during summer or even winter.

My 2 nights stay in Bariloche was memorable. Shopping is a fun thing to do here as well as the cold weather in summer. One of the places to visit especially at night is the Tresor Casino De Bariloche.

Located and attached Hotel Panamericano Bariloche, Tresor Casino is one to visit for gamblers. Reason? Please read on.

This is the door for our gambling session in Bariloche. During day time, most of the tables are closed. Go to the casino during night, it will be busy and most tables will be open.

Playing roulette was fun here, the people in Tresor Casino was quite professional unlike the Casino Club’s casinos. The poker game was the best. I won quite a bit from the poker table. They are the only casino that I visited that allows players to change a card for the Poker game and the bankers were very friendly here. I tipped them quite a bit.

During late nights, there were older people gambling than the young ones. In fact, I was gambling and chatting with a group of elder people from Chile. Thank god they know how to speak simple English, we had a great night chatting and winning.

If not mistaken, they also offered free drinks to the guests. Slot machines were fun to play and they had a good variety of new slot machines. My 2 nights there were memorable and profitable.

On top of the good services and clean environment, they offered live bands at times as well as guest stars like celebrity Julio Iglesias.

Too bad, we had to leave a day earlier if not I would love to watch him singing.

Tresor Casino Bariloche was a fun place to gamble and one to visit during night time. Admission was either FREE or 2 pesos per day.

Tresor CASINO DE BARILOCHE Contact and Address:
Av. San Martín 535
Tel/fax (+54 2944) 433 430 – 433 449
San Carlos de Bariloche

URL: Tresor CASINO DE BARILOCHE website

Tresor CASINO DE BARILOCHE Map:
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