Hotels, Drugs, and Convertibles: How I Lived Like a King for a Month in Venezuela for Just $115
October 14, 2015
by Diego Urdaneta
The global financial crisis and a healthy black market have turned Venezuela into an economic mindfuck. According to the government, one euro is worth 8.3 bolívares (BsF). If you were to sell that same euro on the black market, however, it would net you 812 BsF.
This is because of the government's complicated and convoluted exchange rate controls, which I won't explain here, because a) I don't really understand them myself, and b) there are plenty of articles elsewhere written by people who actually know what they're talking about.
What I do want to do here, however, is help my country's tourism industry by demonstrating that you can live like a king for an entire month in Venezuela with just one €100 bank note (about $115) thanks to these strange and confusing economic controls. If you're a local earning local money, life is tough—very basic supplies like toilet paper are in extraordinarily short supply and you'll have to wait in line for hours just to get your hands on them. If you're a tourist bringing over foreign currency, on the other hand, the country is your oyster.
Before embarking on my luxury adventure, I made a list of all the things I planned to do, on top of living my normal life in Venezuela. Here is that list:
Rent a room in an expensive central area in Maracaibo (where I live) for a month
Spend one night in a five-star hotel room
Buy a return plane ticket to Caracas, Venezuela's capital
Lease a convertible and drive around for a day
Buy lots of beer
Buy lots of drugs
Have dinner in five of the best restaurants in Maracaibo
Get massages and acupuncture at the most luxurious massage parlor I could find
Give everyone in my building enough money for a full tank of gas
Once I was done writing my list, I sold my €100 on the "black market." I know you're probably picturing some dodgy guy with a shitty mustache and a grubby tracksuit ushering me into a lock-up full of counterfeit Givenchy handbags and "massage oils" made out of oil from a fryer, but in Venezuela selling currency is as simple as posting a message on your Facebook page saying: "I am selling €100."
All you do next is wait. Eventually someone will comment, and then that person will buy your money.
continued here http://www.vice.com/read/i-lived-like-a-king-for-a-month-in-venezuela-on-100-euros-876
..............................................................................
Sign me right up..
October 14, 2015
by Diego Urdaneta
The global financial crisis and a healthy black market have turned Venezuela into an economic mindfuck. According to the government, one euro is worth 8.3 bolívares (BsF). If you were to sell that same euro on the black market, however, it would net you 812 BsF.
This is because of the government's complicated and convoluted exchange rate controls, which I won't explain here, because a) I don't really understand them myself, and b) there are plenty of articles elsewhere written by people who actually know what they're talking about.
What I do want to do here, however, is help my country's tourism industry by demonstrating that you can live like a king for an entire month in Venezuela with just one €100 bank note (about $115) thanks to these strange and confusing economic controls. If you're a local earning local money, life is tough—very basic supplies like toilet paper are in extraordinarily short supply and you'll have to wait in line for hours just to get your hands on them. If you're a tourist bringing over foreign currency, on the other hand, the country is your oyster.
Before embarking on my luxury adventure, I made a list of all the things I planned to do, on top of living my normal life in Venezuela. Here is that list:
Rent a room in an expensive central area in Maracaibo (where I live) for a month
Spend one night in a five-star hotel room
Buy a return plane ticket to Caracas, Venezuela's capital
Lease a convertible and drive around for a day
Buy lots of beer
Buy lots of drugs
Have dinner in five of the best restaurants in Maracaibo
Get massages and acupuncture at the most luxurious massage parlor I could find
Give everyone in my building enough money for a full tank of gas
Once I was done writing my list, I sold my €100 on the "black market." I know you're probably picturing some dodgy guy with a shitty mustache and a grubby tracksuit ushering me into a lock-up full of counterfeit Givenchy handbags and "massage oils" made out of oil from a fryer, but in Venezuela selling currency is as simple as posting a message on your Facebook page saying: "I am selling €100."
All you do next is wait. Eventually someone will comment, and then that person will buy your money.
continued here http://www.vice.com/read/i-lived-like-a-king-for-a-month-in-venezuela-on-100-euros-876
..............................................................................
Sign me right up..
