World's Highest City in World's Poorest Country

Ok, dramas averted mostly, we arrive into the most beautiful city I have ever been to - a big call, and it's mine. The sign says it's the world's highest, others would probably say it's the world's poorest..

The beauty is astounding. On the approach, a glittering array of buildings appear on the plain. On closer inspection it was due to the intense sunshine melting just fallen snow. Then we began the decent, words don't describe how magnificent the setting was, and neither will my photos..

Let's just say the whole northern bank of mountains are 6000 metres plus and capped in pure white snow. These lead to steep slopes where the poorest cling, to be part of both the mountains and the glittering city nestled below in a perfect hollow.

Things got better, with every street a combination of stately Spanish colonial architecture, the cheapest of recent construction multi-storeys and, in amongst it all, more open street markets than the rest of the world combined. Nothing was off limits, if it is tangible, it is for sale on the streets of La Paz. Being a farmers marketeer, I was in paradise in the streets of fresh produce, with all the colours and assortments that would make even Jan Power, Australia's open air market afficionado, green with envy.

After being overloaded with ideas from the markets, we headed to an Englishman-run pub, which guarantees the worst cultural experience in South America. Nothing new, the same food, and music you're used to etc etc. Only to find Bolivia is the cheapest country in the non-communist world, which is funny actually, because everywhere you look there are billboards of the populist president Evo Morales arm-in-arm with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.