-
Salvation in El Salvador
At the archaeological park Cihuatan in northwest El Salvador, the park’s sole guide told me that I was the only tourist that day and the only visitor, now that a school group had just left. At over 60 hectares in size, it’s the largest archaeological site in El Salvador. The guide walked me around a site that featured the country’s ancient and recent history. Dating from 950-1200, Cihuatan was a large Mesoamerican city built following the mysterious collapse of the Maya civilisation.
A perfectly preserved ball court was missing only the players that once animated it. In the quiet of the park, punctuated by the chirping of birds, I imagined teams of four moving a heavy rubber ball to a hoop to score, using only their hips, elbows, and knees to pass the ball. The winners of the game were sacrificed. If I played the game, I would happily be a gracious loser.
Next to a large pyramid is a huge Ceiba tree, known among the Mayas as the Tree of Life since they believed four Ceibas hold up the corners of the universe. The tree is pockmarked by bullet holes from army helicopters that fired at FMLN guerillas who took shelter behind it during El Salvador’s 1979-1992 Civil War. By protecting the lives of those guerillas, the tree lived up to its name.
At nearby Joya de Ceren, a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Pompeii of the Americas, I walk through the ruins of a Maya settlement that was buried under six meters of ash when the Laguna Caldera volcano blew in 567 AD. Unlike Pompeii, no human remains were found — but there is a footprint preserved on ash, indicating that people hot-footed out of there to survive. Just a handful of tourists here.
From turbulent history to tranquil present
El Salvador’s turbulent history extends from the Maya era through the colonial era to the recent Civil War and the emergence of the violent MS-13 gang. The gang, which originated in Los Angeles to protect Salvadoran immigrants, metastasized into an international criminal organization that terrorized its home country. The murder rate peaked at 103 per one hundred thousand in 2015 and has dropped dramatically, especially under the strong leadership of current president, Nayib Bukele, to 2.4 per hundred thousand in 2023. Now El Salvador is more than two times as safe as the US with its murder rate in 2023 of 5.5 per hundred thousand.
Cobble-stoned colonial cities
The northern town of Suchitoto delights with evocative colonial architecture from its time as the heart of the indigo trade. Although it was the center of fighting during Civil War’s early day, the scars have been covered up. The Parque Central fronts the charming Iglesia Santa Lucia. Cafes abound and a fifteen-minute downhill walk on cobblestoned streets takes me to the shores of Lago de Suchitlan. Boats traverse the 135 square kilometer lake to take tourists to islands and falls.
Santa Ana is a grander colonial city with the imposing neo-gothic Catedral de Santa Ana, which opened in 1913, anchoring its center. Fueled by the lucrative coffee trade, growers built the lavish Teatro de Santa Ana, also on Parque Libertad, in 1910.
Small country, big landscapes
El Salvador’s vivid landscapes punctuate my trip. Lingering over a morning coffee I study the reflection of clouds in Lago de Coatepeque’s blue waters as it is framed by the Cerro Verde, Izalco, and Santa Ana volcanoes.
At the 1,893-meter-high El Boqueron volcano, there is another cone within its crater. On the Sunday morning that I visited Salvadorans enjoyed the park for its coolness and the views of the vast center of this volcano, which towers above San Salvador city.
At nearby Puerto del Diablo, two gargantuan rock outcroppings jut over sheer cliffs. There is a legend as to how it got its name, the Devil’s Door. The devil himself was courting Maria de la Paz, daughter of the wealthy Renderos family, until the family decided to hunt him down. When the devil was cornered by his would-be captors he broke through the middle of the rocky outcrop to escape, creating the opening that makes it look like a colossal doorway.
During the Civil War, the area lived down to its name. The army executed guerrillas and their supporters here and threw their bodies into the ravine below. A dozen hawks circled relentlessly the day I visited.
Hawaiians travel here to surf
El Tunco on the coast is known as Surf City. While strolling down the narrow lanes leading to the ocean I hear in addition to Spanish voices American and Australian ones. Nearly everyone, except for me, seems to be carrying a board either on the way to or from the beach. El Salvador has some of the best surfing in Central America and the world. During my recent visit to the Upcountry Farmers Market in Maui, a stall owner there spoke to a friend about a surfing trip she was planning to El Salvador. When Hawaiians want to travel to El Salvador for their waves you know they’re good.
A newly completed highway connects the beaches with San Salvador in about an hour — commuting distance. Greater San Salvador is becoming closely linked to its beach towns the way Los Angeles is to its seaside cities.
From notorious to noteworthy
San Salvador has a reputation for political and gang-related violence. The Oliver Stone movie, Salvador, depicting the journalist Richard Boyle’s experience during the Salvadoran Civil War, is engrained in many people’s minds as to what El Salvador is like even today. It isn’t. Not even close.
Today the city is a sparkling counterpoint to Stone’s out-of-date vision. Probably the best before and after juxtaposition is the Monumento a la Revolucion at the back of the Museo de Arte de El Salvador. The imposing monument, 25 meters high by 16 meters wide, is a mosaic depicting a man with arms upraised as if throwing off shackles. It was built to celebrate the popular uprising that overthrew the rule of the dictator General Salvador Castaneda Castro. The jewel-like museum features the country’s most famous artists, including the world-famous Fernando Llort. Next to the museum is the Teatro Presidente, an elegantly designed performance space.
An unflinching look at the past
To get a sense of San Salvador’s journey I visited sites that marked its Civil War period. The Monumento a la Memoria y Verdad is an 85-meter black granite wall with the names of the over 25,000 people who died or disappeared before and during the Civil War. Haunting sculptures capture the spirit of reconciliation. One shows two hands holding two sides of a split heart with a man and a woman hugging at the top.
One of the most notorious episodes of the Civil War was the murder of six Jesuit priests at the School of Theology on the campus of Universidad Centroamericana. It is now the Centro Monsenor Romero, with a small graphic museum that depicts Oscar Romero’s life and death, the murder of the priests, and the 1980 murder of three nuns and a laywoman, which was depicted in the movie Salvador. The military killed the priests along with their maid and her daughter because of their outspoken advocacy for the poor. A rose garden was planted on the site where four of the priests’ bodies were found. I found the garden peaceful as it was graced by flowers in bloom and eery.
The most famous victim of the Civil War was Archbishop Oscar Romero who was assassinated at the chapel of the Hospital Divina Providencia, also known as El Hospalito. On the day I visited a staff member showed me the chapel and Romero’s simple home across the driveway. The Toyota Corona that he drove was on display. His bedroom was simple, with a narrow single bed and the typewriter he used. In an adjacent room, the blood-stained robes he died wearing were displayed. It stunned me to see them.
Spiritual heart of San Salvador
Archbishop Romero is buried in San Salvador’s Catedral Metropolitana. 250,000 people attended his funeral, about 5% of El Salvador’s population in 1980. It was a convulsive event though the war had many more years to run. His tomb is covered by a somber brass sculpture created by Italian artist Paolo Borghi on the 30th anniversary of his death.
When I stepped outside the cathedral onto the Plaza Barrio I could sense the energy of a city that has moved away from a divisive past to an energized present. Construction scaffolding, hammering, drilling, and attendant sounds of work enveloped me.
The new Biblioteca Nacional occupies one side of the plaza in a gleaming white building that the government described as a “cathedral of knowledge and learning”. Open 24 hours a day it is the largest library in Central America.
Latin American version of Singapore?
The Palacio Nacional is President Nayib Bukele’s residence. Taxi drivers, shopkeepers, and people I chatted with said the same thing about him: his strict anti-crime policies have led to a safe environment for the first time in anyone’s memories. Crime is way down and people are enjoying the freedom from that fear. The president has indicated a goal of turning El Salvador into a Latin American version of Singapore.
At the stylish Museo Nacional de Antropologia de David J. Guzman, I got an overview of the country’s progress from Maya times through the colonial period to modern times. The murals on the ground floor didn’t hold back: scenes of torture, murder and rape were depicted. On the second floor is a life-sized Maya sculpture of Xipe Toltec, the flayed one, so named because he wears the skin of a sacrificial victim. It dates from around 1000 AD. Nearby is a Maya stone disk of jaguar head from 250-900 AD.
Hearty, robust cuisine
I loved Salvadoran cuisine. The national dish of El Salvador is pupusas, grilled flour and corn meal mixed with cheese and refried beans. They are served with a pickled cabbage relish and a tomato sauce. I enjoyed watching them being made, women’s hands slapping them into shape and onto hot grills. At Tipicos Margoth restaurant I feasted on pupusas, chorizos, empanadas, and quesadillas, which is a sweet cheese cake. I washed it down with a refreshing cinnamon horchata.
Music to chill by in a now chilled city
One evening I visited a popular jazz bar, The Balance, in the Colonia Escalon district. The music alternately soothed and seethed and the open-air bar was packed. A couple invited me to join them at their table and soon I was in a spirited conversation. They told me about El Salvador’s journey away from a divisive civil war and a country where gangs ran rampant. Things are so much better now, they said. Safe streets with companies like Google setting up operations. They added that costs are high and they have to worry about inflation and affording the good things in life that we all aspire to. In El Salvador, daily choices are not life and death anymore.
As I listened to the persistent rhythms of the music with a gentle breeze wafting through the bar of energized, gregarious patrons, I thought of how things had changed so much for the better here and how much Salvadorans deserved the brighter future that now seemed more certain than ever.
Pocket Guide
Where to stay: Hilton San Salvador excelled: large rooms, friendly staff, a short walk to numerous restaurants.
Where to eat: Tipicos Margoth for a wide selection of great Salvadoran food for a reasonable price.
Where to listen to music: The Balance has jazz bands playing on its terrace. The food is great too.
What to buy: Sopresas, miniature scenes hidden within clay eggs. I bought some for myself.
Best tour company: Grupo 3 Tours is one of the best tour companies I’ve used in the world. Helpful, friendly, punctual, top-notch.
Published in August/September 2024 Asian Journeys magazine
-
Dine at SEEN and Be Seen at SIN
Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel’s elevated dining, drinking, and views defined my stay there
My dinner at SEEN started with the appropriately named cocktail, Shaman. More magical portion than a cocktail, it mixed Remy Martin 1738, Michter’s US 1 Kentucky Straight Rye, Cinzano Rosso, Cacao, Cynar, Sandalwood, and tobacco. I sipped it while drinking in the view of the Chao Praya River and Bangkok’s jewel-like nighttime skyline.
Necklace of lights visible from SEEN
Bangkok is known for its street-level delights: from Chinatown food stalls to shops and shopping malls that invite you to step in from the sweltering heat of the sidewalks to the cooling comfort of air-conditioned retail therapy.
The Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel, though, defines itself with its views of Bangkok’s nighttime necklace of lights. My 26th-floor meal was an aerial tour of uplifting South American and Asian cuisine by star chef Oliver da Costa. The SEEN group of restaurants started in Sao Paulo, followed by outposts in Lisbon, Rome, and Nice, and now Bangkok and Koh Samui.
My meal landed on my palate with a delectable wagyu beef carpaccio with arugula, pesto sauce, and pecorino. Bewitching mussels in a spicy bisque sauce, with scallions and a lemon wedge, followed. I took a well-needed breather before being served the Japanese Mystery Box with dry ice providing a veil of mist that gradually revealed its treasures, from salmon sashimi to tempura to Hamachi with fish eggs. The dishes were so layered and nuanced that I found myself pulled from the view of the river to the equally compelling view of the food I was eating. I finished with chocolate caviar: Belgian chocolate mousse, cherry compote, and chocolate crunchy with hazelnut ice cream.
To recover, I sauntered over to the infinity pool with the infinite view of the city. The pool’s startling sapphire blue colour jumped from the water to my consciousness. Yes, that Shaman cocktail was well into my bloodstream by now.
Found Lost & Found
Too young a night to retreat to my room, I sauntered over to the Lost & Found Club. Located on the third floor of the next-door Riverside Plaza, it’s also part of the Avani +.
Designed by Australian Ashley Sutton, who created Bangkok’s atmospheric Iron Fairies in Sukhumvit and Maggie Choo’s in Silom, Lost & Found looks like a decrepit spaceship from a high-concept sci-fi movie. Think of the spacecraft in Aliens. High-energy drag performers ignited the club’s vibe.
I retreated at last to my riverside suite with a panoramic, almost IMAX-like view of the Chao Praya River. Even the bathtub has a view and the hotel-provided bath bomb was a bomb along with the MALIN+GOETZ toiletries. A good soaking sent me off on a long, deep sleep.
Memorable AM to PM meals
Breakfast at Avani+’s Skyline restaurant is a mixture of dishes that are good for you and those that aren’t. To recover from the night before, I started with a healthy avocado toast with a revitalizing shot of orange, carrot, and ginger juice. But that soon gave way to Thai noodles. And who can resist coconut ice cream in the morning? I couldn’t. And didn’t.
For lunch, I dined at the Spice & Barley restaurant. Avani+’s Chinese restaurant was awarded best-designed restaurant in the brasserie category at the LIV Design Hospitality Awards. The Patrick Keane and Enter Projects Asia space uses swirling floor-to-ceiling rattan sculptures, a giant mural of an imperial concubine, and a gold-tinted color scheme to communicate a luxurious visual embrace. My chicken clay pot lived up to the high expectations of the setting.
After lunch, I had a pastry pick-up at The Pantry. The tarty lemon tart with coffee in the light, airy space was a chilled way to spend part of an afternoon and gather steam for what promised to be a long evening ahead.
On Bangkok’s Thon Buri side
The Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel is located on the Thon Buri side of the Chao Praya River. Getting to the main part of Bangkok is easy: an hourly ferry runs from the next-door Anantara Riverside Hotel to the Saphan Taksin Skytrain station, where all of the city is accessible. On the Thon Buri side is the ICONSIAM mall — massive with literally all you could ever want. There’s also Wat Arun, the Royal Barges National Museum, and the Thonburi Canals that give a glimpse into an all-but-vanished traditional Bangkok life.
Experiencing SIN was sublime
In the evening, I strolled down a long, narrow corridor flanked by ribbons of red light to be greeted by a hostess who escorted me into the theatrically expansive 27th-floor rooftop bar and club, SIN. The effect of emerging from the narrow corridor into the outdoor area gave me a sense of “Wow.” I found out later that was the design intention. As someone who loves Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, it’s a technique he frequently used in the homes he designed. I may have dined at SEEN the evening before, but now it was time to experience SIN.
With a table overlooking the river but not far from the bar, I was able to savor the view and experience the bar. For a kick-off, I had the Forbidden Nectar cocktail: Michter’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon, miso, caramel yogurt, carrot, and creamy bourbon. The drink was so complicated I imagined that the mixologist needed a chemistry degree to make it. With a cocktail that sublime I didn’t need rose-colored glasses to see the world in a more optimistic light.
Sinfully good dishes at SIN
My dishes soon followed. The starter piqued my tastebuds: scallop crudo with yuzu vinaigrette, yuzu gel, coriander oil, and Kaluga caviar. Following that was a more substantial open-faced sandwich — bluefin tuna, smoked tuna, fresh summer truffle mayonnaise, shaved truffle, and Uni from Hokkaido on a crispy brioche. Just one more dish to round out the meal: wagyu Miyazaki beef A5 grade, bulldog sauce, and a sprinkling of Kaluga caviar on a brioche. No exaggeration: the best food I’ve had in a bar ever. It’s not only the view that is stellar at SIN.
SIN’s atmosphere is somewhat otherworldly. Overlooking the elliptical-shaped bar and expansive terrace in an immense oval-shaped alcove with a giant golden “S,” a headphone-wearing DJ in a sleeveless purple gown presided over the eclectic, pulsating music and stylish crowd like a Mount Olympus goddess.
Sip to savor cocktails at SIN
Which brought me to my evening’s second cocktail. Given the bar’s name, the Midnight Sin was that moment’s go-to cocktail: Remy Martin 1738, Jameson Black Barrel, cacao nibs, cacao husk, coconut cold brew, PX. I like to sip to savor my cocktails, and this was a drink that I hoped would never end.
Bangkok is a hot and humid city. But at that hour and that elevation, I was cooling down fast. A few sips from a cocktail at SIN and Bangkok is transformed into a serendipitous and serene place. A cocktail bar doesn’t get better than that. And neither does a hotel stay like the one I had at Avani+ Riverside Bangkok Hotel.
Published in February/March issue of Asian Journeys magazine
-
Goose Stepping Down Memory Lane: A Museum for those who feel Nostalgia for the Soviet Empire
Do you miss those Cold War days when the world was divided into two camps, each with their finger hovering over the nuclear trigger? Do you miss Brezhnev, Gromkyo, the KGB and the specter of Soviet military domination? How about those goose-stepping soldiers, looking like they could march across Europe and win World War III? Well, now there’s a place to relive those fond memories — and it’s in China. To be more specific, it’s in Shenzhen, the bustling, hustling city just across the border from Hong Kong known mostly for producing fake Gucci handbags.
A half-hour taxi drive from Shenzhen is Minsk World, a Soviet military theme park surrounded by a combination of mountains, dense sub-tropical foliage and tall apartment blocks. Minsk World has everything you could want from the glorious days of the Soviet empire, including its own showpiece exhibit, the aircraft carrier Minsk. To enter Minsk World you pass by camouflaged watchtowers, which succeed at setting a martial mood. Then there is a giant Stalinesque statue of a Herculean comrade beating a sword into a plowshare with a massive hammer, no doubt hearkening all back to the pride of being in a communist superpower.
Statue of man beating sword into plowshare After the ticket booth one enters a characterless shell of a building where you are hit with a bicultural experience: a real Soviet space capsule with the USSR in Russian painted on its side surrounded by the souvenir shops that are ubiquitous at Chinese tourist sites. The only thing Russian about these shops are the Russian dolls that are sold there. Next to the space capsule is a giant photo of the cosmonauts who rode in it — one of them a stern-looking comrade-ette.
This theme park holds everything to make Russians and Russophiles feel positively pumped up — even though it is in China. You can take rides on Russian tanks, barreling down a hill and crashing through water. If you close your eyes you feel as if you’re smashing through NATO lines in the former West Germany. You can also feel the steel of Russian artillery batteries as they squat beneath green netting behind protective sandbags. Or perhaps you would like to slide into the carriage of an anti-aircraft gun and pretend that you have a U.S. F-16 fighter in your sights. There is a squadron of Sukoi fighters, painted camouflage green, and even Sam missiles which would give pause to any American top gun.
Before entering the main exhibit of the enormous Minsk aircraft carrier you are invited to watch a propaganda film extolling the “invincibility” of the Soviet navy. The images of Soviet missiles and naval guns always hitting their marks are very impressive. But, needless to say, the film’s a little bit dated.
On the huge flight deck of the Minsk are MiG fighter jets. There’s a full collection of naval guns and missiles pointed at the unseen enemy and a radar-laden control tower where the ship’s control room is located. The armaments are so impressive you wonder why the Soviets ever lost the Cold War. In fact, what’s striking about the exhibits at Minsk World is that the weaponry is in mint condition, which no doubt makes them very different from the bedraggled Russian army of today, and perhaps even the Soviet military at its peak.
Minsk, Shenzhen In case you want to cool off there’s a bar just off deck, with camouflage netting on the ceiling to give you the ambiance of a military outpost and a pleasant wall collection of Soviet small arms: knives, submachine guns, handguns and a bazooka. Russian vodka isn’t served. Beneath the deck you can see the crew’s quarters, complete with bunk beds and a guitar for a bored sailor to play. There’s a conference room with officers’ caps on the table and a huge map of the Soviet Union at one end. A particularly nice touch is the red and gold wall hanging featuring Lenin’s profile.
Down the hall is the captain’s quarters, with a flag of the Soviet Union and a huge globe, which the former residents of this ship had to believe they would dominate one day. Across from the captain’s quarters are stored all those missiles and torpedoes made to destroy the U.S. Navy.
In case visualization is a problem, there’s a museum which highlights the greatest hits of the Soviet era. There’s an extensive collection of military medals and a large exhibit devoted to the Soviet space program. Displayed here are vintage satellites, space suits, models of rockets and a photo of a Soviet chimp that flew into space. Most touching is a stuffed dog which, before being mounted, was one of the first mammals to orbit Earth. Near the end of the exhibit is a familiar looking-satellite, essentially a metallic sphere with a long antennae streaming behind it. The description informs that it was the back-up for Sputnik, I guess in case somebody dropped the original on the way to the launching pad.
Aircraft carrier Minsk During the day I visited Minsk World I was the only foreigner, the rest of the visitors being Chinese. The Chinese staff at Minsk World add to its already unusual atmosphere. Wearing khaki uniforms with white ties, they are surly and never smile, which no doubt would make many a Russian feel right at home. Every hour a troop of Chinese men dressed in immaculate uniforms do a marching routine. They goosestep, wave battle flags, present sabers, and twirl and point Kalashnikovs with fixed bayonets as well as any Soviet regiment protecting the motherland.
Upon closer inspection you realize that, no, these dancing soldiers aren’t seconded from the Russian military. The tags on their uniforms say, in English, “Minsk Army.” For those who don’t believe China sees itself as the next check to American power, it isn’t a bad idea to consider Minsk World, the fact that it is in China — and that the Chinese love the place.
Maybe Next Trip 