Arriving at La Paz by bus is somewhat of a shock to the system. This is in part due to the altitude (particularly if arriving by plane which is meant to be harsher). I am (reasonably) fit, young (25) and healthy, and found it a little difficult and therefore anyone travelling here will be well advised to take it very easy at first. I can't tell you about the airport etc. 'cause I didn’t come that way!
Arriving by bus is an amazing experience though, I'm glad I travelled that way - even though it was cold and uncomfy!(bring a sleeping bag). After a long journey the road leads through the hills and eventually you get a great view of the town from above. From a distance it appears to be a giant cracked bowl of a city, The main street of La Paz is level (more or less) - everything else is uphill from that point. It can make for tiring sightseeing, but on the positive side you will shedloads healthier by the time you leave!
On arrival in the main station, you WILL be tired and exhausted. Its best to time the journey so that you get there at about 10 AM - as the taxi drivers seem to be less cunning at this time. Here I was very lucky, as I had a nice Bolivian chap sitting with me who was kind enough to buy my taxi ride to the hotel! This brings me nicely on to the next point I have; the generosity and amiability of the Bolivians, who by and large seem to have escaped the bitterness that poverty can bring.
Hotel and hostel accommodation in La Paz is easy to come by, and relatively cheap. I won't detail this here as there are few travellers who wont bring a lonely planet or rough guide with them, and as ever with these books and hotel accommodation, it is simply a matter of getting a bed somewhere for the first night, and then walking around sussing out where you want to move to for the rest of your stay. The only recommendation I have is to stay near the Plaza San Francisco - as it has a nice cosmopolitan feel (well - as much as anywhere in Bolivia).
The towns air can be very dusty - as a matter of fact, dust is one of the main things I recall from my time all over that region. Dust, dust and more dust. As you sit with a coca tea at a side stall (no cocaine - just the natural, un-isolated form of the alkaloids involved - very good for altitude sickness and pretty much anything else as it happens) - take time to just soak up the sights.
There are stalls selling anything from a mixture of cultures. Pornographic playing cards sit next to Duracell batteries, dried llama foetuses and pickled hearts next to clock radios and mini fans, which in turn are surrounded by Indigenous art and crafts of all descriptions, carvings, weavings, pictures and postcards. Its a real hotchpotch of things all melted together, and its very rewarding to look at.
Travelling around La Paz is best by using the little mini vans, these cruise the streets with the smallest (and usually loudest) occupant hanging out of a window or door & hollering destinations. Find one going to where you want and hop in. They are fantastically cheap, you feel cool in them (local bizniz!) and you meet all kinds of people inside. I got in one with two soldiers, a drunken 15-year-old and a nun!
Be careful with your stuff though. Split money up and carry some in your shoes. No one will be violent towards you - unless you are very unlucky indeed. The locals don't want the trouble that a foreigner and the police will bring around, so they won’t bother you directly. But, like any poor people, they are forced by desperation into a level of cunning you didn't even know existed, so beat them to it as far as possible by not being an easy target, and if you cant help that, then don’t for heavens sake reward that cunning of theirs.
I don’t want to end on a negative note, so I’ll just finish up by saying that Bolivia is one hell of a place to visit. I won’t forget it and I will return one day. I'd recommend it to anybody who likes the exotic, isn't afraid to do without some home comforts and is fairly strong in the heart and lungs.... Enjoy!
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