After our hectic and thrilling time in California for my little brother's wedding, Em and I were looking forward to a few quiet days in Bogota, Colombia's sprawling capital city.

When we landed in Bogota we quickly realised we were back in the developing world, and yet Bogota gave us the tangible feeling that it's a city striding forward. It's hard to describe what about Bogota gave us this sense, but it seems as though the city and its citizens are actively shrugging off the years of politcal turmoil and cartel problems and blooming into a proud, modern and cosmopolitan city.

First up, I have to mention the deplorably fun night out that we had at a restaurant called Andres Carne de Res. The Lonely Planet describes this restaurant as Willy Wonka meets Tim Burton - a fairly accurate summation. After filing through the carnival styled turnstiles we encountered a scene that seemed out of place - paths lead left and right, up and down, lights blinked and glistened, wrought iron twisted it's way to and fro, willy wonka style machines whir away, there is no space left unadorned. Even Mum's fridge (which has years of photos layered atop one another) has nothing on this place, it's like a horder and an artist went into the restaurant game together. It's bizzare but infectious place.

The sights and sounds of Andres Carne de Res were just the start of the fun, we hadn't even ordered anything yet. The detail in this place is fascinating and beautifully nonsensical, for instance when we ordered a bottle of Spanish white wine it was delivered to our table in a wine chiller where the iced water had been carefully spiked with fresh roses and sprigs of mint. There is little logic to much of the happenings at Andres Carne de Res which is partly why we totally bought into the philosophy of the place and had a truly memorable night sharing this once off experience with each another.

Em scored again with her hotel selection, Chorro de Quevedo, was the perfect place for some sleep ins. It is a charming little hotel built narrow and high around a wrought iron spiral staircase. It sits in the old part of town (La Candeleria) nestled low against the steeply rising mountains that tower over Bogota.

Our first night in Bogota was Halloween and as it turns out the people of Colombia like Halloween. The meandering, spooky, graffiti filled streets of La Candeleria were the perfect place for the darker themes of Halloween to be expressed. Em and I wandered the streets, sipping a drink at the odd bar, passively enjoying the festivities - all the while trying not to feel and look too lame in our tshirt and jeans.

We visited some of the Bogota must-see sights. The best was Catedral de Sal, a salt mine that has a rather impressive cathedral carved into it (185 meters below the surface). Also notable was the Botero Gallery, Botero is the artist who paints all his subjects in a fat squat manner - you'd recognise his work. The worst was the most highly recommended Museo del Oro, the gold museum, it was totally uninspiring, although Em disagrees with me on that one.

Bogota is a great city. The four days we had there disappeared and that speaks volumes for a city in my book. Next we are off to visit the Amazon, where we will be crossing the border into Brazil briefly.