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_{Admiring the architecture of Santiago de Chile Cemetery –}

Santiago de Chile as the capital city of Chile was my last stop in this South America trip before heading to the Pacific. This time, I wouldn’t be writing about things to do here because there were just surprises along this trip which are more interesting to be written. 

_{Wallstreet of Santiago de Chile}

Bear in mind this trip was not my first Chile trip. However, since I stayed in a populated capital city for almost two weeks, I got some chances to observe and experience stuff that I didn’t in San Pedro de Atacama. So, what are those?

 _{Might not look so massive, but this is the biggest flag in Chile – could be found @ La Moneda}

There is a great influence of Asian Culture, especially Korea in the city

I saw a lot of Korean supermarkets, Korean cosmetic stores, Korean restaurants, Korean cafes, anime cafes and other east Asian businesses targeting mainly young adult customers in the city.

_{My first meal on the city, Korean Fried Chicken}

_{Advertising of a Korean Cafe}

_{Anime Cafe}

_{Pao after 6 months traveling tasted great} 

There is a good influence of middle eastern gastronomie in the city 

It was easy to find kebab in Santiago de Chile, whether the meat or vegetarian version. My favorite is the falafel kebab, just tasty!

_{Arabe Cocina in the city} 

_{Hubby’s lamb kebab drippin’ in sauce}

The school uniform of the girls in Santiago de Chile are like Japanese uniform

Especially the overalls, the skirts and how the girls dress in their uniforms, i.e. with half knee leg warmers. 

_{Typical girls uniform in Chile (I don’t do minors pics.) – Pic. Source} 

10% tip is always written on your eating bill

And you are expected to pay this even though it is not obligatory since the wage for the servers is so low, 500 USD per month. 

_{Propina means tip}

Santiago de Chile is not as green as how internet pictured it to be 

And it was kinda disappointing for me since I really thought there were a good amount of shades in the city. But, the reality was that the climate there is quite similar to San Pedro de Atacama, just with a bit more shades of green. So, you will see cacti and succulents instead of just normal green trees. 

_{One of the hill @ Santiago de Chile – Notice how only some parts are green}

The tap water in Santiago de Chile is drinkable

And it was great not to have to buy water bottles like in San Pedro de Atacama. 

_{Stream along Santiago de Chile}

People in Santiago de Chile are rather proud of their Spanish heritage

This fact is based on my tour guide, a born and raised Santiago de Chile. In comparison to Bolivia, Peru or even the northern part of Chile, which is known for the Mapuche Chile, they despised the Spanish colonization in the area. 

_{Spanish Fort remain @ Cerro Santa Lucia}

_{European style building In Santiago de Chile}

I witnessed a business model that is actually not suitable in this era 

Cafe Haiti is still popular as coffee with legs, referring to its workers, which are women who dress in tight and short dresses. This tradition has been there since many years ago, where there weren’t any good places to drink coffee in the city and Cafe Haiti was the first coffee shop. The workers are rumored to be fine with the uniform since they would fairly easily get above 500 USD as the minimum wage from their tip thanks to the uniform.

_{Cafe Haiti minus the workers}

_{Note – This article does not contain any ads. Any recommendations are based on personal experiences from March 2025 and not legal advice.}