Getting a Cell Phone in Panama:
The vendor helped me cut the chip to use in my phone but redirected me towards the Avenida Centrale in order for me to put money on it. It is important to understand that in Panama, getting a cell phone is only the first step, after that it is necessary to buy a chip which connects your phone to a network. After you have those two things, to put money on the cell phone you need to buy money cards like the ones shown in the image. The money corresponds to an amount of time and money you can add to your chip card. I purchased $15 data and $5 worth of call and texting to get me through to next month.
While looking for these cards, I noticed that most cell phone stores were operated by more Asian vendors. Later on I realized that the region just before Avenida Centrale was actually Panama's China town (just off Av Eloy Alfaro).
Across from the kiosk where I purchased my phone cards, was a large grocery store. I chose to stock up on water and fruits to get me through the rest of my time at the hostel.
For lunch, the vendor gave me her phone number and she referred me to a Chinese Restaurant from which I managed to get a full lunch for $3.75 (including Chinese Tea to go with my meal!)
At Mey Mey it was quite clean and tasted decent, the rice was the only thing that was strange simply because it wasn't the Chinese or Japanese rice people use to cook in Canada.
Many of the stores hired men to stand outside the store and watch the customers so as to avoid shoplifters. Some stores had up to 3 or 4 of these men with their arms crossed and watching all of the shoppers flip through their merchandise.
The juice was sweet but tasted great and powered me up for my next adventure. The Fish market, or otherwise known as Mercado de Mariscos which was very popular for its Ceviche (raw fish).
The vendors ranged from fish to octopus ceviches and some even offered shrimp and lobster Before settling down with a particular ceviche I chose to walk the Cinta Costera lookout which was connected right to the Mercado de Mariscos.
The high rise buildings reminded me a lot of the well developed parts in Hong Kong. CEOs and high paid employees drove around in BMWs, while in Casco Viejo, it was a very very different scene.