Love Peru & Bolivia
Travel Footage from Peru and Bolivia Three things I learned about in these two countries: 1) The scenery is beautiful 2) Altitude sickness can affect anybody - even if you are fit! 3) Churches are very different from the ones in Europe! Different style. A trip with three backpackers in under 5 minutes. Huge thanks to Caroline and Domeny for being a cameo in this trip! Canon EOS Rebel T4i and EFS 18-135mm lens http://www.youtube.com/user/TheLegoman https://vimeo.com/78586837
Floating Islands - man-made islands?
Day 8 After enduring a 9-hour bus ride, we have finally arrived in Puno. Puno is a moderate-sized city located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is enormous and is located in between the border of Peru and Bolivia. Lake Titicaca is also the highest (in altitude) navigable lake in the world. I remember when I arrived at the hostel, I was cursing the fact that the rooms were located in second floor. While my head was pounding from altitude sickness, I had no energy o
The Way to Puno - 14,232 feet high
Day 7 We took a day tour bus to travel from Cusco to Puno (home of Lake Titicaca). You do have the option to choose between day bus or night bus. Many people choose night bus to save time and accomodation. It is still relatively safe in Peru to take an overnight bus. However, it is extremely comfortable because the roads are bumpy (based on Tripadvisor review comments). We decided to take our time and enjoy the scene on our ride to Puno. Our first pit-stop was Andahuaylillas,
Chilling at Cusco & Saksayaman
Day 6 After one day's worth of labour intensive work (aka climbing up Montana to see Machu Picchu), we decided to use this day to rest. There is still much to see in Cusco, including the Museum of Archaeology of Qorikancha and the Santo Domingo church. The Incans believe in 3 sacred animals. The 3 animals are depicted in the garden below and they are the Puma, Snake and Condor. This is inside the museum, which showcases Incan's great masonry technology. In Cusco, you need to
Incan's crown jewel: Machu Picchu
Day 5 We woke up really early to catch the Perurail that connects from Cusco to Machu Picchu. There are two ways to go to Machu Picchu: 1) You can take the Perurail and enjoy a 3-hour train ride, or 2) You can hike all the way to Machu Picchu from Cusco. Obviously, the latter sounds cooler because you can experience the Incan way to enter the shrine, and you can bring to your friends that you conquered the Incan trail. However, since the trail is a UNESCO world heritage site,
Cusco: The start of high altitude cities
Day 4 Hopping off the plane, we finally arrived in Cusco and I already felt the effect of high altitude. Cusco is about 11,200 feet high and the air is really thin. I took my altitude sickness pills two days before, but I didn't think it had any effect on me at all. We did not do much in Cusco, partially because we were trying to adust ourselves with the altitude. This is another Plaza de Arms at Cusco. At the end, we went to a restaurant for a delicious Qunioa soup. Here is
Huacachinna: The Extraordinary Oasis
Day 3 Woke up early morning at 6:30am to take a bus for 5 hours to reach Ica, a small village in Peru. We purchased the VIP premium seat on the tourist bus. The seats are on the lower deck and they were very comfortable. The security of this tourist bus was quite serious. The bus attendants video-tape your face before letting you hop on the bus. Afterwards, we took a taxi from Ica to reach Huacachinna, an unexpected oasis located in the middle of a desert, and also home to ma
Lima & the Mistura Food Festival
Day 1 I am excited to venture off to a new unexplored continent, South America. In this trip, I will be visiting Peru and Bolivia, hitting many cities in between. The challenge about this trip is that, unlike Europe, traveling between cities is not as easy as it sounds. South America is full of high mountains and some places are only accessible by bus. This means that you probably have to waste many hours on the bus just to reach the next destination. For the above reasons, m
