Seems like I am going on an Asian food tasting in Peru! Percy highly recommended that I try out one of his favourite Chifa place for dinner.
Chifa is the common term used in Peru (and also in Bolivia it seems) to describe a place which cooks Chinese food.
So I left the decision of ordering to Percy, since the menu was in Spanish, and also because he has tried most of the food and could recommend better.
Last day in Cusco, and since my ankle is still slightly sore and extremely swollen, decided to take it easy, clear my emails and have a leisurely lunch with Washuma and Maria from Sweden (lunch was Indian buffet! Food was ok, though it seemed to lack the authentic Indian feel), before preparing my stuff to catch the 8 hour overnighter bus to Arequipa.
After hearing from Washuma his specialty drink, I pestered Washuma to make one for me before I leave, and I was glad he obliged.
“You haven’t seen South America, if you have not visited Machu Picchu”, so I was told.
So after 3.5 months in South America, I finally got to Machu Picchu. One of the 7 wonders of the world, it sure is worth the acclamation, and I can now tick this of my list!
I was also told to be at Machu Picchu at dawn or after 4pm, to avoid the crowd. With an entrance ticket for Wayna Picchu that requires me to be at Wayna Picchu’s entrance at 10am, I decided to be there first thing in the morning and have some time to wander around Machu Picchu before climbing Wayna Picchu.
Getting to Machu Picchu early in the morning meant that I will need to stay a night in Aguas Caliente (I find the name of this town rather strange, as it is literally translated to “Hot Water”!), a small town located at the foot of Machu Picchu.
Getting there was a little complicated however, as I had to take a 2hr ride on a mini van from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, before catching a 1.5hr scenic train ride to Machu Picchu. There is probably a direct train to Machu Picchu from Cusco, but it would have been way much more expensive.
If I had more time, I would have liked to spend a little more time in Ollantaytambo as the town looked really pleasant though compact. This is also the area of the Sacred Valley, where one can see some remains of the Inca ruins and other interesting sights.
Heading straight to the train station upon arriving in Ollantaytambo, I noticed that there were separate cabins for locals and foreigners. Wasn’t able to see if the seats and service level was different for the locals but the one for foreigners was fairly comfortable (though a little crammed with everyone’s bag either on their laps or on the floor), and a drink as well as a light snack was served on the way.
I had bumped into a Korean couple (Sujin and Wong Sang) last night in the main square of Cusco, whom I had met while I was in Puno and Uros, and we agreed to meet for lunch at a Korean restaurant at 2pm.
So I invited Washuma to join me, his first time eating Korean food!
Food in Cusco seems to be on the more expensive side, and the Korean restaurant was no exception.
It was a good thing they had lunch specials so we ordered Beef Bulgogi on rice. As a typical Korean restaurant (it is run by Korean!), it came with a selection of kimchi, which was an extremely refreshing change from the typical South American food.
We headed to one of the nearby markets to get a glass of fresh juice.
There were rows of juice stores, all filled with customers, and they don’t seem to differentiate themselves at all as the menu were all the same. So we settled at one of the stores and I ordered a glass of passion fruit, orange and pineapple juice.
It took a while to be prepared, and when it was served, it was tangy and refreshing… Yum!
Cusco is a really pretty city, with stone cobbled roads and an extremely Spanish feel in the main square, due to the numerous Spanish architecture as seen in the balconies and numerous churches (there are 11 churches just around the main square!).
Very pleasant for walking around and spending a few days here. A very touristy town though as most people who goes to Machu Picchu will highly likely spend a few days here. It is also the first time I see so many Asians in one location! Most of them seem to be from Japan or Korea.
Made a stop in Puno, enroute to Cusco primarily to visit the Floating Islands of Uros.
Located on the Peru side of Lake Titicaca, lives a community about 30 minutes away by boat from Puno. What is fascinating about this community is that they live on “man-made islands” that are created using a plant called Totora.
On a number of occasions when I mentioned to others that I am from Singapore, those that have been to Singapore would always bring up the thing about the words they see on the Singapore immigration card (something about “Drug trafficking is an offense that is punishable by death” and in bold red).
So as I was given the immigration card for Peru and I saw on the back of the slip the following “In Peru, commerce sexual exploitation of children and teenagers is punished by jail”, it totally reminded me of the same words which others have said to me about the Singapore immigration card, and couldn’t resist taking a photo shot!
Arrived back in Copacabana at about 11.30am after taking the morning ferry from Isla del Sol, and quickly went back to my hostel to pick up my luggage and do some final checks of my emails before heading out to the bus terminal.
The moment I walked out in the streets I found myself in a middle of a parade! Not sure what was the occasion, but it was really bustling.
Isla del Sol is located on Lake Titicaca, about 2 hours away by boat from Copacabana. Boats usually land either on the northern part of the island (near the Inca ruins) or the southern part of the island (where town Yumani is based and where most accommodation are located).
The plan was to take a boat to the northern part of the island and trek for about 45 mins to the Inca ruins (Mesa Ceremonial & Roca Sagrada), and subsequently continue trekking for another 3 hours to the southern part of the island and find an accommodation for the night.
Las Velas, or translated as “The Candles” is located in Yumani and serves organic food cooked by a gourmet chef. It is called Las Velas because at night, the place is only lit by candlelight.
Along with a couple of other travellers I had met in Isla del Sol, we decided to have dinner in this quaint little restaurant, nestled within the Eucalyptus forest and next to a wonderful view of Lake Titicaca.
There isn’t an extensive selection in their menu. Other than vegetarian pizza, spaghetti, cannelloni and 1 other pasta dish, their main house specialty would be the trout baked in white wine and vegetables in an aluminium foil.
I was glad that there weren’t much of a road block today as I left for Copacabana, which is a small town located on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is said to be the world’s highest lake, located at about 3,800m above sea level.
The weather wasn’t that great either, being a cloudy morning when we left the city, and half way through our 3.5hr journey, it rained, making our boat crossing at Tiquina challenging.
Picture a basin, with the centre of the basin as the main centre of the city and thousands of brick coloured houses spiralling around the hills upwards towards the edge of the basin. And beyond those hills are views of snow capped mountains. That is La Paz…
It was never how I imagined it to be and I was amazed at how the city looked and how it had grown, and there is an interesting character and feel to the La Paz city.
After hearing my hostel mates dinner last night at a Thai restaurant, with comments that it was pretty good, I had an Asian food craving. Was considering heading to the same restaurant, but as it was getting late and I was too tired to walk any further, I decided to settle for something quick around the area.
The only Asian food I could find was a Chinese restaurant (Long2 Feng4 aka Dragon Phoenix), and I had always been a little hesitant eating Chinese food outside of Asia, as the quality aren’t always the best. However this place had a small and really Chinese type of outlook and decor in it. Plus there were quite a few people inside eating.
So I decided to take a risk and give it a try. Looking at the interior decoration, I would have thought that it would have to be run by a Chinese, but turns out that the cook was a Bolivian!
I went on a tour to Tiwanaku today, and as we were trying to exit La Paz, I noticed that the bus made a few turns back into the city. Finding this a little strange, I asked the tour guide what has happened, and he shared that there are blockades and 2 of the routes we had tried were blocked.
We were lucky that we managed to get out at the 3rd route we tried, but in the process wasted an hour, though we got a pretty good different view of the city. I am hoping that I will not have any problems with getting to Copacabana tomorrow!
Tiwanaku is a small town located about 70km outside of La Paz. This is a really important town in the historical period, as it was said that the Tiwanaku was the civilisation before the Incas (between the period of 2,000BC to 1,500AC).
63km downhill; 3,500m vertical descend; 3.2m wide gravel road. Put it all together and you have the World’s Most Dangerous Road. Riding it down on a bicycle within 4 hours and you get pure adrenalin rush!
Definitely not for the in-experienced nor for the faint hearted, as a lot of focus is required to keep eyes on the many dangerous bends one will encounter and combining it with good control of the bicycle and speed, otherwise one may find themselves at the bottom end of a 600m precipitous cliff drop!
This was definitely one ride I was looking forward to doing ever since I heard about it while researching on La Paz.
The road between La Cumbre (located about 1 hour from La Paz) and Coroico was called the World’s Most Dangerous Road in an IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) report, due to the number of fatal accidents that had taken place on this road. In 2007, a new replacement road opened, and all traffic has since been diverted to use that main road.
It seems that Bolivians must generally eat early, as when I asked for food recommendations from a lady at a travel agency, she said she likes the food at Sabor Cubano, and added on saying that she thinks that it should still be open at this hour (only 8pm!).
Sabor Cubano is located just a couple of blocks away from the travel agency and I was starving by the time I get there.
It has a nice cosy atmosphere, with walls filled with writing of all kinds and some Cuban images. There was only one other patron when I entered the restaurant, who was having his meal and also enjoying a Cuban cigar.
The Witch Market in La Paz isn’t one of those hocus pocus, spells and witchcraft sort of market.
Apparently it sells certain herbal remedies, ornaments and a few more unorthodox ingredients intended to manipulate and supplicate the various malevolent and benevolent spirits of the Aymara world.
An example is llama foetus, which the locals believe that by burying it under the cornerstone of a new house, it will encourage Pachamama (local term for earth god) to bring good luck within.
I easily saw many of these llama foetus of various sizes and stages of preservation, which at some points it looked pretty scary.
Nevertheless this made for an interesting walk to see the various kind of remedies they use for all sorts of stuff!
Writing this on the bus to La Paz and what an experience I had this morning!
Having covered all that I would like to see, I decided to leave earlier than planned from Cochabamba. So I waited for a taxi and hopped on. Just as I was about to leave on the taxi, a guest from the hostel ran out and asked if she could take the same cab to the bus terminal as well.
Since we were heading in the same direction, of course I said yes, and the moment she hopped into the taxi, she asked for the price. The taxi quoted 10 pesos (approx. S$2) per person, and she started bargaining with the taxi driver saying that it was too expensive and that each of us will pay 5 pesos instead. The taxi driver was speechless and so the deal was closed!
Street Food
At the cheapest end of the spectrum, was street food from the market. I ordered a Meal Completo for lunch, which basically includes a soup and a main dish.
There were many stores at the market that served food, and I could hardly 
understand what to order as the menu was in Spanish and some dishes are rather local. I finally settled into a street store, where the guy was a little more patient in explaining to me about some of the dishes.
So I ordered a Soup Mani, which is a soup with some pasta pieces and some potato chips in it. Funny combination, but it tasted fairly good.
So you think that Rio de Janeiro is the only place with a huge statue of Jesus Christ?
Before coming into Bolivia, I thought the same way, and only found out that there is another Christo here in Cochabamba, and apparently it is even taller than the one in Rio!
Also perched on top of a hill, it was definitely much cheaper visiting the Christo here, than in Rio. Craftsmanship is definitely not as refined as the one in Rio, though the facial aspects of Christo in Cochabamba is much more defined than the one in Rio.
The bus ride to Cochabamba is much faster than I expected, as it took us 9hrs instead of the expected 12hours, arriving at 5am.
We got off the bus, and headed to look for accommodation. As we settled into one, Pedro said he will head out for a while. Within 15 mins, he came back, and said he will be moving to a different hotel around the corner, while I can have the extra space in this room where we are in.
It is really difficult and stressful to be planning for 2 people when the other party has different ideas about how the travelling should be done, both budget and time wise.
So after this and a few other incidents, I decided that it would be best that we travel separately, before additional incidents happen that may cause our friendship to turn sour.
Pedro didn’t seem to quite understand reasons for the decision, but respected it anyway. So we parted ways and wish each other well for the journey ahead.
I certainly do hope that it was parted mutually on a good note!
Wasi Masi is located just a couple of blocks from the centre, and yet not too noisy.
Clean rooms with comfortable beds, circling the main courtyard, with fairly decent warm showers.
Other than the above, there are a few other things I liked about Wasi Masi :
1. Breakfast : On top of the standard bread and butter offerings available in most of the other hostels, they also provide small touches. For example, tea / coffee are served to you personally in fancy porcelain wares, and small sweet items to end the breakfast. On one of the days we had a banana milkshake, and another a fruit salad.
2. TV room : This is a common sitting area where one can watch TV with a variety of programmes including English cable television. If you are not interested with the programmes on TV, there is also a wide selection of DVDs for choosing and viewing.
3. Book collection : Like their DVD collection, Wasi Masi also boast a huge collection of books, including Lonely Planet and other travel guides to various destinations. It is kept under lock and key though, which also means there is still good quality in the books they have under their possession.
4. BBQ : On the last night we were there, they had a BBQ made available at a really reasonable price. The food was good and it is a good way for the people in the hostel to mingle and know each other.
Prices at the hostel were really reasonable too!
Sucre is a beautiful town filled with white washed colonial buildings, designed in Spanish style. Totally different from Uyuni, and much much bigger than I expected.
I really like this town, it is pretty and bustling, and really pleasant to walk along the streets.
After about 10 hours of journey on the road, we finally came to a stop, and was told that we have to get off as the bus could not travel any further due to some blockades ahead.
We were told that we will have to walk for about 10 mins before catching a cab into Sucre at the other end of the blockade.
We had 1st heard of a blockade when we were transiting in Potosi. Pedro had initially wanted to stop in Potosi for the night as he didn’t want to be taking the bus in the dark, but when we heard about a blockade happening in Potosi the next day, that would prevent any travelling from taking place, we went on as planned.
For all the modern technologies in the world, it was surprising to see such an ancient radio still in use for communication.
On one hand I have a mobile phone missing, and here in Bolivia, I see the total opposite end of technology, used to communicate with the Refugio I have stayed in the 1st night.
Pedro has mentioned to me yesterday that he could understand why it was so difficult to get a straight answer from Felix about my phone (at one time they said they found a phone, the next they said they had found a book!), as they had to radio into one station, before being connected to another station through that 1st station.
And after seeing it for myself I can understand why too. I could hardly make out what the other party was saying over the radio!
As we had to catch a bus to Sucre, we asked Felix to have the driver bring whatever they have found at the refuge to Uyuni, and should a phone be in the package, to have it sent over to their office in La Paz and I will check in when I am there.
So for now, I am crossing my fingers, though with not much hope that it could be found. Sigh…
I left Stefano's house at 7.45am to catch the 8.07am train to the airport, which later required switching to an airport shuttle from T2 ...
