Day 140 : Aguas Caliente

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.

The train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Caliente was extremely pleasant, as it snaked its way beside a running river and passed by views of beautiful mountain and villages, with everyone snapping away with their cameras at the scenery.

Upon arrival in Aguas Caliente, the exit was a pure mess!  There were people with names on a sign waiting for the passengers from the train, as well as locals trying to publicise their hostels to the traffic that was coming out from the station.  I was one of them and followed one of the staff to check out one of the hostels they have to offer.  Not quite satisfied with the 1st one I saw, I walked on to view a few of the other countless hostels in the area. 

I was glad I only brought along a backpack for 1 night’s change of clothes, and left my main luggage at Washumu’s house, as it made moving around very much easier, and especially when it started pouring a short while after I arrived in Aguas Caliente.

Finally settling in at a hostel near the centre of town, I took the opportunity to explore the extremely compact (can be covered within half an hour!) yet touristy town, as well as to familiarise myself with the location of the bus to Machu Picchu the next morning.

There were heaps of restaurants here, and strangely most of them offer the same menu.  Things here however aren’t cheap since anyone who comes through here are mainly tourist to visit Machu Picchu.  Interesting to note is that while looking for a place for dinner, some of the restaurants actually told me that they will give a special rate off the menu for a meal with them. 

I finally settled down in one and grabbed an early dinner, so that I can have an early night’s rest and wake up at 4.30am tomorrow to go to Machu Picchu.  I ordered a local Peruvian dish called “Aji de Gallina”, which is basically shredded chicken cooked in a yellow creamy and slightly spicy sauce.  The dish was pretty good and came with a complimentary pisco sour. 

However, when the bill came, I was shocked!  The dish itself was Sols 25.00 (approximately S$12), but they had slapped on a Sols 10.00 service charge, which is extremely ridiculous as it meant 40% on top of the cost of the dish! 

I wasn’t pleased at all as I was originally told that it was supposed to be all in, so I called the staff over and asked about the service charge.  He initially said he would reduce it to Sols 5.00, but I said that it was suppose to be all in, and seeing that I was fairly upset, he waived the service charge. 

I would have actually paid a 10% tips on top of the bill, but not liking how they were trying to rip me off initially, I left with just paying the Sols 25.00. 

Serve them right for thinking they can try to rip off customers like that!