Coming face-to-face with the horrors of Cambodia's communist genocide at S21 was a straitening experience. Nonetheless, we left Phnom Penh in an optimistic mood; it's an interesting city and we'd like to spend more time there. Our visit to Cambodia had been an afterthought to our Vietnam plans -- "while we're so close..." -- but … Continue reading Angkor Wat & other wonders of Siem Reap
Our second day in Phnom Penh was spent at S21, also known as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a high school that became one of hundreds of torture and death centres operated by the Khmer Rouge. More than two million Cambodians perished by their hand. Supported by Mao, the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975 … Continue reading S21: dark place, sad day
After a three hour bus ride from the Vietnam border along a highway festooned with signs supporting the shamefully corrupt Cambodian People's Party, we arrived in Phnom Penh. Our expected transportation did not meet us as expected but a call to the hotel set that right. We were soon in a tuk-tuk and on our … Continue reading Phnom Penh: food, palace, pagoda
Saigon scooter traffic After a month of planning and anticipation we left Toronto for Vietnam with a long layover in Beijing. The Beijing approach was remarkable: extraordinarily dense development, lots of wind turbines, the Great Wall snaking along the countryside, and the city peeking out from a heavy layer of smog. Not surprisingly, Beijing Capital … Continue reading Off to Saigon
Cusco market full of wonderful food We flew back to Lima and split with our group to spend our second last day exploring Pachacámac, an enormous, sprawling archaeological site about 31 km south of Lima. It was a major adventure that required two local minibuses and another bus down the highway to the site. I'm … Continue reading Last days in Peru
When I checked my email on February 27, a strange thing happened. There was nothing new. Not even the junk mail that greets me every morning. Oh well, thought I, just a glitch, I should log on fresh and get things synced up. It can occasionally happen that, due to an update or some such, … Continue reading Email is great when it works but a big pain when it doesn’t
It was an early start. Well before the crack of dawn we left our hotel and trudged down to Aguas Calientes' bus loading area to join a very long but fast-moving line for the nine km, 1,500 ft. grind up the Hiram Bingham Highway to Machu Picchu. Walking is an option for those with a masochistic bent but … Continue reading Machu Picchu!
We were off to Aguas Calientes and our long-anticipated visit to Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas." It was an early morning departure from the Hotel Marquese in Cusco for the five-hour journey on PeruRail's Vistadome service. We could have walked the Inca Trail -- four days three nights of hard, high altitude … Continue reading Train ride, long hike, jungle waterfall, early night
Still acclimatizing for Machu Picchu, we spent the day exploring the so-called "Sacred Valley," so-called because according to our guide this is a recent name, created for touristic purposes. Nonetheless a lovely, extraordinary place and once the centre of the Inca Empire. First stop was Awana Kancha Living Museum of the Andes which features llamas and alpacas … Continue reading Stepping up, stepping down in the Sacred Valley
Truth is that I had never heard of Cusco and had very little idea what to expect. This was a pre-arranged tour so research wasn't necessary and I let the experience just sweep me along. Looking out over Cusco. So it came as a bit of a surprise that this provincial town and ancient Inca … Continue reading Discovering Cusco
Our trip to Cusco was by a guided public tour bus with several stops on the way and it didn't start well. Our six am transportation didn't show up at the hotel so we were late for the bus and were greeted with annoyed faces of other travellers. Nonetheless, we got our 'VIP' tags and … Continue reading Tour bus to Cusco, the Inca capital
We're travelling so I've taken a break from posting Peru things and hope my accumulating stock of photos will keep me busy for those long winter nights. It's been a wonderful adventure -- only a smidge of the runs and that passed fast. Imodium and cipro are my friends! After a few days in Ho Chi Minh City … Continue reading To Cambodia by bus
Puno from Lake Titicaca Puno is Peru's major port on Lake Titicaca. Shared with Bolivia, Titicaca's 12,500 ft. elevation makes it the world's highest navigable lake. We set out early for our lake trip and the first stop was a group of floating islands (Islas de los Uros) in marshy areas near Puno. The Uru … Continue reading Floating & Climbing on Lake Titicaca
We departed Chivay for the Colca Canyon which descends more than 10,000 feet and is the deepest canyon in the world. Despite low agricultural prices which make farming unprofitable, people still cultivate some of the canyon's many terraced fields. Cactus at Condor Cross The Colca Canyon is also home to Condor Cross (Cruz Del Condor) where Andean condors make daily … Continue reading Pressing on to Puno
We set off from Arequipa in a small bus with a new guide. Peter announced he would be our doctor and gave a detailed lecture on preventing altitude sickness. I had brought a prescription but opted for the recommended combination of coca leaf, dark chocolate and mineral water. I soon had a big wad of coca … Continue reading Up to Abra Patapampa & down to Chivay
Gone are the days of showing up at the border and having a nice man stamp your passport and welcome you to his country. We're planning our next trip to Vietnam and just got our 30-day multiple entry tourist visas. Almost C$200 each. Yikes! Here's the painful bill: Note that a multiple entry visa is required … Continue reading Vietnam Visa sticker shock
The 10-hour Nazca to Arequipa overnight bus trip was not a pleasant experience. There were no stops and the bus ground slowly on with lots of sharp turns and -- judging from the sound of the engine -- big hills. Maybe it was better that we couldn't see anything. The only alternative was to backtrack to Lima … Continue reading To Peru’s White City in the black of night
Handmade textiles are a big part of Peruvian life. Alpacas and llamas provide the fibre which is often hand-dyed using traditional methods and is spun, woven, embroidered and knit into all kinds of products with both traditional and modern designs. Mummies are still clad in their 2,000-year-old shrouds and museums display some amazing examples of similarly-ancient … Continue reading Peruvian textiles
Compared to flying over the Nazca Lines, the Chauchilla Cemetery, an open-air Nazca burial site in use from about 200AD to 900AD and more recently an Indiana Jones movie location, was entirely subterranean. Nazca mummy with impressive dreads Chauchilla has been legally protected since 1997 but local grave robbers (huaqueros) plundered the site since it was … Continue reading Nazca’s desert mummies
Ahhh… the big day… our flight over the Nazca Lines. Safety standards are said to be high for these flights, a co-pilot is required and they claim to have rigorous mechanical checks for the aircraft. Apparently this was not always the case but these flights bring in a lot of cash and they don’t want … Continue reading The mysterious Nazca Lines
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