Cusco, Peru - Day 7

Today is our last day in Cusco and we would be sad to leave. We’ve spent over a week in Cusco, the sacred valley, and Machu Picchu and have enjoyed our time in this cultural utopia. We decided to embark on a trip to the weekly Sunday market in Pisaq, a city about an hour away from Cusco. I managed to persuade Matt to take the local bus which costs less than a dollar each way. Not so much to save money as a tax ride would be less than 15 dollars, but more so to get an authentic experience, to travel as locals travel, and to experience the trials and tribulations of a crowded bus with people standing and holding overloaded packages. Exposing oneself to local customs whether it be food, modes of transportation, or living accommodations builds a broader perspective and forces one outside their comfort zone; in my opinion, two of the main benefits of traveling.

I’m glad that Matt is game to try most new things, so he readily agreed to take on this mini challenge. We found the bus station, a empty parking lot in the middle of a rather nondescript block, with a line of people looping around the lot and out to the street. Vendors selling food and drinks, and locals toting screaming children and large packages all added to the atmosphere. After waiting for about half an hour we were the first couple to get on the next bus and we secured a seat for the ride to Pisaq. Others were not as lucky as they crowded the aisles and loading area in the front of the bus. I half expected the bus driver to pull a ladder out for people to climb up to the roof as they do in other third world countries.

The Pisaq Sunday market is a quite an assorted vivid overload of colors, smells, sounds and unique sights. Multi-colored corn ranging from the typical yellow to the exotic brown and purple flanked exotic fruits and rainbow-like color assortment of spices and dyes.

One of the more interesting items was little penthouses built into the building’s facade which housed multiple guinea pigs in a plethora of rooms. Next to the housing complex was an oven which resembled a brick oven pizza oven in the states. It was round with a small hole in the front and a long wooden pole with a broad flat end used to transport foods in and out of the oven. On top of a big metal pan that was just recently pulled out were a couple roasted guinea pigs hanging out.

Cusco, Peru - Day 7

La Paz, Bolivia - Day 1

La Paz dazzles. It astounds. Illustrative descriptions abound. The La Paz is world’s highest capital city, highest golf course, highest football stadium, highest airport, and most dangerous road.

Unlike in most cities where the social elite tend to live on plots of land which are higher and look down on the proletariat, La Paz, because of its high altitude, has the unique distinction of having its richest citizens living at lower altitudes while the poor are scattered in mud huts high on the mountain top.

Block after block of street markets buzz with throngs of indigenous women in bowler hats, ruffled shirts, big puffy skirts, and dress shoes hawking all types of wares.

One lady was selling only fly swatters and TV antennas. Hm …a rather diversified product offering. Although I wondered what her margins were like on those items and how much volume she could possibly generate with fly swatters and TV antennas. I mean you really only ever need one…fly swatters don’t exactly break every day.

Yup those are fried chicken heads. YUM.

La Paz, Bolivia - Day 1

Sucre, Bolivia - Day 1

I spent the day exploring the museums and markets that Sucre, a UNESCO city, had to offer. I find the local markets fascinating, a culmination of the indigenous culture in one location. Where else can you so easily get a glimpse into the daily activities of the locals? Observing what they eat, wear, and buy. Observing how they live.

Sucre, Bolivia - Day 1

Potosi, Bolivia - Day 2

I spent a half a day in Potosi and took a 3 hour bus to Sucre at around 2pm.

In Potosi, I got to see some mummies of children who were sacrificed in a volcano to appease the volcanic gods. They were found perfectly preserved on top of a large volcano.

I also tried a Saltenas for the first time. This empanada like pastry is filled with a juicy stew mixture of meat and vegetables. A Bolivian hot pocket.

Potosi, Bolivia - Day 2

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Day 1

So I got into Buenos Aires and was told by the reception that I should check out the San Telmo street festival which happens every Sunday. It was about a 20 minute walk away and was a conglomeration of street performers, local artists selling wares, and various artistic shops. I had a very interesting day of wandering around and window shopping at the huge outdoor market.

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Day 1

Rio de Janerio, Brazil - Day 1

So I made it after 16 hours of traveling. First day was rather uneventful as I walked wandered around the area trying to get a feel for the area and gather my bearings. One thing that I noticed was that were gyms on every block on the second floor of stores. You can also purchase protein and work out supplements in 2 or 3 shops per street – I guess in case you have a sudden craving mid block.

Rio de Janerio, Brazil - Day 1

Penang, Malaysia - Day 2

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Penang, Malaysia - Day 2

Penang, Malaysia - Day 1

Penang, Malaysia - Day 1

Vientiane, Laos - Day 2

Vientiane, Laos - Day 2

Sapa, Vietnam - Day 3

Sapa, Vietnam - Day 3

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Day 3

Jason's last day in Siem Reap and we spent some time chilling. We went to the gym and walked around the markets in town. We tried these "special eggs" which we thought were the fertilized baby chickens but they ended up being similar to salted hard boiled eggs. They were pretty good but there definately weren't any bones there...although I ended up trying the fertilized chicken egg in Sihanoukville later in the week.

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Day 3

Bangkok, Thailand - Day 6

After flying back to Bangkok from Chiang Mai we went out to dinner at a awesome bbq place with tons of seafood and good food. And then I was going to take a bus at 6 am to Siem Reap which is about 10 hours away to meet up with my friend Jason. But unfortunately I got really really bad food posioning in the morning and spent about 5 hours in the bathroom. I missed my bus and ended up taking a flight to Siem Reap which was a ended up working out better than the bus.

Bangkok, Thailand - Day 6

Chiang Mai, Thailand - Day 2

Chiang Mai, Thailand - Day 2

Bangkok, Thailand - Day 4

Bangkok, Thailand - Day 4

Bangkok, Thailand - Day 3

Bangkok, Thailand - Day 3

HK Round 2 - Day 8

Hong Kong Round 2 - Day 8

HK Round 2 - Day 5

Today I met with my friend, Clarence, for lunch and he took me to a local spot to get some cheap good eats. After lunch we went to a famous local bakery where I had the most buttery dan tats (egg custards).

After walking around the IFC mall for a bit, I decided to take a day trip to Macau, a UNESCO site. It's about a 1 hour ferry ride to Macau and there are sizable remnants of the Portuguese influence. The captions on museum plaques are in Chinese, Portuguese, and English. I could get around HK rather easily because most of the people spoke a little English and when I went to some of the remote areas I could navigate in Mandarin. However, that was not the case in Macau as everyone spoke Cantonese and no English or Mandarin. My mandarin wasn't as helpful here as it was in HK.

Macau is the most densely populated region in the world and it was apparent in the hoards of people everywhere that I went. I visited two sections – the first being the historical area of Macau and the second being the casino area. The historical areas had a distinct European architecture and feel with the Portuguese style buildings and street names. I walked around the center for a couple hours and made my way up a steep hill to the top where there was a fort and a large museum in the fort. On the way up the huge hill it was extremely muggy and it felt like I was walking through a rain cloud so it wasn’t surprising that on the way out I got caught in a monsoon and stood under a shop awning for about an hour while I waited for the rains to dissipate. Then I walked around the casino area for a bit before heading home. The casinos in Macau were huge with an emphasis on hard core gambling. Other than gambling, there was little else to do for entertainment unlike Vegas where there are mini golf course, theme parks, local tours, street foods, clubs, gaudy reconstruction of other cities like Paris or New York, etc.

Hong Kong Round 2 - Day 5

HK Round 2 - Day 4

Hong Kong Round 2 - Day 4

Japan Day 3

I’m starting to get writers block so I’ll just list out our itinerary for the day and let you look through the pictures….

1) Ate at a restaurant close to the hostel for breakfast. I noticed that a lot of people had the fermented soybeans so I decided to give it a try - they were probably one of the grossest things I’ve ever eaten…they were slimy and rotten smelling and tasting…they gave you some mustard and soy sauce to put on them but that barely masked any of the taste…

2) Went to Ueno which has some nice historical sites. I believe it’s also the old capital of Tokyo

3) Walked around the Ameyoko open market. Watched this weird plinko game where players had buckets of sliver beads that they fed into machines.

4) Walked around Ueno park which had a lake in the middle

5) Went to the Benten Hall temple in the center of the lake

Japan Day 3

6) Had snack of noodles at the roadside

7) Went to the Shitamachi Museum which provides a charming example of what life was like in 19th century Edo / Tokyo

Japan Day 3 - Part 2 (Shitamachi Museum)

8) Walked towards the Tokyo national museum

9) Watched a street performer entertain large crowd

10)We happened upon a large group of people sitting in a perfect square hunched over in front of a platform and microphone. We thought that it was a group of middle aged people waiting for a concert or to do some outdoor exercise – much to our surprise it was a group of homeless people who were patiently waiting for their curry and rice. It was pleasantly orderly and calm in the middle of a park in front of the largest museum in Tokyo. Another example of Japanese structure, order, and politeness shining through.

11)Walked through the Kanei-ji temple. It was listed as a really nice temple but it was closed and not so interesting.

12)Then we took the subway 2 stops to Asakusa – also another historical section of Tokyo

13)There is a huge temple called the Senso-ji temple which is the center of Asakusa. Two large gates lead up to the temple and in between the two large gates is a very long corridor of stalls selling foods and trinkets. On the outskirt of the hallway of shops and leading up to the second gate and the temple are stalls after stalls of every Japanese street food possible. Possibly one of the largest street food markets that I’ve seen in a long time.

14)There was a festival going on where about 20 people carried a shrine atop two long poles and bounced up and down while chanting. They slowly walked around the area for a good part of the afternoon and into early evening.

15)We walked down the main strip and shopped; ate some street foods – grilled chicken, noodles, and a huge vegetable pancake.

16)Took pictures at the huge Senso-ji temple, Kaminarimom (Thunder Gate) and Asakusa shrine which is a 5 story pagoda

17)Walked further north and there was more food, a handicraft museum, and a drum show.

Japan Day 3 - Part 3 (Asakusa)

Video of Asakusa shrine dance:



Video of some kind of dessert bun creation: