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Showing posts from April, 2013

Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail

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Machu Picchu was on my sister 's bucket list ; trekking the Inca Trail was on mine . So when my sister suggested that we should go to Machu Picchu this year , I jumped at the opportunity . There are two ways to reach Machu Picchu: 1) By combination train and bus , the mode of transport used by many visitors . 2) the Inca Trail that is a 32-mile, four-day hike , and not for the faint of heart . Having made so many other travel plans this year , I did not have much time to prepare , so I missed out booking the Inca Trail. I went with option #1, by train and bus with an adventure tour group .      When I told our guide about my desire to hike the Inca Trail, he told me what I already knew :   "The Inca Trail has to be booked as far in advance as there are limits to the number of people allowed to walk it ." He said , “But there are many ways to walk portion of the Inca Tr

Cusco, Peru: Almost Touching the Sky

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The thought of possible health issues like altitude sickness and stomach problems that travelers in Peru suffered made me apprehensive as we arrived at SFO (San Francisco International Airport) for our trip to Peru.   However, my mood changed after talking to a United Airlines representative who helped us check our luggage in for our flight from San Francisco to Lima.   She punched in our reservation number and said, “Oh you’re going to Lima. I’m originally from Peru.”   She got up from her chair behind the counter and started talking to us about partying in Peru, pisco sour and Cusco. She seemed so excited for us.   She said, “When you get to Cusco, it’s almost like touching the sky.”   Three days later, I found myself standing by the edge of Saqsaywaman - a walled complex on the outskirts of the city of Cusco - more than 12,000 feet above sea level, stretching my arms and pointing my fingers toward the sky.  The sky was azure blue in color with scattered white colored cloud

Greetings from Peru

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The Sacred Valley of the Incas Machu Picchu Iquitos

Bali, Part 3: Into the Mystic

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“We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and  learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable.  We can never have enough of nature.”  ― Henry David Thoreau  I do n’t know why I chose to go with strangers on this trip , but for some uncanny reason I knew it was the right thing to do . I did n't want another vehicle burning up fuel . I wanted to save the planet ! I was making a car reservation for a trip to Mount and Lake Batur when I noticed waiting in line , an older couple who wanted to talk to the concierge. I overheard them talking about hiring a car , and a driver to go to the village of Kintamani to see the volcano. I approached the couple . They were Mr. and Mrs. Pitah from California. I suggested that we should share the same car to