Trip to South America and Antartica

Day 9, we got up very early around 4am so that we can be in Machu Picchu by 6am!! We had to take a bus from Aguas Calientes which takes about 40mins.

As advised by our tour guide, David, there would be ppl waiting at the bus stop at dawn because ppl just want to be there before it gets crowded!!

I don't know what to say when i first saw Machu Picchu with my own eyes. I can't get away the fact that i'm actually now in Machu Picchu because it just took my breath away... i feel so lucky and happy that i actually made it to here... Our tour guide was awesome n i learnt so much from him during the 2 hrs guided tour!

Mchu Picchu is lower than Cusco so i should be alright with the altitude.

After the 2hrs guided tour, we explored other sections of Machu picchu. We hiked to the sun gates which was 400m above Machu Picchu and i was breathless with every steps that i took to get to the top. Then, we hiked to the Inca bridge.

We finally took the bus back to aguas caliente around 1:30pm....

Today, i feel very fortunate to be able to visit Machu Picchu and be a part of the Inca Empire...

Day 8, I'm going to meet up with my tour guide to go to Aguas Caliente! I'm really excited that I can still go to Machu Picchu! Machu Picchu is about 2800m height which is lower than Cusco! So, I should be alright with the altitude.

I checked out the handicraft market in the morning as the tour guide is coming to the hotel around noon. We walked to the local taxi place whereby lots of ppl take the taxi to go back to their home town. My tour guide explained to me that today there will be lots of ppl visit the cementary. He said he used to drink beer and chat with his grandpa at his graveyard. I found the Peruvians culture quite similar to Chinese.

We got to Ollantaytambo and had our lunch while waiting for the train to Aguas Caliente. I met up with others who had finished the Lares trek and 4 of us would go to Machu Picchu together. The scenery for the train ride is beautiful.

We got to Aguas Caliente around 6pm and then we will meet with another tour guide who will take us to Machu Picchu!!

We decided to be at Machu Picchu early in the morning to avoid the crowd. So, we have to wait for the bus around 5am!!!

I can't wait....

Day 7, after nearly 12-13 hours of sleep, i felt so much better. I managed to find a laundrymat to wash my clothes for about au$9 for 2kg!!! OMG, Cusco is so touristic!! Maybe because today is a public holiday which they celebrated the festival of birth!! I found later from my tour guide that there will lots of babies are born in this month because in February, Peru has lots of festivals/ carnivals and lots of drinking!! So, February is like the mating season for Peruvians!! LOL

I visited the local fresh meat and foods market in the morning. At first, i was a bit a bit scared to go by myself. But, when, i saw some foreigners also taking photos at the local, , i was fine. Then, i happened to get to see a parade where a group of ppl are carrying the Virgin Mary into one of the churches.

Later i made sure i picked up my laundry by 1pm as most shops only opened half day!

I finished my day by visiting the sun temple and then i had dinner at the hotel by myself....

After staying over night at Ollantaytambo, in the morning of Day 6, i said 'See you in 4 days at Machu Pucchu' to the group and Martina. They took private bus to the starting point of Inca Trail which has been listed as one of the top five hardest trekking apparently.

I then went back to Cusco with the tour guide by catching a local taxi. Obviously the taxi driver will need to make sure the seats were all taken. So, we made about two stops at local towns to pick up two more passengers! Finally, the taxi driver has got all passengers for his car and a Peruvian middle aged woman was sitting next to me with a big bunch of flowers! I later found out she was on her way to the cementary! We chatted briefly and i didnt mind because i got to practise my espanol!

We got to Cusco before noon as the ride was only 1.5hrs drive. The tour guide suggested a few places for me to visit and eat in Cusco. I checked into Antawasi hotel and settled into my single room. I thought i would get my clothes washed at the hotel but it was too expansive as they charge per piece. But, the hotel manager was kind to tell me that there was a laundrymat outside the hotel which charge per kg.

I waited until 1pm but the laundrymat was not open then i was told that today was a public holiday in Peru for the Death festival (like halloween). So, i decided to go to lunch and sorted out the laundry the next day. I had lunch at Jack's cafe which was opened by an Australian woman!! She was very nice and she recognised me on my first day in Cusco because i got altitude sickness that day when we walked to her restaurant. I'm more careful with the foods i eat in Peru now as told by my doctor. He even warned me to be extra careful in Bolivia because their hygiene standard is lower than Peru.... i sat with some German tourists during the lunch and they just came from the Bolivia side.

After lunch, i decided to walk nearby the restaurant called San Blas which was suggested by my tour guide. It is well known for its narrow streets and the colonial architectured houses. It rained a few times but it wasn't really heavy rain.

By 3-4pm, i got the massive headache and i decided to go back to my hotel to rest.

Thanks guys for your moral support, I'm feeling much better now.

Day 5 was the day before the start of the Inca trail trek for the ppl in my group (except me). To get there we had to stay over night at Ollantaytambo- the only Inca city that is still alive and its about 1.5hrs drive from Cusco. On way to Ollantaytambo, we visited 2 ruin sites.

The first one was Pisac which shows more of residential (commom ppl) centre with lots of terrraces for agricultural purpose.
After our buffet lunch, we finally arrived in Ollantaytambo around 3pm. The weather started to get cloudy and it looked like there would be some rains soon.

We checked into our hotel and met our tour guide soon afterwards. It's amazing how this town survives all these years and the ruin site is just right next to it!! The rain came half way through of our guided tour but i was too immersed by the tour guide explanation of the Ollantaytambo and the Inca empire.

I was feeling so good that i could make it to this trip and not stay in Cusco.