I was lucky enough to go travel again after my recent trip to Peru. This time I visited the northeastern three provinces in China, an area with great scenery and plenty of culture and history. The 3 provinces cover a vast territory. Jilin province is located in the central part of Northeast China, adjoining Heilongjiang Province in the north, Lianing Province in the south, and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region in the west. 95% of the Manchu minority live in NE China, but they only comprise of 5% of the nation's total population. Shenyang is the #5 largest city in [View Full Entry]

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I had a lazy morning since I got back from Nasca really late last night. I had breakfast @ 0800hr but couldn´t quite decide whether I wanted to explore the city of Lima or go back to bed. I chose the latter but did get up later to check out of the hotel and wonder around Miraflores. I walked to Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Inca pyramid in the north end of the city. As today is Good Friday, most shops were closed, the streets were quiet and traffic wasn´t that heavy. Huaca Pucllana appeared closed too. While I was trying to [View Full Entry]

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I was ready by 0230hr and headed out to one of many bus stations in Lima with my male guide, Angel. The bus wasn´t full and made additional stops within Lima. Apparently the fare gets cheaper if you board outside the station but they aren´t particularly safe. We caught the 0310hr bus to Paracas, a cambio to the main square, then walked the rest of the way to a private dock where I would board a boat to see the Ballesta islands. The whole trip took just over 4 hours. On the way over, we saw Candelabra, a pattern etched [View Full Entry]

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Today was a long travelling day, bus back to Juliaca, followed by flight back to Lima via Cusco. We got back shortly after 1200hr and went to restaurant to try out some cerviche - raw fish marinated with lime. I had some reservation initially but it wasn't that bad. It really tasted like Japanese sashimi with lime flavouring. Afterwards we walked around; prices here are generally higher than Cusco. Someone told me that the cheapest place to shop for souvenirs are Cusco and Puno. I still wanted to see Nasca Lines before I leave Peru, but couldn't decide how best [View Full Entry]

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Our first stop was Sillustani, where many funerary tower, or chullpas, stand. These were constructed by the Colla people, who later became the southeastern arm of the Incas. The closest chullpa to the parking lot has a carving of a lizard, symboling rebirth as lizards regrow their tails. Our guide was very thorough, so much so I tuned him out after a while. The most amazing part of this place is the adjacent lake, Lake Umayo. An island with a flat top sits in the middle, some said a previous alien craft landing site. As we were the only ones [View Full Entry]

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It was going to a be long drive to Puno, with a few stops along the way. Our first stop was the Andahuaylillas Church. The Christ here was depicted as a dark-skin person, to be more similar to the locals. Apparently Christ has been getting darker over the years, some said because South Americans are more devout vs Europeans. Others argued that it was simply from the candle smoke in front of the altar. Our second stop was some historical storage place. Most people didn't go in, but rather shopped at a local market outside. I think I finally got [View Full Entry]

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I signed up for a tour to visit the Sacred Valley today. Doing with a tour is probably the easiest way, just hope that you get a decent guide. I don't think it matters which travel agency you sign up with, they all seemed to be grouped together anyway. I waited around at the main square in Cusco until 0900hr before everyone got sorted out and finally got on the road. Our guide was okay. We stopped by a small handicraft market before going to the one at Pisac. I had been looking forward to the Sunday Pisac market because [View Full Entry]

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So we were up at 03:50am (or was it 4:00am?), the first group to be up. Had a quick breakfast and headed to the gate that opens to Intipunku (Sun Gate). It was no surprise that we were the first ones there! My knees were still a bit sore so I popped some more painkiller. Other hikers slowly arrived. There was a group that started hiking at midnight from the camp site farther away with the promise that they'd be the first ones at the gate. I kind of felt sorry for them. When it got closer to 5:00am the caretaker [View Full Entry]

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We got up early as usual. The sky remained clear and we could see the snow-capped Mount Veronica. We had a head start because we were at the farthest camp site. We walked at a leisurely pace with ETA of just around lunch to reach the last camp site at Winya Wayna. Roberto pointed out the camp site some people have to stay since there isn't a lot of room at Winya Wayna to accommodate everyone. We would have to stay here too had he not worked some magic (long story). To get to the Sun Gate from this particular site [View Full Entry]

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I think we got up at around 5:00am. It was raining, cold and miserable but our spirits were still high. Roberto pointed out to us the Dead Woman's Pass, the highest point where we would pass through today at some 4200m. It wasn't named as such because some woman died there but rather the overall terrain is shaped like a woman lying on her back. My poncho came in handy again as the rain came down hard and steady. There wasn't much to do other than to trudge ahead. There wasn't much celebration when we got to the the highest point [View Full Entry]

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