tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79591429801359173122024-12-18T19:14:10.156-08:00Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-59558088833604251962015-08-22T14:08:00.000-07:002015-08-22T14:09:30.130-07:00

The very small town of Aguas Calientes is super cute and caters a lot to tourists. Restaurants, shops, ho(s)tels and massage parlors are everywhere. Our hostel, Hostel Pakarina, was the only hostel available when we booked it. We were there for only one night so we weren’t too picky. It was nice having a room to ourselves as well. After coming back from Machu Picchu we decided to check out

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Aguas Calientes, Peru-13.1547062 -72.525441199999989-13.1624372 -72.535526199999993 -13.1469752 -72.515356199999985tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-44615547756570950832015-08-22T13:47:00.000-07:002015-08-22T13:47:52.748-07:00

Machu Picchu is located 73 miles northwest of Cusco by train. It is 2,453 meters above sea level. The most important monument inside the sanctuary is the City or Inka Llaqta of Machu Picchu which was built around 1450. The construction to Machu Picchu was made for the need of the Inka State to have a religious, political and administrative center within a sacred space that was considered a

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Machu Picchu, Peru-13.1631412 -72.544962899999973-38.6851757 -113.85355689999997 12.3588933 -31.236368899999974tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-49648816944698932782015-08-21T18:53:00.000-07:002015-08-21T18:53:06.716-07:00

It was nice not having to wake up to street noises. The only time I woke up was when the guy sleeping below me started snoring. It wasn’t a bad snore, I just wake up to noises too easily. I also woke up at 5am because I was intensely hungry. My appetite had returned but I still had a minor headache. I definitely need to get stronger altitude sickness pills. We got up at 530am and were

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Cusco, Peru-13.53195 -71.967462599999976-13.655454 -72.128824099999974 -13.408446 -71.806101099999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-23139255198094785052015-08-20T14:52:00.000-07:002015-08-20T14:55:04.013-07:00

Our taxi driver from the bus terminal was going to charge us 15s (~$5) and we were ok with that price since we had no idea of getting to our hostel.  As we were exiting this crazy roundabout outside of the bus terminal, our driver ran over an uncovered storm drain and his right wheel went into the hole. I was sitting in the passenger seat. The taxi driver told us to get out and stand in

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Cusco, Peru-13.53195 -71.967462599999976-13.655454 -72.128824099999974 -13.408446 -71.806101099999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-83913689694278972752015-08-19T21:05:00.001-07:002015-08-19T21:05:57.401-07:00

At the bus terminal, we were helped and shown where to go and where to drop our bags off. The people here have been very nice so far. We went to the food area and I got us an Inca Kola (~$1) because apparently that’s something we should try. It tasted like a mello yello but not so mellow-y. It’s less aggressive with the flavor of mellow yellow and it’s got a sparkling taste to it. You can

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com2Lima, Peru-12.046374 -77.0427934-12.046374 -77.0427934 -12.046374 -77.0427934tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-74092100506703403102015-08-19T20:43:00.000-07:002015-08-19T20:43:23.090-07:00

 Woke up and packed so we’d be checked out of our hostel by 11am. Chucked our bags into storage and went to get some breakfast. Booked our hostel for Aguas Calientes, the place we’re going to stay doesn’t have the best reviews but there was literally only 4 places available. Everywhere else was booked! So hopefully this place won’t be too bad. We have a triple room to ourselves. If it is

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Lima, Peru-12.046374 -77.0427934-12.108488 -77.123474399999992 -11.98426 -76.9621124tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-50603350800116678902015-08-15T21:14:00.000-07:002015-08-15T21:17:58.646-07:00

We didn’t really go out and explore. We mostly slept in and planned/booked our passages to Machu Picchu. We don't feel too bad for not spending a lot of time in Lima or that we spent more than half the day inside the hostel because we're coming back to Lima 3/4 days before we fly back to SF anyways. We figured we'd look around and be tourists then. There was a lot of snoring and you could

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Lima, Peru-12.046374 -77.0427934-12.108488 -77.123474399999992 -11.98426 -76.9621124tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-23831345364974637882015-08-14T23:52:00.000-07:002015-08-15T14:25:39.501-07:00

This Peru trip has been talked about by Lu, Katriz and I for quite some time. We’ve all talked about wanting to go to South America and showing them how to backpack around a country. These two were so excited that when we would talk about it while I was traveling, they would say things like “Let’s go visit Peru and another country.” Though that would be doable, we only had 2 weeks. Another

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Lima, Peru-12.046374 -77.0427934-12.108488 -77.123474399999992 -11.98426 -76.9621124tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-64867147980002454552015-04-15T10:49:00.000-07:002015-05-09T08:05:21.086-07:00

I booked my train tix 2 doors down from my hostel because when I was at Gambir station I had gotten on the wrong long line and I just couldn’t be bothered to go to the next building and stand in that long line. So Lena and I parted ways. She was heading to the mall for a Capoeira class and I needed to shower and pack. Upon exiting the station, the taxi drivers descend upon you (because its Asia

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Yogyakarta City, Yogyakarta City, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia-7.7955798 110.36948959999995-7.9214328 110.20812809999995 -7.6697267999999994 110.53085109999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-57715849714997861102015-03-31T08:51:00.000-07:002015-04-16T08:55:06.895-07:00

Take 1: A group (Joel, Pieter, Christiaan, Philip, Josh and I) of us decided to do the Circle Line which is a train that goes around Yangon. It takes 3hrs to do a full circle if you don’t get off at any of the stops. There were 2 stops that the Lonely Planet suggested we get off on. So naturally we followed their recommendations because all travelers know that the Lonely Planet is basically a

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar16.780833 96.14972216.294674500000003 95.504274999999993 17.2669915 96.795169tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-29805530626214471832015-03-31T00:02:00.000-07:002015-04-10T08:25:43.370-07:00

The Sule Pagoda is located in the heart of downtown Yangon. It was supposedly built before the Shwe Dagon Pagoda. According to Burmese legend the site where the Sule pagoda now stands was once the home of a powerful nat (spirit) named Sularata (the Sule Nat). Sabrina and I decided to visit this pagoda on our way to Chinatown and to the Bokyoke Market. I had passed it during the day and at

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar16.780833 96.14972216.294674500000003 95.504274999999993 17.2669915 96.795169tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-77474987630524409142015-03-21T00:26:00.000-07:002015-04-16T09:01:01.837-07:00

On one of the days in Bagan, our group (Christy, Dave, Bastian, Will, Mike and I) decided to do a half day trip to Mount Popa. This other guy from our hostel unfortunately joined us. He was not fun at all. Anyways, Christy, Dave and I went to find a minivan for our group and while we were waiting for one to arrive, some locals offered Dave some betel nut. Dave tried it for an entire 3 seconds

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Mount Popa, Mt. Popa National Park, Mountain Park, Republic of the Union of Myanmar20.924167 95.25055599999996-4.5978674999999996 53.941961999999961 46.4462015 136.55914999999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-32556430904962453192015-03-17T06:32:00.000-07:002015-04-14T06:50:25.213-07:00

A group of us decided to go to Happy World, an amusement park in Yangon right across from the Shwe Dagon Pagoda. It was Christiaan and Yoreh’s (blame it on the Dutch!) idea and we all sorta just wanted a day to chill and relax a bit before the group split up. Even before you enter the building, there are a bunch of random statues that featured some famous characters. We were all pretty

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar16.780833 96.14972216.294674500000003 95.504274999999993 17.2669915 96.795169tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-92034455389243895672015-03-15T06:41:00.000-07:002015-04-10T08:10:49.352-07:00

I went to the Shwedagon Pagoda during the middle of the day after visiting the Reclining Buddha. Philip had already seen it so he stayed outside while I went to have a look. I ended up entering through the side with the escalators. Thank goodness because there were a lot of stairs and normally I don’t mind but I had walked a lot that day and it was really hot. I noticed that a lot of the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar16.780833 96.14972216.780833 96.149722 16.780833 96.149722tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-4390958726442821732015-03-14T10:01:00.000-07:002015-04-10T03:09:45.004-07:00

Philip and I had this crazy idea to walk to the Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda (Reclining Buddha) one day.  It was not the smartest thing we did. This was further out than the Shwe Dagon Pagoda. It took about an hour to get there and it was really hot and humid! We got confused a few times on where to turn but nothing too far out of the way. We were drenched in sweat by the time we got to the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar16.780833 96.14972216.294674500000003 95.504274999999993 17.2669915 96.795169tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-71098114642415497112015-03-13T00:48:00.001-07:002015-03-14T03:50:05.291-07:00

I didn’t know what to expect from this airline: Biman Bangladesh Airlines. I had a 23hr layover in Dhaka from Nepal and going to Myanmar. During the flight they gave us bottle water and a bottle of coke. Whoa! The food was a little weird. I think it was a sweet tuna sandwich and this pudding dessert with small noodles? And a cupcake. I wasn’t too hungry since I scarfed down some chicken momos

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Bangladesh23.684994 90.35633099999995516.257325 80.029182499999962 31.112662999999998 100.68347949999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-27754163684191004712015-03-10T20:28:00.000-07:002015-03-31T09:41:42.177-07:00

We didn't have any plans for the day so Reece and I decided to check out the wall climbing around the corner from our hostel. It was pretty cool looking. We were just going to go look but we got excited and decided to actually do it. We went back to the hostel, I changed and Reece got his shoes and chalk. We got there 2 hours before the closed so we didn't get to climb as much but it was enough

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Kathmandu 44600, Nepal27.7 85.33333300000003927.5875385 85.171971500000041 27.812461499999998 85.494694500000037tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-30908156437832132422015-03-09T19:20:00.000-07:002015-04-18T00:42:56.846-07:00

Woke up at 4:30am to get ready to go see the sunrise along the Himalayan mountains at Nagarot. The ride there was insane! I think our driver was worried that we might not catch the sunrise in time. The scenery was beautiful but I couldn’t really enjoy it since I was too worried we were going to fall off the edge. We got to the hotel. I think it was called Hotel at the end of the world. Or

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Nagarkot, Nepal27.7236 85.52469999999993927.667372 85.44401899999994 27.779828000000002 85.605380999999937tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-81620273128865443072015-03-08T20:13:00.000-07:002015-04-18T04:01:32.323-07:00

This was the first stop we made on our city tour of Kathmandu. Paul and I actually walked to this temple the day before from our hostel. We kind of saw the sun setting but also missed it because Paul was too nice to the guy who came up to him and started telling him things about the temple. Paul and I basically walked towards the general direction of the temple. We had no idea of how to get

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Kathmandu 44600, Nepal27.7 85.33333300000003927.5875385 85.171971500000041 27.812461499999998 85.494694500000037tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-75957637746297209082015-03-08T19:33:00.000-07:002015-04-18T04:02:45.190-07:00

Paul, Michael, Yorick and I were completely quiet the moment we saw all the pyres burning. We sort of just stared. It was quiet something to see. We all felt a little out of place and weird for taking photos just because these were people's funerals. It was crazy to see the different stages of burnt pyres. Pashupatinath, or Pashupati, is a Hindu temple. It attracts thousands of pilgrims each

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Kathmandu 44600, Nepal27.7 85.33333300000003927.5875385 85.171971500000041 27.812461499999998 85.494694500000037tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-48886845253583698152015-03-08T19:30:00.000-07:002015-03-14T03:55:14.346-07:00

This is the largest stupa in Nepal and the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside of Tibet. Paul, Yorick, Michael and I visited this stupa last on our blitz Kathmandu day. It was the perfect ending to the super long day. We saw the sunset and there was some sort of even happening. We weren't allowed to go up the steps because it was sectioned off for the event but seeing all the buddhists

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Kathmandu 44600, Nepal27.7 85.33333300000003927.5875385 85.171971500000041 27.812461499999998 85.494694500000037tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-29688570606218679252015-03-03T04:57:00.000-08:002015-04-01T10:39:55.801-07:00

Guangzhou Airport – 12 hours Tues, March 3: This 12 hour layover in Guangzhou was by far a lot better than the ones I had at Shanghai. The airport was just better in every way. Going through immigration and customs was a breeze. Also I was surprised to know that the airline was putting me in a hotel! How’s that for customer service! I was all ready to sleep the night away at the airport but

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Guangzhou, Guangdong, China23.12911 113.2643849999999521.261913 110.68259799999994 24.996307 115.84617199999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-38796874147279038042015-03-02T00:07:00.000-08:002015-03-13T01:11:16.196-07:00

March 3 – May 23: I’ll be backpacking throughout South East Asia and Oceania. It’s been exciting and stressful semi-planning it. For those who keep asking I figured I’d write it down to make it a bit easier to understand. Old Plan: China, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New ZealandNew plan: Nepal, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com1Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea36.6424341 127.4890318999999936.6424341 127.48903189999999 36.6424341 127.48903189999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-27292399330931613652015-01-22T19:50:00.002-08:002015-02-12T21:04:14.067-08:00

I didn't realize that Thailand had a different Buddha for each day. Technically the same Buddha. These photos are from Wat Chiang Man. I thought this was pretty interesting. After visiting Wat Phan Tao I decided to look up the day I and my sisters were born and read up on them. Take a look and see if your Buddha day matches the person you are. My little sister and I were born on the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Bangkok, Thailand13.7563309 100.5017651000000613.7563309 100.50176510000006 13.7563309 100.50176510000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7959142980135917312.post-40223689921253420902015-01-14T03:27:00.000-08:002015-02-12T21:03:55.132-08:00

With my not-so-happy experience on my first sleeping bus, I was hesitant to get on another one. This time it would be with Karen and we would be heading from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. The people at the hostel informed us that there were 2 kinds of buses, sleeping bus and seating bus, and that I probably got the seating bus last time. I swear I got the sleeping bus last time. We booked

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06357715771314890321noreply@blogger.com0Luang Prabang, Laos19.8833959 102.1346874000000819.8236684 102.05400640000008 19.9431234 102.21536840000007