June 22, 2009 It takes about an hour to fly from Lima to Arequipa. We spent more time in the airport, than flying ! As the plane lands, we had a preview of Arequipa´s terrain ... the Andes, some snowcapped mountains, and what seems to be like endless desert. Big cactus plants sprout from dry … Continue reading Arequipa: The White City
June 20, 2009 ¡Hola! from the City of Kings! Our flight arrived Lima at 5.10am. We were beyond exhausted, what with very little sleep the night before, and the 5 hour delay in SFO, you can imagine how relieved we are finally arrive in Lima. After a mixup with the hotel, mostly because the receptionist … Continue reading The City of Kings : Lima
June 27 - 29, 2009 Cusco, Peru The bus ride from Puno to Cusco was not bad at all, and in fact, was very pleasant. We took an inkaexpress bus, which is a very reputable tourist company. The bus ride reminded me of my Bicol-Manila trips during college in one of those Sunshine or Sarkies … Continue reading The center of the Inca Empire [Cusco]
June 25-26, 2009 There´s a reason you all haven´t heard from me in a while. From Arequipa, we took a 6-hr journey by bus to Puno. The bus ride took us through vast, dry, arrid landscape as we go up higher from Arequipa´s altitude of 7,000ft to 12,500ft. At this altitude, you won´t see any … Continue reading Altiplano [Puno and Lake Titicaca]
March 2010 THE COUNTRY. Nicaragua seems to be one of those destinations which almost guarantees you a questioning eyebrow as a response to the question “where are you going ?”. I probably wouldn’t blame most, because the country is still remembered for it’s wars, conflicts and revolutionaries. I’m hoping I could play the role of … Continue reading Granada, Nicaragua
February 2014 My story actually starts the evening before Day 1. Tita Coy and I arrived Guanajuato at around 6:30pm. Not wanting to waste the few minutes of daylight left, we dropped off our bags in the hotel and headed straight to the monument of El Pipila, a local hero during the Mexican War of … Continue reading Three Perfect Days: Guanajuato
September 2016 I think of all the places I've been to, the colonial towns of Latin America are my favorite - and I've just added another one to this list! On Day 1, we traveled 2.5 hours by bus from Mexico City's southern bus terminal to Taxco, an ancient silver mining town in the state … Continue reading Three Perfect Days: Taxco
September 2016 Mexico city is definitely a culinary destination. From the bicycle vendors selling tamales at night (2 tamales for $1.50) to the small taquerias where tortillas are made and cooked right in front of you (food + drink for $5), to restaurants that make it to the world's top 50 - you can never … Continue reading Three Perfect Days: Mexico City
September 2016 If you have a day in Prague, you'd probably be spending your time in the Old Town Square waiting for the medieval astronomical clock's little parade of apostles at the top of the hour, crossing Charles Bridge and on to the Prague Palace. Half of the time you'll be in line waiting to … Continue reading Prague
October 2016 Ljubljana is about 2 hrs 20 minutes by train from Zagreb. About 20 minutes of that is spent on border control at the Slovenian border town of Dobova. The train goes to a full stop , turns off its engines and a bunch of uniformed officers approach each passenger to inspect and stamp … Continue reading Train from Zagreb to Ljubljana – Must Do!
