Machu Picchu

Music: We Will Walk by Matisyahu


Below is my half hearted attempt writing about Machu Picchu, because 1) Its been a year since I went there. 2) I can't turn on my pc. I don't know whats the problem but the thought of losing all my pics, docs, music.. EVERYTHING.. ahh I can't even say.

So anyway, that's the big deal about this place?

UNESCO world heritage, wonder of the world, hidden city high on the mountains, steep in history of the Incas, synonymous to South America (the continent itself sounds menacing and exotic at the same time).

The gateway to MP is through Cuzco, historically the capital of the Inca civilization, and also the nearest city to MP that has an airport. From there, one can either take a train or taxi to Ollantaytambo, and then onwards to Aguas Calientes by train, which is a small town at the foot of Machu Picchu. One can also opt to do a 2 or 4 day hike instead of taking the train. If I had the time, I would have totally done the Inca Trail. Infact, if I have the chance to go again, I'd totally do it, and also spend more days in Cuzco and visit other small towns around the region.

We arrived in Cuzco early in the morning, but after the last train out of it to Aguas Calientes had departed. So we took a van to Ollantaytambo, and boarded the train from there to Aguas instead. In the van was an American, probably in his 50s. The first thing he said when he came into the van and saw our group was, "Aren't you glad that I'm here?" hahahahahha. It must've been obvious from our facial expressions. We weren't really sure about the ride, and with limited Spanish, communication could prove a problem. We talked to the American, I forgot his name, throughout the ride. He told us his stories traveling around South America, gave us tips and what not. The van turned out did not stop at Ollan, so we shared a cab also with the American guy to go to Ollan, where we already had train tickets bought in advance. Bid him goodbye and went on our way.

I'm gonna just write briefly about the whole experience. Its hard to remember everything exactly, even recalling the trip after one year, for me is remarkable because well, I don't have good memory. Brain cells not too healthy.

The view and scenery on the train ride was beautiful. It was a clear day, the sun was out, we got front seats in the train and had a huge window in front of us. There were also windows on top of the train. The rail track runs along the Urubamba River, the waters so fierce, attempting to do water rafting here would be fatal, no doubt.

We checked into our hostel in Aguas, and after getting some information, I found out that the ticket office to buy bus tickets for the next morning to MP was gonna close in 30 minutes. I rushed my friends and luckily we managed to get the tickets.

Thing is, besides going to MP, we also wanted to climb Huayna Picchu. If you look at the usual pictures of MP, there's this steep hill in the foreground, that's HP. The climb on HP is free but only limited to 400 people a day, its on a first come first serve basis,the first bus departs at 5.30am, but still the next day we woke up 4am in the morning, 2 of us went to queue, there was already a line, but not too long, while the other 2 ate breakfast, then we switched places. We got into the 2nd or 3rd bus I think, and at MP there was already a long queue as well. But we were lucky and managed to be one of the first 400 that got the approved stamp to climb HP.

There were 2 choices, to climb HP at 7.30am or 10.30am. Its not a very big hill so only 200 people is allowed up at any given time. We chose the 7.30am one. The climb took 1 hour 30 minutes. By the time we reached the peak, we couldn't see MP below because there were clouds, thick clouds. So we hung around to wait to get a clear view. Some ppl were already afraid the clouds will not clear in time, that would be such a waste. But alas luck was on our side, and we got to see the magnificent Machu Picchu below.

We hung around until 10am or so and started climbing down. We had a picnic at grounds of MP, we ate some biscuits and just lepak, baring2.. enjoyed the view..hahah.. After being well rested, we searched for an english speaking tour guide to bring us around MP. The lady charged quite expensive but not having a guide would be worse. It would be pointless to walk around MP and not understand anything, the history, the purpose and significance of the buildings, the life of the Incas, etc. We were also lucky coz by this time the cloudy sky completely cleared up and the sun was out.

We hung around until evening, then had to leave to catch our train back to Cuzco.

I can't really describe the feeling of being there and standing and walking around Machu Picchu. It was amazing. The view was breathtaking. Its literally indescribable. Until today, whenever I look back at the pictures, it feels surreal. I wish I can explain better but I dont think I can. I guess if I wrote this post much earlier when the memory was still alive in my mind, I could articulate better my thoughts and experience. Nothing I wrote here does justice to the magnificence of it all.

"My Love Ana"

Written at the top left corner.

Unexpected Encounters

Music: Midnight Lullaby by Tom Waits

In my many travels, meeting new people is inevitable. In fact, its one of the things that I like. Talking to strangers, that includes when I'm in Malaysia. I sort of do it all the time, but of course not many people have really seen this side of me, coz well, it happens when I'm alone of course. No friends to witness haha. And conversations with are easier to take off too, as one become more approachable. And somehow or rather, I think my facial expression becomes automatically friendlier, or like, looking to talk to someone. For example, only a few hours ago someone suddenly said to me, "you are looking sweet". Wonder where that came from. Tergelak aku. Hanya mampu cakap thank you je la. So here a few stories that I'd like to share.

On my flight back from New Delhi, I was alone because my friends flew back the day before. At the airport, I was sitting alone reading my book while waiting to board. Suddenly a tabligh came up to me and asked,

Sini ada surau tak?.
I was like, is this guy talking to me? Well obviously la because I was the only one there right. I said I didn't know (in fact I found out later ada). This pakcik was with about 5 other tablighs and they were all wearing kopiahs and the black sleeveless jacket with many pockets, like the journalists or photographers always wear on tv.

Then I suggested, pakcik boleh je smayang kat sini, I pointed to an open space area nearby. He then asked, kiblat camne?

As it was dark and I couldn't figure out where north was, I said, kalau pakcik yakin je, boleh je smayang kot ni ke (while pointing in a random direction). The pakcik then actually started to arrange his sejadah in the direction I pointed earlier. His friends then came over, all just came back from taking ablution. Then they proceeded to pray jemaah. Some other traveler even came to join in the jemaah prayers in the middle of it. The pakciks asked me to keep a look out on their bags, so I did. After that I continued on reading my book. After they were finished, they started asking me questions.

Travel sorang ke? Berani nya.

Datang sini buat apa? Ooo jalan2 tengok negara orang ye.

Ada kawan ke kat sini? Takde? Bagusnya adik berani.

Berapa hari dekat sini? Wah lamanya 10 hari. Pakcik tak biasa jalan2 ke negara lain, ni kali pertama. Tak biasa. Ni ada duit lebih simpanan pakcik sebab tu boleh datang sini. (How noble, they have extra money and they went to India to acquire knowledge, to learn, and spread the faith, not wasting it on worldly pleasures).

Nanti kat atas kapal terbang ada makanan tak?
Oo nanti pakcik boleh je beli atas plane nanti, tapi mahal sikit la.
Ooo ye ke, takpe pakcik banyak lagi duit ni takde masalah (then proceeded to show me how much he had).

 Dia terima ringgit tak?
I found out diorang org melayu Thailand from Golok and just came back from a conference of Tablighs at the Nizamuddin Center (you can wiki about this, its the world headquarters).

Adik, nanti tempat duduk dalam plane macam mana? Kitorang dapat duduk sama2 ke tak? I asked to look at their boarding passes, and all of a sudden all 5 of them were surrounding me and showed me their tickets, and explained their seating arrangement. Turns out they were seating just at the row in front of me. I thought to myself, if they have any trouble communicating to the flight attendants, like when ordering food or whatever, I would nearby to help them out la. After the conversations ended, I went back to my book.

Suddenly they called to me again, adik mana nak beli air? Pakcik nak habiskan rupee ni.
I scanned the area and saw a vending machine.
Aaa pakcik boleh beli air kat situ.
Adik boleh tolong pakcik tak? Pakcik tak reti lah.
Ooo boleh je, and then I helped them buy some drinks.

In the plane, turned out all of them slept throughout the whole flight, so they didnt order any food. They were asking all these questions, it felt like I was the adult and they were the kids. When we reached LCCT, I was still in the plane, at the top of the stairs queuing to come down. I saw them already on the ground and was standing there, looking back at the plane, not moving. Turns out they were waiting for me! and then asked me more questions!

Adik, nanti macam mana nak cari bas?

It was very endearing really. Just warms my heart whenever I recall the whole encounter.

In the same flight back home, as I was putting my stuff in the overhead compartment and then making myself comfortable, a guy from across the aisle 2 rows to the front called out to me,
So you tinggal kat mana?
LOL. what a weird opening question to a start a conversation. Takde salam takde apa. We talked a bit. He's from Klang. He came to India to visit some relatives.

Then as I was already settled down in my seat, a Malaysian lady seating next to me started making conversations pulak.

So you duduk Bangi ye? hahaha she heard me talking to the guy earlier. We talked like for 3 hours ok. About many things. I found out that she's a part time lecturer, and came to Delhi to visit her husband who is studying at Delhi University. Its her second marriage, she's divorced from the first husband. In this marriage, she's the second wife, but the first wife of her husband doesn't know. Its a secret marriage. The only ones who know are her kids (dah teenagers), and me. She said, its okay I don't mind telling you this. She already said earlier she's very comfortable talking to me and telling me things that not even her close friends know. Imagine that!

Its clearly the case of a person pouring her heart out and wanting talk about things that she can't discuss with people she know, but its not a problem talking to a stranger, because you're not gonna meet the person again, you're not planning to keep in touch with the stranger, and the stranger doesn't know anything about you or your friends. She clearly wanted to get it out of her chest, all the things she told me. She is still young ok, early forties, but she looked smoking hot, like early thirties. She gave me a lot of advice, after finding out my age and the fact that I'm not married, and I've been traveling alot. She said its good, she got married early, had kids, didn't get to do the things she wanted because of the commitments and responsibilities that comes when becoming a wife/mother etc. When you're too young you're not that wise and sometimes you might end up with someone thats not suitable (explains why she's divorced). So she said to me, yeah marriage can so totally wait. Do what makes you happy yada yada. Its was nice to hear all that hahahaha.

While on the long drives throughout Rajashtan (one of the states in India, mostly desert), our driver wanted to take a break. We stopped at a rest area. There was a bookshop in the souvenir shop, one of the locals working there came to talk to me and my friends. Topic of discussion was about the partition of India and Pakistan in the 1940s (reason why I bought the book Train to Pakistan). There was an illustrated version of the book sold there, and he was showing us the gory pictures, and describing the atrocities that happened that time, and blaming the British for it (of course, who wouldn't?). Then he asked how old I was, how we me and my travel companions related (its better to say we were relatives or husband and wife, because to muslims in India it is not right for a women to travel with a bukan mahram, so to speak). Then when my friends are tired of talking to this guy they walked away and left me there. I continued the chat la, out of courtesy.

Suddenly, he said, can I ask you a personal question?
Well, that depends. What's your question?

He came very near to me and said in a very hushed voice..
How do you control yourself? Being unmarried at 28 years old?

WHAT THE F*(^(&%) *^$*^$&^%!!!!!!!

**speechless**

I said... errr ok nice talking to you I'd like to go and eat now, bye! (my friends were already seated in the small restaurant adjacent to the shop). The price of being too friendly i suppose? Hahahahh..

So there you go, and these are only stories from my trip to India. Will tell more next time.. 

Volcanic Visit

Music: The Letter by Xavier Rudd

Last week i went to Surabaya with a new friend. When we first met and through our email conversations when planning the trip, we connected easily so i wasnt at all worried about going with someone ive never actually hung out with before. The main activity was to hike around the Mt. Bromo area. We just planned our itinerary but dis not make tour/guide and hotel bookings. The plan was to hentam je bila sampai sana.

Reached Surabaya airport at 8.30am, took a cab to the city and asked the cab driver to find us a bus to Probolinggo, the city nearest to Mt. Bromo. It cost us only rm3++ but oh my what an experience. Basically it was a service bus that locals use, very rundown, people selling stuff and singing songs for money and all that. The journey took 3hrs. At Probo we were stopped at a tour agents office and then we made our bookings, hired drivers and negotiated the price so low. The agent liked my smile, maybe that helped. I introduced myself as Ana that day, and he wrote on the payment receipt under the 'name' column, My Love Ana. I was sort of harrassed a little by the guy, his name was Koko. To him it was all fun and games but i was super uncomfortable underneath my smiles that he so like.

It was another 90min ride on a van that was so slow the fastest speed was like 40kmh and the engine was so loud like a generator we had to shout to eqch other. It didnt help that we were goig up the hill from to the small village called Cemoro Lawang at 2200m++ above sea level. But the wonderful sceneries and cool weather as we ascended made up for it.

At Cemoro Lawang we found a place to stay, super basic room, toilet kat luar, not very clean but got hot water. It was super cheap at rm30, i couldnt really ask for more. It was about 3.30pm, the place is quiet and peaceful and dead. We walked around the village, through the kebun2 kobis and bawang and potato. It was so serene with a magnificent view of Gunung Penanjakan that we were going to hile early next morning. Ate nasi goreng ayam at a very motherly makcik's stall, the small eating area also doubled as a kitchen and her room where she sleeps! Separated by a doorless doorway. But the nasi goreng was soooo sedap. We hung out to watch the breathtaking sunset overlooking Pasir Berbisik, Mt. Bromo and Mt. Semeru. It got very chilly by then, an we were accompanied by some villagers who were trying to sell us stuff like gloves, shawls etc. we didnt buy any as we came prepared but chitchatted with the locals all the same.

Retired around 9pm, it was very cold by then i slept with a lot of layers. Of course there's no heater for a cheap room like that. Woke up at 4am and our jeep was already waiting for us and 4 French ppl. The jeep took us to the foo of Gunung Penanjakan and we hiked for about 20 minutes until we reach the top to watch the sunrise.all the way the locals were trying to get us to use their horses instead of hiking, nanti capekkk nanti capekkk ada 200 tangga di hujung. Naik kuda murah saja. Lol. Sibuk je. When i was hiking in Hong Kong i went up 900 steps of stairs ok!

At the peak there was already many ppl. Where did these ppl come from?? Earlier the village was pretty much dead. Right now its off season, cant imagine the crowd during high season. The sunrise was beautiful and the whole area was visible from a higher point of view from the village below. Nice. Mt. Semeru is an active volcano and it emitted some plumes up into the air, and as it spread into the atmosphere, imagine the plume shaped like the smoke during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Amazing. My friend was a little scared, maybe coz she can imagine the magma that was actually right beneath us and appreciate the danger. But i was fascinated and did not fear danget at all. The last eruption occurred in sept 2010, which is not that too long time ago.

Then the jeep brought us to the foot of Mt. Bromo, which is an active but dormant volvano crater. As my friernd is a geologist, she explained to me alot of things, it really helped in understanding the formation of the landscape, and to appreciate the awesomeness of where i was standing at and what i was witnessing.

Again the locals with horses were asking us to ride them, one followed us all the way to the foot of Mt. Bromo. And then it was another 15m of hiking on dusty terrain, and culminated in another 200 steps of stairs. I was going up quite fast one of the mat sallehs who was taking break in the middle said, oh she's good!! Are you talking to me? I said and laughed. Little did he know i was severely breathless and panting like crazy.

At the rim of the crater i could see inside the volcano, so to speak. There was a brownish green colored mud. Around the rim was so narrow that a single missed stepped will result in h tumbling either into the crater, or out the sides. Both would not be funny. Boleh mati. Quite dangerous too sbb there was so many ppl considering how small the space was and the absence of any safety railings. View was magnificent, of course.

By the time we headed back for breakfast it was 8.30am and we ate at the most expensive hotel in the village, but it was still damn cheap for the breakfast buffet, like rm10. Lol.

At 10am we went on the privately rented jeep, the one that we got cheap rates, haha. We stopped at Pasir Berbisik, which looked like a desert but with massive clouds. Then on to an area called the Savannah. It was green with low lying vegetations and pine trees. The volcanoe there is not active hence the existence of greenery. Beautiful i cant really describe with words.

Then we went up the neighboring mountain range, on really bad road but it was fun nonetheless! Went to see another village at the edge of Lake Ranupani, mostly inhabited by muslims. The surau/masjid was playing a recording of quran recitation before masuk waktu Zuhur, just like in Malaysia.

On the way back we stopped at a small stall on top of the mountain range, had tempe goreng, mi sedap and hot tea. Such a simple life! By the time it had started drizzling a little and we were literally having tea in the clouds. Wonderful. Ah the simple life!!

Went back to our place around 1pm. And arranged for transport to go back to Probolinggo and onwards to Surabaya. The public vans were slow and only operates when there is full capacity. So we did the crazy. We hired 2 local guys to bring us down on the motor spedo! I've only been on motors boleh kira sebelah tangan ol. And there i was planning to ride a motor down hill, with my 7kg backpack on my back, on winding roads like to the ones in Cameron Highlands. I told the guy numerous times to ride slowwww but noooooo he went so fast, downhill, at 70kmh!! I dunno what others think but to me it was damn fast! The first 10 minties i was scared, but then i thought, its not like i can do anything about it. So i did away with my fears and enjoyed the ride instead. It took 45mins from Cemoro Lawang to Probolinggo, imagine how fast he went! By the time we reached the bus station, my shoulders were sore from carrying my un-ergonomic ciplak backpack (got it for rm70 in Beijing's Russian market).

We paid for an executive bus with air cond this time to take us to Surabaya. Cost rm10 only.

As Surabaya city, there is really nothing much to say or do there. One day would be sufficient, but we had 2 days to kill. So we took our time and went where our feet took us. Go with the flow. The hostel that we stayed was awesome and so cheap, of course! Finally some luxury after the horror of a hostel we stayed in Cemoro Lawang.

In those 2 days, we went to checkout the Arab Market, ada masjid and makam too kat situ. Went to the Sampoerna museum, quite interesting, and free too! Went to a one stop shop for souveniors, not did i buy anything but a solitary magnet for myself. Went to the morning market which eas next to their Tugu Pahlawan, their equivalent of our Dataran Merdeka but way smaller. The market was packed!!!

Lepak around the mall and finally flew back home in the evening.

In summary, it was a fun laid back trip with surprisingly good company, considering we only met up to go on this trip. Our mutual friend abandoneed us at the last minute, thats why la.

I made friends with a Malaysian Indian, he owns his own electrical services company and was there with a couple of friends to play golf. Before we left the plane he said i was very friendly and wanted to keep in touch. He did not insist on getting my number though, he just gave me his business card. Really nice guy. No i havent texted or emailed him. He's just another traveler i met on one of my trips. Unless i want to keep in contact la. Not this time haha.

Whoa i didnt realize i've written quite a long entry, doing this on my phone actually. Haha. Here are some pictures.

Fun With Strangers

Music: Keali'i Reichel

A little over 2 weeks ago I bought tickets to Langkawi on impulse. A day before my date of departure, I requested to couch surf with a Canadian who is a teacher living there, whom I'll be referring to as Cikgu. A few hours before my flight, he called me and agreed to host me, despite the fact that I had no references on the CS website. I went alone. 

Upon arrival Cikgu was already waiting for me at the airport lobby. He told me later as he was trying to spot me, or more like guess which one was me as the passengers from the flight walked out of the airport, he said I looked interesting and said to himself, maybe that's her. I think it was because I sort of dressed up like a hippie, with my ali baba pants that I bought in Siem Reap, carrying a backpack. So I guess I made a good first impression yeah.. hahaha!

We went for dinner right after at a Thai restaurant along Cenang Beach, initially it was just us. One thing lead to another, and it then became a party of 5 with another Malaysian girl who came from Gombak (lets call her JJB, short for Jar Jar Binks) and 2 Egyptian guys (lets call them MG Dawg and Big Z). This was the first time all of us at the table met each other, it was totally unplanned. After much talking and getting to know each other sort of, I made plans to hangout with MG Dawg and Big Z and JJB the next day, as Cikgu had to go to work. 

Cikgu's abode was more wonderful that I could ever expected. It was a kampung house, greenery all around, with a verandah going around the house. It was separated into two, the owner of the house is a retiree from Britain who lived on the left side, and Cikgu was renting the right side. The apartment had only one room, I slept in the living room on a tilam on the floor. At night, the place was really dark and quiet, something you'll never get anywhere in KL. The stars were clearly visible, more than the usual ones I get to see from my room in Bangi on a clear night. Next day Cikgu left early for work while I was still asleep. I woke up around 8.30am and chilled on the verandah, drank coffee and read my book. Mary the owner woke up around 10am i think and started playing a nice soothing and timeless world music on her stereo, time fell to a stand still, I enjoyed the moment watching the morning sun rise with the ocean breeze blowing my hair. I've never felt so at peace, and all worries of the worldly life was forgotten that morning. 

Later at noon, MG Dawg called me and said they just got back from their island hopping trip and asked me to join them for lunch. The kampung house was about 15 minutes walk from the Cenang Beach strip. As I was walking towards the strip after about 5 minutes in I stopped a local guy and hitched hike with him on his motor kapcai. Ahh.. the kampung life!

After lunch, the four of us rented a kancil and went sight seeing, we went to the cable car and seven wells, and later on to Kuah Town. It rained hard throughout but that really did not dampen our plans nor our spirits. We were soaked. I had sooo much fun with them and we talked alot, like alot. It was great because all of us really clicked, I guess owing to the fact that all of us are CS-ers we sort of have the same interests, ie traveling, and there were so many things to talk about! By the time we were done reached the strip it was around 9pm, we called up Cikgu, went to dinner. I hung out at the boys' room of the backpackers place they were staying at while waiting for Cikgu to pick us up. After that, we went to Babylon, a club/bar by the beach, there was live music and a whole lot of mat sallehs, especially Scandinavians. Left around 1am, went home and continued chatting with Cikgu up to 3 in the morning! 

Next day Cikgu, MG Dawg, Big Z and I went kayaking, at noon. It was super duper hot and I am now totally sunburned. I think I am now as dark as I was during my school days. It was 3 hours of kayaking, into the mangrove area and later out to the Andaman sea, bordering Thailand. Had a fix of cold coconut drinks and we said goodbye to Cikgu as he was invited to a party on a yacht with the rugby team that he usually plays with. I went back with MG Dawg and Big Z with Cikgu's car, met up with JJB, we had dinner, and then they sent me to the airport for my flight back to KL. 

So that's a not so brief summary of my adhoc trip to Langkawi. A lot went through my mind throughout those 3 days. I wondered why was it that I felt more at ease to be myself, the person I really am, compared to whenever I hangout with my good friends. I could talk about everything and anything, I could say what I wanted, I enjoyed my conversations especially with Cikgu. I didn't feel like I had to refrain my thoughts, I didn't have to explain my actions. Maybe because I knew they didn't have any prejudice towards me. Travelers usually have an open mind especially when visiting new places. For once, I literally felt free as a bird. Don't get it wrong I love hanging out with my friends but sometimes because we have known each other for so long, there are certain expectations of behaviour that comes with it. 

As I was waiting to board the plane, I texted and thanked Cikgu for his hospitality. And his reply was something I could never expect from a Malaysian guy or any of my friends, and it made me really happy. I also now have a good reference on my CS profile from Cikgu and MG Dawg. Its really surprising knowing how people perceive us, its usually different from what we think we portray. 

So, I've finally went on my first solo experience, albeit it being only for 3 days to a local destination. But no matter, since I hung out with foreigners anyway, it did sort of felt like a trip abroad haha. I made awesome new friends. I've also always wanted to couch surf, but always not able to because I don't think the people I travel with wants to, or maybe I should just ask next time. My first experience on both traveling alone and couch surfing turned out to be more awesome that I imagined it would be, and its a no brainer that I'd be doing it again when the opportunity comes. 

I guess it might sound a little dangerous, a girl going on holiday alone and crashing at a guy's house that she never met before, who lived alone in a quiet kampung area. But risks are there to be taken, and it wasn't a totally blind or rash decision on my part as Cikgu had loads of good references from other CS-ers who has met him before. On the other hand, he was at first apprehensive in hosting me because I had zero references. That's why he called me up and he later told me I sounded ok and normal and nice on the phone. Hahaha. 

I actually planned on being a beach bum and read my book on my trip there, since I knew no one. But plans change, and usually for the better :)

The only group pic us. 

Wordless Wednesday