Another day, another Country and this Wednesday has brought me to South Africa.

I’m afraid I can’t really tell you all that much about S.A. as I’ve been here less than a day but I guess so far it’s what I expected (whatever that was!). I guess it’s too early to get a feel of race relations and even once I do, I’m completely unqualified to comment but there seems to be tension in SA. I’m not quite sure where or why but something is not 100% relaxed. It’s no Australia.

I get the feeling that I may be longing for some time back in the UK. I have no major plans for SA apart from heading down to the coast (I’m in Jo’berg) now and spending my entire time surfing. I catch a bus (EARLY!) tomorrow and will come back just before my flight home. Hope it’s nice down on the coast, I hear SA surf is some of the best in the world.

I popped into town already to have a look around a shopping mall. Got some food (obviously) and saw a cinema in the mall. It’s nice to have the freedom just to go and do stuff when you want, so I popped in and watched “Wanted” (Angelina Jolie…review coming). I was talking the walk back to the hostel when I saw a fly poster that stopped me in my tracks. I guess I just wasn’t expecting to see an advert of this type but hey, here it is…

This kinda knocked me on my ass!

Make of it what you will but it conjures up pretty horrible images in my head. I guess SA might take a little “getting used too”….

I was far too relaxed when I touched down in Hong Kong. I already feel that I might have become a little too blazai (sp?!) about traveling in any case, but by the time I’d made the small (4hr) hop from Japan to Hong Kong I was more relaxed than when I left. None of this is a bad thing per se, it was in fact a small blessing to stroll into an airport and feel completely comfortable. I was surprised to remember that I had done this layover before (once on the way back to the UK from Aus) and although it was only three or four years ago, I remember being nervous, on edge and, yes I’ll say it, perhaps a little scared. This time i was far less prepared (could only be bothered to change up 80USD and that had to cover travel to and from Kowloon, accommodation, food and anything else I planned to do) and I had nowhere to stay and no clue what to do.

I have learned so far that asking people is a pretty good way to short circuit the hassle in traveling. I knew from last time that there was a train to the town centre, but this time I strolled straight up to the information counter. Five minutes later I had a map of the city, the location of the cheapest way to and from the centre (bus if you were wondering), the best places to stay, how much to pay, where the social district was and details of a cheap hotel to stay in. That would have taken me hours with my head in a guide book!

As it turns out I relented to a hawker meeting travelers off the bus and agreed to see his digs. Asides from smelling of curry throughout the building (it was an Indian area) and having to get them to change the sheets and pillow cases (they were HORRIBLE!) I ended up with a single, safe, room with free WiFi, en suite and right in the centre of town (opposite my return bus stop) for 13 quid. I didn’t expect to get much more and as it was only a layover I took it, saving me hours of searching.

The rest of my layover was largely uneventful. Save for the constant hassling of touts selling everything from suites to shark fin and from porn to tiny mobile phones (and quite a cool iPhone copy with built in TV receiver!). I didn’t have the energy to do all that much so explored the town, drank lots of coffee and slept in until 9AM! (I had many later mornings in Japan but left to my own devices I seem to be getting up pretty early on my own).

It`s not very often that I talk about bottoms on here (surprisingly) but every now and then I get an excuse to indulge myself in a little rude posting(?!). I would fathom that this will be one in a number of bizarre commentaries about odd goings on in Japan, but believe me, it:s all been good fun and games.

I think that being the hardened sceptic that I am, it sometimes comes to me as quite a shock when things that you read about (in relation to a country especially) are actualy true. Imagine my sniggering when I found out that the high tech toilets supposedly in Japan, really do exist! It sort of combines two of my favourite things… technology and sniggering at things I think are rude.

Anyhow…. behold the cyber bog…

...only in Japan

The controls on the side generally come in a few different flavors but do at least two of the following functions:

1. Squirt (usually warm) water at your nether regions
2. Extract bad odours.

The great news is that there is a different button for bottom washing if you`re a girl or a boy (you do the biology!) and on some I`ve seen there`s a “turbo” button for those curries that just wont die!

..Awesome

I have some more entires to upload which I will do tomorrow, but just letting you know that there are more photos uploaded to http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattlindsay/

In Uraguay now, but off to bed… Too much buggy driving today!

Take it easy

Matt

OK, so there’s part of the story that I haven’t fully explained yet. Whilst in the jungle in Iquitos (Peru) I met an Argentinean family (well Korean actually but they lived in Argentina) who were very sweet and we conversed in very broken spanglish. Seniora Kim (I have called them family Kim although I’m not exactly sure if this is correct) was so very sweet and insisted that I stay with them when I arrive in Buenos Aires. I took this initially as travellers talk and accepted the notion and we exchanged details. It wasn’t until I got an email a few days before I was due to arrive in Argentina from Snra Kim asking for my flight details that I realised how serious she was. I provided her the flight details and held my breath as I landed in Buenos Aires…

I wandered through the arrivals in Buenos Aires, not knowing if there would or wouldn’t be anyone to meet me and more importantly whether I would know what they looked like! My heart sank a little as I slowly crept through arrivals and nobody showed an ounce of enthusiasm at my arrival. Even the locals didn’t seem to be impressed to see me. Maybe they didn’t know who I was?! I jumped to the nearest cash machine to take out “some” money (although I really wasn’t too sure how much I was getting) and lurked. I lurked for five minutes, and then ten, trying to make eye contact with anyone who might be searching for a blonde “Gringo” with a bag the size of a small continent. Nothing and nothing and then suddenly “Hey, are you Matt?” My saviour had arrived.

Martin (although his name was Christian somewhat confusingly) was a few years my junior but good looking and enthusiastic with a genuine face and Korean features. He smiled and helped me with my bags to his car, apologising for being late. I was very relieved but slightly nervous at this generous hospitality and we chatted (mainly in English) as he drove me to the city centre. He explained that we would go to his parents workplace and then for some food. The family lived and worked in the Korean quarter of Buenos Aires, an area I would later think of as the underwear capital of the city. Martin was a professional golfer, recovering from a back injury. He had little interest in any other occupation and I admired him for his single mindedness.

We arrived at the family business, a letting and sales agent for commercial property. I was welcomed with the warm openness of old friends by Snr and Snra Kim and we babbled at each other in our mother tongue, gesturing as though we understood what each other were saying. Snr Kim insisted that Martin take me on a tour of the city and to lunch and there was no way I was able to resist. We set off down the road on foot and Martin knocked on one of the doors, leading into what looked like a private house. It actually turned out to be a Korean restaurant inside, though nobody else was eating and Martin ordered for us both. Nothing could have prepared me for the banquet that followed! A spread of all types of delicious Korean food, with incredible barbequed meat on a mini barbeque that was brought out to our table. I ate until I could eat no more and we started to make a move. As I withdrew my wallet and asked how much it was, Martin waved it away. “You must no pay” he told me and despite my protestations he was insistent. I was humbled by their generosity and it set the tone of my entire time with the family. They wouldn’t let me pay for anything, no toll roads, no petrol, no food, no drinks. Nothing. For a family that had just met me I was overwhelmed.

Following lunch, Martin took me on a driven tour of the city, stopping at key locations to explain the buildings and for some coffee. I checked in with the Gap tour group that I was supposed to be meeting that day to tell them that I wasn’t going to meet them until the next day and wouldn’t stay with them. No problems but there was a “team meeting” at 19:00. We explored a little more and returned for the gathering.

I walked into the “Splendid Hotel” in Buenos Aires late for the meeting and bounded upstairs to meet the group. Introductions had passed and I made my apologies and introduced myself to everyone, nervously looking around to see the people I was going to spend the next 17 days with. There was a strong mix of characters from the “chav” that sat opposite (who turned out to not be a chav, but a really nice Kiwi who was hilarious and really decent… and also my room mate for the entire trip) and the two Essex girls down the end of the table (who turned out to not be from Essex and were highly offended by my accusation. Still, we became inseparable for the trip and I hope we stay in touch back home). Then there were Americans (Jess and Mary), Canadians (Rebecca and Jeane), a slightly older and more civilised couple (Rolf and Sherry), two English girls (Katy and Cheryl) and our guide, Ale, an Afro-Brazilian woman, very sweet and confident in her abilities. So we had a quick brief of all the things we will do over the coming weeks and went our separate ways.

Back in Martin’s car, the trip continued as we saw a few more sights and headed back towards Korean town. We stopped short and pulled into a restaurant where I realised that his family was waiting for me. They had assembled the family; Snra and snr Kim, Martin, his sister and cousin for a steak dinner. I was still full from the enormous lunch but had no intention of offending their incredible hospitality or missing out on my first Argentinean steak, something that that country is famed for! We ate, talked and drunk for a while, in Spanish and English before finishing dinner and heading back to their apartment. I had picked up already that Snr Kim was a successful businessman and his car displayed the symptoms of a well to-do family.

Family Kim’s apartment was lovely, very large and undergoing redevelopment. It had good views of the city and traditional Korean decor. I was handed slippers on arrival and swapped my shoes for the customary footwear. Snr Kim showed me his pictures of his old boxing career, where he trained for the Olympics and fought in impressive locations, he was obviously a successful fighter as well as businessman! We sampled some Ginseng liqueur (sort of like liquid dynamite) and all assembled for a cup of Ginseng Tea before bed. I had very kindly been granted Martin’s room (they insisted) and the use of his computer for email. I rolled into bed, still in awe at the generosity I had been granted and fell asleep in the most comfortable bed I’d slept in for an weeks!

I rolled out of LOKI and into the cab at about half five, six o’clock, feeling a little bit worse for wear but generally OK.

I arrived early for the flight so stopped into the VIP lounge after convincing them to drop the $50 entry fee for an all you can eat breakfast and more importantly free wireless internet. It gave me a chance to catch up with email and remind my “old world” I was still alive! The staff were nice and polite and the breakfast was good (shame I wasn’t that hungry). The very polite waiter was keen to practice his English and tried to chat a little longer than was helpful for me but I didn’t mind, it was nice to be of use.

I dozed the flight to Lima and stumbled off the plane, overjoyed to see my sister waiting for me at the fninish line. I had made the first part of my travels unscathed and was so happy to see Gemma (and my neice Emily) again. Even better than that, Gem had cheked us into the (extravagant and very posh) airport Ramada hotel. I jumped straight into the shower and was resident there for the next 30 minutes, washing myself repeatedly and stealing shampoo for the next leg of my travels.

Gem and I then hit the shops with a vengance (well Gemma did anyway!) We roamed around the city centre and I was actually pretty happy to enjoy certain Westernisations, particularly the mall food court and very nice underwear shops. Not so pleasant were the fights to get tables in the food court or the (far too) loud traditional music that was present for the dancers that were doing their display on center stage in the food court.

In a fit of madness, Gem went all out to spoil me, something that I really appreciated. She took me to a beautiful seafood restaurant on a pier that extended into the sea. For a while we could watch the surfers thrashing about in the freezing waves (with a certain amount of reserved envy!) but the real focus was on the food. It far surpased any seafood that I had had before, and the set menu we both opted for was a smorgesboard of fine cuisine, each plate having four or five tasters of incredible delicacies, ranging from smoked Octopus to mini fish pies. By the end I was full but completely blown away by the food…and we all know how I feel about food!

After a brief argument with a cab driver we took a taxi back to our (very nice) hotel room and I repacked my gear, throwing out what I could and sending as much as I could back with Gemma for her to take on to England. It wasn’t as much as I hoped I was going to get rid of and as before, I struggled to lift my pack onto my shoulders. After packing, with Gemma heading to bed and Emily firmly asleep I snuck back into the airport terminal to find the Starbucks. I sat down to type a brief message and at the same time stumbled across two English girls (Lara and Anna), fresh off the plane and new to Peru. We chatted for ages, unfortunately for them they had had a nightmare journy and were onward bound for Cusco to carry out their medical placement. Lara reminded me exactly of Lauren by feature and a little by character too. I wished them the best of luck and recommended that they go to Arequipa, a town that had stolen my heart a week or so earlier. I think they must have made it there as photos appeared later online of their adventures.

I headed back to the room to my slumbering room mates and caught 4 hours sleep before heading back to the terminal, Argentina bound!

Woke and had breakfast with the rest of the group in the ho(s)tel pretty early (about 5AMish). The basic process is that you get a very early bus up to Machu Pichu so that you can see sun rise and get some good photos before the crowds arrive. We duly followed this process and caught one of the buses that takes you on the 20 or so minute ride up the side of the suprisingly tall hill, following switchbacks all the way (the method a zigzaggaing the road so that the incline in shallower.

I wont labour on the brilliance of Machu Pichu, it has to be seen to be experienced. There are countless photo books, accounts and explanations of Machu Pichu that can do a better job than me and so I wont try. The only point I would add was the Wayna Pichu climb, just to the side of Machu Pichu is well worth the effort, taking an hour or two, the views from the top are breathtaking (if not a little crowded). I was lucky enough to time it with lunch and able to enjoy a picnic looking out over the hills in the delightful sun. Bliss.

Instead of taking the bus back to Aguas Caliantes, I walked the descent and saved the $6. On returning, I wondered over to the hot springs back in town for a (rather dirty) chill out and short spell of R&R. The springs that  Aguas Caliantes is named after are surprisingly not worth the effort, being a tad too murky, not all that hot and rather souless. Nice to rest weary feet but not worth going out fo your way for.

The train back to Cusco was slow but comfortable and the journy was eased by chats with Holly, Abraham and Chris, three American students taking a break from the hectic parties that I happened to be sitting opposite to on the train (sorry Abraham, I called you American but now think you may be Mexican in origin? Please advse!). All three got off the train the stop before me. Oddly, if you get out the stop before Cusco and take a bus, it’s cheaper and quicker than staying on the train! Too late for me because my ticket was booked and my lift was waiting but the guys were really nice so we agreed to meet up at 10 or 11 that night to have a drink down by the Plaza in Cusco.

Later that night I met Abraham and then the rest of their “Inca Trail” group to have some drinks (AKA “get blasted”), ending up in a club called “Mythology” -  Just for Gods! I had a great time watching Helene (a French girl from the group) pole dancing the night away and generally, the whole night turned out to be a pretty crazy experience, especially after she had been comatosed on the table just 30 minutes earlier!

I rolled back into LOKI hostel at 4AM after some late night chicken and chips but the party there had finished. Not wanting to sleep, I broke into the locked “Internet Lounge” only to be kicked straight back out a minute later by the security gaurd. I stumbled back to the the hostel room for an hours sleep, packed my stuff and headed out to get an early cab!

Affter much fighting and arguing, I gave in to my alarm. We had fallen out over the timing of it all and some harsh things were said that I don’t think either of us meant but as with everything in life, there are winners and losers. I came in second place on this one, besides, bunk bed’s arn’t my favourite flavour, especialy if i were to feel the wrath of the other ten dormitory inhabitants that I was waking up.

I think I had mentioned before that I didn’t have much faith in the company that I had booked to take me to Machu Pichu – SAS Travel. They had suffered a few pretty bad reports over the net and they caertainly hadn’t been much help when it came to booking the experience (unless it involved questions of how to pay them the money!) To this end, I was dubuious as to whether I would even get oicked up from the hostel as promised, and if that failing, the wheels would come off this leg of my travels as I hadn’t time or money to sort anything else out for getting to Machu Pichu.

Twenty minutes later than arranged, a sleepy looking Peruvian pitched up, looked at me (and another chap who had joined me on the steps outside the hostel). “Mattiu”? He asked. I was set

As it turned out, it wasn’t going to be a very “guided” tour. Ten minutes after hoping into a mini bus I was booted out at the station with a train ticket in my hand and a package for a man named “Julio” who I would meet on the other end! Great, now not only was I slightly clueless about where I was going, I was now smuggling packages to other Peruvians through the rail network and all before 9 O’clock in the morning! Slightly more worrying was the revelation that there were ahalf a dozen stops and I hadn’t been told at which one to get off. Being the relatively laid back traveler that I have become, i lay back into my seat, closed my eyes and assumed it was the last stop on the trip. It was.

As the train finally pulles into Aguas Caliantes , I was met by Julio (and hundreds of others offering accomodation) and led through a bustling flea market to the (very nice) hostel. I had heard previously that there was quite a decent treck up a local hill that I could do in around four hours and, seeing as I had about that before nightfall I promptly checked in and went looking for a map.

I found a local tourist info shop and they pointed me towards “Al Putokosi” hill/mountain which was supposed to be a 4 hour round trip so I strapped on the heart rate monitor (techno climber that I am!) and went for it. After an exhausting climb of steep paths, ladders of over a hundred rungs (don’t look down!) and the odd hairy moment, I made it up in 57 minutes and was stoked! The view was something i had definitely not expected. All throughout the ascent, there are great views of Aguas Caliantes (the local town), but as you rounded the very final tip of the ascent, you are rewarded with absolutely breathtaking views of Machu Pichu, my first glimpse of the ancient citadel. I marvelled in in shocked silence and then swapped photos with a local family who had also made it up (oddly they wanted me in their photo!?).

A few minutes after my superhuman speed ascent of Al Putokosi, a random Canadian girl came flying up the hill and bounded up next to me to chat. Being prund of my acheivement I boasted about doing it in 57 minutes., She checked her watch and smiled as she told me she started 47 minutes ago. I swallowed my pride as I looked at her (black with dirt) feet to see she was wearing crocs (rubber like flip flops). Turned out she was a really really sweet girl and we had loads to chat about. I named her Jane (after Tarzan’s wife) but her name was Christina. She reminded me of Kat but her story is quite crazy. Turns out that she had been walking around the jungle for 14 days when she found the “random town” (Aguas Calliantes) staying under the stars or in a hostel or two. She was definitely in need of a shower! We enjoyed the view for a while more and headed back down to the town. We had lots to talk about, she was definitely a girl of nature, prefering to eat herbs and fruits that she found than the usual processed diet that we put ourselves through. We got down to the town before dark and went for a fruit shake in the local market. The shakes they make are pretty incredible, blending up buckets of fruit into a rich shake and then diluting it a little with freshly squezzed orange juice. You can literally feel yourself getting your 5-a-day as you drink it!

Possibly out of pity, possibly out of friendship I gave her the use of my hotel room’s (undeniably good) shower and Jane managed to remove most of the dirt from her legs! I was really sorry to see her go as it was exactly what I needed, a sweet, honest, genuine person as a “fleeting friend” to restore my faith in traveling. It reminded me that some “friends” are in your life for a blink of an eye, some for a while longer and some for life. I was just happy to have experienced a few hours of fun and good chat and hear someone else’s view on the world.

(pics will be added when I have a decent internet connection)!

Woke late as I didn’t have much that I wanted to get done in Puno. The town is nice enough but I wasn’t feeling it so jumped straight onto a pedal powered taxi (cycle rickshaw) and paid the measly sum of 1 Sol (20p) for the 15 minute ride and spent the entire ride feeling guilty for the guy behind me pedalling with all hist might! Think I might have struck upon the cheapest way to travel short distances!

The bus station is smaller than Arequipa of course but there was a bus to take me where I wanted to go, for how much I wanted to pay (not very much of course!) and bingo, it left at 11:30 (with the ‘5 hour’ trip to Cuzco, that would get me into town in time to explore). As it turns out, that 5 hour trip rapidly turned into 7.5 hours and I was starving by the time I pulled in!

Still I had a couple of hours to blow before the bus left town so I popped back into the centre for some food and to watch a parade (seems to be at least one parade every day in Peru)! Got back to the station in time for the bus (which left smack on time this time round – go figure!) and settled in for another bumpy journey.

Made it to Cusco and had the usual fights with the cabbies. Turns out I only had 3 Soles in my pocket and I wasn’t going to/couldn’t break a note, so the bartering was for real. The main guys wanted 10, I walked past. Outside, the cheapest I could find was 5 so asked him to take me as close as possible and I would walk the rest. Due to a breakdown in communications, he took me all the way and wanted the 5. We compromised as I gave him 3 Soles and a Dollar! I had arrived at LOKI.

I had been warned that LOKI was a bit of a party house ad so was expecting something different to the usual sort of place I had been staying (see ‘Sammy’s’ in Lima). Whatever I had been expecting couldn’t prepare me for what happened when I arrived! The ‘hostel’ is like a club/bar/frat house/oasis of English speaking backpackers sharing stories, catching up on web and chilling over a beer. It was definitely more expensive than usual (but then it is Cusco ayway) and I was in a dorm of 14 people but the vibe was incredible. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I was ready for it and shrunk back for a bit, but had some beers and chucked my stuff in the dorm and headed out. I wanted to catch up with Nicole, Corrine’s sister who has a (very nice) restaurant in the centre. I found it in the end, it was really lovely but as Nicole wasn’t there and I couldn’t afford the meals to be there by myself I took a pass and headed to a Chifa (Chinese) for a cheap slap up meal and resolved to come try and find her on my return to Cusco.

Headed back to LOKI where the party was in full swing. Fearing for my sanity if I missed my 5AM start (and train to Aguas Calliantes) I didn’t have a late one and headed for the bunk before midnight. I definitely enjoyed the remainder of the dorm coming in pissed at times between 1AM and 3AM with lights on and off giving us our own private disco. Didn’t feel nearly as guilty when my horrid alarm went off at 5AM…and 5:15AM… and 5:30…

(pics will be added when I have a decent internet connection)!

Yet another early start (05:30) but was relieved to find out that the shower had hot water this time (although they had cleverly disguised the hot water with a blue tap and the cold water with a red tap. Wonder if that’s something to do with being south of the equator?)

Caught my bus to Puno although I clearly still haven’t fully got into the Peruvian vibe as I rushed to get on the bus for its 07:15 departure, only to wait until 09:00 before we left and it decided to stop EVERYWHERE, turning a five or six hour trip into an eight hour gruelling battle to survive the heat.

Oddly, when I finally arrived in Puno everyone was wearing coats yet in the bus it was still roasting. I found out why when I got out of the bus to find a noticeable drop in air temperature! I was greeted by one of the (now starting to become a real annoyance) ‘hawkers’ that actually turned out to be useful! He was rep-ing for to Q’oñi Wasi Hostel which was where I was headed and so I let him fix me up a cab. Once I got to the hostel, I wasn’t overly enamoured with it and so fished around 4 or five more but settled back at Q’oñi Wasi once I had got him down to 15 Soles (3 pounds) for private room with double bed and private bathroom with hot water (kind of!)

My main reason for being in Puno was to see lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake (except it’s not according to my newly acquainted Irish friends, Ipfsh and Kate). The most interesting thing about lake Titicaca (apart from it being the border between Bolivia and Peru) is that it hosts a very interesting tribe of Peruvians who many hundreds of years ago, to escape angry Incas (I think) decided to make their own islands… except they made them float! To this day, they live on a combination of 45 floating islands, up to 5 meters thick (the lake is about 25 meters deep). Better than that, they make almost everything out of the same thing they make their islands out of the abundant ‘totora reeds’, including houses, boats and of course, their islands!

Bearing all this in mind, the first thing I did was to find boats going to one of the islands and luckily enough found a cheap one that left about 20 minutes after I checked in. I jumped straight in with a group going to floating island of Uros and was lucky enough to have a fascinating tour of one of the Islands including a lecture on how it all works and a totora reed boat ride. Photo opportunities complete with gay pose care of my new Irish (not British!) friends. Was also lucky enough to be party to a chat about travel and astrology with a Brit with the thickest Liverpudlian (sp?)accent I have ever heard!

As soon as sun goes away in Puni it gets cold. REALLY cold and so on returning to the mainland I headed into town to check out life on the Plaza. After circling for good places to eat and turning down a stack of them, went to a so-so food joint and had average food just because I was craving steak! Whilst eating, it started to strike home that there are times when a travel companion wouldn’t be a burden, but a blessing.

Fought my way home to chill out (literally!) and watch a DVD. I discovered that after all my careful haggling, I hadn’t asked for a place with heating and so froze my nuts off all night!