Monday 21 March 2011

Quito, Ecuador

We strolled around Quito´s Old Town today which is declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO (oh I love old towns and things).

The Old Town is an old but has pretty and colorful colonial buildings with balconies, and many magnificent churches and chapels.  We strolled around the busy plaza and had a great time visiting all the different churches - La Mecred, Cathedral of Quito, Santo Domingo, San Francisco, Basilica del Voto Nacional etc

Our favorite is La Compania, it has the magnificent exterior of the Cathedral in Mexico City and the incredible interior of the Santo Domingo in Oaxaca City.

However, here isn´t much to do, you can tour the whole Old Town in a day.

The strange thing about Quito is there is no one on the streets after 9pm at night.  And I mean NO ONE.  We looked out from our balcony and everyone has their windows shut, gates down.  It´s like a ghost town you see in a zombie movie!

Anyhow, I got to go, we have problems booking our Machu Picchu Inca Trail...x

Saturday 19 March 2011

Playa Del Carmen - Mexico

Ok I take back what I said about Playa Del Carmen in my previous blog. We stayed in Cozumel for 3 nights (by the way I didn't dive because I got food poisoning) and came to Playa today so it's easier to go to the airport tomorrow.

After being in Cozumel, Playa seems way better.

This is because there is a gorgeous beach right next to the busiest part of town but weirdly, is not so busy on the beach, the beach is relatively quiet. In Cozumel, you have to make an effort to go to the beach, rent a car or scooter. We sunbathed all afternoon, the girls were hot, hotter than Tulum but Tulum is stll nicer (beach-wise).

Further, the beaches in Cozumel we're really rocky so you have to be really careful but you won't have that problem in Playa.

Also, there is more happening in town in Playa whereas in Cozumel, it's just dead because most people are from cruise boats during the day.

My hubby went diving but said it was just average. The visibility was great but to call it one of the best diving sites was over-rated.

By the way, Mexicans are hilarious. They are so friendly and welcoming, at Playa, they will sell you stuff but won't harrass you, just politely say no and the will leave you alone.

Below was a funny conversation between us and a random Mexican on Fifth Avenue (if you also have my facebook, you will see it on my status):

Mexican: Do u want hotel?
Us: no thanks
Mexican: do u want cigars?
Us: no thanks
Mexican: do u want to look at my shop?
Us: no thanks
Mexican: do u want to party?
Us: no thanks
Mexican: do u want to get high? I've got weed
Us: lol WTF????

Thursday 17 March 2011

Cozumel, Mexico

I woke up, got the hump because I felt scammed into coming to Cozumel and we could have stayed in Tulum, our paradise.

But as usual, my hubby explained to me that it is what it is and we just have to make the best out of it.

So we rented a jeep thing (it's not a jeep but looks like one) and drove around the island, expect your rented car to be old, ours couldn't lock and none of the meter readings worked so we had no idea how much gas we had, how fast we were going and the only light that was on was "service engine soon".

Although it's still miles away from Tulum, the sky cleared and we found a few beautiful beaches. We found a particularly quiet one and sunbathed.

Then, we drove around the rest of the island. Just remember don't rent a bicycle or a scooter because the island is small but not that small. The heat, the road and the fact that you need to carry towels and backpack justify the renting of a car/jeep instead. Pay a little more for insurance, it's worth it.

We will go diving tomorrow and I can't wait as Cozumel is one of the best places in the world to dive.

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Tulum - Mexico


To summarize Tulum in one word, I would have to say...PARADISE!

With gorgeous blue skies, soft perfect champagne sand and crystal jade water, Tulum has by far the best beaches I have ever seen! Although there are over 100 hotels along the beach, many only accommodate 3 to 5 rooms and thus, the beach is really quiet.

We stayed at the end of the beach so it was especially quiet. So quiet that I had the courage to sunbathe topless for the first time in my life!!! It felt GOOD!

We have traveled pass Playa Del Carmen and are now in Cozumel. Honestly, I think Cozumel is so over-rated. If this is paradise to those who compare it with Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, then they will die in Tulum which is the REAL paradise.

We have yet to explore Cozumel in the next few days but so far, it's a huge disappointment, it's so crowded and commercialized, it makes me resent Cancun. Thank god we are not going there!

But mind you, we prefer quiet places and we don't like parties, so if you are young and on spring break, I am sure you would enjoy Cancun and Cozumel.

Monday 14 March 2011

Chichen Itza - Mexico


From Merida, we took a 2 hour bus ride to Chichen Itza, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

What you see in Chichen Itza is only 8 to 10% of the whole of the site. When you stand and look around, it's actually mind blowing to know how much has yet to be discovered and they find new things everyday!

The famous Mayan pyramid that you see in every photo is actually a Mayan Calendar itself. There are 91 steps on each side, there are a total of 4 sides plus the top platform equals 365, like the 365 in the calendar!

Also, the pyramid has 9 layers, there are 2 sides (left and right of the middle stairs) which equals 18, and there are 18 months of 20 days in one of the Mayan calendars!

Isn't that incredible?

The Mayan calendar started in 3114 B.C., thats 5,000 years ago! Some say they stopped at 2012 because it's the end of the world, the locals said it ends in 2012 because that's when the Spanish invaded the Mayans and they were working on year 2012 of the calendar.

Lastly, many books say the Mayans disappeared, it's not true!!! The Mayans are still there, it's just that when the Spanish took over, the Mayans adopted the new culture, regulations and ideology. The guides we had were all Mayans!

I have always been interested in the Mayans calendar, history and mysterious. This trip to Mexico is by far the best history lesson I have ever taken!

By the way, I can now put a "check" on one of the To Do Things on my Bucket List.

Palenque, Merida and Uxmal - Mexico


We have been doing nothing but visiting ruins which I love.

You can read a lot about Palenque on the internet so I am not going to go into details. All I can say it's a must go place!

Palenque was first occupied in 100 B.C., what you see today, it's only 2% of the actual Palenque!!! The remaining 98% is still buried in the jungle. Now, that's incredible. Go to my facebook to see the photos, it's AMAZING!

The next day we took a bus to Merida. Same as other Mexican cities, the zocalo, city hall, museum, cathedral. But I must say Merida is the least impressive Mexico City of our Mexican trip when compared to Mexico City, Oaxaca City and San Cristobal.

You only need half a day in Merida and you would have seen everything.

The day after, we did a da trip to Uxmal and Kabah. Uxmal was first occupied in 600 A.D and Kabah in 750 A.D. Both sites have spectacular Maya inscriptions which was just unbelievable!

As a historical site, I found Palenque more mesmerizing but Uxmal and Kabah were special in the way they have those funny Maya symbols everywhere. It was a privilege to see those inscriptions with my own eyes.

The bad news of the day was the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Japan. My prayers are with everyone in Japan.

Tuesday 8 March 2011

San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico


The 12 hour bus journey from Puerto Escondido to San Cristobal wasn't too bad. I slept through most of it. I couldn't bring myself to look outside but I could feel a few crazy turns and braking.

San Cristobal is like the Hutongs in Beijing, it's a large city but the streets are so quiet, it was like a ghost town at night. It's a beautiful colonial city but to be honest, there isn't much to do.

We visited the Plaza 31 de Marzo, Cathedral, Templo de Santo Domingo (which was nothing comparing to the one in Oaxaca City), Na Bolom, Arco de El Carmen (17 century).

The best parts were climbing the Cerro de San Cristobal and Guadalupe to look at the spectacular views of the city and visiting the Mercado Municipal (the local market with pyramids of mangoes and oranges, colorful & fresh fruits and vegetables).

It was raining today so it was kind of nice to just take a rest at the hotel...heading off to the legendary Palenque tomorrow. I am so excited!!!

Sunday 6 March 2011

Puerto Escondido, Mexico

The bus ride from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido took 7 hours!!! It was pleasant but I flipped in the beginning because of the crazy turns and narrow 2-way roads next to the valley. Our driver was driving with one hand while fiddling around with the other. And it got seriously worrying when we were in the middle of a 2-way road and I could see many crosses at the turn ahead of the road!!!

Anyhow, we got here safe and sound. We strolled around the area as it wasn't very big. The locals were really friendly and if they came up to sell you stuff, you can just say no politely and the would walk away, they won't hassle you.

The next day, we headed off to the beach - Playa Zicatela and Playa Principal. Playa Zicatela is more suitable for surfers as the waves were huge! And I am not joking, most of the surfers were totally ripped and typical blonde with tan skin, like I was watching Home and Away or something.

Playa Principal is more suitable for swimming. I didn't get into the water because there were too many kids, I could just imagine how much piss there is in the water. Yes, I know I am weird. My hubby already said it haha..

It took us about 3 hours to walk the beaches, Playa Zicatela is massive. And we felt like total athletes after the walk haha..

Then this morning, we went fishing and dolphins watching. We didn't catch anything but we saw about a hundred dolphins and 3 whales...they were as big as a bus! It's my first time to see a whale so I was thrilled, they are incredible animals. I couldn't take any up close photos because I froze when we got near them. All I could say was, "oh my god, oh my god."

A huge bonus - we saw turtles having sex (again my first time!) haha...and our guide picked up A DEAD SHARK on our way back!!! I was sad for the dead shark but I was also really excited to see and touch one! When we got back to the shore, all the locals came crowding around our boat, everyone was curious I guess.

So it's been an incredible day today. We are now waiting for our bus to San Cristobal in 4 hours and the journey will be about 12 hours, so God knows when we will be online again.

Saturday 5 March 2011

Oaxaca City, Mexico


We took a bus from Mexico City to Oaxaca City and it was a pleasant bus ride. The bus system was even more sophisticated than the ones in UK! It took about 6 hours and the scenery was absolutey gorgeous.

Oaxaca City was so different from Mexico City, Oaxaca City was more relaxing with beautiful colonial architecture and churches. We went to the Zocalo, Alameda, Bascilica de la Soledad (17th Century church with beautiful carving facades) and area.

The landmark - Iglesia de Santo Domingo - started construction in 1570, it has THE MOST SPLENDID interior among all churches and cathedrals we have EVER seen. Nearly evey interior inch are decorated with 3D carving, we had to go back the next day just to see it again!!! For those of you who have my facebook, you need to see the photos.

We also took a trip to El Tule to see the largest tree in the world. Its over 1500 years old with a diameter of about 15m!!! Again, you have to see the photos, you won't believe your eyes! I have never seen anything like it. It's far bigger than the trees un Vancouver Island or even Cambodia.

Lastly, we went to infamous Monte Alban (means white mountains). The ancient Zapotec capital, first occupied around 500BC. It was a spectacular site but because all the tombs are closed and you can only climb 2 structures, we preferred the Teotihuacan with the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon.

Our tour guide left us at Monte Alban!!! They were really unorganized and kept mixing people from different groups to different buses. Anyhow, we were thrown from one guide to another and then to another and in the end, everyone left while we obediently waited as we were told. Anyhow, in the end we caught a taxi back to the city and we kicked up a huge fuss at the tour agency and got two-thirds of our money back.

By the way, we tried the Oaxaca City specialty - Mole Negro - it sounded like shit, looked like someone crapped on our plates and tasted exactly like it looked. Sorry! We are usually quiet good with local foods but this was "special"! We even tried grasshopper and it was alright!

All in all, although we only spent 2 days at the Oaxaca City, we had a fantastic time. Next stop, Puerto Escondido...BEACH!!!