Wanderlust Tag

I saw this randomly one day on Youtube from Catrific and thought it would be perfect for this blog.  The first time I traveled abroad was when I went to Japan in 2009.  It was also my first time traveling alone and living by myself.  The year I spent in Japan was truly an eye opening experience, and this is where my passion for travel first began.

1. Your most treasured passport stamp?

My first thought when I saw this question was the stamp we got at Kilometer 82 at the start of the Inca Trail.  It's one you can only get if you do the Inca Trail so it's a very special one to me.  On the other hand, there is also the one I got when I went to Japan for the first time studying abroad.  So it would be a tie between either of those. 

2. Can you recite your passport # from memory if asked?
Nope!  I don't think I know anyone who can...

3. Preferred method of travel; planes, trains or automobiles?
My first choice would be planes, then trains, then automobiles.  Flying is just more convenient and much faster than the other two.  I also like traveling by trains too.  When I traveled in Japan and Europe, I used the train a lot.  It was pretty affordable and a good way to take in some scenery and meet new people.  I hate traveling by car or bus!  When we were in Peru this was our main method of transportation, but we didn't really have a choice.  I get motion sickness very easily so I always dread long bus and car rides.

4. Top 3 travel items?
Packing cubes!  These are a life saver for backpacking and it helps keep everything organized.  Also a camera and a notebook (for tracking your budget).


5. Hostel or hotel?
Hands down, hostels!  I honestly can't remember the last time I stayed at a hotel.  Hostels are just so much cheaper and a good way to meet new people.  You just have to chose a good one.  Hostelworld.com and Hostelbookers.com are good sites to book hostels on.

6. Are you a repeat visitor or do you explore new places?
I definitely like to explore new places.  The only place I've visited twice is Japan and I would definitely want to go back.  But I like the excitement of going somewhere new and different.

7. Do you read up on your destination (culture,history,safety) or do you wing it?
I do a lot of research before traveling, but I don't plan out an itinerary or anything.  I just try to educate myself about the place before we go, but we plan our days once we get there.

8. Favorite travel website?
Tripadvisor -their forums are especially helpful. 
Also some good travel blogs: A Little Adrift, Explore for a Year, One Giant Step, Nomadic Matt, So Many Places

9. Where would you recommend a friend to visit? Name city & why.
Hiroshima, Japan!  It's not a big city so it's a little more laid back than Tokyo, but the city is full of history and the food is amazing!

10, You're leaving tomorrow, money is no option, where are you going?
I would love to go to South Africa, Egypt/Jordan, New Zealand or Australia.  

Adventures in Peru: Inca Trail Day 1

Group picture!

We woke up at 3:30 in the morning to leave for our four-day trek to Machu Picchu.  I had been waiting for this day for over 6 months.  After reading countless blogs and daily visits to the TripAdvisor forums, I was so happy to be that much closer.  We had packed most of our things the night before after the Llama Path briefing.  We had gotten our duffel bags that we were to pack for the porters to carry.  One note about packing: I packed a lot lighter than I thought I would.  My day pack was very small and I only packed 2kg out of the 4 kilograms we were allowed for the porters bag.  We were thankful our hostel had a scale we could use, since the weight restrictions were so strict.  I might just do a completely separate blog about what I packed and what I found useful.
We were supposed to meet the bus at the square near the Llama Path office at 4:30am.  After storing our packs at the hostel, we met the others in our group at around 4:20am.  We had a large group with 12 total including ourselves.  We were actually supposed to have a total of 14, but one couple was sick so they couldn't make it.  They met up with us on day 4 at Machu Picchu.  Our lead guide was Marco and assistant guide was Ronnie, and they were both amazing throughout the entire trip!
We were expecting the bus to be waiting for us (at least that's what they had told us the night before), but no one was there.  We were supposed to depart Cuzco at 4:40am, but we actually ended up leaving around 5:00 because our bus was late. 
The bus ride was long.  We first had a two hour bus ride to Ollantaytambo, where we were stopping for breakfast.  Then another hour to Kilometer 82, where the trail started.   Thankfully I slept almost the entire bus ride to Ollantaytambo, so I didn't get sick.  The breakfast was a buffet, so I loaded up on food because I didn't know how long it would be until we had lunch.  We had a chance to use the bathroom (the last sight of a normal toilet until we got to Machu Picchu) and buy some coca leaves for day 2.

Porters packing at Kilometer 82

After the hour bus ride to Kilometer 82, we had to wait a while for the porters to pack up out stuff.  We applied some sunscreen and bug spray, and got a chance to get to know the others in our group. After the porters were packed, we headed to the passport checkpoint, and took a group picture under the Camino Inca sign. There was a long wait at the check point.  We waited about 20 minutes for the porters to weigh their bags before we could actually make it through.

Passport check point

Off we go!  Start of day 1

Inca Trail day 1

Inca Trail day 1

After reading so many blogs, I expected the first day of the hike to be the easiest.  But it was actually the toughest, not just physically but emotionally too.  The hike started off relatively flat with a few up and down portions.  The pace at the start of the hike was pretty quick and we fell behind pretty quickly.  I thought we were well adjusted to the altitude after spending three days in Cuzco, but I was completely wrong.  Hiking in high altitude was definitely not easy.  Our guide Marco stressed that we needed to move at our own pace, and take it slow.  We had pretty good weather on day 1.  It was overcast and it was drizzling on-and-off, which was nice.  We actually had decent weather throughout the trip.  I was very thankful it didn't rain too much.

Inca Ruins

We stopped at several spots on the trail for Marco to explain about different plants or ruins we passed.  We were definitely the slowest in our group the first day.  By the time we made it to the lunch spot, I would guess we were at least half an hour behind everyone else.  We were the last ones to arrive at around 2:00.  Lunch was amazing and it was our first taste of what food on the trail would be like.  We had pumpkin soup, fried fish, stuffed avocados, and broccoli pizza among other things.  By the time lunch was over, we still had another 1 1/2 hours of hiking until we reached the camp site.  We quickly realized at our slow pace that what Marco said would be 1 1/2 hours, was more like 2 1/2 hours for us. We left the lunch spot at about 3:00 and quickly fell behind our group again.  At this point I was really worried if we were going to make it to the camp site before dark.  Luckily even though we were behind everyone else, the assistant guide Ronnie was with us the whole time.  We made it to camp just as it was getting dark and it had started to rain.  We were greeted by a big applause from all the porters since we were the last ones to arrive.  We were completely exhausted as we climbed into our tents and unpacked our duffel bags.  The sleeping bags we rented were surprisingly comfortable and warm.  We had happy hour in the dining tent which consisted of tea/coffee, Milo, biscuits and popcorn.

Dinner on Day 1

We had dinner shortly after and were given our wake up time of 5AM.  I was very anxious for day two since I knew we were very slow.  I was just hoping for a good, long rest.  My legs were extremely sore after the first day.  I actually woke up in the middle of the night because of the pain.  I took an advil and somehow made it back to sleep.  I was really nervous, but day two had come whether we were ready or not!

Peru Trip 2013!

Lima, Peru

Huaca Pucllana

Sacsayhuaman

Start of the Inca Trail- Kilometer 82

Machu Picchu

Zip Lining in the Sacred Valley

Colca Canyon

We got back from our trip from Peru about a week ago.  It was such an amazing trip, and I really hope to go back someday.  The highlight of the trip was definitely the Inca Trail.  It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it was so rewarding and such a good experience.  I will definitely do more blog posts on the whole trip, but it's nice to be back home!
As for the wedding, I'll do a separate blog post on that.  We haven't gotten the pictures from the photographer yet, but I will definitely do an update then.

Dreaming of...Peru?

So this idea all started about a month and a half ago.  I was on my lunch break at work and saw a blog post linked on Facebook about hiking the Inca Trail.  I really wish I could find the blog, because it was really well written, but I can't seem to be able to find the link again.  Anyway, we had been debating for quite a while as to where we should go for our "honeymoon", and we were pretty set on going back to Europe.  However, after reading this blog, I was inspired to do something different.  I've always wanted to see Machu Picchu, and since we've already been to Europe I thought going to Peru would be a nice change of pace.
We had been looking at airfare for the last month or so trying to set a date to go.  I was debating for a long time whether I should use my miles or just pay full price for the round-trip ticket.  Luckily the ticket prices have slowly been dropping the past month, and the price just dropped $250 yesterday so we took a big leap of faith, and bought our tickets!  We leave May 9, 2013 for 18 days in Peru!  I'm excited, but scared at the same time.  If anyone has been to Peru or hiked the Inca Trail before, please let me know if you have any advice!
We still have to book our flight from Lima to Cuzco, as well as out 4 day trek to Machu Picchu.  We are probably going to go with Peru Treks after hearing a lot of good recommendations from different blogs, and on Tripadvisor.  I will update on how the booking process goes, as well as how we will be training for the hike. 
As far as the actual wedding planning goes, we have secured a flower, invitation and cake vendor and well as the valet parking that is required at our venue.  My wedding dress should also be coming in sometime in December, so I'm really excited for that!  It's really nice to see things finally coming together.  I can't believe we only have 6 more months! 

Travel Blog: Stonehenge and Bath Day Trip

During the time we spent in London, we made it a point to make it out to Stonehenge before we left.  Originally we decided to try to go on our own by train, but after some research and deliberation, we decided to go with a bus tour, which was actually recommended by the receptionist at the hostel.  We were able to make reservations and pay for the tour at the front desk, so that was very convenient.  The day-trip which cost 44GBP included RT transportation by bus and admission to both Stonehenge and the Roman Baths.  I have to admit, from the beginning of the trip I was pretty set on not doing any kind of tours, but this one was actually pretty good and very affordable too!
We woke up really early in order to meet our bus at the Baker Street tube stop.  We were supposed to meet at 8am but our bus arrived a little late, so we ended up leaving around 8:15.  There were several other pick-up stops after ours, so we got to see more of the city by bus, and then it was a really long drive out to Stonehenge.  The drive probably took about 2 hours or so, and we got there around 10:30 or so.  The tour included an audio guide so we go those before we were allowed to walk around.  We had about an hour here to do the audio tour and buy souvenirs, but we only spent about 15 minutes outside.  The weather was pretty bad that day, very cold, windy and rainy, so after walking around once and taking pictures, we went into the gift shop where the heater was on.  You aren't allowed to get very close to the stones because it's roped off, but I've heard certain tours do let you get up close, but I think they're pretty pricey. As you can see in the picture above, you get fairly close (this is right near the entrance).  The below picture was taken on the far side, away from the entrance.

After spending about an hour there, we drove to Bath.  This probably took another 45 minutes or so, and once we were there, we toured the city by bus before they let us off.  From there, we went to the Roman Baths, and then had some free time to eat lunch and walk around the city.  We spent about an hour at the Roman Baths and then ate a quick lunch at Mark and Spencer.  Thankfully by the time we got here, the weather had cleared up and it turned out to be a pretty nice day.  Bath was such a pretty city.  I really loved it there!  I'm glad we took this tour, because I never would have thought to go there on my own.

We met back at the bus around 3:30 and headed back to London from there.  The drive back seemed really long and there was some traffic too.  We got back to the city at around 7 and went straight back to our hostel to eat dinner.  Although we were completely exhausted at the end of the day, the tour was a lot of fun and a good value.  I would say the only downside was that half way during the trip Alana and I got pretty sick from being on the bus so long.  The tour guide was very informative and pretty entertaining, so we each left a 10 pound tip at the end of the day.
If anyone is interested, here's the link to the tour page: Stonehenge and Bath Tour.  Feel free to leave any questions below, or if you've been to Stonehenge, please share your experience!  I'd love to hear your stories or other recommendations!

Europe Bound!

I'm so excited! Just purchased my tickets to Europe!
Leaving on March 13th to London and I come home on April 13th from Brussels! It took forever to find a cheap ticket, which I should have bought last week, but I finally got my tickets! It's a huge relief, but I still have to tweak my itinerary. Let me know if you have any tips or experiences traveling in Europe. Any advice would be appreciated!

Travel Blog: Eurotrip!

So I will be graduating this December, and to celebrate the ending of my college career, I've decided to treat myself to a trip to Europe. Europe has always been a dream of mine, and I never though I'd have the chance to go. But I think now is the right time for me to travel, since it will give me a break before I start a full-time job. I've decided to go from mid-March to April, for just about a month. Backpacking is obviously the most economical option, so that's what I'll be doing. I haven't really come up with an itinerary yet, but I have a tentative list of countries I'm planning to visit:
UK: London, Canterbury, Leeds, Lake District, Edinburgh
Paris
Amsterdam
Germany: Hamburg, Berlin
Prague
Switzerland: Interlaken, Zurich, Gimmelwald
Poland: Krakow
Italy: Rome, Pisa, Cinque Terre
I have not booked a ticket yet, but I hope to do so in the next month. Just waiting for the right time since the prices change throughout the day.
Has anyone had experience traveling in Europe? Any recommendations on places to visit or things to do? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Travel Blog: Shimanami Kaido!

So, this blog post is way overdue since I did this almost a month ago, but this was such an awesome experience!
Shimanami Kaido is a 60km (37 miles) road that runs from Imabari (Ehime Prefecture) to Onomichi (Hiroshima Prefecture). It passes through six islands in the Seto-uchi and is only accessible by cycling or walking. When I first heard of this, I thought it was pretty impressive that this path was built only for cycling. Everything is quite modern and the path was really maintained. As you can see below, the cycling path doesn't follow the actual highway, so it's significantly longer than if you actually drove.We decided to try this on a weekday so it wouldn't be as crowded (I think we only saw 2 or 3 other people the whole day...) so we went on a Tuesday (June 7th). We departed JR Matsuyama Station at 7am and it took about an hour to get to Imabari station by local train. Once we arrived, we caught a bus to Itoyama Sunrise, the cycle rental shop, which is located right at the start of the bike path. A one day rental only cost 500-yen, along with a 1000-yen deposit. There are numerous rental terminals along the path on the different islands, so they have a norisute (乗り捨て) system, which is really convenient. It allows you to return your cycle at any rental terminal along the course (in case you decide to turn around). The only downside is that you don't get your deposit back, so it cost us 1500-yen total. Also, each bridge you cross has a small toll you need to pay. We got a ticket book at Itoyama Sunrise which was on sale for 250-yen (originally 500-yen) which had tickets to cover all the tolls.
So we finally headed out at around 830. The first bridge leading to the first island Oshima was the longest one, and passing through Oshima was the toughest part of the trip. This island was huge and it probably took us about 45-60 minutes to get through this part. I was so happy to see the next bridge, and even happier that the next island Hakatajima was pretty short. We got through this one and the next one, Omishima relatively quickly and stopped for lunch before we headed to the next island. We ate and rested for about an hour, and headed out again at about 1:00. The next island, Ikuchijima was also another long one at about 12km and we got lost a couple times here. The path is usually well marked on the ground, but in some places there were no signs so we had to ask people for directions. Unfortunately this island had a temple I wanted to see, but we were trying to finish by sundown, so we decided to pass and keep going. I forgot to mention, these islands have quite a few attractions, like museums, temples and parks etc, but we didn't really stop to see anything because we were determined to make it to Onomichi. By this point i was getting really exhausted and ran out of water, but we kept going because we were almost done. The last two bridges and islands were really tough because we were so tired, but we managed to make it to the ferry port on the last island, Mukaishima before the sun went down. I was so relived to see the end and finally be able to sit down on something other than the seat on the bicycle (very uncomfortable...). From Mukaishima to Onomichi you have to take a ferry, which took only about 5 minutes. We finally arrived at Onomichi at 5pm, so it took us about 7 hours total to complete the course.
The whole course was relatively flat with a few hills, but to me the hardest part was the bridges. At each bridge there was a circular ramp with a steady incline, which takes some time to get up to the bridge. I wish I had brought more water, because I ran out half way through the trip. This was pretty tough for me since I'm not really in shape, nor do I cycle long distances, but it was such an amazing experience! The views from the bridges were really pretty, and it was pretty fun.
After eating dinner, we returned to Matsuyama by bus and train, and it took about 2 hours because we left Onomichi a bit late. I got back home at around 10pm, very tired and really sunburnt, but nonetheless feeling very accomplished. For those of you who happen to be in the area, and want a unique experience in Japan, I definitly recommend doing this!

Travel Blog: Budget Travel!!

Out of the 11 months I spent living in Japan, I had a lot of time to travel. In particular, domestic travel in Japan is quite expensive. People are more likely to travel abroad rather than domestically, just because it's cheaper. Anyway, I wanted to see as much of Japan as I could in the time I spent there, but I didn't have a whole lot of money. I was living off my scholarship allowance, about $800 a month. Although it seems like a lot I was paying rent, utilities, phone bill, insurance/pension and other stuff so I was on a limited budget. I actually did get to see most of what I wanted to, but I did it on a limited budget. I'm just going to share a few things I learned about how to budget my time and money while traveling.
Transportation
Sadly, this is probably going to be the bulk of your travel expenses. In Japan, public transportation is expensive, but it's also extremely convenient. I mostly had time to travel while we were on vacation at school, during winter/spring/summer vacations. During this time JR offers the 青春18切符 (seishun 18 kippu) tickets. This ticket is excellent for budget travel, but not if you need to get somewhere quickly.
These are valid for several months at a time, but only during winter (Dec.10-Jan.20) /spring (March 1-April10) /summer (July 20-Sept.10) vacations, or basically 4 months out of the year.
One ticket costs 11500-yen (about $115USD), and is valid for 5 days (consecutive or non-consecutive) days of unlimited travel on JR local and rapid trains. That's 2300-yen per day or $23USD (a bargain if you know the cost of train tickets -_-)! Shinkansen, Limited Express and Express are not valid for this offer, so the down side is, it takes a long time to get anywhere (you can only use local and rapid trains). You can also use it for more than one person. 5 people can share 1 ticket for 1 day, or 1 person can use it for 5 different days.
This is the only ticket I used when I traveled in Japan. I only had to take a bus once, but that was when I traveled during Golden Week and the ticket was not avaliable.
Hyperdia is an excellent site for looking up train timetables. You can enter a start and end station and it will tell you which train, what time, where to transfer, how much etc. It's very convenient if you're planning to travel anywhere by train.

Accommodation
Hostels are a great budget accommodation! I admit, I was a little skeptical at first because I've never stayed at a hostel before, but as long as you do research and plan ahead you'll be fine. Hostelworld is an awesome site! They have reviews and you can book your stay through the site. I've relied on this site for it's reviews and to book my accommodations, and I've always had really good experiences at the places I've chosen. Hostels are a great way to meet people from all over the world, and usually the people here are very helpful and friendly. Average rates are from about $20-25 a night for a dorm room (4-6 people) and can be up to $30 or $40 for a private (double or single) room. Dorms are usually divided by gender so it's not that uncomfortable. I did stay in a mixed dorm for 1 night, and it was a little awkward, but bearable. I probably wouldn't do it again unless I really had to. Capsule hotels are also a really cheap option, and something fun to try while you're in Japan. Whenever I went to Osaka I always stayed at a capsule hotel. It was about $25 a night. The actual capsule is much bigger than I thought it would be, so I was pleasantly surprised. The only thing I hate is there's not much privacy. Bathrooms, sinks, showers and your locker are all in a separate rooms and can get inconvenient. But it's a good option if you really have nowhere else to stay. It might be harder to find a place that accepts women (most only accept men), but hostel world has several listings, which is where I found the place I stayed at.
Business hotels are your next best option if there are no hostels avaliable. There are tons of business hotel chains all over Japan. I would recommend Toyoko Inn. They have locations everywhere, and they are usually located right outside the train stations so it's very convenient. Prices range from $45-60 a night, sometimes more. It's a decent price and the rooms are a good size for 1 or 2 people. Plus they serve free breakfast every morning!
Well this post is actually a lot longer than I expected it to be, so I'll probably add a second blog later. Hope this helps some of you. I'm thinking about taking a post-graduation trip at the end of the year, so I hope that will work out!

25 Before 25

25 things I want to do before I'm 25! ...well if not by 25, then before I die. I actually started this list when I was in high school and I've been slowly checking things off. But the list below are things I have yet to accomplish.

1. Climb Mt. Fuji
2. Donate blood
3. See the Grand Canyon
4. Ride a yellow cab in NYC
5. Throw a coin off the Empire State Building
6. Buy a lottery ticket
7. Dye my hair
8. Get a piercing (don't have any so far!)
9. Go surfing
10. Culinary school
11. Scuba diving
12. Ride in a Swan paddle-boat
13. Go Hand gliding
14. Ride in a hot air balloon
15. See the Northern Lights
16. Build a snowman
17. Ride a camel
18. Vacation in Japan (not for school or work...)
19. Go fishing and catch something
20. See squirrels and snakes
21. Take a spontaneous trip somewhere
22. Do some volunteer work abroad
23. Go back to the mainland (Only went to California once, and that was over 15 years ago!)
24. Go to my high school class reunion
25. Go snowboarding/skiing

Also, a list of places I want to visit within the next 10 years. After leaving the country once, I really want to travel again! If only I could save up the money...
1. Greece
2. Italy
3. Hokkaido
4. Egypt
5. Turkey
6. Holland
7. Dubai
8. Scotland
9. China
10. Australia

Where are some places you've travel to or want to go? Please share! I'd love to hear other stories. I'll probably be posting some travel blogs soon so look out for that :)