#  >  > Non Asia Travel Forums >  >  > Travel the World Travellers Tales Forum >  >  Amazon River and Machu Picchu, Peru with the Thai girlfriend

## S Landreth

Besides Machu Picchu and the Amazon River we will be visiting a few other places while here for a few weeks.

First stop, Lima.

Catacombs




While in Lima for the past few days we've had time to the visit the Colonial area of Lima, a few different districts, a market and some parks while bike riding.

I am only going to note a couple of places of interest. The Convent of San Francisco (and its catacombs. Shhh, no pictures allowed) pictured above. The San Martin Plaza where we were told there was a protest taking place most every day. Yesterday they were protesting for an increase in benefits for older Peruvians and the Huaca Pucllana (adobe pyramid). 

Local market with what looks like fresh products.






Plaza San Martin


Huaca Pucllana






Love Park


Were staying at the Belmond Miraflores Park in Miraflores. 

Our room and view,. 









Your Thai spouse will not need a Visa and can visit up to 183 days as long as they are holding a return ticket. However you might. US citizens can travel to Peru as a tourist for up to 90 days (no Visa required).

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## S Landreth

Just a tease. 


I will post more about Machu Picchu (and the train ride here) when I have time next week. 




We were in Cusco for a night and will be visiting again before we head to the Nasca Lines. Ill try to post about our visits to Cusco and the Nasca Lines before we head to the Amazon where we will be without internet access while on the river cruise (7 nights).

Tomorrow well be climbing Huayna Picchu to get a different view of Machu Picchu.

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## misskit

Catacombs, markets, and Machu Picchu! Wow. I like it. 

What is Huaca Pucllana?

The weather looks great for sight seeing and getting good photos.

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## Loy Toy

Another brilliant thread from our world traveller.

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## Eliminator

I  agree with LT, great pics.

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## Latindancer

I can only dream of staying in a suite like that. Thanks, El Presidente.

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## alwarner

Nice pics, I've read recently that a lot of South American countries give Thai nationals visa on arrival.  Do you know if Peru is one of them?

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## S Landreth

^Thanks everyone.

Not really a tease but I wanted to get some things out of the way before I posted Machu Picchu information/pictures. You might not often see Machu Picchu from this direction. We were on the mountain top of Huayna Picchu (aka Wayna Picchu) which is the mountain youll see in the background of most Machu Picchu pictures. There are only 400 visitors allowed on the mountain top each day. Machu Picchu allows 3,000 guests to visit every day. Used to be 7,000 guests allowed to Machu Picchu. I have been told the World Heritage Organization (UNESCO) wants to close Machu Picchu to all visitors.


While getting some pictures of the girlfriend this morning some other women were fascinated by her Owl scarf and wanted to use it when pictured (not the gf pictured below). We were not at the top of Huayna Picchu yet.


We took the Hiram Bingham Train to Machu Picchu from Cusco. It was a nice train ride. Four hour train ride as compared to a four day hike.








of course some of the views were great,..

Spooky Skylodge below




A short video the girlfriend took. The river we are crossing is the Urubamba River which is a tributary to the Amazon.




Train food. The girlfriend doesnt eat red meat (for the most part) and they took her order down wrong. But she did say she loved the mistake.


We are staying at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge while at Machu Picchu. Our room (master suite),.













> What is Huaca Pucllana?
> 
> The weather looks great for sight seeing and getting good photos.


Its in the link above,..

_The Archaeological Complex "Huaca Pucllana" was an Administrative and Ceremonial Center of the Lima Culture, a society that developed at the Peruvian Central Coast between 200 AD and 700 AD. Located in today's district of Miraflores the "Huaca Pucllana" was built around 500 AD. "Pucllana" is one of the most important ancient monuments in Lima._

And yes weve been very lucky with the weather to date. We are hoping tomorrow will be just as nice as it was today. It will be our last day visiting Machu Picchu.




> I've read recently that a lot of South American countries give Thai nationals visa on arrival. Do you know if Peru is one of them?


Peru is one and I posted a link to the Peruvian Embassy above (183 days is better than the 90 days they'll give me). 

_THAI citizens do not require a visa to enter Peru. They need only to hold a valid passport and a return ticket on arrival. They are allowed to stay up to 183 days in Peru._

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## rickschoppers

Interesting pics and I do have a couple of questions.

Why the generous lengths of stay for Thais while US citizens only get 90 days?

What are the costs like in Peru for train ride and nice hotel rooms shown?

I have always wanted to travel to Central and South America.

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## beerlaodrinker

Jesus mate!you certainly don't fuk about when you go traveling. Interesting pics and commentary, thanks for taking the time

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## chassamui

The TD Whicker report. High standards as usual SL.

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## terry57

If one has the money one needs to spend it.

I applaud this guy, bloody brilliant. 

First class all the way.  :Smile:

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## S Landreth

^Thanks again, everyone.

The climb to the top of Huayna Picchu. We clocked in at 7:54am and made it to the top within an hour with a few breaks along the way. We signed out at 10:33am. They make you sign your name (and time) in and out when visiting Huayna Picchu.


The mountain


And where we’re looking to end up


You should be in good physical condition before you attempt this hike. I’m dead serious! If you are healthy you should make the run. People seem to enjoy the view.

Warnings: if you have any problems with vertigo or confined spaces (there is a small cave you have to pass) don’t attempt the hike. Bring mosquito repellent, water and rethink the hike if it’s damp/wet outside. 

Working our way up








From the highest point


Machu Picchu security. He will yell at you if you’re doing something he might consider unsafe.


Verification


The walk down. If you trip and it’s bad enough you’re a goner. Some of these stairways are next to vertical cliffs. Shhh,….If the girls were not with me, it would have taken me longer to get down.








Back at Machu Picchu and the welcoming committee





> Why the generous lengths of stay for Thais while US citizens only get 90 days?
> 
> What are the costs like in Peru for train ride and nice hotel rooms shown?


To answer your first question,.........I have no idea.

Here’s a picture of one of our one way trip train tickets


As you know we took the Hiram Bingham to get here. But you can also take a different line to get here from Cusco (I think the cost is 92.00 US during high season). PERURAIL

Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu was 142.00 Soles


Cost of a one way bus ride into town (train station) from Machu Picchu.


About the cost of a room here at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge. I don’t like to quote prices on my threads because prices will change over time. However, there’s a town close to Machu Picchu (just a 20 minute bus ride everyone has to take to get to Machu Picchu) and it’s called Aguas Calientes (where the train ride ends from Cusco). 

Check here for reasonable prices: Aguas Calientes Hotel Deals

Please continue to research before you visit and don't rely on my comments/posts for accuracy. This might be a rough guide for you and others, only.

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## Stinky

Looks like a proper adventure holiday SL and definitely not for the meek, great photos thanks for sharing,

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## AntRobertson

Awesome thread.

Jeez you get about, Landreth!

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## S Landreth

^Thank you both.

I want to show some of the points of interest here at Machu Picchu.

First the Main Square,.


Main gate,.


Guardhouse,.


West Agricultural Sector,..


East Agricultural Sector,..


Temple of Three Windows,.


Temple of the Sun,


Construction (no concrete),..


Sun Dial,


Inca Cross,.


Interior Room,.


Storage Rooms,..


Maintenance  




Temple of the Condor


Offering Sites. I received what maybe a twisted version of history from our guide about these sites (she might have a sense of humor). But first a short story about the guide explaining Koricancha (Temple of the Sun) in Cusco. We were there with her last week and she told us they would sacrifice the most beautiful women to appease the God/s who looked over El Nino each year. I told her they must have forgotten the sacrifice last year because this years El Nino might be the strongest ever recorded.

OK, so now I know she knows the Incas would sacrifice women.

Now were at Machu Picchu and the guide tells us these offering sites are where the Incas would offer animals to the Gods. In the same breath she tells us they have discovered an unusual amount of female corpses as compared to the male corpses at Machu Picchu. As to why there arent that many male bodies here? The guide tells us that the Inca males might have been out helping with the expansion of the empire and the crops would not have been properly taken care of, leading to the death/starvation of many of the Incas still at Machu Picchu.




Coca Plant. Peru allows the leaves to be used for medicinal purposes, but you cannot cook it. The girlfriend has been drinking the Coca Tea since she arrived in Peru. 


Machu Picchu

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## S Landreth

Before we left for Thailand from Florida we had dinner with a couple guys. One of them told me we had to visit the Nasca lines; by helicopter, while we were in Peru. 

I dont like helicopters but the girlfriend started smiling. The one guy encouraging us to visit the lines told me not to worry that all the pilots had been trained by the US (he was DEA and knew something). I still wasnt convinced a helicopter was the safest way to view the lines, so we opted for a plane.

Today we had a chance to fly over Perus Nasca lines. 

I recently read a book related to the natives in the Americas and the book; as does the National Geographic article in the link above, suggests that the lines where for ritual purposes. Water.

We climbed to 9,500 feet and headed for the lines.

Below is the Pan-American Highway


When we got closer to the lines we dropped down a bit to get a closer look.

Whale,


Trapezoids,.


Astronaut,..


Monkey,.


Dog,..


Hummingbird,


Spider,..


Condor,


Hands & Tree,


Parrot,..


I havent had a chance to post about Cusco yet, but will when we get back to the states after our Amazon River cruise (10 days from now).

Ill get this out of the way, till then. If youre ever in Cusco, you might consider treating yourself. Try to get the same room we were in at the Belmond Palacio Nazarenas. Our room (Palacio Suite),.











Hes making a Royal Inca Tunic (at the hotel). Itll take him anywhere between 2 to 3 months to finish (working part-time).

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## patsycat

Magical!!  A place i have always wanted to visit.

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## Iceman123

> Magical!!  A place i have always wanted to visit.


Mr Landreth is taken so I suggest you get the old arse splitting disco pants out of the wardrobe, dust them down and head to a Swiss nightclub and try to pull one of them rich Swiss bankers,.
No point waiting on the ex firey - he is now batting for the pink team!

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## patsycat

> Originally Posted by patsycat
> 
> 
> Magical!!  A place i have always wanted to visit.
> 
> 
> Mr Landreth is taken so I suggest you get the old arse splitting disco pants out of the wardrobe, dust them down and head to a Swiss nightclub and try to pull one of them rich Swiss bankers,.
> No point waiting on the ex firey - he is now batting for the pink team!


Swiss bankers don't have much money and are boring.

I was thinking about an English rugby player, i hear they are going cheap at the moment!!

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## Iceman123

:rofl: 
Very topical
 ::spin::

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## S Landreth

This week Ill restart and try to finish this travel thread. But first I want to tell everyone about the Aqua Amazon. They are the company that we used to tour the Amazon for seven nights. They also provide three and four night cruises.

Wonderful boat and crew (of 24). Terrific food and the most knowledgeable guides I have ever spent time with. I cannot say enough about those three guys (the guides) the Aqua Amazon provided us with.






Of course I will not be able to post all the pictures I would like, but I will try to give everyone an idea of what you might encounter while out along the Amazon (and in the jungle close to the river). The gif above was an anaconda resting along the waters edge (under a large fallen tree) that the guides grabbed so we could get a closer look.




> Magical!!


Its been a while since Ive seen you on one of my travel threads. Welcome back. I want to show you something you might enjoy.


The girlfriend drank one of these cocktails, most every night she was in Peru. The Pisco Sour is considered Perus national drink.

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## Humbert

Fantastic voyage. Jealous of the rock star life.

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## katie23

Thanks for sharing your adventures.  You're a rock star!  :Smile:

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## S Landreth

^Thank you both

We were in Cusco for a few nights (split up). Lovely city (should not be missed when visiting Peru) and the heart of the Inca Empire.

Saksaywaman was the fortress protecting Cusco.






Santo Domingo Church (no pictures allowed inside) built upon the foundation of the Inca Temple of the Sun -  Coricancha, where the Incans would perform human sacrifices (for the Sun god) .




In the Sacred Valley

Pisac archeological complex




youre looking at burial sites for the upper class


burial sites for the lower class (holes dug out in the mountainside),.


Water (fountain) diverted to the city from glaciers,..


Ollantaytambo used as a fortress by the Inca army to protect the Urubamba Valley and used a resting point for pilgrims traveling to Machu Picchu

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## S Landreth

The Amazon

First Ill share the softer side of the Amazon, before I move to my last post where Ill post about the animals/fish/insects that will eat/bite you.

Each day while out on the Aqua Amazon the three guides would take the guests; by skiff, on two different excursions (morning and afternoon).  I am going to show everyone some pictures with; at times, a short description. I am not going to remember the name of every animal/bird/fish I saw. 

One of three skiffs that would take us out. Each skiff would carry no more than eight guests and one would carry a paramedic who was with us at all times.


One of the first trips we took was to a local village so we could visit with villagers. The company that operates Aqua Amazon/Aria Amazon would send a rep to help these communities (part of their effort to help and give back) we would visit (provide aide/assistant). We (most all the guests) would also bring something simple for the kids. 

The Aqua Amazon would switch to different villages up and down the Amazon. The kids were great and happy to see us. I think it broke their day up a bit with something unusual (us). It would also give the villagers a chance to sell their wares.

One of the guests on our boat was a pediatrician and she told us that the tint in the hair of most of the children was caused from the lack of iron in their diet. The guide did confirm her observation. 








Gray (they are tiny) and Pink Dolphin 




Birds,






The bird below has been given a nickname by the Peruvians. They call it the Texas Bird. If you look at its neck youll see a red ring around it. They know  :Smile: 


Bats,.


Giant lily pads,.


Yes, I did go swimming with red belly piranhas.


Young Sloth,..





Our guides. All three of these guys grew up along the river.


The views were always changing as the river does and each night we were lucky enough to witness sunsets as the one below.

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## S Landreth

Visiting the Amazon was a wonderful adventure and I would suggest everyone go see it, if given the opportunity. If you are able to visit try to get an educated Peruvian guide to help you. You might learn a little more and no doubt you will be safer.

Now for the Amazon creatures that might harm you.

During one of our first outings the guides took us for a two hour walk in the forest. We only walked about a quarter mile with the help of a local guide (besides our Aqua Amazon guides) and ran into many unique creatures. 






Pretty but deadly,




Another tarantula,.


This one jump into our boat while traveling. Locals call it the amazon barracuda.


Young caiman




Some animals not as dangerous but shy for the most part. Please forgive some of the blurred pictures,










Everyones favorite meal (snakes and caiman) the capybara,..




Catching the anaconda below. There were two attempts (two different snakes). The first; at a different location, failed.


Our guides have done this time and time again and know where to stop and look for anacondas along the banks of the amazon. They will look for tree branch debris piled up and will usually find some anaconda resting or waiting.

The first stop we made was a debris pile about three feet thick. Under it was an anaconda about twelve feet in length. All three guides jumped from their boats and tried to expose the snake by opening a hole on top of the debris. Our guide asked me to get him the oar from the boat. I gave it to him and he moved the pile a bit and then up comes a Fer-de-lance snake. All the guys jumped back and this snake took off after our guide following him Up On our boat. Seriously,this snake was angry and aggressive. Ive never seen anything like it before. Luckily our guide took the oar he had and swatted off the boat we were on.

The Fer-de-lance after being swatted off the boat and into the water,..


They went back to the pile and by this time with all the commotion the anaconda woke and started for the water.

The next stop and how the guides caught the anaconda is below in the video. No, I didnt go to touch him. I was happy with the picture.




Red belly Piranha fishing

The boat stopped next to a picturesque spot along the bank and poles (just branches with a line about six feet long) were given to us all who wanted to fish.

No more than five drips of blood were placed in the water next to the boat from the zip-lock baggy containing the bait.

Within five seconds of dropping my line in the water (with bait on the hook) I had a hit. My first catch,.


Dont laugh  :Smile: 

Everyone was pulling piranhas out of the water left and right. The guides on the boat were keeping the larger ones and tossing the smaller ones back in. I couldnt believe how easy it was to attract the fish to the area with just five drips and how much easier it was to catch them. 




One place we missed while in Peru that others seemed to enjoy was Lake Titicaca. I dont think well visit it any time soon but you might consider it if youre going to visit the country. If you are thinking about visiting, dont miss Machu Picchu and the Amazon River.

I want to thank everyone who stopped by and either left a positive comment or showed me some appreciation.

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## terry57

If my Super Fund ever starts making money again I may just go check that joint out.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

Bloody awesome adventure there my friend.  Well done

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