While poring over a map, I discovered that I'd visited 24 countries in 24 years. Surprised by this large number, I decided to document my travel experiences.
So here's the deal...one year, documentation of 24 countries, 115 cities and countless experiences. With stories, photos, anecdotes - I will try to capture what I saw, heard and felt.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Lima, Peru - Day 1

I am in Peru right now and this country is absolutely crazy! This trip and everything associated with it is absolutely crazy. Here's Dias Uno.

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Today, I walked through downtown Lima (or as they colloquially call it Centrale Lima). Filled with rich history and culture, I instantly fell in love with the place. Acute angled roads, circular paths, bright yellow and red buildings, it was as different and exotic to me as I'd imagined. I think the best way to soak in the the distinct culture is to walk around the city. You might run into a local arts and crafts fair. Or end up at a Cafe drinking Pisco Sour at noon.

I visited the Church of San Francisco which had catacombs. Unlike the ones in Rome, these were used for burial purposes only. They were situated just below the church because people wanted to be close to god. No pictures were allowed here. It was a cool, quiet and dark place. Rather peaceful actually. That is until you see the mass skeletons collected in shelves. There were a total of 50,000 people buried here, the guide told me. 50,000 skulls, 50,000 femurs.

In the church, everything was covered with giant christian paintings. But at one part, they had removed the paintings only to discover frescoes on the wall. These frescoes were post-colonial but the heads of the priests were missing. This is a very recent discovery and no one knows the reason for the missing heads. Staring at the headless paintings, gave me an eerie uneasy feeling.

And then, there was the library. Books that ranged from 15th - 20th century covered the walls. The 18th, 19th and 20th century books could be accessed. But the earlier 15-17th century books had not been accessed in years. The paper disintegrates, the guide explained. So no one was allowed to touch them. The Peru government does not have money for restoration (or perhaps it doesn't think its important enough). The whole time I was listening to this thinking that it is such a tragedy. Knowledge contained and existent that cannot be attained. What a waste of knowledge! What a terrible paradox!


Afterwards, at night, I went to the Fountains. Absolutely lovely. From watching a hologram ballerina dance to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, to the Fountain of Surprise where unexpected spurts of water will soak you, the night and the lights created a glorious combination. We were then led to a dinner. A buffet extravaganza with Peru's specialities. Pisco Sour, Black corn cola, ceviche, peruvian local dances...I watched and soaked in all. The whole thing lasted 4 hours and an extremely enjoyable evening.

What a wonderful day!

Looking forward to Cuzco tomorrow...

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Birthday Travel

I turned a year older yesterday. And due to bad (last minute) planning, I ended up spending the day travelling. But I think birthdays are associated with good travel karma and that may have broken my travel curse once and for all!

So I woke up at 5:30 am to take the subway from Lower East Side till JFK. At JFK, I checked into my flight, only to discover that I had two empty seats next to me on the plane. Success! I spent the whole way sleeping and making up for the late night. Midnight birthday celebrations where friends come together to do bourbon shots should never be avoided.

I got off at Salvador only to realise that the gate for my next flight was right next to my entry gate. (This NEVER happens to me. I always get the gate that is the farthest possible from where I entered). Also, Salvador has no security check from one flight to another. It was one of the smoothest transitions ever! So I sit down, wait and soon enough am boarding the next flight.

As I was crossing the chief steward, a random thought occured to me. I went up to him and asked if I could be upgraded. I never make such requests, but you see (I point at my passport), its my birthday today. He smiles and says Happy Birthday. Next thing I see, I am being upgraded to first class. My first time in first class on my birthday! Thank you for the present, world!

I sit next to this cute little boy of 20 and it's his first time in business class also. So we point at all the other people who are dressed pretentiously. He teaches me Spanish - Hoven* means Young Thing; Mierrda* means Oh Shit! I use all of it on the steward who is thoroughly enjoying watching us and our follies in first class. He insists that we both drink champagne as a celebratory birthday drink. I even cut my dessert as a mini cake and the boy sings Happy Birthday to me in Spanish. Not sure how it went, but I recognised the words Felis Cumple something.

It was a weird birthday. This was the first time that I spent the whole day without meeting friends or talking to family (I did meet friends at midnight, so won't count the whole 24 hours). But it ended up as quite an adventure and a lot of fun. In conclusion, perhaps once in your life, I'd recommend birthday travel.

* If I'm spelling these words wrong, I apologise!