The travel buddy, Allen.

He taught me the first Spanish words.
He travelled with me for 2 entire weeks.
He dealt with my constant fear of darkness at night.

Allen, a scout boy spending his time in united states for the summer and then decided to take a dip in Peru before heading to Canada and eventually heading home, Taiwan. We met then quickly became travel buddies as we are doing the same stuff and get along quite nicely (mostly because he is a very chill out guy).

"Jenny, you need to get more clothes and especially, a better pair of shoes."

"Jenny, here, take my 4gb memory disk. You can return it in the future."

"Geezes, you are going to Amazon and you don't have a torch? Take mine."

"I'm thinking whether to accompany you to Bolivia, see if I can get through the border with my Taiwanese visa."

We talk about everything and anything day and night, about family, work, relationships and future directions. We talk about our loved ones, our family and their personalities. We talk about photography. We also discuss the local culture and fellow travellers we meet. He tells me his knowledge on travelling gears. I sponsor face moisturising mask and sunscreen to him. He is extremely organized with his backpack. He records everyone he meets on the journey and their background. He owns a expensive camera and carries it everywhere with him. He is a IT programmer but after seeing the IT world and spending the summer in the states, he redrafts life goals to get in the marketing field.

For the first 2 weeks of the trip, I am very, very grateful for having Allen as a travel buddy.  He helped me get through culture shocks and eventually comfortable enough to travel by myself on this unfamiliar continent. It's these encounters that makes travelling memorable and create great lasting friendship. It's hard to imagine travelling with a stranger for so long but hey, its possible.

Thanks, friend.

fooling around in San Pedro Cusco market.

Going to Machu Picchu

Sometimes, it's all about the timing and the decisions you make at that time. I met Allen at the Cusco hostel reception on the first day and then decided in an hour that I will tag along with him to Machu Picchu the next day.

To do this spontaneous massive change in plan I had to

• Shop for warmer jackets, leggings and socks
• Cancel my hostel stay for the next 2 nights
• Work out whether I could get the train tickets at a reasonable price for the next day out (in line with Allen's already bought train ticket) 
• Make sure the Machu Picchu trail entry is still available for purchase (approximately 1000 people/day is the limit, luckily it was low season in September)

Luckily, everything went smoothly, I manage to get a reasonable 117USD return train ticket to and from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Caliente. We completed all of this in one evening then headed out the next morning.

There are many different ways to get to Machu Picchu

• Train (departing from Ollantaytambo, a town 2 hours away in the sacred valley)
• Hiking with a local company either on the the infamous Inca trail or on another local popular trail which I forget the name of (3 days, 4 days or even 5 days)
• Do your own hiking (we met a French guy who made it there himself)
• There's a secret way of taking taxi or collectivo to a small town's power station then hike to Aquas Caliente (this is mostly used by the locals)

Anyway, here's what Allen and I did

1. Get a 2 hour bus to Ollantaytambo (the buses were on strike so we tagged along a Spanish speaking tourist and eventually got a taxi to take us there)
2. The taxi dropped us at Ollantaytambo square and we had to walk 15 minutes to the train station
3. Train takes us to Aguas Calientes, the village situated below Machu Picchu
4. Stay a night at Aguas Calientes
5. Wake up at 4am in the morining to walk 30min to park bridge entrance which opens at 5am (flat road)
6. Hike up the vertical trail for 1.5hours (depends on your skills, some people do it in 30minutes) This is really really difficult for someone like me who just started backpacking and isn't exactly sportive.

And this is one of the easiest and chill out way of getting to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu, obviously, is awesome. Standing at the edge, waiting for the mist to clear up then all of the sudden, the sun comes out shinning warmly on this highly prized ancient ruin. At this moment, the pain of climbing 2.5 hours in the morning disappears completely. Of course, I have to mention the very fun weather we were given that day. First the sprinkle of rain and fog, then the hot sun blazing down then the finale of gradual sprinkle, normal rain then crazy rainstorm. We went to a cliff where you can see the entire city, hid under a tree with strangers, chatting and eating cocoa leaves then made a dangerous descend to get a bus back to town. It's all a bit strange at this stage of the backpacking trip, but I love every moment of interacting with strangers and observing the life of another part of the world. 

Machu Picchu at 6:30 am, before the massive bus taking tourist crowd arrives

San Pedro Market, Cusco

San Pedro Market, backpacker's heaven.
Cusco is a very touristy town, all the restaurants around the plaza is geared towards stripping every penny off the tourists. (well, I'm exaggerating) The point is, where do locals go? SAN PEDRO MARKET (and surrounding area)

San Pedro is THE place to do all your grocery shopping, meals and desserts. Allen (a travel buddy I met in the hostel and will talk more about afterwards) and I went there numerous times to get cheap meals and fruit salads. There are seared fish, grilled beef, chicken soup, yogourt salad with fruits, peruvian sushi etc etc etc. It's by far, the best place to experience traditional Peruvian cuisine at a very reasonable price. My favourite is a big plate of rice, fried potato, fresh salad and a fried egg with spicy sauces at a stunning 5 pesos, which is about $2. If you aren't full by the massive meals, get a massive cup of salad would be around 5 pesos or a classic Peruvian coffee.

Here's a few tip to get around the market,

1. You can bargain everything except the warm food sector. A little Spanish will be an advantage.
2. Take care of your belongings because it gets crowded and thus pickpocketing is not uncommon.
3. Observe, observe! Watch how the locals do it and copy them! It's SO fun!

If you feel ultra adventurous, trek out the market and head opposite direction of the city centre plaza, you'll find open market streets (day and night). You can also purchase grocery and street food here but the hygienics level is probably a notch down. There's also local Peruvian dessert shops, bakeries, ridiculously cheap hamburger shops and the best churros in town. This is where the Peruvian culture hits. 

the lunch crowd in the food sector

meat & cheese section

SPICES, in massive amounts!

Feeling blessed

On the third day of the trip,  I started feeling extremely blessed.

Blessed to have my family behind my back and supporting what I want to do

Blessed to have friends giving their horror face of "omg, please be very very VERY careful"

Blessed to have met travelling strangers to interact with

You need to be mentally strong to travel alone. There will be times you feel alone, for sure and no doubt. And thus, any warmth and love from family, friends and fellow travellers feels ultra precious.

Louise and William are the guys I started talking to in Lima's hostel. They are from San Paolo, Brazil. One is a junior architect and the other works in finance. William has better English and has a crazy manager who doesn't appreciate his hard work and thus he took a 2 week off to travel with his long time best buddy. They used their Brazilian Spanish and asked where to eat dinner then left the hostel, they came back after a minute and said, 

"Jenny, where's Jenny, ahhh, there you are! want to join us for dinner?" 

"Hey, you're leaving tomorrow right? take a taxi with us! its cheaper and safer, you're a girl, we don't mind being there a little early."  

"We'll walk with you to the shop, its safer." (even though the shop is right at the corner)

We split up in Lima airport and are all going to Cusco. We lost contact but had a strange yet super excited reunion on top of macchu picchu while hiding under a resting tent, waiting for the pouring rain to stop. 

Hugs and more hugs while talking about How I met your mother and Big bang theory (and waiting for the rain to stop)

They are funny and loving people. I will not forget them and their kindness to a lonely backpacker. 

The Australian boy, Gabe

We met at the airport going from Lima to Cusco in Peru.
Him and his female friend sat across me in the waiting benches, waiting for the gate to open and of course obviously, because we are in South America, it's "south american punctuality". I was on the fourth day of my travels and asked them to confirm that I am at the right gate going to Cusco.

"Hey, this is the gate for flight at 10:30 to Cusco right?"

"Yeah, we are on the same flight."

"Cool, where you guys from?"

"Australia, my friend is travelling with me for a month and then I am off by myself to Bolivia then Argentina."

"Really! I am on the same route as you!"

"Well, let me leave you my email, we could meet up again (write down his email on my "fuck you and your blog" journal, and I also ripped a paper out and wrote mine)"


We didn't meet up until La Paz in Bolivia, a month later.

On one of the busy intersection of La Paz's busiest tourist district,

"Gabe!"

"Jenny!"

Gabriel is from possibly the most boring town in Australia, Canberra. Finishing school recently, he decided to travel to South America to record sounds. Sound of the street, the alleyway, the wood workers, the party shouts, the bus driving by and the singing of the Amazon birds. He's an Australian DJ doing gigs for festivals and such. He is tall, slightly chubby and always carries his recorder. He spends extra money on private rooms rather than eating a good healthy meal. He sleeps for 3 days straight and parties for one big night then continue 3 days of sleeping. He stays quiet for a long duration and can not be disturbed by crap music. He gets angry at crap music, aka any mainstream music you hear on radio.

Because we are all a little scared

I'm back in Vancouver, safe and sound after 3 months of backpacking throughout South America. So, loosely based on the hand written journal titled "fuck you and your blog", I will share the journey.

First stop at Lima, Peru wasn't a pleasant one. Arriving at Lima near midnight, I previously got the hostel to send a taxi to take me to the hostel. Well, the taxi did not show up for an hour and so I had to give the hostel a call and wait another half an hour to finally get picked up. The immediate neighbourhood wasn't the safest place in Lima (I heard afterwards). The driver drove out of the airport and from there, it finally hit me that the journey has started. Looking out the window, seeing billboards, breathing warm South America pacific ocean air, seeing locals hanging out in small streets and holding foreign currency in my hand.  This, I told myself, would be an epic, slightly dangerous, three month journey. 

On the first day of venturing out of the hostel situated in the Miraflores district, I was honestly scared. The culture, architecture, and way to life is so different that I felt scared stepping outside the familiar hostel environment. The buildings were mainly low rise building with metal fences and lots of the building have private security guards. Because the city was in a developing stage, the residences rather build high story buildings over 1000 year old archaeology sites than excavating the site. There were so many mini private owned old 80s buses roaming on the streets and attendance of the bus shouting out location names. There were stalls selling local snacks and look alarmingly unhygienic. Miraflores was surprisingly full of resources. Its got all kinds of clothing shops, food options and electronic stores. It felt like developed countries 20 years ago, it's still in the rough age of coming together as a resourceful place but you can see that everyone has a city mind set of a developing country. 

Tips on walking in foreign third world cities/villages/towns:

• Don't look like a stupid tourist. Put all the valuables out of sight. Lock unessential valuables away in hostel lockers. The possibility of things getting stolen in a hostel compared to getting robbed on the street is significantly lower. A tourist walking with a camera bag, a backpack, and a belt bag is bound to get in trouble that day. 
• Only bring cash for the day and put it in pockets (girls got an extra bra option).If you bring a camera, make sure it's in sight at all times. 
• Look confident. This solves lots of potential problems. If you look confident and know what you are doing, it keeps away unnecessary attention.
• Know your way. Having a map in hand is not necessary but know the general direction. 
• Even if you don't know the way, pretend you do. A friend once said "I just pretend to walk to a destination, I don't know where the destination is, but I will walk very fast to it."
• Avoid eye contact (in some situations). Eye contact gives the other person a chance to interact. If you do not want to interact with strangers, the best is to avoid eye contact, and if they persist, pretend you are deaf and keep moving. 

South America Prep Part 11 Final: Bravery

 To go on a solo backpacker trip requires plenty of this, bravery.

We are used to be around friends and family and the normal routine that when in the situation of facing changes, uncertainty and unfamiliarity, we freak out. Really, it´s just getting use to the uncertainty factors, bracing the unknown and being okay with not knowing. You may make awesome friends and experience things that will not happen in the usual safety zone bubble.

People hear my plan to go solo in South America for three months, they freak out for me. I am also a little freaked out but deep inside somewhere I know it's going to be okay. I just need to get over the first stage of solo travelling, meaning taking care of myself and all responsibilities along with it. After the first freak out stage, then you head into the homesick zone, then it gets REALLY fun. So, ladies and gents, take a deep breath, gather all your bravery and jump! Guts.

I don´t find this on a normal day!

South America Prep Part 10: Believe in Humanity

Believe in humanity. It´s kind of hard at the beginning but it gets easier and easier. People are nice in general. There have been times where I desperately needed a helping hand and got offered tones of help from strangers whom I´ve never met and probably will never see again.

Just to name a few, when I stupidly brought myself to the middle of no where in Australia and a family gave me a free ride to my destination. When I got to Switzerland and forget all the information of where I booked the hostel and what the hostel name was. There is also a time when I got trapped in Paris without anyway of getting out of the city due to strikes and no way of getting accomodation due to football finale during the weeend then a friend of a friend of a friend whom I don´t even know the name of offered me to stay at her place for the night. There has been so many times people approach me when I look lost and offered their knowledge and even brought me to the place I wanted to go.

I trust people in general under the normal circumstances. Always exercise normal precautions but don´t get paranoid. You´re instincs are usually correct. It´s karma, be kind to others and you´ll be returned with same kindness.

Dog at Ollantaytambo using me as a sun shade. I guess he trusts me too.

South America Prep Part 9: Stuff you got to have

Among the hundreds of things that you think you might need...
Here's a quick list of items that I find essential for a South America trip

1. sunblock (high altitude, definitely need sunblock, even if its not a really sunny day)
2. bug repellant (going into the woods and wild, you will need this for sure, especially the Amazons)
3. waterproof jacket (depending on your season of visit)
4. a good small day bag that can hold water bottle and a journal (this will go a long way)
5. fleece jacket for night (the temperature goes from 5-24 degrees celcius in a day)

Peru is a growing touristy place, so anything you don´t have can be found here, its just the matter of the cost and the quality. I bought fleece jacket, leg warmer and warm socks for $40 Canadian here in Cusco, which come to think of it, if bought in Vancouver, it would have cost at a good $100. If you are going into the Amazons and/or hiking in the mountains for multiple days, investing in good outerwear at home country is a good idea.

When I climbed Machu Picchu, it was 4am but then it got really hot because of the vertical climbing. Then it started to sprinkle rain, which then I pulled out my thin wind jacket that can also withstand a little bit of rain. Machu Picchu had good sunlight for about two hours or so then it started to pour rain, which then I used the plastic poncho I bought from Aguas Calientes for 4 solus. Then when we headed down back to Aquas Calientes, it became hot again, which then I packed away all the warm gear and back to a thin long sleeve top. From there, you can tell that the temperature and the weather here is varies massively so being prepared for all kinds of weather would help you. Again, layering is a good technique in this case. Climbing Machu Picchu for two hours in the dark from the bottom was really difficult for someone who doesn't do any sport but it's totally worth it. Beautiful sight when the mist cleared up and the ancient city slowly appears in front of you.

South America Prep Part 8: Clothing Strategy

This is probably the most difficulty I have for packing for a trip. Most of the time the visiting area is not so vast that it would range from -10 Celsius to 25 celsius. Cusco and la Paz are both high altitude so it's cold at night while Santiago and Buenos Aires are mild temperatures throughout their spring season.

To prepare for this crazy variance, I had to strategy pack for layers. I packed 3 pairs of pants for spring and a pair of jeans for the colder areas plus a black tight just in case it gets really cold then I can double it up with the pants. For tops I have 3 tank tops, 3 tshirts, 3 long sleeve shirts, 1 merino long sleeve, 1 fleece hoodie, 1 wind breaker jacket. Then there's the usual intimate and socks. Then I packed a big scarf and a warm blanket just in case it gets cold at night.

For now I don't know how it'll work out, I wish I packed an extra warm pair of socks, merino tights and another warm long sleeve for the colds in highland but who know, maybe the Canada cold training will come in handy.

The layering strategy is usual good. I like to wear a long tank top to keep myself warm then layer clothing on top depending on the weather. Layering allows you to peel off like bananas when it's hot and put them on when it's cold. In any case, you can always buy a couple pieces of clothing if you needed more.

South America Prep Part 7: Backpack and bags

Backpacks
I've been travelling with tow duffle bag most of the times. This time, I want to get a 65L backpack so it would be easier to go around less developed areas. After much research, to simply put it, the backpacks are ridiculously expensive. Most of them are more than $200, some bigger brands goes up to $300-400. I went to craiglist in hopes to find a second hand for a much better price. Turns out, craglist did not let me down! There was a lady selling a brand new Taiga bag for $80 (regular price $160). There are plenty of people selling their used backpack for a reasonable price. Make sure they have a photo available with product name and type so you can check online for the bag's details and reviews.

Bags
Again, plenty of travel bags are made well but at the same time, they are pricey. I went to urban outfitter for bargain searches. I needed a bag that is durable and can be backpack, messenger bag and shoulder bag. This Deena & Ozzy bucket bag on the left hand side matches the needs except its unknown durability (UO have good bags but many times it's not built to last). The bag was on sale's sale's sale which turned out to be $7 after tax. I got another very durable looking Herschel eighteen cordura fabric hip bag for $15 at the UO sale. It can be a shoulder bag as well so it'll probably be used as a day pack.

South America Prep Part 6: Hostels and Guides

Guides

I refer to Lonely Planet and Rough Guides when first starting to do backpack trips. Later on, as I got more use to socializing with people and finding local resources, reading guides became less of a habit. I'll do a little homework scan on the local safety and top known attractions then leave the rest as a surprise! Socializing to people is such a fun way to find out where to go and where's the party. Its so boring to have things planned out on a trip, it eliminates the element of surprise, plus, you get to do these things with new friends. Talking to the local hostel hosts and staff is a good idea as well. They usually have good suggestions and local secrets and most of the time, it will not burn a hole in the wallet. Many hostels have boards that tells you what to do around town as well, but that depends on the quality of hostels you go to.

Hostels

Hostelworld has been my go-to since the beginning of adventures. It hasn't failed me once. Top qualities I look for is cleanliness and safety. Usually what I do is search the location then sort the results by top satisfaction reviews then look for the one with cheapest dorm room bed. It usually gives you a within reasonably cheap dorm room but a great overall hostel quality. From my past experience, it doesn't make a difference whether its a 12 person mix dorm or a 20 person mix dorm, so I just go for the biggest dorm room possible to save more money and still maintain the quality. The pros of staying at dorms is that you will meet plenty of people within a short amount of time and the cons is your dorm mates will mostly likely be guys. For me, they are easier to befriend and hang out with but you have to understand that they are simply not as clean or tidy as girls.

one of my favourite hostel :)

South America Prep Part 5: Route Planning

When I was taking a short vacation at Quebec, I met a guy while staying at a couchsurfing who just travelled to South America. I was naive thinking one month would be more than sufficient for South America, but then he replied "Girl, you need way more than that, I went for almost 6 months and I felt another 3 months is in need." This is when I extended it to 3 months.

The Rough Guides on South America had many suggested itineraries so I did some research, ruling out the stuff I don't mind missing out and the places I definitely want to visit. Eventually I just dot them down on the map and figure out a loop route out of Lima and back while referencing them to the amount of in between travel time and whether I can afford it. Its a rough itinerary, things change in split seconds sometimes so I usually try to not write plans in stone unless its something like the Macchu Picchu trail which needs 6 months advance booking. I decided to leave Brazil out of this round since I was too late for visa and because it would be a rush to do it all. I rather spend an extra night or two at one place...

So here is the rough idea for this loop trip

1. Peru
• Lima
• Cusco & around
• Macchu Picchu
• Lake Titica
2. Bolivia
• La Paz & around
• Amazon tour guide
• Uyuni
3. Argentina
• Buenos Aires
• Maybe hop over to Uruguay for a couple day if I feel ultra adventurous
• Rosano
• Cordoba
• San Juan
• Mendoza
4. Chile
• Santiago
• Valparaiso
• travel along the coast all the way to Arica and cross Peru border back to Lima 

I have to admit I haven't done a whole lot of homework so this might include some bad ideas but I'm sure there would be advices and information along the way. As long as I am open to change, make enough time cushion for myself and remain calm, it'll be fine. 

South America Prep Part 4: Money and Vaulables

Let's talk Murphy's law: shit happens.
But here's a few things you can do to reduce the chance of it happening. I've done quite a bit of stupid things in the past and learnt it the hard way. You don't want to learn it the hard way...


Stay low profile
It's simple, don't flash your blings. Keep bags, watches, cameras, necklaces, rings, smart phones and anything of high value out of sight. Don't tell others how loaded you are. A tip my sister taught me is to tell people you're at the end leg of your trip, this gives the signal that you probably don't have much on you.

Keepin' the money safe
Spread the eggs, don't put them all in one basket. Spread out the valuable money to three four different places. I usually keep visa card and some cash with me, keep the debit card and some more cash in the main bag's inner pocket or in one of the organizer bags and then also put medium bills in couple of jackets and pants pockets (it'll come in use when shit happens.)

Lock it up
Bring a lock so you can use the hostel safe box/lockers and just take the stuff you need you for the day or two. Some hostels even provide locks with electric plugs inside so you can charge the electronics while away. When hostels do not provide this service, I usually place my small purse (cards, cash, phone and other important stuff) under the pillow, against the wall or dead corner if possible and with the strap around my arm while sleeping. You'll be sleeping your head on it, placed in a hard to reach corner and have your hand wrapped around it.

Know the local crime and safety
Do the homework, read up crime and safety tips from guide books and online sources and also exercise normal precaution at all times. Be alert of your surroundings and go with your instincts (most of the time your instincts are correct). I usually put on a slight poker face, keep the map in the pocket and walk confidently. Also read up on Canadian travel advisory for local government stability and other advisories.

Back up plans
Remain calm. Breath and breath some more. Go back to resources. The embassy, the travel insurance, the spread out cash and cards, the police and the rainy day fund. As long as you are healthy and safe, you can work things out.

We are usually stronger than we think we are. 

South America Prep Part 3: Budget

Money Money makes the world go around. You know what they say, spend money on the things money can buy and spend time on the things money can't buy (not that it's relevant to this topic... )

Budget
I always have a rough budget plan so I will not return home broke, the costs will not be a surprise afterwards and that there is emergency money set aside for a rainy day. Everything below are budgeted in Canadian Dollars.

3 months budget to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile
Return Ticket (Lima, Peru): $700
Travel Insurance (WorldNomads): $300
Vaccination: $500 (It was high because I did everything including meningitis and yellow fever)
Daily budget of hostels and food (Roughly based from guides book recommendations)
$20 per day at Peru x 25 days: $500
$20 per day at Bolivia x25 days: $500
$40 per day at Argentina x20 days: $800
$45 per day at Chile x20 days: $900
Guided tours approximate allocation: $600
Transportation: $600 (travelling mainly by bus)
Souvenirs and shopping: $250 (I am not a huge shopper)
Trip essentials: $200 (Backpack, prescriptions, sunscreen, bug spray)
Visa: $250 (for Argentina and Chile as Canadian)
Rainy day: $500

Rough budget total: $7500

For the rough budget to be effective and useful, determine your travel style and your general preference. If you are more of an luxury type or like to splurge, then allocate appropriately to daily budget and guided tours. If you are visiting for a short time, then check on the transportation costs of flying to destinations. If you do big shopping sprees or plan on taking home 50 pairs of Havaianas, then bump up that shopping budget.

I intentionally made guided tours, transportation and daily budget more than the recommended so it would be  more enjoyable rather than suffering (and safer in some cases). I have a low shopping budget because I generally just send post cards to friends and family then the rest of that money are for splurging purposes. Backpack cost would be much greater if you are buying it completely new and it would be non existent if you are able to get hands on a free one.

My recommendation would be to not cheap out so much that it would make your trip a complete lump of suffering. It's not fun when there's only one meal a day or sleeping in bed bug infested rooms. Stay on track of spendings and do the homework to find out which things you definitely want to do and plan it in the budget.

If partying day and night is your thing, bump up that alkie budget! 

South America Prep Part 2: Plane ticket and travel insurance

Plane Ticket
My plan is to stay in South America for 3 months. The mission is to find which entry point is the easiest and the most convenient given where I'm departing, Vancouver, Canada.

I started off reading travel websites and blogs to find out which city in SA (South America) is the cheapest entry point and which airlines in general provide better offers. Reading other people's experience and advices provided an overview.What really helped me was simply going to Expedia and type in the capital cities of the countries I'm going to and look at which destination (and its corresponding airline) is the cheapest. The result will probably vary widely for everyone locating in different places on earth and also depending on how far in advance from the planned departure. It came apparent that from Vancouver to South America, Lima, the capital of Peru, is the most economical entry point and works with my vague travel itinerary.

After that, it was pretty straight forward. I went on to the airlines website and searched for the location on flexible dates to obtained the cheapest possible plan ticket within the time frame.

• Point 1: Be sure to check how long the layover is if there are transfers, sometimes it is better to transfer more than layover for a strange long amount of time. 
• Point 2: Check the time of arrival at the destination and the departure time back to home town. It would do you good to pause here and do a little bit of homework before booking flights that depart or arrive in late hours. Make sure to know that you'll know how to get from the airport to your accommodation. Sometime it is better to pay a little bit more for a better landing time.
• Point 3: Check the flexibility rules on the tickets, you may decide its too awesome and want to stay for another month, who knows?!

The result: a return ticket from American Airlines flying into Lima beginning of September (transferring at Houston) and out of Lima back home beginning of December (transferring at Houston and L.A). Approximately 10 hours one way.

Cost of the ticket booked 1 month in advance: 700CAD


Travel Insurance
Same idea as vaccination, it's to provide yourself some cushion in case of a rainy day. I previously travelled to a few places without buying travel insurance, but those are all places that are familiar for me and usually does not involve an extensive amount of sports activities.This time, it's a unfamiliar place with sports activities involved plus the known profile of the destinations... It's a no brainer that travel insurance is in need.

World Nomads is the travel insurance company I went for after researching a couple offers. The quotes of this company for Canadian residents are reasonable, the reviews of the previous users are great and there are a couple of travel books recommending this company. Overall, it is reputable and great value with very clear access and explanation of the their coverage plan.

In addition, have a good read on their website, it provides quite a lot of updated information on the current conditions of countries and tips of how to be safe.

The result: approximately 300CAD for 3 months for Canadians.

South America Prep Part 1: Vaccination

Beginning of this year, I've decided to quit my job and travel to South America for three months. At this stage in life, I am lost and don't know what to do so I choose to see the world. Someone once said school and work can be done in many stages in life yet travelling should be done at a young age so.... here we go!



To start the preparation work, first thing to do is... visit a travel clinic doctor!

Below information are only from my personal experience, please consult a professional for what is best for you :)

Protecting your health is the utmost important element for this trip and any trip. Health is the basic requirement for anything you do!

It is very important to visit the doctor far in advance to the departure date. I visited a local travel clinic about 5 weeks prior to departing the country. Remember to find the record of your immunization records, it would speed up the process and reduce uncertainty.The clinic doctor would be able to look are your medical history and recommend what is best for you.

Here's the immunization vaccinations I had to take:

1. Yellow Fever
• This vaccination protects you against yellow fever (mosquito born virus), which is common is many parts of South America. Be sure to tell your clinic where you plan to travel so it can be determined whether you need it or not. Some countries will require you to have the vaccination shot to enter the country if you are from certain yellow fever effected areas. You will be required to present the original yellow fever certificate provided by the clinic at border entry points. My suggestion is to staple it to your passport. If you are going to the Amazon, this is almost a guarantee must have. This immunization is expensive so I strongly recommend to know which parts of the continent you will be visiting before deciding on this shot. 
2. Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio
• This is a basic shot that everyone in Canada gets in childhood immunization program. I got an booster shot since its a long time since receiving the first does.
3. Measles/Mumps/Rebella
• This is also a basic shot for everyone in Canada. I received a booster shot to up the immunization.
4. Hepatitis A
• Some South America countries require Hep A injection within 6 months entering the country, check with the specific requirements with the countries you are visiting.
5. Hepatitis B Booster
• This is recommended to me by my clinic as I hadn't have the shot since birth immunization. They suggested to take a booster to be safe.
6. Vivotif for Typhoid
• Typhoid is a food and water born disease transferred by injection. This is an oral vaccination which is a continuation of one tablet every other day for 8 days with total of 4 tablets. It needs to be completed 2 weeks before departure and lasts for 4 years. Whether to take this immunization is optional for my trip but I decided to take it since I will be travelling alone.  
7. Dukoral for travellers Diarrhea and Cholera
• This is also optional. This is protection against Diarrhea (e.coli) for 3 months and Cholera for 2 years. Again, I chose to do this because I will be travelling solo. This vaccination must be completed a week before departure. Is it 1 tablet a week for 2 weeks. 
8. Meningitis
• This one is also optional. The vaccination lasts 10 years. People under 30 and elders are the categories under risk. This is again an expensive vaccine but the clinic recommended to take it if I am going to travel frequently and to share space with a wide variety of people. 

Additional prescriptions that I was given:

1.  Altitude sickness
• This is very common for travellers visiting places for example, Bolivia and Peru. This is an optional prescription but I took it just in case I was heavily effected by the altitude.
2. Malaria
• Malaria is also mosquito born virus and does not have vaccination. The prescription will need to be ingested before, during and after your time visiting the effected area (have a rough idea how long you will be in the effected zone). There are 3 kinds of medicine for Malaria, 2 of them potentially have side effects and I took the last one which has no side effects. Again, the choice is because it is a solo trip and I want to minimize the chance of weak mentality.

My experience with the travel clinic was long and extended. I had to travel 5 times to the clinic mainly because I had to obtain a record from province's immunization record office. If you have your record and know which areas you are visiting, then it would make the process much smoother. 

Coming up is preparation part 2 for plane tickets and travel insurance!

Let's start here.

Life is about making dreams come true. What if you don't have a definitive dream just yet?

I'm in mid 20s and wandering.

This is a documentation of wandering experiences in hopes to bring positive affects to self and others. Recordings of potentially awkward backpacking stories, encounters, and realizations.