How to use public transportation to visit tourist sights in Quito

↑ A bus stop in Quito’s tourist district

Since I am completely committed to sustainable modes of public transit as opposed to taxis or cars, I was delighted to find that most, if not all, principal sights of tourist importance in Quito can be accessed by public transport. For a mere $0.25, one can navigate a vast network of efficient public transit system to get to different parts of Quito. It might seem slow, crowded and chaotic, but what’s the point of travelling if one doesn’t mingle with the common man and experience all that?

Part 1: Getting oriented

The city of Quito is uniquely shaped due to its location between two mountain ranges. The city is long and narrow – 35km North to South and only 7km East to West – with the main tourist attractions and business district located more or less centrally.

Tip: Since I am such a geek, I’ll attempt to relate Quito’s transportation system to a diagram of magnetic flux as shown in the adjoining picture. Feeder bus lines connect to three main transit lines.

Main public transportation lines

There are three main mass transit lines that run in a north-south direction, shuffling a massive volume of commuters from outer districts to the central parts of the city. These are electric powered rapid transit buses with dedicated lanes and stations, almost like how a subway or light rail system would operate. Cars or other vehicles are not allowed in these lanes.

Trolebus (green line) – Ecovia (red line) – Metrobus (blue line)

The fare for each trip is 25 cents and you can transfer for free at certain stations. City buses zip through neighbourhoods, picking up and dropping passengers off at major transfer points on these lines.

The lines can get crowded, which automatically results in people being aggressive, but compared to, say, Mumbai, it’s a breeze to travel here. There are standard advisories about pickpocketing but nothing to be paranoid about.

Tip: No matter how much you research or prepare, there are chances of unexpected changes in routes or stops or general confusion when you arrive at a bus station. No worries, Quiteños are very helpful, just ask!

↑ Trole-bus (green line) station in central Quito. Most tourist sights, both in old and modern part of the city can be accessed by this line.

Part 2: Checking out tourist attractions in Quito

Tourist sights in Quito can be grouped into two major buckets: old city and the modern city.

Colonial charms of old Quito

Most of colonial Quito, with its neatly preserved, UNESCO world heritage awarded old churches, can be conveniently explored on foot. The Trole-bus runs through the heart of the old town, making stops at 4 stations – Hermano Miguel, Teatro Sucre, Plaza Grande and Santo Domingo – if you are coming from the north. The Plaza Grande station is merely a block away from Quito’s historic central plaza. Get off here and dive right into the old quarter.

The Ecovia line, coming from north, terminates at La Martin station on the eastern edge of old Quito.

La Mariscal in newer Quito

Two worlds meet at the Hermano Miguel intersection; colonial architecture switches to huge glass and concrete buildings, signalling the beginning of Quito’s modern business district. Key attractions here include lush parks for people-watching (El Ejido, Alameda and Carolina), lavish museums (Guayasamin, Chapel of Man, House of culture, and Banco Central) and ofcourse the nightlife and touristic core of La Mariscal, also known as the Gringo-land. Being Latin America, there are always neat churches and chapels sprinkled around.

Coming from the old town, La Alameda, Ejido, Mariscal, Santa Clara and Colon stations on Trole-bus line serve this neighborhood. The Ecovia line passes right through this area, stopping at Casa de la Cultura, Galo Plaza, Manuel Cañizares and Baca Ortiz stations.

Tip: If you want to feel as if you are travelling through time, from 16th century to 20th century, I recommend walking from the old city to the new city, which was one of the most enjoyable things I did in Ecuador.

↑ Traffic jams are common. Honking is your exit pass.

Part 3: Connections to the world outside

Quito is well connected to the rest of the country, and even to neighbouring countries, predominantly by a bus network. Quito has two long-distance bus terminals – the north terminal and the south terminal. Both terminals are connected to public transportation lines to form a very integrated network.

Airport: Old and New

Quito’s current airport is located in the middle of the city, and about 8km north of La Mariscal district. Once you exit the airport, you’ll be on Avenue Amazonas – to your left is south (where most attractions are) and to your right is north (nothing touristically important there). Flag down any bus going south, it will lead you to La Y, a terminal for Metrobus (blue) and Trolebus (green) lines. There are other ways to get into the city but going to La Y is the easiest and fastest. Once in La Y, you can transfer to the old town or the new town through the Trole-bus line – see the section above – all for a mere 25 cents.

↑ A chic new Ecovia bus (red line)

North bus terminal: For travelling to places north of Quito

Terminal Carcelén (Terminal Terrestre Norte) is used by buses that go to northern parts of Ecuador such as Otavalo, Ibarra and all the way to Colombia. Regardless, it is integrated with a city bus terminal with direct buses to La Y (Trole bus / green line terminal), Rio Coca (Ecovia / red line terminal) or La Ofelia (Metrobus / blue line terminal). You can literally get to anywhere in central Quito from this inter-state bus station.

South bus terminal: For traveling to places south of Quito

Terminal Quitumbe is the southern gateway and buses going to various cities south of Quito (e.g. Latacunga, Baños, Cuenca, Guayaquil, etc.) depart from here. The terminal is integrated with the Trole-bus station, so getting there is straightforward. Travel all the way south on the Trole bus line (green line) to reach this inter-state bus terminal.

Tip: If you are reading an old source, it might refer you to Terminal Terrestre Cumandá for inter-province and inter-city buses. This terminal is now closed and has been replaced by two terminals described above. Cumanda bus terminal is being converted to a bigass shopping mall.

Railway

Rail lines are being revived in Ecuador but there are mammoth construction challenges due to a hilly terrain. There is a railbus that runs from Quito to Latacunga through the picturesque Cotopaxi national park with stunning views of the volcano, but it’s not a train in the traditional sense. This tourist train is actually a modified bus that runs on a rail track. The Chimbacalle station on Trole-bus line is right next to the railway terminal Terminal de Ferricarriles‎.

↑ Trole-bus station

- – -
So that was an overview of various public transportation options available in Quito. Several cities all over the world are constructing a BRTS (Bus rapid transit system) for mass transport rather than building more roads for cars. I find it encouraging.

If you have comments or corrections, please let me know!

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I packed before going to bed last night so that I could wake up early and leave without disturbing other people in my dorm. I hate to be the guy who wakes everyone up at 5am in the morning. The dawn in Merida was beautiful, a bit foggy, with birds flying around and women sweeping the streets raising a cloud of dust. I hurriedly made my way to the bus station.

Tour groups. Can I beat them?

I was headed for the Uxmal ruins, and I wanted to get there by the earliest bus I could take. The ruins open at 8am, and I had to be there at 8 so that I could be here before hordes of tourists too over (and also to feel vindicated in general).

I hopped into the second class bus, it was an interesting sight because most of the people inside looked as if they had been sleeping in the bus all night long. The bus hit the highway and soon I dozed off, just like my copassengers.

About an hour later, something woke me up. The bus had stopped moving. I thought we were at a bus station in some village. However, that wasn’t the case. We were parked on the side of a non-descript road that was cutting through rural landscape, and I could see a group of people gathered around the bus.

I was curious. From whatever Spanish I could speak, I comprehended that the bus had broken down and it would take some time to get fixed. People were getting out and chatting with the driver, probably providing valuable advice, but more likely they were simply chatting about the weather.

I got out of the bus too. Children were crying, people were pleading, we were cold, wet and hungry… no, wait, it wasn’t like that. In fact, kids were running around on the street, women, with their big sacks and bags full of stuff, were huddling together and chatting loudly. About 10 men were looking at the bus, trying to fix it I assume. It was a very ‘Mexican’ scene, nobody seemed bothered.

So I kept myself busy for about an hour, eating a banana and writing in my diary. I figured I’d just hang out since everyone else was doing the same. I also drew some pictures of the bus in my book but I won’t share that. I guess I knew I was going to be late.

After an hour, a bus appeared; and people rushed towards it madly. There was lot of shouting and lots of animated conversations. It seemed that my co passengers were determined to convince the driver of the new bus to change his route. I think he did, or maybe he didn’t, but anyway I got in because everyone else was doing the same.

I had no clue where I was going. I knew the next big town on the road was Muna, what’s the worse that could happen? So I didn’t bother asking anyone. It seems I have a thing for traveling in such mystery buses.

In fact, in the middle of this chaos, I managed to steal a nap. Now that’s called “value for money.”

The bus did stop in Muna. I got off, like many others, and the bus took off. I asked a official-looking person about the next bus to Uxmal. The guy said “diez minutos” (ten minutes).

So I figured I had 30 minutes or so.

Ticul-Muna collectivo stand (at Ticul)

It was already 8 and I was picturing the guards opening doors to the Uxmal ruins. So since it was prudent to let go of this obsession to reach Uxmal before 8, I decided to checkout the market and eat something. I got bananas, a slice of cake and a big glass of juice “jugos”. It was perfect.

I came back and the next bus arrived just as the church bell rang. I told the driver to let me off at Uxmal, and he agreed. He was picking up more people that the bus could hold. Soon the aisles were filled and then a woman got in with a big bag in one hand and a baby in the other. Remarkably, the baby was asleep, what an impressive talent. Without much conversation, she plopped the bag on my lap (I was on the aisle side) and gave the baby to the grandma sitting at the window next to me.

I smiled, I love Mexico.

Site of the Uxmal ruins

So I didn’t reach the ruins before the tour groups. Who cares, I enjoyed this experience wayy more.

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The underground: 3 pesos ($0.30)

Mexico City’s underground metro system is cheap, fast and efficient. It is quite comprehensive and can take you to different corners of this gigantic city in a ride that is way more pleasurable than driving on the clogged streets above. Called ‘Metro de la Ciudad de Mexico’ in Spanish, this is the second largest metro in North America and about 1.5 billion commuters take it everyday. Take a tour of the fascinating underground world on the other side of those turnstiles…

↑ Mexico’s metro system is cheap, fast and reliable.

When I first landed in the city after a 3 hour flight delay, I wanted to head straight for the metro station at the airport. It’s kinda tricky (you have to change the terminal and then walk), and certainly there are insufficient sign boards. I asked a fellow standing next to me if he knew how to get to the metro station.

“Yes, but be careful, people are not helpful in Mexico city,” he said as he walked me to the metro station and even offered to buy a ticket for me.

That was the first sentence I heard from a guy who was (ironically) helping me. Thankfully, I never found these thieves and unfriendly people he was talking about.

↑ I loved riding the subway, I took 17 rides overall, haha… The rush hour is a breeze (compared to Mumbai), the subway feels very roomy (compared to New York city) and the stations are not buried deep under (compared to St. Petersburg metro)

The subway is very systematic and intuitive to use. It was designed for use by illiterate people (and non Spanish speakers I guess), so each station has a symbol associated with it, and there are detailed maps everywhere. It’s hard to get lost, but with the crowds during rush hour, be prepared to get confused.

My first ride in Mexico city’s metro was quite different from Moscow metro. There were neither any babushkas or policemen at the entrance gates nor did I feel that I was walking into a beautiful underground museum, which Moscow’s subway stations are famous for.

↑ Auditorio subway station was quite lavishly decorated with pictures of metro systems around the world.

Mexico city’s subway stations are quite simple, but clean. Inside the trains there is non-stop entertainment and fascinating activity; almost like a market on wheels. You could buy chewing gum (called ‘chicklet’), books, magazines, musical instrument, pirated DVDs, candies, or even get your shoes shined from sellers who enter and leave the coach at every station in what seems to be a well coordinated system. There is never a conflict and I never saw more than one merchant in the compartment!

Buskers and entertainers perform in the middle of a crowded compartment – some people watch them, while others appear completely oblivious. Men (especially teenagers) can be spotted reading magazines with pictures of naked ladies on its cover, I wonder what’s in them.

Then there are large number of food stalls inside the stations. They have everything – juice bars serving fresh fruit, kitchens serving tacos, tuck shops carrying junk food and even some fast food chains. Finding a packet of fried potatoes is never an issue.

↑ Typical entrance of a subway station.

The surface: 5 pesos ($0.50)

Mexico city has a bus rapid transit system (BRTS), called Metrobús. It is a bus that runs on a dedicated road lane, thus there are minimal traffic obstructions.

↑ Metrobus is a neat concept in places where there is space to implement a dedicated right-of-way for public buses.

When I was in Mexico city, only two routs were operational.
“There will be ten more!” my enthusiastic CS host said, “but that means it will be harder to drive.”

↑ Almost like a metro station but overground and having buses instead of trains. Very convenient and easy to use.

The metrobus ticket system thoroughly confused me. Firstly, its all in Spanish. Secondly, it “swallowed” my money, so I was very hesitant to try again. Finally, there was a line of people waiting behind me, so I was feeling pressured.

“Por favor, puede comprar para mí?” (Please, can you buy for me?)
And the lady standing behind me holding a basket of clothes took my money and used her metropass to let me in.

↑ Metro bus is a bus that runs on a dedicated lane. It has stations instead of bus stops.

For the 10 days that I was based in Mexico city (and traveled to places around Mexico city), I took the subway 17 times and the metrobus 5 times, for going to the various bus terminals, homes of my couchsurfing hosts or to simply visit tourist attractions.

Most attractions are near the Zocalo (city centre) and others such as Coyoacan district or Chapultepec park can be easily reached by public transit. If you don’t have a guidebook, several websites such as Holidaycheck.com, Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet, etc. provide comprehensive listings of various places to visit in the city.

I definitely recommend that you travel in these public modes of transport, it’s the easiest way to participate and get a glimpse of the real life of Chilangos (residents of Mexico city).

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Traveling in a collectivo is unpredictable at times

… like hitting the ‘I am feeling lucky’ button on Google

↑ Empty road which (I assumed) would lead to El Chico village

I love traveling in the lowest class of collective transport – a minivan, collectivo, combi, marshrutka, sherut or whatever they may be called – the vehicles that start only when full and stop wherever people flag them down. These are usually quite systematic, but for a visitor like me, these seem chaotic, crowded and confusing. Add to that one of my favorite thrills of traveling in a foreign country – the language barrier, the resulting combination of these random factors is often unpredictable and curious. On my recent trip to Mexico, I had a number of such incidents and strangely I ended up ‘discovering’ something new each time.

Mineral del Chico

↑ Mineral del Chico signboard – “Small village but great people”

From the city of Pachuca near Mexico city, several combis (mini vans) depart for the village of El Chico, some a 40-45 minutes away. The mini vans are marked ‘Mineral del Chico’ and leave every hour or so. I got in mine and waited for 20 minutes as I was the first one there. After a while the driver decided to leave, and I fell asleep….

Attempt 1: Miss

When I woke up, I was in the middle of mountains, lush and green. The Hidalgo region around Mexico city is quite dry and arid but in the El Chico (एल् चिको) national park, everything changes to green. The abrupt change in scenery caught me by complete surprise. How long was I in the van? I checked my watch – 30 minutes.

I saw a sign that said “El Chico” and asked the driver to let me out. At that point, I did not know that ‘El Chico’ was the generic name of that area and not the name of the village I was looking for. Bummer. I think the driver tried telling me many times that this is not the village of El Chico, but it looked so beautiful outside that I wanted to get off anyway.

↑ A road spiraling up the mountain

The driver was right (duh), I was nowhere close to the village. I started walking along the road that zig zagged its way up to the mountain. The air was crisp and fresh, and being early morning, the birds were quite active too. You have to understand that I came from snowy Toronto to arid Mexico city and this was the first time I was in the middle of a forest. It was minor, but wonderful!

Now, after walking uphill for over an hour, I was sweaty and desparate to get to somewhere despite the pleasant walk. Although this aimless wandering was nice, it was getting kinda “inefficient” and so I decided to find some transportation. I began flagging down vehicles, hoping to hitch a ride. Alas nobody would stop. Finally someone did:

Me: Buenos días señor, ¿Usted va a El Chico (Good morning sir, are you going to El Chico?)
Man: [Puzzled] umm, THIS is el chico. you want the village el chico?
Me: [Confused, but had a lightbulb moment] Si, por favor (Yes, please, the village)
Man: [Long sentence in Spanish]…. (I can drop you off at such and such turnoff)
Me: Okay, thankyou!

↑ Turnoff
The guy dropped me off at this turnoff, the road going left went to the village and he was going right. After waiting for 10 minutes, I saw a collectivo approaching at full speed and I frantically waived at it. This time I was hoping to reach the right place…

Attempt 2: Miss, again

The collectivo passed through a small village. I wasn’t sure if it was Mineral del Chico or not because there were no signs and nobody said anything. So I stayed put. It was a nice village – narrow cobblestone streets, hilly, little houses and everyone-knows-everyone kind. The village passed, and then there were a bunch of houses, nothing looking spectacular. More random houses between vast stretches of hilly road and woods. Finally the van entered the last village and this time the driver turned his engine off.

Me: This is Mineral del Chico?
Driver: [Worried] No! This is Carboneras. Did you want to go to MdC? Because it was the previous one,… “Why didn’t you tell him” (a co-passenger said)… and then there was more talking which I didn’t understand. The driver offered to drive me back for free. Small town people are so nice! But I politely declined and went about checking this new place out… Carbon-something

Carboneras

↑ School ground at Carboneras village, where the road ends. No chance of going any further…

This was a cute little village – at the end of the road apparently. No possibilities of more misses, or so I thought. Only one street, half a dozen stores (one of which was broadcasting music at full volume) and people gawking at me as if it was their first time seeing a foreigner in their village.

I walked up the street… not ‘a’ street, but ‘the’ street. School children were playing football and waived at me, and pointed at the camera. I took their pictures. Where do all these kids come from? I spotted a lone hut with a kitchen and simple setup – two tables, four chairs and bottles of coca cola in the corner. Nobody except a lady who was now starting at me. Taking my chances, I asked her in my eloquent Spanish:

Me: Buenas tardes señora. Quiero comer. ¿Puedo comer aqui (Good afternoon ma’m. I want to eat. Can I eat here?)
Lady: ah, si! ¡si! ¡si! (yes! yes! yes! – Its common to hear many yes’s in a row accompanied by vigorous nodding.)
Me: Thank you.

I was then drawn into an intense and long discussion about every possible thing in the world. She called 2 of her ‘aunty’ friends so they could also see me. I used all the Spanish words I knew and did all the gestures and sounds I could make, and took their pictures as well. She asked me what vegetables I liked, what kind of meat I preferred and cooked right then and there. As a result, I had a very satisfying home-cooked meal. In fact, this was one of my most favorite meals in Mexico.

↑ Comida corrida (set lunch) at Carboneras. The tortillas were soft and fresh, the chicken and vegetables were cooked perfectly and my ‘burp’ was satisfying.

Attempt 3: Hit, finally!

From Carboneras I took ‘the’ collectivo to Mineral del Chico, and this time I had the wisdom to double check with the driver. He said yes and I disembarked from the vessel. My voyage had ended, I had found gold.

↑ Leafy town centre of Mineral de el Chico.

Mineral del Chico is a little village in the mountains and had lots of vivid shades of green and blue that were therapeutic to my eyes. Actually it was the same village I had passed in round 2 before. I spent an hour walking around and another hour sitting in the town center writing my journal.

↑ Getting creative at a distance marker….since I had nothing else to do except wait for a ride…

I wrote about how I started the day assuming I would go from point A to B and return to A, and how boring that sounded now. I wrote about how expectation and reality could differ vastly. I wrote about the songs I sang and the flowers I saw when I was hiking on the road. I wrote about communication barriers, misunderstandings and unexpected outcomes.

So, although nothing went according to the plan, at the end I thought it was a perfect day.

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Quick, flexible and cheap, Marshrutka’s are local shared taxis of Russia, operating on fixed routes.

A Marshrutka in Sochi

A Marshrutka is a minibus, a shared taxi seen is most of the erstwhile Soviet states. Similar to privately-owned public transportation in many countries, these vehicles operate on fixed routes, picking up and dropping passengers on the way, often waiting until they get full and squeezing more passengers in.

Bus stop

I traveled by Marshrutka on several occasions, in Sochi, in the Golden Ring cities and in St. Petersburg and I loved it (oh my hatred of private taxis and love for crowded public transport!) All these vehicles ran on the honor system – you pay your fare, usually fixed and clearly displayed, on your own. If you don’t know, just ask: Skolka s-menya? (Сколько с меня? / स्कोल्का स् मी्न्या?) meaning “How much from me?” You could even ask other passengers to pass the money to the driver and expect change to come back the same way.

Bus

Marshrutka’s were introduced in Russia in the 1930′s but their presence boomed post liberalization (1990′s) when private ownership of public transport grew. Equivalent vehicles that I have traveled in in other countries are: tuk tuk / tempo (India), Sherut (Isreal) and Collectivo (Peru).

At a bus stop

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Exiting Arequipa
I came back from the Colca canyon trek and bid adieu to fellow trekkers. I was goddamn exhausted after the trek but considering the paucity of time, I booked a bus to Puno, the next city, that night itself. Fortunately my hostel allowed me to use the shower for free and I gladly took that opportunity to shower, shave and emerge as a new guy. I would definitely recommend staying at The Point Hostel.

Arequipa is a nice town and I liked the quiet streets and the overall feel of the town. As my bus cruised out of the city, I gave in to screams from my tired body and fell asleep right away. There was a problem though – my feet needed to relax but I couldn’t take my socks and/or shoes off because a special fragrance would have filled the bus. I attribute this to a manual error in planning my inventory of socks.

“Hola!” Some Spanish travelers I met sent me this picture. That’s me, returning from Colca.

Bus travel in Peru
There is no public transport in Peru that you can use to travel between cities. Instead, there are a lot of buses operated by private companies. They cater to all kinds of budgets, for example the ticket from Arequipa to Puno by the finest luxury bus was S/. 80 while for an economy bus it gets as low as S/. 10. Laws of demand-supply persist and best deals are available as the bus is just leaving the terminal. Naturally, cheaper the ticket, lower is the predictability. Low cost buses might take frequent stops, have bad toilets, not arrive on time or have other surprise problems on board.

Rail network is almost absent in this region, but there are lots of airports.

Currency (I missed this in the intro post)
S/. is the symbol for Peruvian currency (code PEN) – Nuevo Sol (Nuevos Soles in plural), simply referred to as “Sol/Soles” (सोल / सोलेस्). As of today, 1 USD = 2.8 PEN

chor chor! Thief!
At night, there was a commotion and I woke up to sound of the French guy running out of the coach hurriedly. I met a French couple while waiting at the Arequipa bus terminal. It’s funny how you make friends out of practical or situational problems. I needed to pee badly and I didn’t want to take my backpack inside the Peruvian toilet, so these people helped me out (by guarding my luggage). Later, I got them exit tickets – some bus terminals in Peru have small exit taxes – ½ soles or so. This is a good price to pay for having a decently clean bus terminal.

Anyway, back to the story. Apparently while the bus was taking a stop, a thief sneaked in and attempted to steal from inside the bus while everyone was fast asleep! I was sitting on the single seat right in front of the door and was fortunate enough to be saved. But then my little backpack with all the valuable stuff was safely tucked in and entangled between my legs. Still the episode was as close I ever got to see crime in Peru.

Cross on a mountain, opposite Chivay bus terminal

Safe travel tip
Get one of those pouches that strap on to your shin/calf or thighs (if you are wearing shorts) and are safely concealed. Important “SOS” stuff – Passport, travel permits, reserve cash, credit cards and essential phone numbers (local police, embassy) – should go in this pouch. This pocket is inaccessible, so at checkpoints you are likely to panic and fumble (I had a problem in Israel especially, where they have hundreds of check points). But security doesn’t come for nothing, especially if traveling alone in a foreign place.

Finding a hostel in Puno
…or Peru is no different from a typical experience in India. As the bus arrived in Puno, the air smelled different. It was cold wind probably blowing over the gigantic Lake Titicaca the shore on which this city is located. The French couple and I deliberated over which hostel to check in, while touts gathered around us like fruit flies on jelly cake. The agents were almost pulling us and claiming to have the “best hotel just for you.” Finally we went to a cheap place and I got a fabulous double bedroom for just S/. 15. Perfect!

I crashed immediately since my sleep has been erratic but eventful so far. First night I arrived from Toronto and slept at 2 am, second night was in a bus, third night was in another rickety country bus, fourth night was in a tent and fifth night was again in a bus which reached Puno at 4 am. I needed a place to sleep that was quiet and where my ass remained stationary. Aww… Good night!

Arequipa region is barren and has few volcanic peaks

Next post: Puno City

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Lima was too much city’ish and wanted to move to the interiors so I prepared to go to Arequipa (आरेकीपा) and left for the bus station. Arequipa is to the south east of Lima and a perfect base to visit the Colca canyon region. The taxi driver who drove me was thrilled to see someone from India. In broken English he was trying to tell me that he knew 3 Indian people who lived in Lima and that they were very nice. The taxis in Lima are supposedly not friendly, but this guy took me inside the bus terminal and showed me where I can purchase the tickets. He even thanked me with palms joined together and saying Namaste. How much do Indians know about Peruvian culture?

I took the bus company Cruz del Sur and traveled in their double decker bus that had good seats and facilities. They even served food on the bus – rice and chicken, which was pretty good. They eat lots of rice in Peru. I was sitting on the front seat of the top floor of the bus and there was a huge window in front of me. They also tried to brainwash me by playing 4 spanish movies (omg) on that 15 hour journey. But, I survived, and lived to tell the story

Pan-American Highway – Lima to Arequipa (view from my seat inside the bus)

Traffic in Peru is worse than India. So if Canada is 10 on the degree of safe road conditions and Peru is 1, then India would be 2.5 (overly generalized), Israel would be 4 and Palestine 1.5… See, I can do a PhD research! I think there was a traffic jam even at Lima air strip. I was sitting on the upper floor of the bus right on the front seat (a huge window in front of me) and the driver was freaking me out. He cut thru the 2 lane road (Pan American Highway) inches away from the vehicle approaching from the other direction. After I remembered all the 33 crore Gods and Goddesses, I figured it was easier to just fall asleep. We desperately need a “God of Traffic” or “God of Travel”, is there any ‘yatra dev‘ (यात्रा देव) so that it would be easier to pray to him? I was making emergency plans to exit (just in case) and was about to talk about them to others, but they were snoring already. There was a nun (priestess- is there such a word?) on the other side with the cross firmly clenched in her palm – out of devotion or fear, only she knows, but I wished she didn’t choke little Jesus!

Thats me, taking notes on my laptop. It was early morning. yawn…

Lesson learnt – don’t sit on the front row of the bus. Also now I exactly know why they say ‘ignorance is bliss’. I grew wiser and in my subsequent trips I never took front row seats.

Views from Mars, oops no, that’s around Arequipa!

I made a good friend, my co-passenger in the bus, who helped me the next day to get a taxi and find my hostel. Arequipa was suddenly different – so much quieter, smaller, laid back and the air was crisp and cold.

Next: Arequipa, the city of artists. More pictures and less ramble

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Finally I start narrating the story

20 December: Canada to Israel

Someone told me that El Al (एल आल) terminals are always located at the end of the airport, because they need elaborate security arrangements. El Al is the national carrier of Israel and being a direct flight (12 hours), I preferred it. Indeed, being the only non-Jewish, non-Canadian passenger on the plane, I was given a special treatment (expectedly). They took away ALL my baggage including my laptop and didn’t return it until the plane started to board. Since I was left for 2 hours only with my passport, boarding pass and the e-ticket, I dutifully read all of them at least thrice and then started watching people. Later the security person scanned my body in such detail, touching me in places I never knew existed on my body (it was difficult to control giggling and other body reactions)

Have you seen the guy that falls asleep on chairs or at some obscure corners of the airport? I’m usually that guy, but I spent 33 hours almost without any sleep. The El Al seats are designed for maximum discomfort, aided by the firm and thick pillows, the usefulness of which is still a puzzle for me. There were so many kids on the plane, and since I hate kids, a nasty application of those pillows crossed my mind but then the cute attendant served some wine and things were okay. The movie “Darjeeling Limited” on the big central screen was interesting enough. My neighbor had plenty of questions and I attempted to answer them, but then I gave up because the movie was too stereotypical of India (snake charmers and elephants, you know)

21 December: Israel

I reached Ben Gurion (बेन गुरीयन) airport after a journey of 12 hours. The landing was really jerky (and my neighbor snorted phew, how typical Israeli) but the passport control and entry was surprisingly fast. My passport has been stamped by Israeli Visa and immigration now, which effectively bars me from entering any Islamic country in the future! (अरेरे…)

Israel smells different than Toronto. The weather was really good, around 15deg and quite sunny. The landscape and the feel (including chaos on roads) reminded me a lot about India, specifically the city of Indore.

Airport to Jerusalem:
It is confusing to navigate from the airport to Jerusalem (सर्वसाधारण उच्चार “जेरूसलेम्” असा आहे.), and here’s what I did: Go to Level 2 of the airport and exit from the sign marked ‘Buses’. Once you are out, cross the street and walk left for some distance until you spot bus stops. Bus #5 takes you to Airport city from where there is a connection to Jerusalem (and other major cities). Bus 947 will bring you to Jerusalem Central Bus Station (CBS). Ticket 20 NIS.

New Israeli Sheqalim (NIS) – referred simply as Shekel (शेकेल) – is the official currency of Israel. Approximately, 1 USD/CAD = 4 NIS and 1 NIS = 10 INR.

Shabbat:
Shabbat (शब्बात) is the Jewish holyday holiday and it lasts from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Literally, ‘Shabbat’ means ‘a day of rest’ in Hebrew (हिब्रू). A Jewish ‘day’ starts with sunset (exactly opposite to that of the Hindus). The phrase ‘sabbatical’ originates from this word. Weekend in Israel is on Friday and Saturday. The implication of Sabbath is that everything in Israel (specifically, Jerusalem) stops on this day. This includes shops, buses, everything. I will have more interesting details later (in the same sequence that I learnt them).

By the time I reached Jerusalem CBS, it was 15:30 and Shabbat had begun. This meant that the whole city virtually shut down. The crowds and chaos on the street barely 10 minutes back had gone and everything had a deserted look. The only way out was to hire a taxi, and just like one would expect in India, the taxi drivers had complete monopoly to decide their own rates (demand-supply economics). Little did they know that I was born with bargaining skills!

Taxi drivers – same all over the world?
I paid the cab driver and was supposed to get 10 NIS in return. I was unfamiliar with the currency and too tired to check what he gave me. Later I got to know that the driver returned me a 10 Agorot coin instead of 10 Shekels (That’s like giving you a 10 cent coin instead of a 10$ one) ….. hehehe! Anyway!

To be continued (of course)…

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