The daughter kingdom in this homestay

First night at the homestay in Cuzco, the houselady - I have been calling that because I don't know how to call her - is a grandma of the house, she has 5 daughters, 2 of them with their children lives in this complex too. But strangely there is no male. One of the daughter has a 12 years old son, and the other has a 2 years old son and a 6 years old daughter. Other than those two little winner sausages, there are really no other male creatures in the house. What have the men gone?! I can't ask that kind of questions. But I wonder.

Grandma fixed lunch and dinner for me. I want to say they tasted much better than all the meals I have in Lima. Peruvians' big flavors are still there, but this is definitely more agreeing with my stomach. This afternoon, for lunch, we have a bowl of soup with french fries in it, kind of weird but it actually tastes good. Then we have chicken with rice, and after that end with a chopped banana with some fruit jam. For dinner, we have pork chop with rice, and a small round cake, and more coca tea of course. I actually feel ok, but I decide to stay in, while the american girl has gone out. This is my first day on the highland, I really should take it super easy.

Apart from the inconvenience of the internet, I enjoy this place so far. Like tonight, I am not going out, I can just write my blog on my laptop. Download and edit the photos. Listen to chinese music and if I don't feel sleepy yet, I can start reading the novel I brought - The Cider House Rules, although I probably save it for another night... I probably couldn't focus in reading with my light-headedness.

Review: Hitchhikers B&B Hostel

Stayed at this hostel for 3 nights, there are goods as well as some bads. The staffs are very friendly, I must say, and for its price range, I shouldn't complain. My room is a single with shared bathroom, for US$18 a night. Its location is somewhere between the clifftop of the Pacific coast, and the center of Miraflores district, both within 10 mins of walk. It is close to a supermarkets and banks. There are lots of restaurants, trendy stores and other going-ons in the center area of Miraflores, sort of a middle class neighborhood, I suppose. I am actually glad that I didn't stay at Centro Lima, where seems to be even more choatic. But, if I decide to go back Lima again, I might choose to stay at Barranco, a much arty and quieter neighborhood, or some quieter street in Miraflores.

Apart from the price, friendly staffs, I also get free wi-fi, TV room with tons of DVD, and some games available if you are up for it, the airport pick up is also nice, remind you that my flight arrived at 4:30am, and they still come to pick me up at that hours. The hostel seems to be safe enough, so as the neighborhood. My room is spacious. However, the traffic noise is a big no no. Pretty much as early as 6:00am-7:00am, the traffic noise would start to screaming in. Maybe because my room is right next to the street, but I don't think the rooms in the main building can avoid that noise. In fact, I asked the two Dutch girls staying in the main building, they said they needed to use earplugs too. I guess that's one of the solution. There is definitely no way to sleep in the daytime. Actually there was one night I was kept awaken by a garbage pick up at 2am. The up side about those traffic noise, there is a bus to Centro Lima passing right by the hostel.

The shared bathroom is another thing I don't care for. There are 3 shared bathroom, but at peak hours (7:00am to 10:00am), there are usually a line to get in the bathroom, and hot water are all gone most of the times by your turn. Solution to this is to either take shower in the late afternoon or at night.

Overall, I would still recommend it to backpackers who pretty much spent most daytime outside, and youthful party animals (cause there are lots of bars and pubs around). But if you want some restful sleeps, no one to fight with bathroom when you need to go, or you want to relax when you are in, find hostels in other quieter neighborhood. In fact, Lima, in my impression, is such a blasting city, it is not a city for relaxation. It reminds me Bangkok, with a spanish touch.

Señor Antonio

Before I talk about Antonio, the person who picked me up at the airport. I must add one more note about my Lima airport experience. The airport is very efficient, immigration staffs are friendly. As a Hong Kong citizen, I don't require a visa to visit Peru. But the Lonely Planet guidebook recommends people like me on a backpacking trip should request for a 90 days stamp, otherwise they would just give 30 days. The one thing the guidebook doesn't mention is how to say it. Instead of asking some flight attentants, I tried on my own first, combining parts from my Spanish phrasebook, I composed my first Spanish sentence, ¿Ma de un visa por noventa días? It probably has some mistakes, but he understood me. That's like Oh My God! It's like you are waiting for your 12 months old baby to call Pa-pa, except this time, you are the baby and you have said something people understand you. I get so much pleasures out of that, you have no idea. :)

Now back to the main character of this entry, his name is Antonio, he is the one who came to pick me up at the airport at 4:30am in the morning. The efficiency of the Peruvian immigration is impressive, although at 4am, I bet it would be efficient at any airport. I got my 90 days visiting stamp on my passport, picked up my backpack, exchanged some money, I know the official exchange rate should be around US$1 to 3 Soles. But the rate at the airport is like 1 to 2.81, no commission. I just exchanged US$50 for petty cash. Will see if I will get a better rate in town. Anyway, walked out of the baggage claim, we are required to walk pass some machine, I think it may be related to your body temperature or something, I am not sure really, but I got a green light. Off I went, walked out of the hallway, there he was, no need to search. Antonio was holding a sign with my name on it, and he recognized me right away, I bet asian man with a backpack at 4am in Lima airport is not a common scene. He signaled me to walk outside from my side. I went out, walked toward him, say Hola, shaked his hand. Inside I worried if he spoke any english, what was I gonna say during the ride...etc. At the same time, I have that adventurous mood kicked in after making my first Spanish sentence. I wanted to talk to people.

He was really friendly actually, straight as a hard wood floor, and shot away at me in a very macho way, where're you from? I told him I was a student in the US and originally from Hong Kong. I briefly told him what I will be doing in Peru, he even taught me some Spanish words already, although I really don't remember what it is, I only slept 1 hour for the past 24 hours. Anyway, during that 40 mins ride from the airport to the hostel named Hitchhikers B&B Backpackers Hostel, we talked a little and kept silence for a little, mainly I was observing what outside of the windows. The sun is getting ready to rise, there are actually some people running on the street, like morning exercise or something. Kind of interesting to see them running alongside the highway in 5am in the morning. Anyway, I can feel that Antonio is a very friendly person, just by the way he smiled and the way he wanted to help...etc. I wonder if I would bump into more of this kind of people.

Got to the hostel, the main entrance was actually locked, he rang the bell and told me to pay the pick up with another staffs, I asked if he was not coming in, he said no, so I knew I should really tip him. I mean the man came to pick me up at 4:30am in the morning, but I have no idea how much to tip. So, I just gave him the coins I got back from the airport parking booth, which is equivalent to about US$2. I don't know, am I a cheap ass? The pick up fee is like US$15 already, I think US$2 maybe ok.

I arrived at the hostel maybe around 5:30am, the girl said since there is people staying in the room I gonna stay the night before, I have to wait for them to check out before they can check me in. So, I have been sitting here in the TV room waiting for 3 hours already. Typed 4 blog entries. I don't mind the waiting really, but I do want some sleeps soon if possible. I'll talk more about the hotel after I stay here a day or two.