Vagabumming » Travel

Living & Working in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Will — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 04:01:06 +0000

I guess this is the way it goes, when one has time to write, there’s really not much to write about. When there is lots going on to write about, there’s no time. So, I’m going to try and give some sort of glimpse into what I’ve been up to for the past 2 1/2 months and my adjustments and challenges of living in Taiwan.

Living

So, first things first. When I was first presented with the possibility that I would be moving to Taiwan to work, one of my primary concerns was housing. I really couldn’t get an answer from my company on what I could expect. My greatest fear was that the company I work for simply rented a floor or a block of apartments or whatever and I would be living with the people I worked with. That fear turned out to be completely unfounded and I’m pretty happy with where I’m located. My company already had a leasing agent set up, and she focuses primarily on housing everyone in one certain area, which I have come to refer to as “special white-man village“. Don’t get me wrong, the housing in this area is exquisite. Spacious luxury apartments with many of the conveniences and amenities one would expect in any modern city. This area is set far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, suburban high-rise living if you will. Through some quick networking and expression of my desire to have a more authentic experience during my time here led me to an alternative to the pre-programed leasing agent and I found an apartment much nearer downtown. So, here I am, on the 24th floor with a wicked view of Kaohsiung Harbor, the Dream Mall and its famed “Hello Kitty” Ferris Wheel. I LOVE my view, especially at night and I’m fairly happy with this location.

Working

Well, my parents always taught me if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all, so I guess I shouldn’t say anything at all about work, but here goes. A job’s very nature is that it sucks. I’m pretty o.k. with that and actually get quite a bit of amusement from kvetching and grousing at and about work. The suckage at my current job, however, is several orders of magnitude worse than anything I have experienced previously. The good news is that it’s only 40 hours per week and the paycheck is a pretty hefty one, provided I can find fulfillment in my personal life, I will probably be able to survive this job.

Eating & Drinking

One of the things I was really looking forward to was Taiwanese dining. My first foray into street food here was hugely disappointing and really put a damper on my willingness to explore further. I’ve never been one to let language barriers get in my way, but I’m finding learning to read a menu to be a nearly insurmountable challenge. I’ve really allowed myself to slip into old routines in this department. There is no shortage of western style dining here in Kaohsiung, so that’s what I’ve done mostly. I do live very near IKEA, having never set foot into one before it was one of the first places I visited. IKEA has a cafeteria serving Swedish Meatballs and the like. The ease of it all, combined with the novelty made it an early favorite, but the novelty has worn off a bit and visits are less frequent. Mexican food is quite easy to find, and much to my surprise, is done quite well here. This is the first place outside of North America that I’ve found Mexican food done right. Other familiar restaurants and fast food options exist. McDonald’s, T.G.I.F., Outback Steakhouse just to name a few. And then, there’s “The Brickyard” a rathskeller near Central Park which serves up some of the most delicious food around. Seriously, if you’re in Kaohsiung and hankering for a deliciously filling meal, good music and service staff that are just out of this world, The Brickyard is where you want to be.

Daily Challenges

So, I live in Kaohsiung, but work in Pingtung. Pingtung isn’t that far away – perhaps 23KM but driving there is a hassle. Traffic here in Taiwan is pretty heavy. And the scooters, what a pain in the ass those things are. I really can’t describe the utter mayhem that is my daily commute, suffice it to say that the traffic rules that I was accustomed to in the U.S. don’t apply here.

So, my experience with trash has always been either pitch it in the dumpster, leave it on the curb on specified days or throw it in the back of the truck and take it to the dump/landfill. None of these seem to be an option here. Trash trucks seem to be on a continuous route through the city and pass my building at a prescribed time 6 days per week. This is very unsettling for me for several reasons. Everyone is taking their trash out at the same time, so it’s just awkward to be in an elevator with four or five other people all toting the day’s trash. Taiwan is an island and as such is taking a very proactive stance on recycling. Due to all of my seasons on The Ice sorting trash into recycling categories is pretty much second-nature now and judging from the huge “thumbs-up” gesture I get from one of the people who takes my trash(*) I must be doing it right – or maybe he’s just happy to be getting all of my empty beer cans – at any rate, imagine yourself carrying a translucent trash bag in an elevator in a country where you already attract way too much attention – it’s as if my neighbors are examining my trash to try to decipher how I live. It feels a bit invasive. And probably the biggest bummer about the way trash is handled is that I have to be around at a certain time of day to deal with it. If not, that smelly whatever I threw away last night is going to get smellier.

(*)I’m not sure how things work, and my assumption is based pretty much on “dead-reckoning” and context cues, but I’m not actually handing my trash over to the trash truck guys. I hand it over to a group of elderly. I believe they are freelancers of a sort and act as surrogate trash handlers in exchange for the recyclables for which they are paid for. As Taiwan has no social-security I think this is how the elderly “make it” if they have no other means of support.

I have a lot more to say, but I’ve lost motivation to continue writing right now. I’ve been working on another project which will hopefully become a regular augmentation to this blog. It’s called “What up Kaohsiung?” and if you haven’t already seen the premier episode via facebook or forumosa, check it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_IMEy2NvpQ

Culture Rejected

Will — Mon, 17 May 2010 12:36:02 +0000

One of the great things about traveling the world is, of course, experiencing different cultures. Now, I say that without ever having given a great deal of thought to what the word “culture” really means. I just think of it to mean that people who live in a certain place tend to have similar ideas on spirituality, values, beliefs etc. The dictionary definition that best fits the word culture in this context is this:

the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

Looking at culture and trying to define it for myself brings up some interesting thoughts. First, I truly believe that individuals can be defined more clearly through their culture than they can through their race. This is significant for me because lately I have found myself rejecting the label “Caucasian” when referring to my own race, as I have no knowledge of any ancestry from the Caucuses. The other popular choice seems to be “White”, but that conjures immediate images, not of race, but of the culture of suburban America.

Image: who needs variety?
lars hammar

A few days ago, I started what will be a few weeks of airports/airplanes and hotels/chain restaurants en route to Taiwan. My current leg of this journey has me visiting the mainland U.S.A. to say goodbyes to loved ones and close friends. So, right now, I’m in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, UT and I’m realizing that the more time I spend away from this type of setting, the more I loathe being around it. It seems that the culture of suburbia is to consume. The preferred method of self expression is to show off what you have purchased. Secondary to this, it seems that producing large numbers of offspring and getting them involved in as many things possible, i.e. soccer, dancing, hockey, this team, that team is some sort of pinnacle of success in this culture. Making up for one’s own empty existence by trying to live vicariously through your children? Is that what this behavior is all about? There appears to be, perhaps three different hairstyles amongst the women in suburbia, and the only acceptable choice for the menfolk seems to be a short-cropped haircut and goatee (yes, this is STILL popular?). Caked-on make-up seems to be very definitive, and don’t even get me started on the [complete lack of] fashion exhibited in suburbia. It is the cult of the soccer mom. This is a culture demands its followers become wage-slaves. An existence that I am happy to be free from and have no desire to return to. It would appear that I am in the minority in rejecting this type of lifestyle, so I suppose I probably have it wrong, but in the end, I can say that I have truly found happiness in rejecting the pursuit of consumable goods and placing freedom at the very top of my list of personal values.

This brings me back to the question of race/culture. I guess I still don’t know what groups I belong to, but I damn sure know which ones I want no part of.

In Awe of the Possibilities

Will — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:10:24 +0000

Vagabumming in Asia perchance?

Yes. I’m in absolute awe at the possibilities that life has presented me. I mean, I’ve had it pretty good for a long time, but I’ve really found myself appreciating that fact for the past year and a half or so. I’m so completely blissed out for such long periods of time that sometimes I begin to worry that I’m manic. But no, no mania here, I’ve just been blessed with a wonderful life.

So, this fact that life is wonderful, I’ve found, can’t be taken as a small piece. It can’t be isolated from the rest of my life. That’s to say that decisions that I’ve made and actions that I’ve taken all came together to put me exactly where I am right now at this very moment. While there have certainly been rough patches in the past; and I often think that if I would have known then what I know now that I would have done things differently, well, I think I’ve abandoned that line of thinking too. All of those events that I may have resented before have contributed to my current state and I am unwilling to give this up, regardless of what any alternate past may have produced.

Right about now, you’re wondering, “what the hell, Will, what are these possibilities you speak of and why all the introspection?” Well, wow, where to start? As you likely know, I’ve been doing contract work in Antarctica for the past six years or so. I’ve done some amazing things, including spending a winter at The South Pole, a winter at Palmer Station and several seasons at McMurdo Station as well as visiting quite a selection of field camps and research sites on the continent of Antarctica. I can remember, very clearly, how completely overjoyed I was when I the possibility of working in Antarctica was first presented to me. Something that I hadn’t ever even considered before, something that was far beyond my wildest dreams ended up becoming a reality and is now a huge part of who I am. I remember last winter at Palmer Station when, for just a moment, my mind was able to really grasp how utterly privileged I was to be doing what I was doing and getting paid for it. Sailing INSIDE a volcanic caldera who gets to do that at their job? I never thought I would, that’s for sure.

Now, if the job itself isn’t special enough, what about the time off and travel? During my long periods of time off I have been privileged to surf in Mexico, ski in Canada, Wyoming, Colorado, France, Norway and even Kashmir. I’ve seen what is surely one of the most macabre churches in the world, traveled all over central Europe by rail, visited the lochs of Scotland, gazed upon Big Ben, communed with nature at Machu Picchu, been amazed at the passion exhibited by Tango dancers in Buenos Aires, stood in awe at the power of nature at Iguazu Falls, been fascinated by the remnants of an ancient society at Easter Island, surfed in Ecuador and found a home (of sorts) in Hawaii.

I was all set to try and get myself hired to go on an overland traverse on Antarctica for this upcoming season. Yes, 80 days of staring through a windshield at barren, flat white, eating T.V. dinners and pooping in a bucket sounded very appealing to me, like a grand adventure even. But alas, the universe has thrown something even more exciting in my direction. So, it looks like I’m taking at least a one-year hiatus from The Ice.

What’s Next Then?

Well, I pursued and have been offered a position in Taiwan. I’m not entirely comfortable posting much detail here, but the position is at least related to the same type of work I’ve been doing and is almost exactly what I was doing in Korea (if you knew me in those days think BIG TRUCK!!).

So, there you have it. Brand new adventure coming up and I expect to post more details about my upcoming move as they become available to me. For now, if you’re interested in the exact location you can see it on a map here: Kaohsiung (pronounced “COW-shung”). If you haven’t already, might I suggest you subscribe via RSS or you can even get email updates. Both of these services are free, don’t include any advertising and are a great way to keep up to date with what I have posted.

P.S.
I am SO looking forward to taking a surfboard with me to my next job!

Easter Island!

Will — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:30:09 +0000

My travels in South America wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Easter Island (a.k.a. Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua depending on your preferred language). Few places on the face of the earth offered me what Easter Island did in mystery and intrigue. The statues (called moai) have had a great deal of appeal to me ever since I first became aware of their existence. I rank Easter Island right up there with Stonehenge in my “great mysteries of the world” list.

Moai in the quarry

I had seen pictures of the iconic moai of Rapa Nui before and was very intrigued. Of course, I have read snippets about them here and there so I had an idea of what learned scholars figured them to be, but nearly everything that is known about the existence of the moai and the original residents of Rapa Nui is based mostly in hypothesis and theory. I think that it is wonderful that the true meaning behind the statues on Easter Island may never be known and will be kept a secret from humankind for the rest of eternity.

Rapa Nui is a relatively small island about 2500 miles off the west coast of Chile. The island is all by itself and is often touted as the most isolated place on earth. To give that some perspective, in these modern times, that’s a five-hour flight with nothing between take-off and landing but open ocean. During that five hour flight I remember being slightly annoyed by a crying baby on the airplane and I remember being a bit uncomfortable due to the lack of legroom. Annoyed and uncomfortable only until I start to think about the ancient people who first came to Rapa Nui. I have no frame of reference to help me even get a vague understanding for what these people must have gone through to get there. How many days (weeks, months even?) must one spend on a canoe to go…2500 miles on a previously uncharted course? If I was uncomfortable and annoyed on a five hour flight, these people must have been absolutely mad after endless days at sea in a canoe. Being exposed for that long on the ocean, they surely encountered bad weather. Inevitably they lost people, supplies, and food. What about water? Where does one get drinking water on a crossing like that? And after the ordeal of getting there…they find…NOTHING! Easter Island is fairly small and rugged. Sure, there is evidence that it was much more forested when the original Rapa Nui arrived but beyond trees and lava there isn’t much to the island.

So, after much suffering they land on an isolated island, have no external stimulation…what better way to pass the time than carve some statues out of lava. Oh..and then, after the monumental task of carving them, they move them to their platforms (called Ahu)…which are MILES away from the quarry. Madness. Pure Madness, I’m sure, is what drove these people to do this work and eventually de-forest themselves nearly out of existence.

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El Tatio Geyser Field

Will — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:32:12 +0000

On my final day in San Pedro de Atacama I took a trip to the El Tatio geyser field. This particular outing was highly recommended by other travelers that I had met in San Pedro and Chileans absolutely raved about the greatness of the geysers of El Tatio.

A hot spring at El Tatio

This tour departed at 4 A.M. in order to get to the geyser field at sunrise – when the air is cold and the light is soft, lending dramatic effect to the steam rising – which will lose much of its appeal as the ambient air temperature climbs. The day’s highlight was swimming (or “hotpotting” as it was called when I did it in Yellowstone) in a hot spring – and at El Tatio it is a sanctioned event! (unlike Yellowstone). This geyser field is at very high altitude and as such, the air temperature is pretty cold – so getting out of the hot spring wasn’t all that enjoyable.

photo gallery works best when viewed at vagabumming.com

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Lagunas Altiplanicas

Will — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:08:45 +0000

On my second day in San Pedro de Atacama and following my Valle de la Luna tour I took a full day trip to the nearby Lagunas Altiplanicas or high plains lakes. For me, the main attraction wasn’t the high plains lakes at all, but rather the Salar de Atacama as an alternative to visiting the Salar de Uyuni (you may recall from my last post that I didn’t have time to visit Uyuni)

The early flamingo gets the….shrimp?

The tour departed at 6 A.M. in order to get to the Salar de Atacama (Atacama salt flat in English) early enough to view the flamingos in the salt lakes.

The Salar is a very interesting landscape. The high mineral concentration is caused by a lack of drainage and over the years minerals (amongst them vast amounts of salt and lithium) have been deposited in the basin by glaciation and runoff. This area is an extremely inhospitable environment, yet certain species have adapted to live here. Quite remarkable!

photo gallery works best when viewed at vagabumming.com

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The Atacama Desert & Valle de la Luna

Will — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:30:07 +0000

So, after leaving Peru and taking care of the border formalities near Arica, Chile I really desired to press onward into Chile. I spent a few hours in Arica – basically killing time and drinking beer waiting for the next bus to the town of San Pedro de Atacama.

The trip to San Pedro was an overnight jaunt of about 11 hours. I arrived groggy and was more than happy to accept the first offer of accommodation, especially since it was very near the bus stop and much less expensive than I was led to believe prices would be in this desert outpost. A simple room cost me the equivalent of $8 (USD) and the place had free wifi….perfect!

My first order of business was to investigate tour options to Bolivia’s huge salt flat – the Salar de Uyuni. I had heard rave reviews from fellow travelers about it’s wonders and about Bolivia in general. The problem was, that the holidays were coming up and so I had, for the first time since this trip started, pre-booked transportation, so I was running short on time. The tours available were all three-day, two-night or longer and there was just no way for me to take one and still have time to get to Santiago for the next leg of my journey.

But Wait! Chile has alien landscapes too!

Valle de la Luna; near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

I opted, instead, to take some day-tours around San Pedro de Atacama. The first of which was an afternoon/evening trip in and around the Valle de la Luna. Our guide on this particular tour was a former miner and had learned a great deal from the geologists at his company. He was a wealth of information about the processes of volcanic eruptions and ash deposits, glaciation, erosion and plate movements – all the forces that have carved out this landscape. The tour was absolutely fantastic, interesting and educational and ended with watching the sunset over the desert. It was a pretty spectacular sight!

photo gallery works best when viewed at vagabumming.com

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Goodbye Peru, Hello (again) Chile

Will — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:04:43 +0000

After a few days of seeing the sights near Arequipa, Peru, it was once again time for me to pack my things and move along. Having not taken any of the requisite vaccinations or medicines to head to the jungle (and into Bolivia) my best option was to head back towards the coast and south. I wanted to press on as far into Chile as I could tolerate….hopefully making it to San Pedro de Atacama for the possibility of touring Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni from there. I was starting to run a bit short on time, so the likelihood of a Uyuni tour seemed like perhaps a bit of a stretch, but nonetheless, I thought it best to push in the appropriate direction.

After traveling extensively and seeing some of the best of what the world has to offer, I have a tendency to get pretty jaded. Seriously, after visiting the Kostnice Ossuary in the Czech Republic…well, no church or temple is ever going to live up to that. Having grown up very near the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, I truly believe I have visited one of the best culture/history museums in the world. Scenic beauty….Anyone who has gazed upon the Tetons in northwestern Wyoming has seen one of the most gorgeous places on the planet. It’s hard to top these experiences – I don’t spend too much time visiting museums or churches anymore unless there’s something completely cutting-edge about them. The one thing that is left, that I do get a great deal of satisfaction from are those chance encounters with other travelers. On this particular journey I had one of those experiences that makes life on the road very fulfilling. Even meeting other travelers sometimes becomes exhausting…it’s the same drill, where ya from? how long you been here? how many times you been robbed? ad nauseum… But it’s a dance we all do while we’re traveling and if you can get through it you might just have a great experience.

So…from Areuipa to Tacna (both Peru) is about a 5-hour bus ride. After that, one must arrange other transport to get across the border between Tacna and Arica, Chile. The quickest way is to take a combi (shared cab). There are several sedans around the bus station in Tacna performing this service…they all go with 5 passengers, so, once you find an available one, you may be stuck waiting for a while until the requisite number of passengers are committed to going. On the way, the driver hands out the customs and immigration forms for Chile…of course, Chile being a country with wonderful fruit and allegedly good wine among other agricultural products is fairly concerned with what types of pests might come in on plant or animal products so they take a preventative stance in regards to individuals entering the country. Jordan, one of the passengers sharing in my combi ride expressed some concern over the shells and turtle bones she had collected on a beach in Ecuador. I let her know that my experiences with Chilean customs had shown that they weren’t joking about preventing individuals from importing plant/animal products into the country. She decided to go ahead and try to bring them in anyhow…what’s the worst that could happen right?

The worst that could happen would probably be a pretty hefty fine…fortunately, it didn’t come to that, but she did get held up in customs for quite some time when the inspectors found the shells and bones during routine baggage x-ray. I don’t guess she was held up for too long actually…maybe 20 minutes, certainly no longer than 30 minutes, but our combi driver was getting very antsy about the situation. None of the passengers had any urgent need to get to Arica, but the driver wanted to go. He made it pretty clear that he intended on leaving Jordan behind…of course, this wasn’t my problem..I hadn’t tried to bring animal bits into the country…why should I care what happens to her? Well, I cared because I applied compassion to the situation and knew that if it were me, I would be pissed off if, after I had been given the shake down by customs, I suddenly had no transportation from the middle of the desert and half of my belongings had gone away in the car. So…I resolved that I wouldn’t go with the combi driver…so he would be missing out on two fares if he decided to ditch her. It worked…upon my refusal to get in the car he decided to go ahead and wait.

So, that’s it, we became instant friends and didn’t have to go through the exhaustive “where ya from” dance. When we got to Arica, Jordan let me ride with her in her cab to her motel and I ditched my bags there for a few hours while we walked around town and drank beer until it was time for me to catch my bus southward. While she was certainly one of the more vibrant and seemingly genuine people I’ve met on the road, this situation certainly isn’t unique and every time I meet someone in this manner the experience is absolutely wonderful and memorable. These brief friendships are one of the most rewarding things to me about traveling. Thanks, Jordan for a great afternoon and good luck to you, wherever you are now.

Colca Canyon

Will — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:14:49 +0000

After Machu Picchu and Cusco I decided to head back to Arequipa. This decision was based on a couple of things, namely that the routing I wished to take required me to backtrack a bit, but also, I wanted to take a look at the Colca Canyon.

The Colca Canyon (and Colca Valley) are in close proximity to Arequipa and many tours of the area are available from and returning to Arequipa. One of the most popular, and most convenient tour packages available is a two-day, one-night tour from Arequipa with an included hotel stay in Chivay (a small village near the entrance to the Colca Valley). These tours are CHEAP! Mine cost me just over $20 U.S. and included two days of transportation, an English-speaking (marginal) guide, hotel and desayuno (which must be Spanish for “here, have a piece of bread and jam in the morning”). The Colca Canyon claims to be the deepest canyon in the world, reaching depths of 4160 meters (13,648 feet) – that’s over twice the depth of the Grand Canyon in the U.S. The high point on the tour was a mountain pass at 4910 meters (~16,000 feet) but before we got that high, the omnibus stopped at a roadside stand selling coca tea…6 ounces of prevention and you forget all about the symptoms of altitude sickness!

For me, the draw was less about the size of the canyon, but more about the Andean Condors that live in the area. At this time of year, they aren’t as common as other times of the year, but, nonetheless, I was fortunate to see a few, amongst them this close-up view:

Andean Condor

A Welcome Relief

The rustic charm of the village of Chivay was a welcome relief and contrasted sharply with Cusco. Though there are plenty of tourists in the area, the tourism isn’t nearly as in-your-face and the village seems to be mostly authentic except for the special white man tourist restaurants that the tour groups are herded into. There are folklore shows and pan flute-playing bands, but none of them play “LaBamba” and they seem to stick to local, authentic music only. Dances are performed for the benefit of the visitors, but they are performed in the traditional way, slightly cheesy as this may seem, I reckon it’s as good a way to preserve culture and tradition as any and was actually quite educational.

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Caballitos de Totora

Will — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:08:47 +0000

In my best Spanish….I think that means “little horses made of reeds”…I could be wrong here.

So, why am I writing about little horses made of reeds? Well, it’s because I think these are a shining example of how culture can survive and, at the same time, be a source of pride and an attraction for visitors. My tour guide to Chan Chan informed me that a young Peruano status-seeker once proposed that the local fishermen of Huanchaco should consider giving up their simple, handmade boats in favor of much faster and efficient motor boats. The fishermen balked at the idea, protested that motor boats would cause too much noise and allegedly, according to my tour guide, had a law passed prohibiting the use of motor boats forever (or at least until the law gets changed).

Caballitos de Totora

Archeological evidence suggests that the Moche people (the tribe that pre-dated the Chimu) were the first to use this type of boat in Peru some 3,000 years ago. They are still used today by the fishermen and so far as I know, this is the only place in South America where these types of boats are used.

Renewable Resource

The reeds that these boats are made of take 10 months to grow and 2 months to dry. The boats themselves only last ~3 months. The fishermen make quite an effort to keep their fleet in “ship shape”.

A Culture Sold Out on a Wholesale Level

In my Machu Picchu post, I alluded to my horrible experience aboard the vistadome train back to Cusco. Here’s how it went:
First, if you are familiar with the Disney “Small World” ride then you might get a feeling for what this train ride might be all about. It really is 3 1/2 hours of “It’s a small world” with less leg room. First, the train crew attempts to re-enact a traditional dance of residents of the Altiplano (stay-tuned for more on that). Of course, the dance is restricted to the already narrow footpath down the center of the train car. The costumes they wear are absolutely garish and awful and can’t possibly be representative of the ancient people. Of course, the dance is done to some lounge-act version of horrible 80′s American pop music. After the horrible re-enactment, the train crew puts on an alpaca fashion show – complete with even more completely tasteless music. Everyone else on the train gave obligatory applause for each clothing item presented…I couldn’t bring myself to show any appreciation…I felt that that would be a sign that this is what people actually come to Peru to experience. It’s not. This experience was very representative of my time in the Cusco area. Little flute bands running around, playing covers of…you guessed it, awful American pop tunes…oh, and some tourist at some time must have asked them to play “LaBamba” as they ALL play that one too (by the way, LaBamba is a Mexican folk song from the state of Veracruz, it’s not Peruvian and Peru ain’t Mexico!)

Now, I’ve been to many a place that might be considered “over-touristed”, for example the Taj Mahal or The Galapagos but never have I seen such pandering from the local residents. Sure, they are all happy to make a buck but they haven’t sold out the way the Cusquenos appear to have sold out on an absolute wholesale level.

So, in my opinion, much of the rest of Peru could learn valuable lessons from the fishermen of Huanchaco; namely that it is o.k. to retain tradition and culture. People will still visit Peru as it has many wonderful treasures to see and lots of great things to do. Travelers and tourists will still spend money, why not keep the experience more authentic?