Machu Pichu 2

On my last post I shared my photos and experiences at Machu Pichu in Peru:

https://www.kirkstravelstories.com/post/machu-pichu-part-1

I’ll conclude my photo and trip experience in this post.

Perhaps the most important question to answer is if this is a trip worth taking. Of course, I can only answer this from my perspective and can’t speak for all. If you are deeply into old (but not ancient) artifact sites or into mysterious cultures, you may have a differing opinion. But for me the answer is no.

Not because I feel the site not worthy visiting, but the overall experience was just negative for me. This is a journey to get to, but that’s not an issue for me. What is the issue is the over commercialization of this place. They simply allow too many to visit this place in a day.

Added to that is they are ill equipped to handle the swarms of people that arrive. It starts with the access to the mountain itself. You must take their bus to the site so you are subject to their schedule (something I detest). It’s worse than the lines that form at Disney. I was outside to board the bus at 4:30 am but just kept walking to find the end of the cue line. After some time I reached it only to wait about 2 hours before I could be accommodated on the bus. Not a lot of fun there!

The ride itself was not too long, maybe 15 or 20 minutes. But the long wait, just standing in line zapped my energy and made me less enthusiastic of the experience.

I didn’t expect privacy at the site itself but I didn’t expect so many people either. I remembered my experience at Angor Wat in Cambodia and expected the same. A good crowd but still ample space to move around I had hoped. Well, there was ample space for exploring but I think there were 10x as many people. Just too many to enjoy this site.

The pictures below do not indicate the crowds that were there as I intentionally took shots in areas absent of people. This is one place it was not the people I came to see.

That is the main reason for my negative opinion of this place. The site itself is quite awe inspiring, but when it gets over commercialized, it just feels like a cheap carnival side show. Again, just one man’s opinion. This is not a place I will return nor recommend to others.

Here is the rest of the photo gallery if you choose to enjoy:

Machu Pichu Part 1

There's alot to cover here visually, so I’ve broke it into two posts. Machu Pichu is the reminants of the Inca Empire. It sits at an amazing 8,000 ft altitude in the Peruvian mountains.

For most people, this is the highlight when visiting Peru. For the history of this place you can simply Wiki for details. This post isn’t meant to be a history lesson, but rather my adventure visiting this remote place.

The setting truly is astounding. You would never imagine such an elaborate city built in the 1400’s so far away from anything. And so high in the mountains!

The nearest major town is Cusco. Another high altitude city. This is the only adventure I have taken where I brought altitude sickness medication. I took it, but I’m not sure I needed it.

It was a real treat to see the animals that live here. These llamas were very common throughout the area.

This is quite a testament to their masonry skills to still see so many structures still in decent shape having weathered the elements for over 600 years!

The place is massive and requires hours to visit even casually. I had climbed the top of Machu Pichu when I first arrived. I posted on that here:

https://www.kirkstravelstories.com/post/climbing-mount-machu-pichu

In retrospect, that was a mistake. I should have saved my energy (and arthritic back) for the archeological site itself rather than on the climb. The aerial views were great, but I came to see the structures. I likely shortened my time among the buildings as a result of my fatigue (and thirst - no water for sale inside the site).

This place is set upon levels. The significance of the levels, and indeed the place itself, is subject to conjecture. You see the Incas did not have a written language and there were no Western world historians around to record the history of the people.

Eventually the area was abandoned by the Inca tribe, perhaps in fear of the pending Spanish Conquest.

Radio carbon dating determined the area was occupied from 1420 to 1532. Not very long at all considering the amount of work that went into this place.

Exploring the different levels can be a bit tiring, but the benefit is the coolness of the mountains. It felt very comfortable there other than the altitude. The lack of oxygen up there added to the fatigue factor and made it difficult to explore for hours.

As you can see, I got a lot of great photo ops on this trip. I’ll let you enjoy them through the rest of this post and then I will continue into the next with more.

I wish the Incas had left a written history behind. This is truly a mystical place in a mystical setting. It is not easy to get to at all. Why they chose this life at this altitude just seems crazy to me.

I’ll continue more on this on the next post including the arduous task to visit this place

Most Amazing Place in Thailand - Wat Phu Tok

I'll say I'm not usually into visiting Buddhist temples (Wats). I've visited many of them but by now I've seen my share and they're seldom a surprise. But not so with this Wat in Nong Khai, Thailand.

I was doing a self drive along the Mekong River in northern Thailand when I came across this incredible Wat in the jungle. It's certainty off the beaten path and on my visit there was no one there but me and the monks. What an amazing experience to be at this place in such solitude at the time of my visit.

Wat Phu Tok

Top of the ledges

The Wat is located on a ledge. A very steep vertical ledge! A stairway is built into the ledge where you ascend into the Wat:

The walkway built into the ledge:

How safe are they?

This is not a journey for the timid. These wooden walkways were not built by engineers. They are not maintained by the government or any agency with expertise in ledge walkway building as far as I know. How secure are they?

If you fall from the walkway you would surely fall to your death. It is a vertical drop onto the rocks below. Some areas of the walkway do not even have handrails to contain you!

And yes you will be sharing the path with the monks as they traverse the Wat:

Hmmm... do I pass on the right or left?

During my climb I encountered many monks. They mostly paid me little attention unless I asked them for a picture. They were quite obliging in that regard, even taking the picture for me in one case. But they never smiled. Are they truly that unhappy? Or is it a lifestyle choice?

Stoic monk faces. Maybe I should have used deodorant that morning? They kept their distance!

The Wat was built in the late 60's. Monk Ajahn Juan started the construction in 1968, but the poor guy died in a plane crash in 1980. He and other monks were flying to Bangkok for the Queen's birthday when the plane went down. Ironic to die in a plane crash and not during the construction on these ledges!

The Wat is built on seven levels, representing the seven levels of Nirvana. I think I experienced at least one level of Nirvana on the climb myself! The higher you go the more impressive the views:

But also the scarier looking down:

Yeah, I wouldn't want to fall!

I'll point out that in some areas the handrails were missing or were never installed. This made for an adventure, especially when passing a monk. I always felt it respectful to give them the ledge side and I took the scary side. But, if I lost my balance I was going to grab on to him and we were going down together! Just kidding, I think.

As you continue to ascend you approach the living quarters of the monks. Very simple living indeed:

More pictures of the walk to the top:

A reminder you are in a jungle.

At around the 5th or 6th level I came across a curiosity:

He was tucked inside a crevice in the ledge. At a passing glance, I thought he was a meditating head monk or something. But it warranted a second look, so I turned around and went back.

Turns out it was a statue! How silly I felt.

Then more statues:

Here you could place money if you want to support the charity and religious work here. Yeah the monks accept cash but not credit cards.

The 7th level was suppose to be closed to the public but you could enter if persistent. However, it came with a warning of snakes inhabiting that area. What do they eat?

I decided my adventurous nature stops at poisonous snakes. No thank you! Time to go back down.

This was the coolest place I've visited in Thailand. I never knew these places existed in the world before I began remote travel adventures. I only found this place because I stopped for the night in a nearby town and googled "attractions nearby" on the map This little stop ended up being the most memorable of this adventure.