All About Argentina

Cities Covered:

• Buenos Aires
• El Calafate
• El Chalten
• Esquel
• Trevelin
• Mendoza
• Barreal
• Uspallata
• San Juan
• Huamahuaca
• Iruja
• Puerto Iguazu

Our arrival in Buenos Aires (BA) after a delayed flight from Peru was welcoming and came into the city during early the afternoon.  The hotel wasn´t great and reminded me of our stay in Dushanbe, but it was affordable and had a private room with our own bathroom.  Since Argentinians love their meat and in keeping halal, found a vegetarian place run by a Chinese family that had good take out food.  No one, I mean no one on the streets here eats, so us stuffing our mouths in front on an office building probably looked awkward.   Most of the food consists of pizzas, pastas, and empanadas many reminders of its Italian migrants.

The whole of Argentina, especially BA is experiencing protests related to the economic collapse and the devaluation of the peso, so witnessed a lot of drumming, flag waving, and of course police in riot gear but it was non-provoking and more to raise awareness.

Before, the weather turns cold, we flew down to Patagonia to El Calafate to visit Parque Nacional Los Glacier.  Patagonia lives up to its reputation as its windy but also has a stark beauty of mountains and a wide expanse of desert as its a dry place.  The town of Calafate is upscale with many boutique shops and restaurant and not all of what we expected.  Luckily, found a cheap hostel as this is tourist heaven and made a plan to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier, a mass of ice that´s 5 kms wide, 14 kms long, and 60 meters high.  As the day warmed up, building size chunks of ice started calving off into the lake below with thundering noise and sounds of gunshot rounds going off.  Many parts of the are glacier are a deep blue from the compacted ice and reflect the wavelength of the light.

Next stop was to El Chalten, which is a growing village with steeply angled roofed homes, reminder of the snow that falls here.  The highlight here is the Mount Fitzroy Range with excellent trekking in the park.  There are some lovely hikes with views of glaciers, hidden waterfalls, and mountains.  One hike led us to a melting glacier creating a huge waterfall cascading into the blue green lake below.

Back to the hostel, we had access to a kitchen but the owner was never around and people seemed to come and go.

Next, hopped on a 24 hours bus journey to Esquel.  The town has an old steam train, which only runs a limited distance now but it was fun to ride it and made up for the fake one we rode in Ecuador. 

The lack of English in the country is surprising and Sabeen does most of the talking to get us around and oriented.  There are still a few Welsh settlers here and the town of Trevelin has the traditional stone houses and the tea houses to go with it. 

Left for Uspallata, a small mountain town with views of Aconcagua and Volcan Topangato.  A local by the name of Pachi saw us wandering around looking for a place and led us to a small place run by a young couple and decided to stay with them for a few days.  I decide to cook dinner for all of us, nothing fancy but more for the chance to sit and converse with locals.

We take a hike to Las Cuevas and go up Christo Redentor, a statue of Christ at 4,000 meters as a symbol of peace between Argentina and Chile in 1904 to settle the land dispute.  The hike was long but the views were outstanding of dark mountains with pure white snow.  I ruin my shoes however on the way down from the sharp stones that dig into my cheaply bought hiking sandals.

We leave next for Barreal, which is only 99 kms from here but is a remote place and the option to hitchike is limited, so take a bus first to Mendoza, then San Juan, before arriving after 11 hours.  On the bus to San Juan, meet a bus conductor who greets us in English, a first, so start chatting on the ride and get to know Francisco from Chile who speaks great English and tells us how he lost his father to a traffic accident and dreams of going to Nepal and India to help the poor and do more with his life.  He is 27 years old and reads the NY Times everyday to improve his English.  He lives in a trailer left by his father and plans to never move it as per his father´s instructions.  We part with hugs and kisses....

It is the Easter holiday so the locals are starting to travel themselves.  As we turn up in Barreal at midnight, no a room is available but Marsela, a lovely hotel owner takes mercy on us and invites us into her house to first feed us and then drives us a few kms to her sister´s house to spend the night.  Her sister´s place is quiet and cozy and we stay for a few days.  Marsela even drives us back into town a few days later so we check in to a hotel closer to town.

As we decide to leave for San Juan, a couple visiting offers us a ride and we stuff ourselves into their small car and go forward for the 4 hours ride.

Making Change Happen

We all have goals and desires, things that we want to do or accomplish but getting from point A to point B requires moving in the right direction, which comes from taking initiative and a belief in your yourself.  My goal is to make money by traveling and see at least 100 countries in the next 12 years.  For some, this may not sound ambitious and for some others unrealistic.  So, how did I come to setting this goal for myself?  Well, I have also had an interest in traveling that really peaked after our year long backpacking trip, one could say the trip wouldn't have happened had we not had such wanderlust to begin with.  Kind of like chicken or egg syndrome.

So, what am I doing to get myself closer to realizing my goal?  I have taken a few steps in the right direction, such as doing work that will allow me to move around the world and get paid.  I started by looking to see what was out there and there is a lot, so that was good, gave me some confidence.  I then took the initiative and started doing some research on what would work for us.  We have a working plan in place with the hope of executing it soon next year.  Yes we are a little nervous but also more excited.

So, the hard part is giving yourself permission to go after your dreams and having imagination guided by creativity and not fear to propel you forward.  Most people gave up dreaming and have traded a life of routine and a rat race, which they think is normal. 

We are humans, we need change, we need to grow, we need to evolve, we need people.  Trade the life that you've been taught is normal to living one for yourself.

Off the Beaten Path

There is something, call it romantic, definitely a sense of adventure about taking your travels to off the beaten paths.  I have to admit, sticking to a travel guide every now and then is nice, it lays out your plans for you and sometimes you need the decision making done for you.  But more often than not, the tried and true doesn't make for good stories and you start feeling like a part of a big herd.

Living in the 21st century, it seems like all the things that were supposed to have been done....have been done.  I am pointing to the romance of travel from the yesteryear's, the kind you see glorified in old black/white photos with burly men in round spectacles riding elephants with a native tribesmen leading them through thick bushes to a hunt.  Or, the Lawrence of Arabia's riding through the desert on a horse or a camel at night on a secret mission and camping underneath the stars.  I also imagine the Silk Road caravans on their months long journey traversing mountain passes, being chased by hungry wolves, thugs, crossing deserts, and skirting death on the Pamir Mountains or making secret deals with the spice dealers in towns such as Marrakesh, Kashgar, Siwa, Kabul, or Tunis. 

For us, some of the best moments were off the beaten path, where we probably were the only foreigners in town, the locals appreciated our presence and thus were warm and hospitable, and we could wander in awe at having arrived at such a place after enduring some hard rides.  Central Asia is a good contender for off the beaten travels as it is isolated, difficult to get to and around, and mired in mystery and romance from its association with the Silk Road, former relationship with the Soviet Union, and its years of turmoil due both to its geographic proximity and political landscape.

We were able to make it out to a few off the beaten paths such as pretty much all of Central Asia, parts of Nepal, Egypt, Laos, Indonesia, and a few others.  The memories that these places such are so much more vivid because they weren't diluted by tourist traps or the latest place to be according to a travel magazine or a brochure.  The fact that we came out to these places without following any set path or having in mind any special place to see, is what really stood out.  I remember getting a handful of mulberries from a guard posted in Tajikistan near the border with Afghanistan and thought what a delight, as originally we were thinking passport and visa hassles from the authorities; Instead our exchange was one of friendliness and mutual curiosity. 

Also, in SW Turkey near the border with Iraq and Syria in the town of Mardin, we couldn't find cheap accommodations, so after hours of searching, just decided to go it alone and ask a local family if they could host us, which incredibly they did.  These and other encounters are hard to come by when everyone is vying for tourist dollars and towns are propped up on tourist money, so it was welcoming to be in such towns where you could be appreciated for your uniqueness and sometimes your bravado for having come to such a place.  We had a few encounters where people were surprised that we were Americans, since we're brown, most automatically think we're Indians but once they learned of our backgrounds, that just made us even more special and I think for some a sense of pride to host "important" people.  It's humbling to know there are parts of the world where people care who you are based on your background and traits.

Best to sum it up as that when we weren't looking, that's when we found what we were looking for.......

Travel Insurance

Face it, we need some money to travel and it's a good idea to use some of that cash to buy travel insurance.  When we were planning for our trip, we weren't too sure about which company to go with and what kind of coverage one would need.  We knew that since we would be backpacking without a fixed itinerary, we would need the kind of coverage that would protect us globally in the event of the unfortunate.  Going to hospitals in Nepal would be another story but hey, at least we'd be protected.

Since backpacking also comes with its unique challenges, we wanted to make sure we were in good hands with an insurance provider.  We decided to go with World Nomads as our insurer, as they gave us the global coverage we wanted, we could renew on the road, the rates were reasonable, and they had a lot of traveler testimonials, which meant they were plugged into the needs of independent travelers. 

There is a caveat to remember about deductibles.  While in Cambodia, Sabeen had needed to see a doctor, so when we contacted the insurance, they told us that the bill would have to be at least or exceed $150 for refund, which ours wasn't.  So, really the insurance is good for bigger accidents and not for penny pinching and filing for claims for day to day things like cuts, bruises, and the occasional bout of sickness.

The ironic things is that throughout our travels, thankfully we didn't really need much of the insurance coverage, except towards the end, when we had let it lapse as we were getting ready to turn around and I developed a skin infection on my hand in Singapore.  It was good that at least it happened in Singapore, where the care facilities have high standards and are clean and hygienic.  It wasn't too bad though, doctor visit, consultation, and medicine, all for about $100.

Solo or Companion Travel

I have had the good fortune to have traveled alone when I was single to now with my wife.  Looking back now, I don't think I would enjoy long term travel as a solo person.  OK, with that established, I wanted to delve into what it was like to have done both of these experiences with the hope that others will provide feedback on their travel outlook.

When I was traveling and for a while lived in Alaska to being in Central America and Europe by myself, one inevitably is responsible for their day to day decisions and has the freedom to decide on how they choose their day.  This is a great thing because you have no one to answer to but yourself and at the same time allowing for flexibility to change your mind as you go along.  Hey if you decide to hang out with another traveler or go hiking instead of touring the city, we'll you can.  This is both great and sometimes bad, for example, I can be somewhat indecisive at time, so having too many options means I revert to doing what I enjoy the most, which is usually the outdoors and miss out on cultural aspects of my travels.  Another thing I notice is that I have a tendency to get lazy, especially after long bus rides and having to deal with the constant decision making of finding food, lodging, planning for the trip, money issues, etc so will often times either sleep in or cancel my plans made the previous day.  Again, I would finish up my trip not having been to places that I wanted to go. 

Now, I am all for flexibility and know how important this is, especially traveling in foreign lands where the things you expect, don't usually materialize.  I am OK accepting things outside my control but felt I wasn't pushing myself hard enough or giving into doing things for others, so while no regrets, felt I needed to better manage myself.

If you've guessed it you're right, this section is about traveling as couple and how different it was.  Let me start by saying that while I enjoyed my solo travels, traveling with my wife opened a whole new set of experiences, one of the major ones being that we had only been married barely a year and so the chance to spend almost every moment together was the best way to establish a relationship.  The great thing about having a companion was that I never needed to rely on anyone else to share or do anything, I know this is obvious but having constant company was energizing for an extrovert like me.  I can also be a bit shy sometimes when it comes to communicating in foreign languages, so again having my wife laughing or smiling as I attempted to utter a few broken phrases was also a great ice breaker and acceptance that I wasn't alone in looking like a fool.  As I alluded to earlier, I can be lazy, but Sabeen had a drive to keep us to our commitments, such as after hellish bus, ferry, trains, and car rides.  When I would complain and later realize, I was glad for having done the things we wanted to do and had a chance to encounter something else.  It was also good to divide up the tasks.  We agreed on the countries that we wanted to visit but once we arrived, Sabeen had far superior skills at reading maps, so she took the lead in planning once we arrived.  I would do the research on places to stay and she would figure out how to get us there.

I also think having another person balances your outlook on things, for example its easy to become desensitized and lose the excitement of traveling, especially when you have been doing it long term and it starts to look like work.  You need the other person to tell you to slow down or enjoy the moment, without constantly feeling like you need to be someplace.  It was great to meet other travelers and have a chance to express yourself to someone else because having constant companionship, you get to know each other sometimes too well and end up doing non-verbal communication or you end up talking about a lot of the same topics.

Despite this, we met more solo travelers, especially females, so it doesn't really matter.  What's important is that if you have an interest than you do it.

Money to Travel

Sabeen and I both wanted to follow our passion for long term traveling and knew that we needed to have enough money to be comfortable to do the things we wanted to do.  We also knew that managing our budget was important to keep track as we continued through the months.

I'd like to share the thought process we went through in executing our plan and talk about the myths and fears that are common in this and following posts.  Talk to anyone about traveling and images of laid back days spent on the beach come to mind, now we definitely had a few of these experiences but the message that I want to convey is that our plan was to travel and not be on a vacation.  There definitely is a difference between the two, while vacation is usually a short stint at a fixed location, where no real effort is needed planning for food, lodging, sightseeing, and logistic; long term traveling however, is the opposite.  When Sabeen and I left, we were in the category of the latter, a conscious decision because we wanted to experience life as much as the locals do and try and see the world through their eyes.

Mentally, we knew we were bound to have difficult days and we did, which I will follow-up with separate entries but also what is difficulty, in our case a voluntary decision to push one's limits with the hope of learning something about ourselves while still cherishing the moments. 

OK, if you've read so far, you probably have realized that we had a pretty tight budget and glad for it but its not for everyone, so here is some advice for doing it for yourself regardless of how lavish or shoestring your inclinations may be.

• First of all, clean up your life, I mean get rid of clutter and things you don't need because not only will you feel free but you'll realize you don't need much to enjoy life.  We both had one backpack between us and that was plenty.  Again, not for everyone. 
• Second, get a hold of your spending, we both hate credit cards and only use debit since that way, we can only spend the money we have and if we do go over, the bank will promptly hit us with hefty service charges. 
• Third, make savings a priority, I have always kept this as a habit and will pay myself first from my paycheck before I write bills.  This way, I know I am focusing on my long term goals and will only spend on other things after I have put money in my savings account. 
• Fourth, delay instant gratification, this is hard in a culture such as ours, where the latest fashion, gadgets, etc are always at hand.  I don't frequent Starbucks but do once in a while like their coffee but even then, most times I'll deny myself a $3.00 cup of coffee and instead wait to come home, where I can have one for almost free.  This also goes for dining out, which is fine every now and then but don't make it a habit.
• Buy stuff that you only really need.  This goes in line with lack of clutter but also with grocery shopping.  It's an easy habit to buy things for the moment or at the checkout aisle but its amazing all those little items add up.
• Perhaps the most important, having the courage, desire, and motivation to do it.  We had many doubts ourselves and will be sharing these in later posts.....

This isn't an exhaustive list but hopefully it conveys a picture that changing habits is an active decision and comes down to priority, which for us was simple......Travel.

Traveling as Muslims

I wanted to write about our faith and reflect on our experience traveling as Muslims, especially in a time where religious tolerance seems non-existent and xenophobia running high.

It was amazing for us both to realize just how many Muslims dominate the world from South East Asia to Central Asia to Africa.  When we had initially began our trip in Indonesia, we knew we would encounter Muslims but in the town of Cianjur, we had some very warm hospitality.  The town of Cianjur is small, kind of place where everyone knows everyone, just a few tourist attraction, so when you show up you draw attention.  We were staying with a local family, who lived close to a mosque, so Sabeen and I decided to start praying there while in town.  I immediately drew attention when I walked in the mosque with looks and a few whispers.  As the prayers ended, few elderly men came over, first hesitatingly then outright questions of where I was from.  When they learned that I was from the US and a Muslim on top, they were shocked, had no idea that first Muslims in great numbers existed in America and that second having grown up in the US, I still continued to practice my faith.

Well, lucky for me because from them on, every time I would go to this mosque, some gentlemen or other, would invite me to their home for coffee and sweets.  Sabeen would often wonder where I had disappeared only to hear laughter or talk from a neighbors house and see me walking down the street with a huge grin on my face.

These sorts of interactions pretty much continued through out our year long journey, where we would end up in a new town, have some curious bystanders come around inquire about us and as soon as they would learn of our faith we were friends.  The best part was seeing mosques and hearing the call of the Azan and listening to the Friday sermon in different languages such as Khmer, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Bahasa, Arabic, and Turkish.

In Central Asia, we had great interactions with locals to dine and to sleep in their homes despite the language difficulties.  In Turkey, we again stayed with a few families in Mardin and at other times had a few people befriend us to drive us around and take us to really cheesy tourist sites.  I think we also drew attention due to our brown skin and many just hadn't seen people of our background traveling, which again made our travels that much more unique.

We both miss the hospitality of strangers and long to get back on the road.

Word on the Street

I wanted to take a diversion from our travel writing to share some of the sayings one hears on the street.  Spend enough time on the road and you'll encounter touts of all sorts offering their services, so at times while their demands can get a bit pushy and slightly annoying, looking back on some of them is comedic and worth sharing.

In Vietnam, the saying is "same same" meaning another product whether food or any similar item is the same thing.  The trick however that's not always the case, such as when you bargain with a street vendor and you pick up some fruit, they offer you a price, you counter with your own price, they take back the original product you picked up and replace it with something smaller or inferior and say "same same".  Also in Vietnam you are again asked to buy things that you have no use for and are given a guilt trip from the street vendor like "you help me" so buy from me.

Also, tuk-tuk, cyclo, xe om, ojek, taxi, motorbike, bemo or any other common mode of transportation will offer you a ride, you deny it and they come back with "maybe tomorrow"?  Another is in Hong Kong and countless other places you are innocently first asked to buy a legitimate product such as books, or a tailored suit or fake watches, you again deny them and they come back with "ok, how about hashish...marijuana"?

In Cambodia:
Hey lady, you want massage?
You buy from me ok.....?

In Singapore:
Locals end every sentence with "lah", such as "do you want some food lah"?
Yes becomes "can" and no is "cannot", without the 't' sound
Also say "have" a lot, such as "do you have bananas"? and the response is "have"

In Turkey:
Instead of saying no and disagreeing, the response is "problem"

We'll try and update with more sayings along the way......