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Cusco & Machu Pichu - a postcard from Peru

Malcolm Crompton — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:35:01 -0600

After Australia hosted APEC in 2007 which involved some chasing round, for 2008 it was Peru's turn.

For my work with APEC, this included two trips to meetings in Lima. The second was in August. It occurred between meetings in North America leaving a few days during which I took a trip to Machu Pichu via Cusco in Peru. I flew there via Houston on Wednesday, a long & tiring day of travel then met up with an APEC colleague on the Thursday morning for the flight up to Cusco.

Cusco is 3,400m above sea level so they recommend a day of acclimatising before doing anything else. Cusco was the Inca capital that was taken over by the Spanish so has some very interesting sights to see in its own right.

Voluntary Voting System

Hani.Montan — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:59:49 -0600

Australia needs to introduce a voluntary voting system to replace the existing compulsory system. This should improve the quality of Australian democracy, by allowing the well-informed and motivated people who are analytical, critical and committed to politics to elect quality politicians. This in turn can motivate politicians to present better plans for the future of the country.

Western Tourists as Reporters

Zacha — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:06:06 -0600

The Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 was no more tragic for having western tourists present. But their presence did the make events more immediate and understandable to people in their home countries. The practical effect that having video cameras and mobiles intended for holiday use in so many of the locations meant a lot of footage of the events that would not have otherwise been shot.

Are you really leaving home when you travel?

Douglascomms — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:56:43 -0600

There’s this odd and mistaken assumption that all travel is somehow beneficial both for the footloose individual, and for the destination. Although I’d like to make a distinction between travelling to gain insight into other cultures, and travelling merely to gather stamps on your passport.

The stamp gatherers will flit from country to country, icon to icon, taking the same photographs of the same monuments, and not bothering to learn languages and cultures as they move.

I read with interest Catherine Fritz' blog about the importance of taking you time when travelling with children, and I believe the same principle applies for footloose adults.

It is another country, "through the eyes of a poet"

foggy — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:49:16 -0600

Italy. That is the place, somewhere in an august time setting, Joseph Addison was sent to. As was the custom in those days, for intellectual youth to do, and to make that cushy, he was granted a Pension of 300 pounds. Of course other places of Europe were on his visiting list, but the long poem, "A letter from Italy" is a record in verse of his tour of the place, along its length and breadth. It is said of him, he surveyed Italy "with the eyes of a poet". He has talked about Rome, Naples, the Tiber, Baia and Umbria. Of San Marino, there is a most amusing passage about it.

Travel with kids

catherine — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:38:59 -0600

The Holiday season is upon us and many will be looking forward to traveling somewhere different to really give them the holiday spirit. I have just finished my travels and this season will be staying put, but I have a few words of wisdom that may be helpful for you if you plan to travel anywhere with kids.

I have two sons aged 6 and 3 and we have just finished a five month stint traveling down the east coast of the USA, the UK, Israel and Italy. My husband worked for most of the trip while the kids and I explored.