Saturday, April 15, 2006

Bollywood in Peru?

I walked into the central market (a bustling place packed with vendors of every imaginable item from food to pots and pans to clothing) in Cusco, Peru today and what was blaring over the loudspeakers? Old Indian film songs.. yes, Bollywood has hit Cusco too. I chuckled my way through the isles and sat down for a delicious hot chocolate because I couldn't cut short the experiene of listening to Indian music in the middle of the Peruvian Andes.
These last few days brought a brief visit to La Paz and a few relaxing days on the shores of Lake Titicaca. La Paz is unimaginable. Set at about 3600m altitude, it is a city in a bowl. Imagine the convergence of a valleys surrounded by snowcapped Andean Peaks. From the top to the bottom of the valley walls, forming a circular bowl, sat thousands, probably millions of terra-cotta colored houses. La Paz is a congested, slightly dangerous, developing world capital city, but it is like no other in its setting. In my 24 hours there, I explored the alleys of colonial architecture, the witches' market where you can find dried llama fetuses, and handicrafts stalls - and ate some delicious Lebanese food!
From La Paz, I jumped on a bus to Copacabana, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. At 3800m, it is the world's higest navigable lake. In it sits Isla del Sol, the site of the Inca creation myth. With a couple of others from the UK, Canada and the US, I explored the simple villages and terraced, green hills of this beautiful island.
As I headed to Cusco, my final destination, Copacabana was filling up fast with Bolivian pilgrims for Good Friday and the yearly candle-lit vigil of thousands. I was sorry to miss the spectacle, but Machu Pichu was calling.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bollywood in PERU? surprising

2:09 AM

 

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