6/25/15
(This is a short entry. I spent most of the day on buses.)
It is amazing how fast something we do becomes a habit. It is even more interesting how sights and sounds become familiar. Having been away for a while, it is an effort to remember all the various emergency numbers, currencies, rules on tipping, bathroom requirements (are there toilet papers? Toilet seats? Running water?!). You feel like you are in a RPG all the time. Warning new coins, getting new missions and trying to gain more experience across different countries.
Since I was leaving for Guayaquil and Cuenca, I woke up early for a quick but healthy breakfast (vegetables and fruits!). I was trying to do something stupid: going all the way to Guayaquil then back across to Cuenca, all because of security (well, and I was told the bus ticket prices are cheaper that way: not true!). I arrived early at the bus station for the 10am bus. The bus came surprisingly on time: at 10:20am. We all boarded the really packed bus and headed to the border.
We arrived at the border around 1:45pm. The border looks surprisingly clean and spacious (ah, later I realized why they needed so much space), modern and sleek. We started to line up for the Peru exit stamp and the Ecuador entry stamp. Everyone was moderately excited, and we all to chatted a little under the hot sun. After 20 minutes, I realize why they need space: the process is much slower than expected. There were 2 agents from each country, but the guards allowed locals or your agents to cut queue. At the same time, the agents asked certain citizens from certain countries lots of questions. There is also the process of charging people whom have lost their paper (the little slip of paper tourists have to keep, comes with the immigration form).
While I was waiting, I picked up the local brochure and was surprised to discover: apart from the currency, Ecuador also adopted the emergency number, cab system, and many things US. It is nice to get back to a system I have learned. We finally left the immigration at 3:30pm and arrived at Guayaquil at 8:00pm. I immediately jumped into a local bus to Cuenca. Again, I was back on familiar ground: the bus is quite similar to those in Bolivia. There was no bathroom for the 3.5 hours trip, and people used natural ventilation (windows) for climate control. I eventually arrived at Cuenca at midnight, took a cab (yellow cab!) to my hostel: only to hear they gave my bed away. They finally found a bed somewhere, and I crashed (literally. I had to climb up and accidentally fell into the bed).
On one hand, it was an exhausting day, with lots of sitting and not much eating. On another hand, I am in another country, which had seemed to adopt the U.S. system for many things. It felt a little bit like I have come back to a place I am slightly familiar with. At least, I can call the emergency number now without having to look it up….
Chen's Travel Blog 