I've heard lots of people say traveling In South America Is something you will never forget.
I agree with that. Every step I walked through this land, I always had things to talk about.

I had always thought that one day I could come here...... and I was here.
That's why, I tried to spend all my good time with people, Although bad situations that had happened to me will really bring me down. but I knew as a human being, I can withstand anything.

I've written about the story of getting robbed In Colombia before this trip. And Finally I borrowed money from my friend to continue this trip. (Colombia ; www.aokto.com/southamerica/colombia/index.html)

My trip started from Bogota bus terminal the place where I got robbed. I traveled the whole day whole night to Ipiales. If you want to have a safe trip. You should take this bus company "Fronteras" I saw that they have cameras ( Don't be sure it works)

We departed Bogota about 9 pm. and arrived at ipiales 11 pm. It took like 1 day to be there.

The Ecuadorian immigration control (Looks cleaner than the colombian side)

The day after, we went back to the colombian side to stamp out and went back to stamp in at The Ecuador side.

We were so happy ,after I got the stamp and we headed directly to Tulcan by Taxi.

We caught a bus at Tulcan In the morning, It was raining that time but we tried to get to Quito as fast as we can.

On the way to Quito, you will find street sellers at every stop.
These are general prices of foods sold on the bus.
Icecream 1 dollar
French fries 1-2 dollars

Please pay attention when sellers get on the bus to sell foods.
You might be a victim of pickpocket If you don't be careful.

Finally , we arrived at the bus terminal in Quito. From this to the Hostel ,
we had to bargain the price not to let them overcharge us.
The average could be 5-7 USD depends on how good your negotiation skills are.

We stayed at the secret garden , This hostel was clean, cheap but the internet suck !!
I keep asking myself why does hotel/hostel internet always suck?!!
Coundn't find any answer till now.

There's a rooftop at this hostel too. It looks really nice and you can see the landscape of the Quito from here. Besides, there are some historical places to wander while staying here.

There are about 4 floors if I remember.

And this is the amazing view on the rooftop where you can only find it in this hostel.

From the picture , You will see the church is called "La Basilica del Voto Nacional"
The entrance fee to this church is around 2 USD per person.

I was really interested in visiting the Bacilica because it's the biggest church I've seen In Quito.
I climbed up to the top of the towers where the bells and clocks are housed.
If you are a woman, don't wear short skirt to climp to the top because the very steep stair can
make someone behind you see what you've got.
From this place you can see the beautiful view of the city.

According to the staff there, they are renovating from the recent earthquake. but you can get around the church anyway.

From the hostel to the church took me 10 minutes walk

this is outside of the church.

And this is the top where you can see a great view.

One side of streets in Quito

The street was crowded with people to shopping.

Not far from the place , you can find this church " Santo Domingo"

I was not sure what it sold here but I've heard from someone that they sold this in Mexico too.

The bus station somewhere near to my hostel.
this kind of transportation can be found in many latin american countries.

It's not as modern as in many asian countries. So it's a bit inconvenient getting around the country.

This night my friend had planned to go to La Midtad del Mundo tomorrow by public transportation.
La Mitad del Mundo stands in both the north and south hemispheres located within the latitude 000-000-000

This is one of tourist attractions in Quito where i wanted to go to.

We headed to La Mitad Del Mundo in the early morning.

from the pic :The bus station to continue with another bus line.

The entrance fee is around 2 USD

Besides in this area there is The Intinan Museum that is close to the Equator monument. The museum features exhibits that show how the Incas determined the middle of the earth and other science experiments such as the effect of coriolis force on the earth.

Somewhere near the monument you can find the shop to get a free stamp in the passport, proving that they've been to the centre of the world.!! lol

and thissss

I saw some asian tourists too

Look ! I've been to the centre of the World ! LOL

I forgot to tell you , from the picture, this is the highest point in Quito.

To take a cable car to the top is around 8 USD (return ticket)

For those who don't want to waste money going there, You can also have the same view at the church.

Because there was nothing interesting.....

We stayed at the hostel for a few days and we were really excited to go to Cotopaxi, the second highest mountain in Ecuador, located in Cotopaxi National Park.

The hostel provided us a van to another hostel at the national park owned by the same owner.
We paid only 5 USD to get to the national park.

Before I got robbed In Colombia, I didn't plan to stay here at The secret garden but when I had stayed here. I enjoyed it a lot and the hostel did not disappoint me at all. It was simply wonderful! Beautiful !!

On the way to Cotopaxi

Driving a van to the national park was just like playing a roller coaster because the uneven road.

Again ......

After we arrived I started to feel dizzy, spinning like vertigo and hungry.....!!

The red house behind me was the place where I stayed at here.

I don't wanna talk about the food here. But If you come, Please bring a lot of stuffs , meats, beers , alcohols and whatever you can imagine. If you are vegetarian and you are ok with beans and vegetables. You don't need to be worry.

This place is a real the mini-resort ,You can have your good time at Jacuzzi to relax with friends and see the nice view of the snow mountain out of window. you can spend time , sipping a drink or simply having a chat here.

I came to Ecuador without expecting much, but ended up having an unforgettable experience.
I fell In love this place and I didn't want to go back home.

Really wanted to stay here for a month and a year (if there's WIFI)

I called it " lobby" this place you can have free drinks (tea and water) anytime you like.

There are 2 kind of toilets , If you prefe this outdoor toilet , you can get the best view while shitting

or you can use the one insided the lobby.

The staff here offered us a jungle tour (free) so we dressed up so fast and headed to the jungle.

Before taking a tour.

The forest was cold (very cold for me) We did a trip while it was raining.

We had difficulties travel through the forest but we made it !!

Finally, we found the beautiful waterfall.

and this another one.

llamas !!! I'm calling uuuuuuuuu

This what I told you earlier .... the dinner was still ok but not perfect.

We totally forgot to buy alcohols because we thought they sold somewhere here but there was nothing here except this hostel.

So we only enjoyed with the last bottle of alcohol that night.

and the next day.....

We woke up in the early morning to prepare our trip to Cotopaxi mountain.
The tour was arranged by the hostel and it was about 33 USD (Tax excluded)

The weather was very good in the morning , So we took a little sexy picture outside the house. LOL

and here we arrived...

The driver dropped us here to take some beautiful pictures.

Our trip adventure started when we arrived at the mountain. Definitely, It was very cold ,air pressure became less as we climbed up a mountain, and less air pressure means less oxygen to breath.
I wasn't feeling too suffocated on the climbs but just felt a little uncomfortable.

I had prepared a lot myself ,

This trip reminded me of a guy "Bear grylls"

I can really say It's an unforgetable experience for me.

We were in a half way to recharge our energy.

after 10 minutes resting, we continued walking again.

I always thought how far could I go...

and finally we did it at 5,000 meters above sea level. Although we didn't make the summit but we were really happy.

I had a lot of fun there and after we came back the hostel.
I headed first to jacuzzi. Because I always thought about it when I was on the mountain.

Took it with my friend.

I had planned a lot this trip and it was worth waiting for. I totally forgot all bad experiences I had In Colombia.

Reall wanted to say thanks to my friend again who lended me some money to continue my trip after a hard time In Colombia.

Now i did pay back to him and I promise this time I will take care a lot of myself more than ever.

Trip in Ecuador