Lima, Peru
Made a quick weekend trip for family to Lima. As this trip was mostly a chaperone scenario, I made the best of the situation as possible. I had to layover over in Houston on United Airlines and decided to do a layover visit and gave myself an 8 hour layover to see the 'sights.'
I was able to get a great deal on Priceline for a car rental and ended up at National with a Toyota Corolla. I was impressed with the mileage of the car as I was able to put on 80+ miles during my excursion and the tank was still at full. Or I was really lucky and the person before me filled it up to the maximum.
I went into the United Club to freshen up and grab a quick shower and light breakfast. Also, at 6 am in Houston, it was still dark and there is nothing open in the city. Headed out around 8 am and checked out the Asian scene. I have heard that there was a mass exodus of Vietnamese folks from California to Texas specifically Houston. I wanted to see if the community was as established as it is on the West Coast. Checked out the Hong Kong city Mall at 11205 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77072 and found a number of Vietnamese and Chinese owned business in this sprawling complex. There are a lot of homeless people on the streets as well so be forewarned.
After a quick Yelp search, I found this sandwich shop across the street, Nguyen Ngo French Café at 11210 Bellaire Boulevard, ordered a bbq pork and chicken sandwiches. I ate them later when I was in Lima and the sandwich was good but not great. I also went to Pho Dien and ordered the pho dac biet. The broth bordered on the sweet side and was good enough for me. I would not say that the Vietnamese cuisine is rocking Houston but it isn't small. Before heading back to the airport, I checked out Chinatown and thought the area was very well developed in comparison. I grabbed bbq pork bun and egg tarts from King Bakery on 9889 Bellaire Blvd Ste 107, Houston, TX 77036 and found the bakery very good and cheap!
When I went back to the airport, I did find the rental care facility a little confusing as there are two entrances to the facility. In addition, the rental buses do not have the best of signs when it comes to identifying United terminals. The signs post that United is in Terminal A/B but my gate was E. It appear with the Continental and United merger, they have some things to take care of.
Went through the security without issue but didn't eat much at the airport. I did visit the United Club lounge for some afternoon snacks and Auntie Anne's pretzel dogs and some doughnut hole concoction (stick with the buns). The flight to Lima was not confirmed as upgraded but I was able to get on right before boarding. I was glad to catch some zzzz's on this segment. After a very delicious meal of beef short ribs and cheesecake (I thought all flights were ice cream sundaes), I watched Frozen. I found the movie a bit contrived even for Disney and took some shut eye after it ended.
Jorge Chavez Internatonal Aiport is actually pretty small given the city size. It is still about 40 minutes from the city center and the driver was able to get us there in a reasonable amount of time. In Lima, you always negotiate the price before getting into the taxi. The Hilton Lima Miraflores is a bit new and might be the reason why the driver wasn't as familiar with the location.
The next day, I enjoyed breakfast in the executive lounge. Unlike other international locations, this Hilton serves food all day in the lounge. The breakfast is actually the most mundane but the lunch and dinner food is excellent. After breakfast, went out walking to check out the area and get some money from the banks. The banks charge about $5 for withdrawing so choose wisely. I found BCP the cheapest to withdraw.
Afterwards, went to Larcomar mall and it was the fanciest and prettiest mall location I have every seen. The mall hugs the cliffs overlooking the ocean and everything has an ocean view. Had lunch at Mangoes and it was pretty good. They do both buffet and a la carte menu. After watching parasailers above me, I went to the park up from the mall and went parasailing. The actual flight was only 10 minutes and it was nice even though the wind was dying down.
Had a light dinner at the Hilton Executive Lounge and went out to Houlihan's afterwards. The drink of choice is the pisco sour. I did not realize how big pisco brandy is and I had that drink almost every meal. Of all the places, Houlihan's had the best pisco sour I had.
On my last day, I grabbed a quick breakfast from the lounge before heading out to Huaca Pucllana. It is a site of a temple from the indigenous people several thousand years ago. I find it interesting that the temple has been preserved despite being surrounded by one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Lima. After trekking through the tour, went back to have lunch at Costa Verde Restaurant. A very popular buffet style restaurant, it would give a Las Vegas Buffet a run for their money. I don't know if it was because it was the weekend but there was a show as well.
After the lunch, I was stuffed to the brim and decided to walk around the neighborhood and do some shopping. I grabbed some stuff from the local grocery store like canchitas which is way better than CornNuts and dulce de leche which is closer to a caramel Nutella in my opinion.
Before heading out to the airport, grabbed a light dinner at the lounge and went by the Parque de la Reserva. I was lucky to catch the reopening of the park on this trip. The water fountains in this park can rival the fountain shows in Las Vegas. Although a public park, one must buy entry except for the young or elderly. Cruised through the park pretty quickly but the venue attracted a lot of locals that came to view the show.
Traveller's tip: When flying out of Lima, the airport check-in entry is only one door from the outside. Go in the wrong door and you will have to go back out. Since the airport shares space between departures and arrivals, they are very specific in what entry way you come in to check in. Also, there is a food court before you go through customs and one can hang out there very comfortably if needed. The airport also appears very busy at all times of the day.
The flight back was uneventful, the food was tasty but I was more interested in sleep than anything else. At Houston, I was prepared to have my five hour layover by spending time at the United Club but ended up on a earlier flight due to plane maintenance. I was sad to lose my first class ticket and ended up buying internet on the plane to pass the time.
I was able to get a great deal on Priceline for a car rental and ended up at National with a Toyota Corolla. I was impressed with the mileage of the car as I was able to put on 80+ miles during my excursion and the tank was still at full. Or I was really lucky and the person before me filled it up to the maximum.
I went into the United Club to freshen up and grab a quick shower and light breakfast. Also, at 6 am in Houston, it was still dark and there is nothing open in the city. Headed out around 8 am and checked out the Asian scene. I have heard that there was a mass exodus of Vietnamese folks from California to Texas specifically Houston. I wanted to see if the community was as established as it is on the West Coast. Checked out the Hong Kong city Mall at 11205 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77072 and found a number of Vietnamese and Chinese owned business in this sprawling complex. There are a lot of homeless people on the streets as well so be forewarned.
After a quick Yelp search, I found this sandwich shop across the street, Nguyen Ngo French Café at 11210 Bellaire Boulevard, ordered a bbq pork and chicken sandwiches. I ate them later when I was in Lima and the sandwich was good but not great. I also went to Pho Dien and ordered the pho dac biet. The broth bordered on the sweet side and was good enough for me. I would not say that the Vietnamese cuisine is rocking Houston but it isn't small. Before heading back to the airport, I checked out Chinatown and thought the area was very well developed in comparison. I grabbed bbq pork bun and egg tarts from King Bakery on 9889 Bellaire Blvd Ste 107, Houston, TX 77036 and found the bakery very good and cheap!
When I went back to the airport, I did find the rental care facility a little confusing as there are two entrances to the facility. In addition, the rental buses do not have the best of signs when it comes to identifying United terminals. The signs post that United is in Terminal A/B but my gate was E. It appear with the Continental and United merger, they have some things to take care of.
Went through the security without issue but didn't eat much at the airport. I did visit the United Club lounge for some afternoon snacks and Auntie Anne's pretzel dogs and some doughnut hole concoction (stick with the buns). The flight to Lima was not confirmed as upgraded but I was able to get on right before boarding. I was glad to catch some zzzz's on this segment. After a very delicious meal of beef short ribs and cheesecake (I thought all flights were ice cream sundaes), I watched Frozen. I found the movie a bit contrived even for Disney and took some shut eye after it ended.
Jorge Chavez Internatonal Aiport is actually pretty small given the city size. It is still about 40 minutes from the city center and the driver was able to get us there in a reasonable amount of time. In Lima, you always negotiate the price before getting into the taxi. The Hilton Lima Miraflores is a bit new and might be the reason why the driver wasn't as familiar with the location.
The next day, I enjoyed breakfast in the executive lounge. Unlike other international locations, this Hilton serves food all day in the lounge. The breakfast is actually the most mundane but the lunch and dinner food is excellent. After breakfast, went out walking to check out the area and get some money from the banks. The banks charge about $5 for withdrawing so choose wisely. I found BCP the cheapest to withdraw.
Afterwards, went to Larcomar mall and it was the fanciest and prettiest mall location I have every seen. The mall hugs the cliffs overlooking the ocean and everything has an ocean view. Had lunch at Mangoes and it was pretty good. They do both buffet and a la carte menu. After watching parasailers above me, I went to the park up from the mall and went parasailing. The actual flight was only 10 minutes and it was nice even though the wind was dying down.
Had a light dinner at the Hilton Executive Lounge and went out to Houlihan's afterwards. The drink of choice is the pisco sour. I did not realize how big pisco brandy is and I had that drink almost every meal. Of all the places, Houlihan's had the best pisco sour I had.
 |
| Pisco Sour (right) at Houlihan's |
On my last day, I grabbed a quick breakfast from the lounge before heading out to Huaca Pucllana. It is a site of a temple from the indigenous people several thousand years ago. I find it interesting that the temple has been preserved despite being surrounded by one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Lima. After trekking through the tour, went back to have lunch at Costa Verde Restaurant. A very popular buffet style restaurant, it would give a Las Vegas Buffet a run for their money. I don't know if it was because it was the weekend but there was a show as well.
 |
| My homemade sundae of caramel ice cream with caramel sauce topped with cookie and flan at Costa Verde Restaurant |
After the lunch, I was stuffed to the brim and decided to walk around the neighborhood and do some shopping. I grabbed some stuff from the local grocery store like canchitas which is way better than CornNuts and dulce de leche which is closer to a caramel Nutella in my opinion.
 |
| Peruvians really like tres leches to make ice cream flavor found at Wong's |
Traveller's tip: When flying out of Lima, the airport check-in entry is only one door from the outside. Go in the wrong door and you will have to go back out. Since the airport shares space between departures and arrivals, they are very specific in what entry way you come in to check in. Also, there is a food court before you go through customs and one can hang out there very comfortably if needed. The airport also appears very busy at all times of the day.
The flight back was uneventful, the food was tasty but I was more interested in sleep than anything else. At Houston, I was prepared to have my five hour layover by spending time at the United Club but ended up on a earlier flight due to plane maintenance. I was sad to lose my first class ticket and ended up buying internet on the plane to pass the time.
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