Nothing had prepared me for the way tourists are treated in Cusco. The entire city seems set up for the English-speaking visitor with a wallet full of cash.

Every restaurant has an English menu, all the staff speak English and all the people on the streets know how to say phrases like "Lady, you want to buy my painting. I did it myself."

Tim has a very direct approach with these people. He tells them 'no' and keeps walking. But I'm the bleeding heart softie of the relationship. I can't ignore people, I can't say 'no' and I get caught up admiring their artwork, unable to get away from them.

The one time I went shopping on my own in Cusco I came back with a painting I'd paid about NZ$10 for. They normally sold for 50 cents.

I can't help but imagine people are starving and my measly ten bucks is really making a difference to their lives. I swear they can tell as soon as they see me. And the sellers are everywhere approaching tourists at every step.

I decided Cusco would be the perfect to "get hard" and learn from Tim's approach. I started saying "no, gracias" to them all.

But I'm still not a complete hard-arse. There's still the children on the streets pleading for coins and I could never ignore them. Next time we go on a big trip we'll have to account for my weakness in our budget.

Next stop: Why I loved Cusco for more reasons than its close proximity to the Inca ruins.

Check out more photos from my trip in my Flickr album.

Find out about Peru.

Read more of Kelly's blogs.