The town of Aguas Calientes was fascinating in its own right.  Over the course of about twenty years, it went from an unknown Andean village to one of the largest tourist thoroughfares in the world.  The locals still seem a bit shocked by it all.  Naturally, the town has adapted to the new economy - you are forced to walk through a massive, endless nest of trinket stalls to get to or from the train station, hotels are springing up everywhere, and all the restaurants serve the same crappy tourist food.  It sucks, but I hope the villagers are living better lives with all the money.