micetrail

Well, that one’s off the list finally.  If you don’t have your fill of penguins, then head on down to South Georgia Islands and the Antarctic continent.  We had a wonderfully put-together trip run by A&K on a beautiful ship, Le Boreal.  Other than two days of 30-40 foot swells, the weather held up for us.  The warmest day was on the peninsula where it reached 45F degrees.  Those red jackets had to be offloaded.  The Expedition leaders were top-notch and, for the most part, provided excellent lectures.  I actually learned how to use my SLR camera…finally.   This is a great trip to take if you really, really, want to see the Antarctic.  Not for the casual holiday…although you can swim in Whaler’s Bay if you feel so inclined.  I use the word “swim” liberally.

It’s always great to be home after a trip…no matter where. I guess that’s one of the benefits of travel – appreciating the bounty you have at home. Just returned from Bhutan and the land of GNH…yes, that’s Gross National Happiness. It doesn’t hurt to have a Buddhist mindset!  Our guide and driver did make us happy and they even managed to put up with us for the week we were there…they did, however, keep up their mantras which must have been some help.  Bhutan’s vegetation is similar to the Sierras with it’s pine trees and elevation.  

The flight in from Bangkok was quite exciting, as the jet banked through the narrow valley on its approach to Paro.  A favorite event was the in-villa massage at Uma Paro.  What’s not to like with the villa having its own massage room with a corner fireplace blazing. Although food is not remarkable in Bhutan, here at the Uma Paro it was delicious.

Bhutan, as you know, is a constitutional monarchy but no castles or palaces in evidence.  It’s 95% Buddhist (no churches) and we did catch some monks-in-training at a young age… and bathing and playing in the river. 

In the capital of Thimphu, what is going to be the largest sitting buddha in the world is in the final stages.  Archery is the national sport of Bhutan and we were able to witness archers shooting at a target a football field away (just a small exaggeration).    When they hit a target the team did a little dance…it didn’t happen often.

We were able to see the rare black neck cranes in the Phobjikha Valley just in from Tibet.     And…we visited a small temple dedicated to the “divine mad monk” Drukpa Kinley…who taught dharma by using a shocking and ribald sense of humor.  Women having trouble conceiving come here to pray and there are many fertility symbols (i.e. penises) painted on houses, stores, etc…along with a 4 ft carved phallus in the restaurant there.  

We managed a hike up to Tiger’s Nest…a 2000 foot hike and a Must Do!    This is one of the most revered spots in the Himalaya.  It’s good to be in shape however and not a trek to make if you have any kind of heart condition.  There are donkeys to take up but not a good thing if you outweigh the donkey.  You can also take your children to be blessed… or boiled. 

All-in-all, a very good trip and amazingly relaxing.  Of course, having a massage every other day didn’t hurt.  It’s a trip to take if you like touring, temples and monasteries   and don’t need sun and sand to be happy.  There’s really just one main road with some of it paved…they are working on it.  And no stop lights…just one intersection in Thimphu with a balletic traffic policeman.     We were lucky with the weather – a bit cool but not cold.  The elevation was only a problem on our hike up to Taktsang Lhankhang (Tiger’s Nest).  The people are lovely and English is spoken by most.

We stopped in Cambodia at Siem Riep before heading to Bhutan.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the temples we visited there.

Preah Khan – 12th C temple   Angkor Wat

Angkor ThomBanteay Srei – citadel of women.

It’s amazing what can be done in three days…just imagine if it was 7 days!

Some notes from my Peace Corps experience 2003-2005.  On December 25th, 2005 I managed to fly from Uzbekistan, where I was stationed, to Delhi.  I had a wonderful young man driving me from Delhi around Rajastan…who, as sweet as he was, managed to infect me with some damn virus.  Next time, hands together and a slight bow!  The day I arrived was when the horrible tsunami hit the east coast of India, not to mention Indonesia.  I found out about it walking from my hotel that night where I espied a neon news feed announcing it.  It was far away from Delhi and somewhat surreal.

The next morning Danesh came to pick me up and we headed to Agra and the Taj Mahal.  One hears so much about the Taj and it is incredibly beautiful.  To get there, however, you go through the slums of Agra and proceed out of the city to the Taj.  I expected it to be all by itself as it is in so many pictures but there are matching structures on either side of it made of sandstone and marble.  They no longer allow you to take any photos inside but the real beauty is the white marble of the exterior.  It’s too bad there’s not a beautiful view from there.  The river below is pretty lame and the number of people visiting is distracting.  At least I had my picture taken in front of it.  Afterwards we visited the Fort there which was quite enormous and beautiful.

On our way to Jaipur the next day the road was pretty boring.  Mainly camel carts and cows on the road with the cars and trucks whizzing by.  I probably saw about 5 trucks turned over during the trip as they caught a wheel on the shoulder of the road and flipped.  At one point we had to stop and pay a toll to get into Rajasthan.  It was a veritable side-show with the monkeys and bears on leads and available for pictures.  I, of course, took one and paid the man.  Danesh had told me to not get out of the car.  He took such good care of me.  But I wish I had neglected the advice sometimes, as I feel I might have missed something.  We got into Jaipur and wound around the streets and through the markets as the road kept getting more narrow.  People walking, cows walking, bicycles being ridden, horns honking, dust in the air.  I worried that Danesh was taking me to a horrible little hotel until we turned from the filth of the street into a gate and drive.  He dropped me off at the front where a uniformed valet, turban and all, opened my car door.  It was as if I had stepped into the British Raj.  There was a complete isolation from the noise and the crowded city just beyond the wall.  I was shown a room at the top of this converted palace that was quite in keeping with my vision of India.  It was a bit cold and was opposite the manager’s lodging and I felt a little like a single woman being hidden away.  I did complain but grew to like my little place at the top.  The main building had a beautiful library and sitting room and I had some tea there before dinner.  I talked a bit to some Australian women who were heading on to Udaipur where I was heading eventually.  I actually did see them there too.  I didn’t go out into the street but did some email at the internet shop and looked at some items to buy in one of the hotel shops.  The hotel was quite dark and furnished with British paraphernalia.  I was still concerned with mingling with the population and it took me some time to get used to the closeness, the hawking, and the great unwashed.  After here in Jaipur I got a little braver.

Sometimes I get into crazy exchanges with some of my more “out there” friends…sorry Paul D. I thought this exchange deserved a place on my blog…it started with stories of electric cars…here you go.

D: Wouldn’t that be funny to see cops pulling over unmanned (or wommaned) vehicles?

P:Ha, Ha, Yes! Dressed up a little, that would make a great Alfred Hitchcock Hour. What if
the cop falls in love with the vehicle’s voice (somehow) and decides he has to meet the driver.  He reasons he can pull “her” over on the pretext of exceeding the speed limit. He does so, and…
what a disappointment!!! Also, this could turn out to be a new form of speed dating (if you’re really desperate). After all, a lot of guys are in love with their cars, right?

Or how about this: steal an unmanned (or un-womanned) vehicle and pre-program it to be
your bank-robbery getaway car. Then, after you’ve gotten away (presumably) from the heist, you drive to a secluded freeway underpass and destroy the vehicle’s microprocessors with a tiny thermite bomb (or maybe [if you can manage it] with an immensely strong electro-magnetic pulse). That way, you don’t have to shoot your getaway man (or, woman, boo hoo hoo) through the head to keep him/her from ratting you out; much cleaner, and no
murder charge to boot (unless they declare robotic vehicles to be “persons”; hope not).

Just a thought. – Paul D.

This is so cool!  I’ve traveled with Zeco and Jonathan on a previous trip but haven’t made it to Uganda yet…this encounter with a family of gorillas made me feel as if I was there.

Uganda “peek” experience.