Thailand & Bhutan

So it was almost seven years ago to the day that Todd and I made ourselves a goal, while we were in Australia. We thought if we can get to Australia, what's stopping us from seeing all the continents. So we set the goal of visiting all seven continents in the next seven years. That was May 5th 2007... And now on April 25th (or 24th depending on what time zone you are in), we are about to attain our goal when we land in Asia, our final continent!

Day 1:Those of you who have followed us know we use points whenever we can and only pay to travel when really necessary. We've been to Australia, France, Prague and many other places all by efficiently using travel rewards. We are proud to say the airfare for this trip, including business class and first-class upgrades, has been completely covered by the points Todd has racked up with his frequent travel to South America over the last couple of years. All we spent was $92 for a transaction fee to book it all. I think outside of Australia this is our best bargain trip yet! And an added bonus is that we are enjoying the benefits of our upgraded tickets by relaxing in the first-class lounge while waiting for our plane to Hong Kong.

Day 2: (well three because of the time difference): Well it's official, we made it to Asia! We have now been on all seven continents! We are sitting in the Hong Kong airport, enjoying the airline lounge (free access for business class tickets) waiting for our next flight to Bangkok. We spend a couple of days in Bangkok and then we head to Bhutan. Other than the fact that we have gone through security three times (we are pros at taking steps to ensure a quick inspection, so the process isn't too bad), this has been the smoothest, most enjoyable set of flights we have ever taken. Of course, that may also be due to the fact that we have managed to get upgraded to first-class and business class for the whole trip! We have never been in a plane seat that lays completely down! We both slept like babies and Todd didn't even have to take his sleeping pills. Here's our first Asian meal... Apparently, this is breakfast:

Days 3 & 4:We have spent the last two days in Bangkok and the biggest thing we've noticed is the contrasts. Rich vs. poor. Religion vs. con artists. The intricate and meditative architecture of the Wats(temples) vs. the chaotic and dirty traffic. One contrast that stood out were the monks in orange robes compared to the con men that hovered around the tourists visiting the temples. It was actually a bit funny because the salespeople are barely awake much less harassing in any way, but then there are random people throughout the city telling you things are closed or you can't walk this way, you must walk this other way (which just happens to go in front of the jewellery shop they own). We've also been told several times that there were protests going on and should therefore avoid the place we were heading to and instead go visit some other place. Of course, there were no protests and the other place is likely a shop that the "friendly helper" gets a kickback for directing tourists too. It's rather frustrating... of course, we stand out like sore thumbs here as it's very evident we aren't locals. Todd keeps getting asked if he's from Germany or Holland because of his height, as he is at least 2 feet taller than most everyone we've seen. Even Kelly feels tall here. The beauty and uniqueness of the city make up for the typical tourist traps and oppressive heat and humidity. That and the fact that everything is so cheap! It's hard to get really upset when the expensive scam is really only costing you a dollar. The frustrating part stems more from the fact that it was wasting our time. We spent both days visiting the major Wats and the Grand Palace. We saw hundreds of statues of Buddha, walked several miles, wandered through countless street markets, caught a ride on a tuk-tuk, and even enjoyed an ice-cold beer in a waterfront restaurant. We saw a lot and completely exhausted ourselves. Luckily our hotel had a lovely pool with a swim-up bar that was the perfect way to relax and cool down in the evenings. We have to be up at 3 am tomorrow to meet up with the group and head out to catch our flight to Bhutan! We have enjoyed our time in Bangkok, but are looking forward to the next part of our trip.

Day 5: We are now at the Bangkok airport getting ready for our flight to Bhutan! We met our Backroads travel group and everyone seems very nice and we appear to be the only ones that haven't taken a trip with Backroads before.  Several people are in the double digits for Backroads trips they have taken! The trip to Bhutan included a stop at a small Indian airport to drop off and pick up passengers, so we are now claiming we've been to India too :).The ride into Bhutan was rather bumpy as we snaked through the mountains that surround Paro and landed on a very short runway. We were the only plane at the small and beautifully decorated building. It looked as if we had flown straight up to a temple. We stood for a short time in the immigration line and made our way out of the airport. We drove along bumpy, almost non-existent roads and arrived at our hotel, Uma Paro, which is perched on a steep hill overlooking the valley and town below. Our hotel was a beautiful building constructed in the traditional style, but surprisingly with all the modern amenities. We have wi-fi, a spa, a sauna, and a pool. After checking in, we got fitted for our bikes and then had lunch of yak burgers and salad. After a long discussion among our fellow Backroads travellers, we decided yak tasted a bit like ostrich meat. Then it was off for a 3.2-mile hike to an abandoned Dzong and an active Dzong with stops along the hike to inform us about Buddhist and Bhutanese culture and symbolism. Our first stop on the hike was an abandoned Dzong and then we headed down to the valley floor and got to tour the local Dzong and the temple there. There were a lot of ornately painted walls with historic stories covering the temple. They have started to explain some of the symbolism involved in Buddhist art and will be slowly explaining it to us over the next 7 days. We finished up the hike back to the hotel and we are relaxing as we wait for dinner to start and got to know our travel companions. It will be an early evening since we have to be up and out to breakfast by 6:30.

Day 6: Our first day of cycling in Bhutan was quite an adventure. The route started off with several miles of coasting downhill and once we reached the valley floor it was fairly easy except for a last, optional 3-mile climb up to our hotel. What they failed to mention was that we were riding on the main, trafficked roads in town and that those roads aren't always paved. It was a crazy, bumpy ride in which Todd managed to shatter his chain. Kelly road on ahead to get the shuttle to help him and they ended up just bringing him another bike to finish the ride. There was an option to add on a longer flattish route, but Todd was itching to climb so we skipped that piece and went straight for the climb to the hotel. Only a few people made the full climb, Todd and an amazing 61-year-old woman who put the rest of us to shame both made it. Kelly made it about 3/4 of the way up before she gladly accepted a ride from the sweeping van. While the ride was definitely a workout we couldn't help but notice how friendly ( and happy of course) the Bhutanese people we encountered were. The vehicles sharing the road with us always gave us a little honk to let us know when they were passing and most people smiled and waved or gave us a head nod along the way. Our favourite though was the children, they are so excited by our presence. Locally they don't ride bikes as a mode of transportation (only us crazy Americans were on bicycles), they just walk everywhere. Every time children saw us they would start yelling huuuulllllloooooo and waving like crazy. We had some reach out their hands and ask for a " hand slap" as we ride by. There were even a couple of girls that chased along with us yelling huuulllloooo for as long as they could, we were riding slowly uphill at the time but they quickly retreated when we hit a straightaway.

Day 7:Today was an amazing day! I feel like we hit the pinnacle and nothing will come close to the experiences we had today! We started with a car ride to a picturesque Dzong at the confluence of two rivers. We lucked out as today was an auspicious day with a partial solar eclipse here. This meant that the villagers were visiting the Dzongs in droves and there was much more activity than usual. We got to experience the chanting of the young monks (the guides like to call them monklets) as they practised a ceremony they had been learning. At the same time, our local guide Namgay took us around the temple and pointed out special symbolism and stories that are typical in Buddhism. The interiors of the temples are so amazing, but unfortunately, no photography is allowed so hopefully our memories will hold the images we have seen! Next up was a 6-mile hike through rice terraces to reach a monastery. It was a rough uphill climb, but we stopped along the way to learn how to make hats out of the foliage to cool us in the hot sun and how to grow and harvest rice. Even though the hike was steep, it was worth the climb when we arrived at the monastery. First of all, some of us were lucky to briefly interact with a monk, who they have determined to be the reincarnation of a very important monk from the 1600s and considered quite the VIP for this small monetary. He gave our guide a blessing and some blessed seeds, which he then shared with all of us. Backroads have taken this monastery and their "monklets" on as a charity project to support the local community. All of the boys that stay here are either orphans or for some reason, their parents were unable to care for them. They, along with our local guide have funded the renovation of the building and the care of the boys. The monklets were so fun to interact with. They spoke amazingly good English and kept asking to have their pictures taken... By themselves, with us, wearing our sunglasses and hats. They also begged us to send them printouts of the photos, which our leader has promised to do if we send them to him. Apparently, they enjoy hanging the pictures in the lockers they have for their personal items. They also enjoyed watching us point out on a large world map, where we were from and the long path we had taken to get to them. After leaving them we made our way down to where they had our bikes set up and did a quick few miles on the bikes. Todd of course had to do the climb to the hotel a second time, while Kelly didn't even bother to try this round. This evening we had our first non-hotel meal while in Bhutan. We drove into a nearby city to enjoy a lovely dinner with several local dishes, served family-style. Before the dinner, we had a Q&A session with our guide to learn more about Bhutan. We also got volunteered as the models for the demonstration of how the local Bhutanese dress. While the men's Gho looked a little short on Todd, I think we both looked rather handsome in our getups.

Day 8:We had to wake up early again this morning because we are moving on and heading to the city of Thimphu for the evening. But first, we got in a bike ride and some rafting. The bike ride was great. It was mostly on a dirt road and followed the river through an undeveloped part of the valley. Apparently, we were the only ones who had ever gone mountain biking and we were quickly in the lead. They have started referring to us jointly as "Colorado". One gentleman likes to call out "Colorado on the right" whenever we pass him. Of course, the 9-mile ride wasn't enough for Todd, while we were waiting for the others he found another hill to climb and enjoyed the views of the river below. Then we loaded up into rafts and headed down the river. Unfortunately, our raft guides announced that they were guides in training and due to their inexperience and the low water level, we proceeded to get stuck on several rocks during our trip, but we had fun and got back to the vans in one piece. Next, we loaded into the Coasters (aka vans), for what was supposed to be a 3-hour ride to Thimphu, but turned into more like 5 hours because of traffic. It was a crazy thing to watch, traffic would come to a dead stop, with no one moving in either direction because the road wasn't wide enough for two cars to pass one another. The funny thing was no one would backup or move over to let anyone pass, it was everyone for themselves. It took two of our guides stepping out and standing in front of vehicles before we were able to finagle enough space to get through the area. We hit three separate traffic jams and each one took 30-40 minutes to untangle. It was quite the mess. Our hotel for the next two evenings, the Taj, is beyond description. We checked into our enormous room and Kelly immediately booked a massage for later tonight. Tonight we were on our own for dinner, so we grabbed some appetizers and drinks at the bar and sat outside on the patio to watch the hotel's nightly performance of traditional Bhutanese dance. Afterwards, Kelly enjoyed her massage while Todd rested his sunburned legs.

Day 9:Today was a tiring day. We hiked straight up for 2km, gaining about 1000 feet in elevation. The trail was steep and our destination was a small monastery on top of a mountain. The views from the top were incredible, but the monastery was under construction, so we did not get to see all of the structure. The main building had definitely seen better days; however, most of the paintings and structures were from the 1600s when the monastery was originally built. So we got a small glimpse of some beautiful, original artwork sitting amongst dilapidated buildings. After hiking back down we jumped on our bikes and rode 17 km of hilliness to get to our lunch destination... The Royal Bhutan golf course. After lunch some members of our group stayed behind to play some golf, most of us went back to the hotel to relax and shop. Of course, Todd hadn't gotten enough climbing in so he and one other crazy guy in our group took on the Buddha challenge, which was a 5k uphill climb that ended at a giant Buddha that sits on a hillside overlooking Thimphu. When Todd got back we headed out for a rainy evening of exploring Thimphu. After checking out several shops and getting thoroughly drenched, Kelly managed to find a singing bowl that she liked and a few gifts for the nieces and nephews. For dinner, we took one of our guide's suggestions and checked out a local restaurant called The Bhutan Kitchen. We were the only people at the restaurant and they had a fixed menu, but we enjoyed the large variety of local Bhutanese cuisine. After that, we headed back to the hotel, enjoyed a bottle of wine and relaxed.

Day 10:Today was another tiring day with our longest and last bike ride of the week. They shuttled us out into the middle of the Haa valley, which is a beautiful, lush valley that is a little southwest of Paro. The ride was hilly with several long climbs and some fun downhills. The scenery made up for the climbing and we cautiously enjoyed it as there were a lot of work trucks in the area, one of which tried to run us off the road. The one benefit of this trip is Kelly has realized that she is capable of much more bike climbing than she ever realized! She can't keep up with Todd by any means, but hills that looked incredibly intimidating were climbed with much more ease than she had anticipated. Our hotel for the next two nights is beautiful. We have been told it is the nicest Bhutanese owned hotel. They are working towards a self-sustainable model where they grow their own food and they have a water recycling plant onsite. They are also working with the local community and other hotels to share their knowledge. Apparently, this is unusual as Bhutan has no recycling and the trash is burned or often dumped in places close to the river. Although they have made an effort to restrict plastics (plastic bags are illegal here) and other non-biodegradable items, it is obvious there will need to be something done in the future as the country continues to grow. The hotel also has a small "temple" inside of it that allows pictures.  So we have shared some of the pictures so you can get an idea of what most of the temples we have seen, look like.  They are very colourful. For dinner we went to a local farmhouse that had been built in the 1600s, that has now been turned into a museum. To see the simplicity in which these people lived, even as late as the 1960s, is humbling. After dinner, we spent some time talking with our local guide, Namgay. He has many wonderful projects he supports here in Bhutan from helping orphans to getting girls educated. We have been very moved by the work he has done here and hopes to find a way to support him in maintaining and growing his charities for the future.

Day 11:Backroads did a great job of saving the best for last.  Today was the day we hiked to Tigers Nest.  It was a difficult hike with a lot of elevation gain over a short distance, but totally worth it.  The hike was made more manageable with a stop mid-way for tea, bathrooms and some much-needed rest at a small teahouse. When we finally reached Tigers Nest we were instructed to leave our cameras and cell phones outside and the men were frisked by guards (apparently there were no female guards for the ladies) as we walked in.  Tigers Nest is made up of 13 temples, but because of the number of tourists it draws (the only place we have run into any other visitors on the trip), we only went into three.  One of the three temples we visited has a diety in it that is "guaranteed" to grant your wishes in exchange for an offering.  So we all took turns presenting our offerings, making our wishes and receiving a blessing from the monk that mans that temple. One of the amazing things about Tigers Nest is that a large part of it burned down in 1998.  This had been predicted many years earlier by the reincarnate monk we met a few days again.  He predicted he would rebuild Tigers nest and indeed he did.  The crazy thing is, if someone hadn't told us this we would have never guessed.  They have done a perfect job of rebuilding the damaged parts so that they match exactly with the other parts that were built in the 1600s. After we made our way back down we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed some archery and darts in the afternoon.  Several people managed to hit the targets in our group, but Todd & Kelly settled for getting really close. :)Dinner tonight was a kind of farewell ceremony with a slideshow of pictures from our week and a few parting gifts.  We have enjoyed ourselves so much on this trip, we are sad to see it ending.

Day 12:This morning we had an emotional goodbye not only to the amazing people we have travelled with this last week but also to this beautiful country that we have grown to love in the brief time we have been in it. They had a monk perform a blessing for us where he chanted and blessed some scarfs and prayer flags. We were then presented with the scarves and we each took a turn touching the prayer flags and filling them with our prayers and wishes for the world. We were told it was a way for each of us to leave a little bit of ourselves in Bhutan. Bhutan is such an amazing country and they are doing a wonderful job of having the forethought to control tourism and immigration in order to keep a balance between their tradition, culture and modernization. We hope they are able to stay true to their motto that " happiness is a place".