Bhutan is like waking up in a fairytale. The weather has been so clear and warm and beautiful, and the countryside is mostly untouched. The rice fields are a great yellow/green and the view of the mountains is fantastic. Its like a dream, i didn't really think a place like this of such beauty could exist in our day and age. Of course, it doesn't feel like our day and age. Not because of the national dress everyone wears, or because of the beautiful dzongs, stupas, temples, and buildings with the same (regimented) gorgeous style but because of the politness, the clean air and the general relaxed atmosphere, both to machinery, technology but also people.
I've been up to the temple by the river today and a monastery on a hill, we drove from Thimphu across the mountains and i got my binoculars (thanks mum) out and looked at the snow capped peaks on the border of Bhutan and Tibet. I walked round 108 stupas, i bowed infront of Buddha. I made a group of monks laugh.
I'm relaxed and happy.
I'll have to tell you in more detail when there isn't a queue for the computer (as this is the only one)
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Land of the Thunder Dragon. Land of Studio Ghibli.
Bhutan. Its like stepping back in time as well as going half a world away, but with a kind of modern outlook and modern day appreciation of old traditions. Most of the country is national park, there is a great respect for natural resources and the traditional way of life. It is so picturesque, if anywhere in the world was like walking into a Studio Ghibli movie, visiting Bhutan is. I half expect the racoons (of which i've seen none) to talk and Laputa to appear in the sky. The fields of rice are yellow like The Golden fields of Nausicaa, and the clouds roll in over the mountains and the mist covers the prayer flags in the morning. I've never been anywhere like it. So peaceful and... happy.
YET Heavy metal still lives! Our tour guide Thimley loves Metallica and i saw a kid in a Cradle of Filth t-shirt today. I threw him the horns from our bus.
We're now in Thimphu, 2 hour drive from Paro. Along the drive the landscape is just so majestic and beautiful, buildings like the bath house in Spirited Away, but all in White and red, sometimes with gold on the roofs. The people are so smiley, although i think slightly bewildered, and maybe even nonchalant about tourists now and again. The Bhutanese policy towards tourists is low number, high value.
Talking of value, i bought my "national dress" (which everyone has to wear in Bhutan to work or school or they get thrown out the building, but it does actually seem to be the preferred dress of most people anyway). It set me back $85 for the skirt, jacket and belt. But we bought it from the place where the skirts were being weaved, and i wanted to dress for the Tsechu tomorrow. Some of those skirts take 4 months to weave so i can't say that my plain one was bad value.
High value. Low number.
The weather is alpine, beautiful sun, refreshing rain, and everything is so green. I tried momo's today ( think that's how they're spelt) - Cheese dumplings! Yum!
Talking of food, its nearly 7pm here and i'm really hungry - so i'm gonna go eat. Food prediction: Rice, chillis, Vegtables.
YET Heavy metal still lives! Our tour guide Thimley loves Metallica and i saw a kid in a Cradle of Filth t-shirt today. I threw him the horns from our bus.
We're now in Thimphu, 2 hour drive from Paro. Along the drive the landscape is just so majestic and beautiful, buildings like the bath house in Spirited Away, but all in White and red, sometimes with gold on the roofs. The people are so smiley, although i think slightly bewildered, and maybe even nonchalant about tourists now and again. The Bhutanese policy towards tourists is low number, high value.
Talking of value, i bought my "national dress" (which everyone has to wear in Bhutan to work or school or they get thrown out the building, but it does actually seem to be the preferred dress of most people anyway). It set me back $85 for the skirt, jacket and belt. But we bought it from the place where the skirts were being weaved, and i wanted to dress for the Tsechu tomorrow. Some of those skirts take 4 months to weave so i can't say that my plain one was bad value.
High value. Low number.
The weather is alpine, beautiful sun, refreshing rain, and everything is so green. I tried momo's today ( think that's how they're spelt) - Cheese dumplings! Yum!
Talking of food, its nearly 7pm here and i'm really hungry - so i'm gonna go eat. Food prediction: Rice, chillis, Vegtables.
Monday, 28 September 2009
Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu, Everest and arrival in Bhutan
*n.b. Before reading this you must understand that there should have been a blog from Kathmandu yesterday, and although i wrote it, i could not send it because o2 doesn't seem to have any service here in the Himalayas, so my good plans of keeping my online diary and letting you know about my travels have already reached a large impediment. I will post the first blog at a later date when i have coverage.
So here i am sitting in the hotel in Paro, Bhutan typing this blog from the hotel computer behind reception where i've made friends with the 3 girls who would on the desk. One of them is called Nobru and is 23 and married with a son who is 1 year old. One of the girls is my age. She has 2 children. The girls are asking why my family isn't with me. I have explained i have no children, so i think they mean you Mum and Dad!
I have gone from very hot this morning in Kathmandu to rainy cool and alpine here this evening in Paro. But let me tell you about my day.
Our hotel in Kathmandu, Dwarikas, was very "premium" and constituted from pieces of older buildings and temples. Its really quite enchanting, but maybe 20mins out of the centre of Kathmandu, that i have yet to visit.
It was however rather near the river where the Nepalese conduct funeral rites by the Pashupatinath Temple.
So nearly all the group left Kathmandu for Bhutan at about 6am this morning, apart from 3 of us who were booked on a later flight. This may seem very odd, but The Royal Bhutan Druk air (I keep wanting to call it Drudkh air) do as they please. They are the only airline that fly to Bhutan, and you will fly when they say you will fly. So Tessa, Jayne and i flew out from Kathmandu this afternoon, which enabled us to have a bit of a sleep in, which was much needed, and to visit the Pashupatinath temple this morning.
The sun was really scorching this morning as we walked out of our hotel past ramshackle buildings and hoards of electric/communication cables stringing along the streets, cows, kids, beeping mopeds and buses with people hanging off the sides. It took us a little while to find our way, but it wasn't far and we made it down to the river where the bodies are burnt. It costs money to get in for tourists. I assume they tell who are tourists by looking at the colour of skin. We were accosted by a few people wanting to guide us before we got there, then once were paid of a ticket we kinda picked up a chap named Krisna who had been working there for 25 years (i assume he must have started there pretty young) who talked us through everything, Hinduism, Shiva, Kali, Sacrifice, Burning bodies, His personal social/political views, how many monkeys there are in Kathmandu (2000), Gurus, Sidhus etc. Pashupatinath was bigger than we expected and we didn't have all the time in the world, as you have to be at the airport 3 hours early for flights to Bhutan, by order of Drudkh air. Sorry, Druk air.
Monkey run wild, bodies are burnt, (i saw just the toes left) important people get burnt to the left of the bridge, more ordinary people to the right, but everyone can reach Nirvana if they have a funeral pyre at Pashupatinath. Its such a well desired end that there are several old people's homes in the complex, one of them run by the nuns of Mother Theresa. We went to meet some of the old people, bless 'em. I said Namaste and got some toothless grins, but mainly i dont think they noticed us at all until we made a somewhat compulsory donation.
Because it was a Monday, it was sacrifice day apparently, but we arrived too late to see the duck/chicken (not dog, monkey, or cow - if you eat/kill one of them you'll be reborn a women!! No!!!) being killed, we only saw it's pooled blood.
It was a festival day today in Kathmandu too, celebrating overcoming demons. Everyone had a tiki, and i didn't realise this until later that this was to make you lucky in love. I didn't get one. Ugh! Fail!
Anyway, after wandering round the temple with our guide Krisna and watching some bodies burn, and some kids and mothers bathe in the river opposite the bodies as the ashes fell into the water, we had to get back to the hotel to meet our lift to the airport. It was really pretty hot, and i was sweaty and tired. When we got to the airport Drudkh air was not ready to check us in yet, so we waited around for a while. I tried to get reception on my blackberry from the airport WIFI (wifey) no luck.
Anyway, after more forms, more paperwork and multiple frisking and bag searches, and a delay of about an hour during which i dropped off to sleep we were off! To Bhutan!
We managed to get a window seat on the right hand side of the plane, and not only were we afforded a fantastic view of Kathmandu as we flew away, but magnificent view of Everest! Awesome! Its almost level with the plane as you fly past peeking above the clouds. Everest! The highest mountain in the world! Quite spectaculour! And i've seen the top!
Then landing in Bhutan, only a 50 minute flight, but what a flight. Coming into Bhutan (Paro) airport is jaw dropping. You wind inbetween mountains all green and forested with the odd red and white house or temple dotted into the landscape and then you land at what looks like a temple. The airport is infact designed like a temple, and the immigration is like an altar! Not to mention the chap that goes round measuring your temperature to see if you have swine flu and whether you're allowed in or not. Everyone (working) wears national dress in Bhutan. Men in tunics to the knee and knee high socks, and women in long straight skirts and jackets. I've never been anywhere like it in my life. Its straight out of a studio Ghibli movie. Really enchanting. So now i've just had dinner and found a computer, and i'm going to go and crash out. We go to the capital Thimphu tomorrow and i want to get rid of a bit of jetlag and be on top form for choosing my national dress and finding out more about this amazing, isolated place.
So i hope i'll be able to find another computer soon.
Tashi delek!
So here i am sitting in the hotel in Paro, Bhutan typing this blog from the hotel computer behind reception where i've made friends with the 3 girls who would on the desk. One of them is called Nobru and is 23 and married with a son who is 1 year old. One of the girls is my age. She has 2 children. The girls are asking why my family isn't with me. I have explained i have no children, so i think they mean you Mum and Dad!
I have gone from very hot this morning in Kathmandu to rainy cool and alpine here this evening in Paro. But let me tell you about my day.
Our hotel in Kathmandu, Dwarikas, was very "premium" and constituted from pieces of older buildings and temples. Its really quite enchanting, but maybe 20mins out of the centre of Kathmandu, that i have yet to visit.
It was however rather near the river where the Nepalese conduct funeral rites by the Pashupatinath Temple.
So nearly all the group left Kathmandu for Bhutan at about 6am this morning, apart from 3 of us who were booked on a later flight. This may seem very odd, but The Royal Bhutan Druk air (I keep wanting to call it Drudkh air) do as they please. They are the only airline that fly to Bhutan, and you will fly when they say you will fly. So Tessa, Jayne and i flew out from Kathmandu this afternoon, which enabled us to have a bit of a sleep in, which was much needed, and to visit the Pashupatinath temple this morning.
The sun was really scorching this morning as we walked out of our hotel past ramshackle buildings and hoards of electric/communication cables stringing along the streets, cows, kids, beeping mopeds and buses with people hanging off the sides. It took us a little while to find our way, but it wasn't far and we made it down to the river where the bodies are burnt. It costs money to get in for tourists. I assume they tell who are tourists by looking at the colour of skin. We were accosted by a few people wanting to guide us before we got there, then once were paid of a ticket we kinda picked up a chap named Krisna who had been working there for 25 years (i assume he must have started there pretty young) who talked us through everything, Hinduism, Shiva, Kali, Sacrifice, Burning bodies, His personal social/political views, how many monkeys there are in Kathmandu (2000), Gurus, Sidhus etc. Pashupatinath was bigger than we expected and we didn't have all the time in the world, as you have to be at the airport 3 hours early for flights to Bhutan, by order of Drudkh air. Sorry, Druk air.
Monkey run wild, bodies are burnt, (i saw just the toes left) important people get burnt to the left of the bridge, more ordinary people to the right, but everyone can reach Nirvana if they have a funeral pyre at Pashupatinath. Its such a well desired end that there are several old people's homes in the complex, one of them run by the nuns of Mother Theresa. We went to meet some of the old people, bless 'em. I said Namaste and got some toothless grins, but mainly i dont think they noticed us at all until we made a somewhat compulsory donation.
Because it was a Monday, it was sacrifice day apparently, but we arrived too late to see the duck/chicken (not dog, monkey, or cow - if you eat/kill one of them you'll be reborn a women!! No!!!) being killed, we only saw it's pooled blood.
It was a festival day today in Kathmandu too, celebrating overcoming demons. Everyone had a tiki, and i didn't realise this until later that this was to make you lucky in love. I didn't get one. Ugh! Fail!
Anyway, after wandering round the temple with our guide Krisna and watching some bodies burn, and some kids and mothers bathe in the river opposite the bodies as the ashes fell into the water, we had to get back to the hotel to meet our lift to the airport. It was really pretty hot, and i was sweaty and tired. When we got to the airport Drudkh air was not ready to check us in yet, so we waited around for a while. I tried to get reception on my blackberry from the airport WIFI (wifey) no luck.
Anyway, after more forms, more paperwork and multiple frisking and bag searches, and a delay of about an hour during which i dropped off to sleep we were off! To Bhutan!
We managed to get a window seat on the right hand side of the plane, and not only were we afforded a fantastic view of Kathmandu as we flew away, but magnificent view of Everest! Awesome! Its almost level with the plane as you fly past peeking above the clouds. Everest! The highest mountain in the world! Quite spectaculour! And i've seen the top!
Then landing in Bhutan, only a 50 minute flight, but what a flight. Coming into Bhutan (Paro) airport is jaw dropping. You wind inbetween mountains all green and forested with the odd red and white house or temple dotted into the landscape and then you land at what looks like a temple. The airport is infact designed like a temple, and the immigration is like an altar! Not to mention the chap that goes round measuring your temperature to see if you have swine flu and whether you're allowed in or not. Everyone (working) wears national dress in Bhutan. Men in tunics to the knee and knee high socks, and women in long straight skirts and jackets. I've never been anywhere like it in my life. Its straight out of a studio Ghibli movie. Really enchanting. So now i've just had dinner and found a computer, and i'm going to go and crash out. We go to the capital Thimphu tomorrow and i want to get rid of a bit of jetlag and be on top form for choosing my national dress and finding out more about this amazing, isolated place.
So i hope i'll be able to find another computer soon.
Tashi delek!
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Kathmandu - for the first time!
I'm lying in bed in Dwarika's in Kathmandu, and I can't sleep, and my phone has no reception. So this blog is surely going to appear late.
Before I start telling you about this amazing place I've arrived at, let me first tell you about the journey. I spent the flight from London to Delhi with two Mamagi Grannies on their way home. We had some very smiley conversations even though they didn't speak any english and I don't speak any gujerati. Shamefully I didn't even know (still don't) if its gugerati they were speaking. I also spent the flight watching The Hangover, trying to sleep and oogling a guy a few rows ahead of me on the flight who had the most gorgeous arms/face/hair hahahaha
Anyway, before leaving London I'd met most of our group and already hit it off with Tessa who reminds me of my mum (hello mum!) www.tessapullen.co.uk and so when we got to Delhi to wait for our flight to Kathmandu Tessa, Jayne, Toni and I were hanging out. They said I should go and talk to the man with nice everything - but I'm pretty timid when it comes to approaching guys y'know...But ladies together are pushy... And then I kid you not, one of the airport staff came up to me and said "the man you are looking for is downstairs" I said "sorry?"
Thinking cynically I thought this was some kind of ambush, but Tessa took me by the arm and frog marched me to the downstairs departure gate, and sure enough there was the chap, waiting for the flight for Kathmandu. So Tessa asked him if it was at the right gate for Kathmandu then left me there to talk to this chap called Emil, who is Swedish and going to be a rafting guide in Nepal for 3 months.
We switched seats so we could sit next to each other for the flight, and all I can say about that is that I hope we will see each other again before I leave for London.
Now that's more "personal" info than I usually put on my blog but I know a few readers who will want to know this stuff and it was just so strange that I had to mention it before I speak about anything else.
My first 3 hours in India spent in Delhi airport I didn't get to see much. When I walked out with Emil to get the next flight I was hit my a huge wave of heat that I hadn't realised anything about in the terminal. It was 30degrees there or more, and it seemed quite flat and lush. The flight to Katmandu was maybe 2 hours in a smaller plane than London-Delhi. I had been told by the air hostess on the flight from L.A. earlier this year that landing in Kathmandu was an amazing experience. Unfortunatley it was pretty cloudy coming in to Nepal, but you could still see the huge tree covered hills rising out of the clouds with little houses dotted about. It looked so fantastic it was truley hard to take in, and still feel like its unreal.
Upon arrival in the airport that Emil thinks looks like a military bunker we're greeted with hand painted signs about Swine Flu and people in masks and an extra form to fill out asking whether we feel short of breath. Then there's the visa application and arrival form to fill out. The paper is very thin and my pen kept going through it. The visa application centre has no computers and long queues. I make friends with some french old boys going up a mountain. Emil and I are taking bets on which group of mountaineers look most likely to succeed with their escapades. The three Germans look like a good bet. Its humid and overcast in Kathmandu and not so hot as Delhi. I go through the pleasant confusion of getting a visa where the chap behind the desk likes my name very much and tries to let me jump the queue but the lady with the stapler and scissors gets a bit mad with him.
After picking up paddles and saying goodbye we're hearded off to our bus and greeted with scarves and a welcome to Nepal. I saw a bus with its roof covered in goats and monkeys, wild, sitting on the fence and fumes rising from the funeral pyres. What a mad place! We arrive at the hotel about 4pm, and I'm sorry to say I haven't seen much more of Katmandu yet. But this hotel is a wonder! Constitued from pieces of other old buildings its red brick and wood carving and trees and vines and really pretty enchanting. I jumped in the pool as soon as I could, then we ate dinner at the hotel and I got tired and went to bed! Having not slept on the flight though, its understandable. But now its the middle of the night and I'm awake. So I'm gonna give sleep another try now, as we leave for Bhutan tomorrow and I don't want to miss a thing!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Before I start telling you about this amazing place I've arrived at, let me first tell you about the journey. I spent the flight from London to Delhi with two Mamagi Grannies on their way home. We had some very smiley conversations even though they didn't speak any english and I don't speak any gujerati. Shamefully I didn't even know (still don't) if its gugerati they were speaking. I also spent the flight watching The Hangover, trying to sleep and oogling a guy a few rows ahead of me on the flight who had the most gorgeous arms/face/hair hahahaha
Anyway, before leaving London I'd met most of our group and already hit it off with Tessa who reminds me of my mum (hello mum!) www.tessapullen.co.uk and so when we got to Delhi to wait for our flight to Kathmandu Tessa, Jayne, Toni and I were hanging out. They said I should go and talk to the man with nice everything - but I'm pretty timid when it comes to approaching guys y'know...But ladies together are pushy... And then I kid you not, one of the airport staff came up to me and said "the man you are looking for is downstairs" I said "sorry?"
Thinking cynically I thought this was some kind of ambush, but Tessa took me by the arm and frog marched me to the downstairs departure gate, and sure enough there was the chap, waiting for the flight for Kathmandu. So Tessa asked him if it was at the right gate for Kathmandu then left me there to talk to this chap called Emil, who is Swedish and going to be a rafting guide in Nepal for 3 months.
We switched seats so we could sit next to each other for the flight, and all I can say about that is that I hope we will see each other again before I leave for London.
Now that's more "personal" info than I usually put on my blog but I know a few readers who will want to know this stuff and it was just so strange that I had to mention it before I speak about anything else.
My first 3 hours in India spent in Delhi airport I didn't get to see much. When I walked out with Emil to get the next flight I was hit my a huge wave of heat that I hadn't realised anything about in the terminal. It was 30degrees there or more, and it seemed quite flat and lush. The flight to Katmandu was maybe 2 hours in a smaller plane than London-Delhi. I had been told by the air hostess on the flight from L.A. earlier this year that landing in Kathmandu was an amazing experience. Unfortunatley it was pretty cloudy coming in to Nepal, but you could still see the huge tree covered hills rising out of the clouds with little houses dotted about. It looked so fantastic it was truley hard to take in, and still feel like its unreal.
Upon arrival in the airport that Emil thinks looks like a military bunker we're greeted with hand painted signs about Swine Flu and people in masks and an extra form to fill out asking whether we feel short of breath. Then there's the visa application and arrival form to fill out. The paper is very thin and my pen kept going through it. The visa application centre has no computers and long queues. I make friends with some french old boys going up a mountain. Emil and I are taking bets on which group of mountaineers look most likely to succeed with their escapades. The three Germans look like a good bet. Its humid and overcast in Kathmandu and not so hot as Delhi. I go through the pleasant confusion of getting a visa where the chap behind the desk likes my name very much and tries to let me jump the queue but the lady with the stapler and scissors gets a bit mad with him.
After picking up paddles and saying goodbye we're hearded off to our bus and greeted with scarves and a welcome to Nepal. I saw a bus with its roof covered in goats and monkeys, wild, sitting on the fence and fumes rising from the funeral pyres. What a mad place! We arrive at the hotel about 4pm, and I'm sorry to say I haven't seen much more of Katmandu yet. But this hotel is a wonder! Constitued from pieces of other old buildings its red brick and wood carving and trees and vines and really pretty enchanting. I jumped in the pool as soon as I could, then we ate dinner at the hotel and I got tired and went to bed! Having not slept on the flight though, its understandable. But now its the middle of the night and I'm awake. So I'm gonna give sleep another try now, as we leave for Bhutan tomorrow and I don't want to miss a thing!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Departures
My mum says she's never seen me so excited about anything. With excitement comes nerves. And I am very nervous. My mums worried that I'm so excited it will be a dissapointment. I'm worried now that I've started on this adventure that it will be over too soon.
So here I am sitting here in the departure lounge waiting for the flight. I'm with my new friend Tessa who's talking to her daughter on the phone about make up she had to buy her in duty free.
There's a load of Princes trust women on this flight who's matching tshirts say that they're changing young people's lives. Thing I've noticed about female Prince's trust volunteers - they all wear sensible knickers and zippy off trousers I despise (no I still don't have a pair of zippy trousers)
There's a lady with purple hair in my group. They all seem good fun.
I'm getting less nervous now after eating Toblerone. It'll be my first time in India - if only for a few hours in Delhi before leaving for Kathmandu.
Still can't think straight about all this. I'm going to Kathmandu! Hahaha wooo!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
So here I am sitting here in the departure lounge waiting for the flight. I'm with my new friend Tessa who's talking to her daughter on the phone about make up she had to buy her in duty free.
There's a load of Princes trust women on this flight who's matching tshirts say that they're changing young people's lives. Thing I've noticed about female Prince's trust volunteers - they all wear sensible knickers and zippy off trousers I despise (no I still don't have a pair of zippy trousers)
There's a lady with purple hair in my group. They all seem good fun.
I'm getting less nervous now after eating Toblerone. It'll be my first time in India - if only for a few hours in Delhi before leaving for Kathmandu.
Still can't think straight about all this. I'm going to Kathmandu! Hahaha wooo!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Where am i going exactly?
Whilst i sip on my mint and camomile tea in my comfy bed safe(!) in London and think on what i've forgotten to do before i leave on holiday, i thought i might take 5 mins to post some pictures of things i might see over the next couple of weeks.
I will be updating this blog from my travels by email, and i may be able to drop in a photo or two on http://www.talitatwoshoes.tumblr.com/ but really i just want to keep a travel diary so that i can remember the adventures.
So as a prelude:
KATHMANDU in NEPAL
PARO in BHUTAN
THIMPHU in BHUTAN
A TSECHU in BHUTAN
PUNAKHA in BHUTAN
THE POTALA PALACE in TIBET
TSEDANG in TIBET
THE YARLUNG VALLEY in TIBET
SAMYE MONASTERY in TIBET
THE JOKHANG TEMPLE in TIBET
And The NORBULINGKA in TIBET
If i ever ever think that life is unfair or that i have a rough deal, i am very foolish.
I will be updating this blog from my travels by email, and i may be able to drop in a photo or two on http://www.talitatwoshoes.tumblr.com/ but really i just want to keep a travel diary so that i can remember the adventures.
So as a prelude:
KATHMANDU in NEPAL
PARO in BHUTAN
THIMPHU in BHUTAN
A TSECHU in BHUTAN
PUNAKHA in BHUTAN
THE POTALA PALACE in TIBET
TSEDANG in TIBET
THE YARLUNG VALLEY in TIBET
SAMYE MONASTERY in TIBET
THE JOKHANG TEMPLE in TIBET
And The NORBULINGKA in TIBET
If i ever ever think that life is unfair or that i have a rough deal, i am very foolish.
I can only hope its even a tenth of how amazing it looks in these photos.
I am a very lucky girl.
Monday, 21 September 2009
QUAKE!
It measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, and apparently has caused damage to temples and blocked roads, but there are no reports of large-scale damage, so at the moment i'm still heading to Bhutan next week.
Strangely enough, there was an earthquake the day before i arrived in L.A. this year too. I'm beginning to feel like a harbinger of doom.
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