I admit it.

Ever since I returned from Bhutan a few weeks ago, I've been trying to finish writing my book about India. At the same time, I've been trying to keep up with my blog posts about the magnificent Kingdom of Bhutan.

I'm so close to finishing India that I can see light at the end of the tunnel and I realize I've been cheating Bhutan (not to mention Burma, China and the airlines).

I'll be back shortly when I can give you quality time.

Travel Well!

Please see additional photos in my gallery.

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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Peppers at Wangdue market. These are used in the ubiquitous dish, chili and cheese.

Bhutan is an agriculture-based country. Fields of crops can be seen from the roadside in terraced layers of rice, wheat and potatoes. Chillies are a mainstay of most meals and can be seen drying on roofs in the fall.

All of this produce must go to market. And each village has their own farmer's market where produce is sold and bought. The locals set up on the ground, spreading out their goods for local monks and residents to peruse.

We visited one such market in Wangdue...

Baskets of produce at the Wangdue market

Betel nut wrapped in leaves

Monks shop at Wangdue market

Woman at vendor stall in Wangdue

Travel Well!

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Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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So much of travel is about the people you meet along the way.

This boy was eager to have his photo taken

As a traveler in Bhutan, you are a bit sheltered when it comes to meeting the locals. You can only travel there on a tour with a guide and driver. The country cannot support full-on tourism because their infrastructure simply cannot handle it: there's only one major road through the country, hotel options are few and restaurants are fewer (most meals for foreigners are actually served at your hotel).

Young boys singing their hearts out in a small village

As a result of this controlled environment, during our 12 days in Bhutan, it was difficult to meet many locals.

Our guide and drivers (one to shuttle us and one to shuttle our luggage) were magnificent and provided an opening to the gentle spirit of this Buddhist population.

Monks in Punakha - we saw many monks but, understandably, had little interaction with them

It's a country of people who believe in Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product. They understand that acquiring "stuff" does not make one happy. In general, they take pleasure in the simple things in life and appreciate their family and community.

Some of this is changing, however. The one "highway" is now being repaved and drivers are zooming around more quickly. More hotels are opening up to accommodate an expected influx of tourists.

Since it's introduction to the country about 10 years ago, television has become popular (particularly Indian soap operas in Hindi) and cell phones are cropping up throughout the country.

Regardless of this "progress", their laughter and good nature are infectious.

The one group of Bhutanese that we had the most interaction with were the children. Rarely shy to come say "hello", we found them to be quite engaging and interested in us. One group of boys walked with us through a town singing songs at the tops of their little lungs.

Young girls in a Bhutanese village

Travel Well!

Please see additional photos in my gallery.

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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Next week I've got two workshops coming up for women travelers.

Get inspired!
Share your stories!
Learn loads of insider tips for safe and affordable travel!

May 6, 2008 6:30-9:00 pm - Bellevue Community College - Bellevue, Washington
The Essentials for Women Travelers

May 7, 2008 6:30-9:00 pm - University of Washington Women's Center - Seattle, Washington
Wanderlust and Lipstick - The Essentials for Women Traveling Solo

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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As I tell my friends about Bhutan, the words that come to mind is that the landscape is like the northwest, but even more so. Traversing along the country's one main road, you are transfixed by the beautiful greenery and snow-capped mountains. At such a high elevation, clouds move freely in and out of the valleys, obscuring the mountains and buildings. It's pure magic.

Himalayan foothills

Valley view - the main road cuts right through the mountainside

Clouds move in and out effortlessly

Remove the houses and this could be eastern Washington

More photos and stories to come from my two weeks in Bhutan.

Travel Well!

Please see additional photos in my gallery.

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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Religion permeates much of the Bhutanese lifestyle. Tall prayer flags flap in the wind on every hillside. Sometimes you might see a bunch of five in varying colors while other times there may be dozens of white flags standing proud. They're all beautiful and a reminder of the importance of Buddhism to this culture.

Prayer Flags

Monasteries are not only architecturally important, as they make up some of the most beautiful buildings in Bhutan, but they are the home to many of the country's male population. When there is more than one son born to a family, usually one of them is sent off to a monastery to study as a monk. He stays there for life.

Monks at Ta Dzong

Young boy at Ta Dzong

Shy yet interested in the outside world, many of the young monks were just as intrigued by us as we were with them. Though we didn't see any talking on cell phones like they were in Bangkok, they loved having their photos taken and then looking at the results on our digital cameras.

Prayer wheel at dzong entrance

Prayer wheels are found at the entrance to every dzong (formerly a fortress and now used as an administrative center and monastery). Worshipers rotate the prayer wheel clockwise, walking around the larger ones three times, to spread good will and spiritual blessings. As the wheel rotates, a bell rings as a lever hits it with each revolution.

More photos and stories to come from my two weeks in Bhutan.

Travel Well!

Please see additional photos in my gallery.

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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Much of our Bhutan group was from the Pacific Northwest and we were eager to get out into the mountains for some fresh air. After freshening up at our hotel in Paro, (and a little breakfast to get started), we headed out for a short hike.

The mountains near Paro made us Northwesterners feel right at home

Even though the hike was short, we immediately noticed the elevation. Paro itself is at about 7,500 feet, so anything upwards got our hearts pounding pretty quickly. The views were well worth it!

No castles in the Northwest but we found this one in Paro

Our guide, Tshering, speaking to us about the history of this castle

While we were decked out in our Ex Officio, Athleta, REI and other travel-branded clothes, our guide wore the national dress for men, the gho. In argyle socks and less-than-practical shoes, he managed to get around just fine.

More photos and stories to come from my two weeks in Bhutan.

Travel Well!

Please see additional photos in my gallery.

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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While visiting the temples of Bangkok, there were subtle yet noticeable changes since my last visit to Thailand's capital. Like the rest of us, monks are now technology hounds.

Monk with cell phone

Monk photographing ceremony

A more conventional monk shades himself in the heat

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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(I'm back from Bangkok and Bhutan, but due to the lack of internet connections, I'll be writing retrospectively of my travels over the last two weeks.)

Traffic in Bangkok

In 1999, Bangkok opened its Skytrain Transit System which runs east to west and north to south through the city. With two train stops just a couple of blocks away from our hotel(s) in the Sukumvit neighborhood, Jon and I had ample opportunity to ride the rails.

View of Skytrain from our hotel

This system allowed us to make our way across town in five to 10 minutes in air-conditioning for less than a dollar as opposed to being stuck in Bangkok's downtown traffic in a taxi for 30-45 minutes at a cost of about five dollars.

Me going through turnstile at Skytrain

Hold on!

It's ease of use and popularity amongst residents and tourists got me thinking about Seattle's absolute stall of the monorail system and inability to determine what to do with our roadways, including the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

What happened to Seattle that we can't be our once-edgy selves and think of a creative way to transport people? Developing countries are putting us to shame while we squabble over how to move forward. (I'm still floored that there are those still considering a surface street option to our traffic woes.) Delhi, with its new public transportation subway and Bangkok are just two examples of how these systems have managed to reduce pollution and traffic in bustling cities.

Meredith, who was part of our Bhutan group and who lives in Portland, put it well. "In Portland, we just look at what Seattle does wrong and then we plan accordingly." Is that how we want to be looked upon by other cities?

The Skytrain does have its problems. Locals complain that it doesn't serve the population at large because it doesn't go far enough into the suburbs (as a West Seattleite, I can relate). But overall, I have noticed a great reduction in traffic and pollution since my first visit there in 1992.

Do we really want to become an even more congested city? Come on Seattle, let's look to these forward thinking cities and figure this out!

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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I'm here...

Haven't been able to update as we have very little access to email or internet here in Bhutan. I'll be arriving home to Seattle shortly with stories, photos and videos of this amazing Himalaya Kingdom.

Travel Well!