This is supposed to be an irreverent travel blog. However, I find it hard to be irreverent about a sunset. Before I started blogging, or carrying a digital camera, I watched sunsets from places such as the Altiplano of Bolivia. The North Slope of Alaska. Maui. Santa Monica. Bocas Del Toro. From a sail boat in the middle of the Caribbean. [...]
Inle Lake is a very beautiful, tranquil and special place to visit in Burma or Myanmar. There are many hotels on the lake, maybe the best Myanmar has to offer. We stayed at the Inle lakeResort and Spa. It was off season and we were almost alone in a big resort and spa, so the prices were discounted for [...]
For the Temple-bells are callin’, an’ it’s there that I would be — By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea; On the road to Mandalay. R Kipling We did not take “the road to Mandalay” we flew. This time I think it was Asian Wings Airline, another start-up with two planes. Same process as before including the [...]
We left Rangoon by air. We could have taken the train, but our time was limited. It does not seem to matter which airline you book your flight on in Burma. All our domestic flights were booked on Air Mandaly. We got to the Yangon airport early. At first it was a sea of confusion, but our guide assured us [...]
Burmese Days is the title of a fun book written by George Orwell. People all over Burma try to sell it to you like tiger balm in Kathmandu. Orwell is lucky he lived and wrote when he did. Ever since a Peking Duck became a Beijing Duck, Asian name changes have caused confusion, dismay, and sold a lot of new [...]
We were warned that the Paro airport in Bhutan is visual only, and the least level of incremental weather shuts it down. Which seems only right because it is surrounded by mountains. They tell you to make any connecting flights with a day lapse in case you cannot get out of Paro. Well, we arrived at the airport on [...]
Bhutan, besides being a country of happy people is a country of almost unparalleled beauty. As you can see, even the money is Bhutiful We only saw a quarter of it in our week there and a lot of that from the back seat of our sedan. I am not sure how many times I asked the driver to stop so [...]
This post will cover the two most spiritual things I have ever experienced. I was deeply moved by both of them. Bhutan is a deeply Buddhist country. I have mentioned before that if I ever decided to convert, as if I were disciplined enough to try, it would be in Bhutan. I found that the Tantrayana sect of Buddhism appeals to me [...]
Bhutan Protects the Timeless Knowledge There were three floors of the “old” library, each with a shrine to the Buddha. Bhutan Enters the Digital Age! Just outside of the capital city of Thimpu, there is a brand new IT Park Space inside this building has already been leased to Microsoft and other international high tech companies. It will also serve [...]
Yes, Bhutan is a happy place. I mentioned before that the government actually does a yearly census to evaluate the level of happiness and look for ways to make people even happier, now THAT is a wonderment. I also mentioned that there is a US$250 “tariff” you must pay to visit Bhutan. This is actually a good deal because it [...]