Monthly Archives: October 2015

Leaving India  was not easy.  We had to go through security 3 times.  They even had the men go through one scanner and the women through another.   The female cabin staff all dressed in beautiful saris.

As we approached the Kilimanjaro Airport, our pilots got permission to fly around Mt. Kilimanjaro.  It was quite spectacular.  Unfortunately the famous snows are not as big.  Another fact of global warming.

Immigration for Tanzania was fairly rigorous with us being photographed and finger printed.  Then we were loaded onto our bush planes for the flight into the Serengeti area.  Once we landed we got into game drive jeeps for the trip to the hotel.  In the 1 hour drive we saw lots of animals.  Some of them were the Thomson gazelle, maribou, elephants, giraffe, hippos, baboons, zebra and Impala.

Our room overlooks the water hole and we have been watching the animals.

Fitbit – 5027 steps, 2.38 miles, 39 floors
  
    
    
    
  Maribou

  
  Baboon  
 

Better elephant photos to follow 😀🐘

Today we slept in and missed sunrise at the Taj Mahal, but we did not miss the Taj.  We did see the sun rising – still on some other time zone – and we can see the top of the Taj Mahal from our terrace – but we did not go there at 5:15 AM.

We had a wonderfully well done guided tour in the morning.  The Taj Mahal actually does take your breath away.  The fine craftsmanship in the design, the decoration and setting are amazing.  I think we must have taken 100’s of photos.  Our guide did a wonderful job of explaining the who, how and why of the Taj. He also found shady spots for us to listen to his explanations.  This was very much appreciated because the temperature at 10 AM had to have been in the high 80’s if not in the 90’s.  In addition to the actual building we went into the working mosque that is part of the complex.  We were very fortunate to have Jack Daulton – one of the expert lecturers on the trip – in our group and he was able to further expound on the mosque and how it is used for worship.  There was a mosque near our hotel and we heard the call to prayer several times.

When we returned to the hotel after our tour our clothes were drenched.  We sent out 6 pieces for express laundry service and got them back mid-afternoon.  This service cost us around $10!

In the afternoon we went to Agra Fort, the Red Fort,  which is a large fortress and palace complex on the Lamuna River about 3/4 of a mile from the Taj Mahal.  Again, we had a wonderfully informative guided tour of the complex with lots of information about the Mughal dynasty that was instrumental in building both complexes.  Both sites were very crowded because it was a Sunday and people from all over India travel to see these 2 World Heritage sites.

Bob returned to the hotel to work out and Bette joined the shopping tour.  First stop was a marble factory.  We were shown how the very intricate pieces of plates and table tops and other items were made.  After that it was on to the tapestry and jewelry stores.  We saw some amazing, museum quality embroidered pieces.  Some had taken over 30 years to complete.  We were treated to seeing some extraordinary jewelry made from emeralds in the crown Mamtez Mahal wore.  

On returning to the hotel, and after my third shower of the day we had a lecture by Terry Garcia, head of scientific exploration for National Geographic.  He told us about some of the projects they are funding around the world.  It was very interesting.

Then it was cocktails on the pool terrace with singers and dancers for entertainment and henna painters. A quiet dinner and then early to bed, our small bags were due at 6:30 AM and our departure was for 7:15.

India is quite a land of contrasts.  We were at an Oberoi hotel which was over the top in luxury, but along the streets were people selling all sorts of goods, road side barbers, water buffalo, 3 or 4 people on one scooter.  

Fitbit – 9276 steps, 4.04 miles, 32 floors

   
    
    
    
    
    
   

As you can see from the title of this post, today was a travel day.

The airport at Paro was a little crazy, we had to go through security twice.  The first time we were fine, but the second time they tried to confiscate my scissors for my needle point which have a blade of about 1.5 inches.  I got to keep them but it took some convincing and maybe a smile or two.  We flew in the vicinity of Mt. Everest but did not see it 😟.

When we arrived in Siem Reap – an airport security person just walked us from our charter on Bhutan Air directly to our private jet- no immigration, no customs, no security – just a plane to plane transfer.  

Upon our arrival in India they just stamped our passports and off we went.  It will be hard traveling without all of these great perks at our arrivals that we have gotten.  We arrived around 7:30 and the streets were crazy with motorbikes, cars and motorized rickshaw type vehicles.  

No photos, because all we did was fly today.

Tomorrow the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.  Oh, and perhaps a little retail therapy.

Fitbit – 2203 steps, 1.04 miles and 4 floors

Our last day in Bhutan was jam packed with different experiences.  Bob took the morning off but I did not.

The first stop was to Buddha Point – think Christ the Redeemer in Rio but on a smaller scale.  The Buddha is the a statue of Maitre or the future Buddha.  It is still being built.  The Buddha and the pedestal he sits on are complete but the terrace still has to be paved and the landscaping was not done at all.  This site is on a hilltop which affords you a view of the capital town of Thimphu and the valley where Thimphu is located.  The interior of the pedestal was covered in gold with beautiful mandalas painted on the ceilings. One of the paintings on the wall was the god you would pray to in order to be more accomplished musically.  I said under my breath that it was too late for me, but my guide – an ever mindful believer – said it was never too late.  I have not tried to sing since but will let you know if it worked.  The enormous room in the pedestal will eventually hold 125,000 (no typo) Buddhas – 100,000 will be 8 inches tall and the remaining 25,000 will be 12 inches tall.  We were offered a chance to purchase our own Buddha but declined.  Currently there are 10,000 in place.

Our next stop was at Memorial Chorten, a stupa (religious memorial) built in memory of the 3rd king of Bhutan.  We all spun the big prayer wheels and circumnavigated the stupa 3 times.  The was to be a blessing on us.  While we were doing this there were hundreds of Buddhists, spinning the wheels and then circling the building.  Most had a string of beads, sort of like a rosary, that they were saying prayers with.

We next went to Dechen Phrodrang Monastery, Palace of Great Bliss.  This one was actually a school and the students were young boys.  One of the women did a video of them on her iPhone and they had a great thrill seeing themselves.  We also visited a nunnery, but it was lunch time and we did not see much.  

We made a photo stop to view Trashichho Dzong – a beautiful medieval fortress/monastery that now serves as the seat of government.

We were to have a picnic lunch by the river with dancers and an archery exhibition but the rains washed that out.  

After lunch at the hotel, I visited the Textile Museum, which had beautiful fabrics and artifacts from all over Bhutan.  It was co- founded by Melissa Gates.  A little shopping and then back to the hotel to get ready for our evening activities.

Bob was invited to attend a local basketball tournament.  He had a good time doing that.  Saw a game – but said b’ball is better in the US.  Also the officiating was better there.

Bette went to Raven House – a royal building – where we had a reception and audience with Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck.  She is a beautiful woman who greeted our group, talked personally with a few of our tour members and then we all posed together for a photo.  I am supposed to get a copy by email and will post when I do.

What a day !!!

I am sorry for being so wordy, but our unexpected Bhutan experience turned out to be quite interesting.  Here is some info about Bhutan.  There are approximately 700,000 people in the country.  They are predominately Buddhist – 90% or more.  The unemployment rate is 40% (again not a typo).  They bring in workers from India because they will work for less and the Bhutanese won’t do road building or other construction type work.  They have a king, but also have democratic ways with an elected prime minister and 2 houses of elected officials.  The former king, who abdicated so his son could lead the country had 4 wives – all sisters – and all drop dead gorgeous.  Wife 4 was the one we had the audience with, but is not the mother of the King.  They current King has a wife who he married 2 years ago. Education is free and mandatory up through grade 8.  They go to school 5.5 days a week.  The bright students will be encouraged to continue.  The government will pay for college in foreign countries, but you have to return to Bhutan for 5 years or you have to repay the cost of the education you received.  The main language is English with everyone also speaking the national language (not sure what the proper name for it is).  The national dress is worn by the people during business hours.  Men wear the goh – not sure of the name for the women’s dress.  You can not enter any religious site if your arms or knees are exposed.  The government makes sure that everyone has housing.  Cows and dogs run wild everywhere.  Bob said that a dog ran into the basketball game!  

Fitbit – 7229 steps, 3.42 miles, 45 floors

   
    
    
    
    
    
   

Bob started the day very early, so he and 54 others (about 75% of the guests on the trip and most of the staff) could get to the trail head for the climb to Tigers Nest.  This is the monestary that is at 10,000 + feet and is one of the 5 best hikes in the world.  Bob was able to make the climb (only 20 made it).  He said it was very difficult but enjoyed the challenge.  Here are some of his photos.

Bette did touring around Paro.  First we went to a farm where we learned about their family life.  The largest room in the house was the “shrine room” – not sure of the technical name.  Interestingly, the land and houses are passed from mother to daughter.  The house we visited was over 400 years old.  We asked our male guide how he was able to inherit and he said he could not.  When he married he would go and live in the house of his wife’s mother and either work at a regular job or help them farm.  They were harvesting their rice fields and we assume they were a wealthy family since they had a gas powered machine to mow down the rice.  We had passed many rice farms and the rice was being cut by hand.

Then we went to the big fort on the hilltop overlooking the town.  It is currently a government administrative building and Buddhist temple.  Again we could not photograph the interior.  We learned a lot about the wheel of life according to the Buddhist religion.

Our next stop was at a lovely hotel high in the hills for an alfresco lunch.  We had singers and dancers entertain us and ended our time with an archery demonstration.  Archery is the national sport of Bhutan.  We even got to shoot the bows and arrows.

After some shopping in town we returned to our hotel.  Had a lecture by two prominent Bhutan experts and then dinner.  Early turn in because the hiker is exhausted 😀 – so is the non-hiker.

Fitbit – 7793 steps, 3.69 miles, 75 floors

Double rainbow

We have been officially rejected by the Chinese!  Last night at our dinner and performance we were told that we had been denied landing rights in Chongqing, China (already changed from Chengdu about 10 days before we left).  The National Geographic travel staff had been working since this problem arose. We were told that we would now be going to Bhutan.

So flew from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Paro, Bhutan in the Himalayas.  It was too cloudy to see Everest, but we are hoping to see it when we leave.

We drove from Paro to Thimphu stopping at a Buddhist Dzong. We were there for some of their afternoon prayers.  No photos were allowed inside.

Fitbit – 5161 steps, 2.44 miles, 54 floors

  
 

Unusual, awesome, interesting, worth the heat and bumpy roads to get to them to see and hear about the history of Cambodia and learn about the culture.  Our guide, Rom, was very open about the time of war that he lived through as a young child, losing his father to the Khmer Rouge because he was an intellectual.  Sad story to hear, but the reality of the country.

We went to Ta Phrom (the jungle temple, think Indiana Jones), Bayon and finally Angkor Wat.  Bette went to Banshey Srei in the afternoon.  I will let the photos do all the talking for this leg of the trip.

In the evening we had dinner on the terrace and were treated to Cambodian entertainment.

Fitbit – 19865 steps, 9.41 miles, 13 floors   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

We left Australia in the rain, seems we are bringing unusual weather wherever we go.

Our flight was only (ha ha) 5 hours from Australia to Cambodia.  When we arrived we just walked off the plan, dropped our immigration card in a slot and got on a bus.  Love the arrangements that National Geographic has been able to make for us.

Our first stop was at the ticket office for Angkor Wat and other temples.  There were about 12 on our bus and in less than 15 minutes we had been photographed and received our tickets with photo on them.

We are at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor right in the center of town.  We had dinner in one of the restaurants and then we were off to an early bedtime.  Our touring was to start at 7 AM the next morning to beat the heat and the crowds. We did not opt for the sunrise photo excursion to Angkor Wat which left the hotel at 5:15 AM.

   
    
   

Our first evening in Australia, we had a wine tasting and “light” dinner. The were Australian lobsters, oysters and gigantic prawns. There were also salads and sliders. But the main attraction was the ice cream bar!   

  
    
    
    
 The next morning was our touring day. Most of the group went to the Great Barrier Reef, but Bob and I chose to go to Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest. We had an aborigine guide, Cameron, who told us about the culture of his tribe and then led us on a walk through the rainforest. At different places he was able to show us how they marked trails, used items as tools, which plants were dangerous or poisonous, and how they used natural substances to paint their bodies and a special leaf that when rubbed with water made soap. It was interesting.

After that we continued on to the Botanical Ark. This is a private preserve established by a couple who are passionate about saving the rainforest all around the world. They have gathered thousands of species of plants and have investigated how the natives in different countries around the world use them. It was quite fascinating and our lunch came from their gardens. We ate all kinds of unusual fruits and flowers and it was excellent.

In the evening the professional photographer, Chris Rainier, gave a talk and showed us some of Ansel Adams’ photos. He worked with Adams for the last 7 or so years of his life and had wonderful stories to relate to us. Chris has also served as the archivist for all of Adams’ negatives. We then were treated to a display of Chris’s photographs.

Then on to dinner. We were given vouchers that allowed us to dine in Port Douglas. Our dinner was wonderful, but the portions were so large that we were not able to finish them. 

Fitbit – 7914 steps, 3.75 miles, 13 floors

The crazy internet decided to put my photos in the middle of the narrative, help!

We only spent a short time in Samoa but it was very much fun. We were greeted at the hotel entrance drive by men in native dress carrying torches. We had our 4th meal of the day – breakfast on Easter Island, the bar-be-cue lunch, 2nd lunch or first dinner on the plane and then a light dinner at the hotel in Samoa when we arrived. Because that was the day we crossed the international date line our bodies were confused and we were just tired.

The next morning Bob worked out at the hotel gym and Bette went on tour to Vailima the tropical home of Robert Louis Stevenson. We had a kava ceremony on arrival. The kava ceremony is used to greet guests on Samoa. We then toured the museum with the head of the museum, Martha. She was a very passionate tour guide and ended our tour by singing in English and Samoan Stevenson’s poem Requiem.

We then returned to the hotel and in the fale (meeting house) and had a fia fia (lunch and native performance.).

After that we were off to the airport and Cairns, Australia. Our pilots were able to give us a look at the Great Barrier Reef before landing in Cairns.

Fitbit – 1260 steps, .6 miles, 1 floor

Sorry the photos got mixed up 😔