Wedding in Leiyang

We get picked up early for a pre-wedding ceremony in the groom's village, about half an hour away. Here we meet his relatives and assist to a small ceremony in the paternal house.

They tell us how the husband went to the house of bride to take her with him and left a chicken as a symbolic form of gratitude to her family for having brought her up!

On a simple wooden table in the middle of the main room of the paternal house, we are offered tea, peanuts and cigarettes.

All around are many old houses with clay tiles, wooden beams and wood floors.Some are being demolished for new ones with flat roofing and cement bricks. More functional if less charming.

Back in town we see a rather large Christian church next to a Buddhist temple. We get our shoes cleaned  by a happy lady (one of many) who is working on the sidewalk with a little stool, a chair for her clients, brushes and polish. She is happy, smiling and works fast and very well!

 

We are told that this town of Leiyang also hosts the biggest cement factory in Hunan and a huge coal power plant they are very proud of! Also a shoe factory, not to mention a gold mine: 20 percent of china's gold is extracted in Hunan.

At the reception, people come and give envelopes at a table by the entrance where each envelope is opened and the money counted, then most of them just eat and go away, unabashedly taking leftovers with them! The meal is scrumptious as expected, local cuisine, moderately spicy. The bride and groom spend some time at the different tables, and at the end they come to ours. They are exhausted, but finally can relax a bit and eat their lunch!

We later take a walk around the Western Lake park with a large pond and bridges by the western lake middle road. Lots of children running around, many elderly men play card and mahjong. One lady is screaming obsessively at her son for who knows what reason, then starts to hit him. Lifang tries to calm her down but she tells her to mind her own business!

There is a beggar with broken feet, he says to my wife he was a construction worker but fell from the 3rd floor of a building and broke both his feet. He says he gets 200 rmb a month from government, just enough to pay rent for a room. Then has to beg for a living, moves around on a small sled with 4 little wheels and pushes himself forward with two broken metal pipes.

My impression is that it is not easy to be a beggar in China, it is not a compassionate culture if you can generalize about 1.5bn people. His pot is almost empty. I am thinking of London where beggars get much better treatment from passersby but a better comparison is India where (again difficult to generalize) people give more easily in the streets. Quite often I've seen people who look poor give to those who are poorer. In China apparently a lot of beggars are fake, they pretend to be sick or handicapped.

In the end we manage to buy tickets at coach station to go to Guiyang tomorrow, no chance for train, but better than walking!

Changsha to Leiyang

Amazing buffet at the Changsha Intercontinental hotel, eastern and western, hot and cold, sweet and savory, chopsticks and forks and knives and spoon, it is a real celebration.

Some of the highlights: I was first attracted by the local cold noodles, roughly grated with a special tool from a big boulder of dough. You then add spices and bits and pieces of veggies and meats. Also interesting the hot soup with veggies, pork, mushrooms, taylor-made for each of us by a dedicated chef.

After breakfast the real challenge of the day awaits us: find tickets to Leiyang for the wedding ceremony of Carrie, one of our best Chinese friends, but no seats were available to purchase online as usual. It is still the Chinese new year rush, with over half a billion people moving around the country to spend the holidays at home. We went to the station and tried our luck at the ticket office, but no way.

We were then approached by some scalpers who wanted 300 Rmb, not for tickets but as a fee to smuggle us on a train then we could then, supposedly, buy standing tickets. However I have never seen anyone standing on the fast train we need, and the slow train would take way too long, maybe up to 4 hours as opposed to 1. The whole thing is fishy, we give up.

We're stuck! My wife then remembers that there is an alternative: get bus tickets instead. We manage to catch the last bus to Chenzhou at 5:30pm, but must pay for the whole ride to Chenzhou even if we plan to get off at Leiyang. Actually at a highway station which is the stopover for Leiyang-bound passengers. But that's the way it is and we're lucky to be able to get (close) to our destination! Carrie's husband and his brother (who owns a car) will come and pick us up. Very kind for someone who's getting married tomorrow!

Meanwhile great buffet (40 Rmb pp) with unlimited food and beer at a restaurant by the gas station. Tons of meat (great), fish (so so) and veggies (again great). Beer is a local brand, kind of light, but tasty. No fresh fruit however. I loved the chicken paws and the pork belly. Also black fungus with quail eggs was juicy and inviting.

Gas station buffet, Hunan

Chinese New Year parade in Hong Kong

Traditional parade organized every year in Hong Kong for the Chinese (Lunar) New Year.

Alaskan crab in Hong Kong

Easy day of relaxing at the W hotel pool overlooking the city and some walking around.

Dinner at the Star Seafood restaurant on busy Nathan Road, there are only locals, obviously not yet discovered by the big guidebook publishers. I was here a few years ago by myself and tried to order their signature Alaskan crab, but they refused to serve me because it was too big!

We can not choose our own crab from large tanks which are prominently located at the ground level by the sidewalk. Each crab has a price tag attached to one of its claws.

A waiter grabs one for us and takes it to the table where he holds it up high for our final approval before dispatching it to the kitchen.

It comes back a while later on a large serving dish, piping hot and with all the shell and claws cracked open for us to enjoy the delicate meat inside.

It is a noisy restaurant, not really ideal for a romantic dinner with my wife but the crab is amazing and the price does not break the bank.

The head waiter advises us not to order anything else as this large animal (well over 1kg with the shell ) will be more than enough to sate our appetite. he was right.

When we ask for the bill he points out to my wife that it's CNY and so he expects a red packet from us, ie a significant tip!

Hong Kong New Year preparations and flower market on Valentine's Day

Visit a new year market with lots of flowers, food and a couple of musical shows. Huge crowds! The flow of the masses of people is channeled so that everyone is going in a one-way direction around the portion of Victoria's Garden at Causeway bay which is dedicated to the fair. It would be impossible to have everyone move at random, freely, there are just too many of us. Those in the middle of the human river can't even see stands on either side!

In the middle of it all there was a theatre with a sequence of shows: singers illusionist, some free snack are offered to the crowd.

For street food, Hong Kong is rightly famous and today is no exception. We can stand in a fast-moving line at one of many howker stands and buy some quail eggs on a skewer for me and a pot of beef noodles for my wife. No meat, no meal!

While we are munching away, waiting for a show to start, a charming lady in her seventies comes to talk to us. She speaks good English and says her slight American accent is due to the fact she lived in Massachusetts for a few years. Her brothers went to MIT, my classmates! Then they decided to come back to Hong Kong. She is happy about her choice, this is home, but is worried about the future of the Special Administrative Region. A dilemma many Hongkongers face after the return of the British colony to China in 1997. As usual, the British left their old possession in a mess, just like India.

Filipino helpers are mostly sticking to themselves, there are so many here in Hong Kong, they are let in pretty easily to help out in the homes of the middle class. It is paradoxical but it is easier for a Filipino to come and work here than for a Chinese!

Dinner at one of the thousands of "hole in the wall" eateries of Hong Kong, this we found by chance as it was the only one still open at 11pm, excellent pork noodles. We sat at a cramped table along a narrow corridor and were joined by a talkative local lady. She is an ethnic Chinese but actually comes from Canada and is a regular here, she assures us we have been lucky to find this place by chance as it is one of the best "holes in the wall" around. She complained about mainland Chinese who come in droves and empty shelves of whatever it is they can't find in China. Baby formula is a constant. I don't really understand: why is it so difficult to procure more baby formula? If there is demand, local shops should be able to just order more from international suppliers and let the Chinese buy as much as they want.

Christians in Hong Kong.



Very dense crowd!

Asian Civilization Museum and Night Safari of Singapore

Today culture and nature. The Asian civilizations Museum of Singapore is a well-organized center of the celebration of art from the whole continent. Well-run guided tour with a volunteer guide.

Interesting fountain in Singapore

The day ends at the famous night safari, for which Singapore is famous. There is a long line, I think we waited almost an hour to get in, but it is worth the wait. After paying for the ticket you are driven on a small train to the zoo itself and start walking along the cages. All kinds of animals from around the world are shown here. It is my first (and probably last) time to see a leopard up close!

We were the last ones out, the guards politely waited for us and escorted us to see the last exhibits on the way to the exit.

Xi'an easy visit and catching up

Late start for our first day visiting the town. We met Fang at our hotel and went to the old city walls. Today is spent mostly chatting and catching up with her, not really visiting the city. We reminisce about our time in London, and she tells us about her adjustment to her own home town, her job, her family.

You can walk all around it, but it would take a couple of hours at least, maybe more if you do not rush. I wish we had started earlier. Anyway, we have a good idea of the impressive fortifications of the ancient Chinese capital.

Most interesting museum, I am especially attracted to the gold statuettes. 

I remember when I came here in 1998 and the staff at the museum shop sold me a painting of Mulan. They wanted 1000 dollars, and I refused to even start a negotiation. Then, as I was making my way to the exit, they came after me and asked how much I was willing to pay. I hesitated, I said I could not make a reasonable offer. They insisted. They just wanted me to come up with a number. So I said "100 dollars", as the euro did not exist yet. And they said, faster than the blinking of an eye, "OK, it's yours". I always wondered about the provenance of that painting, which came with its own certificate but never knew and never will know more.

Dinner with street food in Muslim street, so many more tourists compared to 19 years ago. Lots of different food, especially lamb and seafood, notably grilled squid and crabs. Obviously not pork, it is still a Muslim street after all.

Lovely freshly squeezed juices of pomegranate, sugar cane, I prefer coconut.

Sesquicentennial of Canadian independence 1867 - 2017

Today walkaround in central Ottawa for the SESQUICENTENNIAL (150 years) of the "repatriation" of the Canadian constitution. Kind of a national day of independence, from the UK of course.

 

Everything is red and white, with many flags flying the distinctive maple 🍁 leaf. Bruce is proud of his flag because it is distinctive of its country, flags should be unique and immediately associated with the idea of the country they represent, a symbol. I agree, Italy's red white green is the same trio of colors used by many countries, kind of boring.

PM Justin Trudeau makes a bilingual speech.

My main takeaway is that Canada is not a melting pot like it big southern neighbor. Each culture of its constituent peoples remains distinct, each Canadian keep his or her identity which being part of the national society.

Yesterday we celebrated with our Ottawan friends, who organized a great garden party for the occasion. A whole pig on the spit, good wines and croquet for all in a lush garden. What a civilized way to celebrate!

Leave Hong Kong to Bohol, Philippines

Sorry to leave our nice hotel. It's early in the morning we got to catch a 07:50 flight and the fabulous Airport Express is not running early enough. So we need a taxi and get a brand new electric Tesla. Beautiful, quiet, and of course not polluting the Hong Kong air, which is often on the brink of health limits. In part, this is because of factories on the Chinese side, but traffic, air-conditioning and so much more energy consumption in Hong Kong itself play a part.

As we drive past the Kowloon station I notice a lot of roadworks, and I ask our driver. He says they are building a new high-speed train station that will connect with the Shenzhen station just on the other side of the border and offer a seamless superfast connection with Beijing. One more way that Hong Kong is becoming more and more integrated with the mainland.

To fly to the Philippines you need to check-in at Terminal 2, but there are no gates there. After check-in, you can walk to Terminal 1, about ten minutes, or take a shuttle which takes virtually no time.

The Hong Kong airport is my favorite in the world. Bright, spacious, beautiful, full of great shopping and food, efficient. Of course, free and fast wifi everywhere.

After an uneventful flight to Manila, we have to wait a few hours for our connection to Bohol. Manila airport is a bit chaotic but we find a nice bench outside, it's a sunny day and wifi is free. Time goes by relatively fast before we are called in to board a Philippines Air flight. It's OK, nothing to write home about.

When we arrive in Bohol it's raining, not a good start. But it's warm and our driver has a comfy car with cool water and A/C, so the two-hour ride to our resort is bearable. Before setting off we stop at a large shopping mall near the airport to get some cash from an ATM, it would be our last chance here.

Seafood soup

By about 7:00pm we reach our resort, Amun Ini, in Anda, on the eastern side of Bohol. We are tired and hungry. After leaving our stuff in the room we head to the restaurant, a beautiful terrace overlooking the resort's garden and pool. Food is plentiful land varied, and it will be for the rest of our stay.

Massage and electric treatment

Today Ouyang takes us to his favorite Spa for a session of massage and hot tub bath. To get there, I ride on his motorbike while my wife rents a moto-taxi. None of us has any helmet, in keeping with local practice. I am not sure if I am more scared of hurting my head or making my cold worse. In the end everything goes smoothly.

It is a great couple of hours. He knows this town very well, he says he does not like to travel and spends some time every day taking care of his body at various salons. He is in his mid-forties and looks a good ten years younger. He has a membership card with many and the staff clearly know him very well as a regular.

Two minute Chinese ladies perform a powerful and very professional massage in a dimly lit room. Massage sessions alternate with dips in a very hot tub filled with water and herbs. A thin sheet of plastic is laid on the tub's surface before it is filled up with steaming water, ensuring proper hygiene. We get nice slippers and disposable undies, as well as soft towels. Quite a break compared to the chilly weather outside. At the end, we are served herbal tea in the waiting room, and Ouyang joins us for a chat with the owner, a lady she knows well for being a regular. Our two masseuses stand by. I can only speak to them with the help of translation, but I want to make sure they know I really enjoyed their treatment and look forward to coming back soon.

Electric practitioner diplomas and Chairman Mao

Traditional Chinese herbs

We then go to a practitioner who Ouyang says can treat my cold. Upon arrival I am offered a potion of tea and herbs to drink. He then performs a kind of electric treatment by gently rubbing my back with his hands while electricity flows through his body. He can adjust power with a pedal. It is a bit uncomfortable at first but then I get used to it.

My muscles contract when he revs up the current. All of this lasts about 45 minutes. More herbal tea is served at the end.



As we leave the practice, I feel a bit shaken up by the electricity, but overall I do feel better. My cold is still there, we'll see the results later.

Street vendor of fruits and veggies

Just outside a lady with balancing baskets on her shoulders approaches. We buy some from her, she is quite friendly and the prices are good, so says my wife. It is a pleasure to find these sellers in a day and age where supermarkets (which I think do have a role to play, so convenient!) seem about to take over even in smaller Chinese towns like this.

Arrival in Hong Kong

Every time I arrive at the Hong Kong international airport I am amazed. By the beauty the spacious check-in area wrapped the high concave ceiling, by the brightness of it all by the free superfast internet connection that does not require complicated login procedures.

And by the MTR train. The Mass Transit Rail that takes you to Hong Kong in a little over 20 minutes. At each station, luggage carts are ready for travelers, perfectly lined up in sets of three in front of each door of the train: solid, clean, smart-looking and free. I think back to Rome Fiumicino, where it costs 2 Euro to rent one and they are usually rickety and dirty. Never mind...

Meet and greet from our hotel. A very thin man, in his early sixties, come to help with our carts full of cases and diving equipment. he said he has been working for our hotel for 24 years. He leps us buy a ticket for the Airport Express, takes our trolleys to the platform, puts them in the luggage racks of the train car for us, tells us on which side of the train the door will open at our stop, and leaves after refusing a tip which I was handing him in gratitude.

Trekking in the New Territories of Hong Kong

Meeting Stanley at my hotel in Mong Kok. He is a late-twenty-someting Hongkonger who freelances as a tourist guide.

We hop on the ever trustworthy MTR and are whisked to a station in the New Territories called Tai Po Market. From there it's a short taxi ride to the start of the trek. We walk through thick forests, and come within sight of the mainland: Shenzhen in just across the narrow bay.

At our destination we meet with David, a local local Hakka guide. He speaks German as he lived and worked in Germany for 20 years came back to revive village. With not a little pride he shows us around the Hakka village. Simple dwellings, a school, a temple. Hi brother cooks a delicious lunch for us: duck, pork and tuna. I am not sure which I liked the most, I ate too much of all of three. Yet I don' feel guilty, we are going to walk a lot today, some 20km all in all perhaps, so I need the calories.

The village is "protected" by a Feng Shui wall, which serves the dual purpose of keeping the evil spirits out and good fortune in (good fortune gets into the village through the gate, which somehow the evil spirits can't muster). The gate is impressive, very pretty and solid. Next to the door, on two golden panels, one can read the names of the people who live in the village, a kind of census. Next to each name a number: the amount of money each donated toward the restoration of the village.

It is called the Lai Chiwo (lychee) Village because in the early days people found the fruits in the surrounding area.

On the main square I am impressed by an austere building, the old school, now shut.

The temple is, as always, a deep experience. David insists, and I oblige, that I don't take pictures directly to the face of the deities who are watching us from the top of the altars.

Villagers mostly live off sustainable agriculture. They grow many different vegetables, notably rice and sunflower.

Toward the end of the tour we meet two ladies working in the fields, they speak good English, too good to be farmers of an isolated village. After talking to them I discover they are actually academics, have MAs and PhDs but do this farm work for free when they have time to keep their old village alive.

It's almost sunset, we are going back. Stanley takes me to another route, so I have a chance to see a different area. Lush valleys and rolling hills, I would never have expected Hong Kong to have this hidden face to show a curious traveler who digs deeper than shopping and dim sum. At one point Stanely tells me we are almost home, ie to the bus terminus: then I see a sign that says we have 5km to go! Distances are relative. It's a bit exhausting for me but I enjoy it. Stan walks ahead of me but never forgets to look back and check on me. there are no other trekkers around. I enjoy the solitude of the moment though I can also anticipate with enthsiasm the moment I will lower myself into a hot bath back at the hotel.

Hong Kong traffic and storm

Today easy walking around and shopping in Central. My old Samsung wants to retire so I am obliged to go find a younger replacement. Hong Kong, contrary to popular belief, is not a shopping heaven for electronics. It is easy to be cheated and prices are not necessarily better than at a duty-free shop elsewhere. But sometimes it is possible to find a good promotion or two. 

Which I did, by chance after an amazing melt-in-your-mouth sushi lunch in a shopping mall I can't even remember. So, mission accomplished, I too to explore some more, without any particular destination in mind.

As I waited under the scorching sun for the green light to cross a street by some zebra stripes together with a lot of other quiet and well-behaved people, I saw tall blond man with a clear American accent walk across the street while the light was still red. Traffic was not too bad but still, cars were zipping by as they had a green light. A policeman stopped him and started charging him, pointing to the red light, which was still red! He mumbled something and tried to walk away from the officer but the stodgy uniformed agent followed him and alerted two colleagues at the other end of the zebra lines. They quickly converged on the tall man and asked for his ID, while calmly writing their report. I can only hear the American saying "are you kidding me?" before I walked away. They were not kidding.

A glass of Italian white at a wine bar marks the end of today's stroll, just in time before the sky opens up and a tropical storm inundates central Hong Kong. A bit later I took advantage of a break in the precipitations to make a quick run to a nearby cigar lounge I read about, called the Blind Pig. I was mostly curious about the name but found myself welcomed to a luxurious wood-paneled and perfectly air-conditioned room by a polite and well-informed cigar expert who showed me his impressive humidor. I was awed to see a sign that read "strictly no cigarettes" on the main table.

Dinner at the "Fish and Meat" restaurant nearby, on the balcony. It is still raining cats and dogs as an old British colonial officer might have put it, but it is pleasantly warm and I can eat on the balcony, protected by a large canopy. The chef today matches different foods by colors, I am enthusiastic about his red creation: raw tuna and watermelon core, I'll try and do it at home.

When it's time to go back to my hotel it was still raining beyond belief, I was not sure what to do. My polite waitress offered me an umbrella. I told her I could not take it as I was staying in Mong Kok, I would not be coming back to Central. She told me not to worry, I could take it with me tonight because I needed it. Very kind. Despite the umbrella, I still got drenched before I could make it to the subway, but I guess that is part of the Hong Kong experience.

Changsha theater

Street theater performance downtown Changsha.

Bus ride to Changsha and a dip in a pool

Morning packing in our room. It's a grey dull sky, not conducive to one last effort to do more sight-seeing. Last great breakfast buffet at the hotel. Pork bites and taro is my favorite.

At 3pm we board a two-level bus to Changsha. No staff is around to help stow our bags in the hold. Or I should say there was quite a few staff around, but no one thought of the possibility of helping passengers, some of whom were older travelers. Once we are done we can climb to the top level for a better view.

The bus was almost empty. The seats were quite comfortable and so was the temperature, though the aircon unit was noisier than might have been hoped. We left on time and I began to enjoy the rolling Hunanese landscape careening in front of the window as the driver kept a crispy, almost hurried pace.

After a short drive in Wulingyuan, the town near the Zhangjiajie park, the bus stops to pick up some packages for delivery to Changsha. The driver takes some cash from someone who is clearly the sender of the package but issues no receipt. Maybe it's an extra income on the side...

The highway smooth and clean, like many in China these days. I can't stop admiring the amazing work that's been done for the national transportation infrastructure over the last few decades. The fields seem to be mostly in good shape, industrious farmers at work. The small urban areas we encounter are not exactly charming, with lots of grey concrete and houses with no character, but I suppose they probably took the place of muddy huts with no running water, and if so it is an improvement.

Lots of unfinished construction along the way and no one is working on almost any of the sites that pan in view of our windows. Some buildings look like they could become pretty smart condominiums if they ever make it to completion. I have read that there has been a boom of construction in parts of China in recent years, a rush to buy property, and this created a bubble that might be about to burst. Many Chinese today seem to believe, like many Italians did in the past until they got burned, that real estate never goes down. I hope not as we have just finalized the purchase of our family apartment in Guiyang!

The taxi stand at the Changsha West Station too crowded, Lifang decides to go for a taxi. This driver comes forward and talks to her and offers to take us, but after we load our bags in his trunk he refuses to go by meter and asks for 60 Rmb )about 9 euros) to take us to our hotel, the Intercontinental. Lifang thinks it is a rip-off and she must be right. We choose another one and he takes us down to his "brother" at the proper taxi stand. He was obviously a scout who hoped for a cut from taxi drivers to whom he brought business. The new driver accepted to go by the meter then as we go Lifang notices the meter running too fast, it is already way past 60 Rmb and we are not even close to our destination, it must have been tricked. Lifang is furious and after a long discussion whose exact content I can only guess, he agrees to a flat fee of 50 Rmb.

We can finally check-in at the Hotel Intercontinental, and are pleased to learn that they have decided to add free breakfast for free to our reservation. We were tired and really wished for an hour or two in the spa or pool, and smiled when they told us it was open until 1:00am. However, after rushing to drop our bags in the room and change, it was 11pm, the pool was just closing down. The lady at the spa reception smiled but said there was nothing to be done. Well, she might have been right under normal circumstances, but Lifang is not one to take no for an answer. Not when she'd been promised a dip in the pool after a long and tiring bus ride.

In the end, the director shows up and they open the pool just for us! They are clearly trying to impress, and they certainly did.

Pre-wedding photo selection

Main activity of today is selecting our pre-wedding photos for including in our albums. These will be beautiful productions with large prints on sturdy photographic paper and glass covers.

Again, while I have a genuinely good time choosing pictures, most other couples seem to take this task so seriously that it looks like it is more stressful than fun for them. Especially for the women, who it seems are hardly ever satisfied with the way they appear in the photos.

The men are unsurprisingly much more accommodating and after four hours I am quite ready to leave. I am also hungry. But I understand this is a very important milestone in our wedding and the photos will stay with us forever, and so it must be done right. I leave it to my wife to choose most of the photos. She is very keen and has a better eye than I do at picking the best.

In the evening we are exhausted, and a well deserved massage in the Pullman hotel spa ( 1h30 for CNY 880) concludes the day. The room is luxuriously appointed, with wooden panels and soft lightings. Mellow music in the background completes the scene while we undress and take our position on the two parallel beds. The two masseuses arrive after a few minutes and begin a heavenly session of oily massage that is perfect, not too hard not too soft on the body, just right.

4. - 24 August: Bumthang

Today we drove about two hours each way, to the Tang valley.

For lunch we had the opportunity to taste the food prepared in a farm house. Local cuisine such as buck wheat noddles and pancake. It was quite staged for us but nonetheless interesting to see them preparing their traditional fare.

Traditional Bhutanese farm tools

The Ugyencholing Palace and museum which we stopped at next was full of old masks (a bit eerie!), tools, furniture. A look at Bhutan a few decades ago.

Nunnery

En route we visited the Pema Choling Nunnery, where we spent some time witnessing an afternoon session of the nuns singing their mantras. A peaceful atmosphere.

We all sat around the young nuns and listened to their recitations. I started to use a flash but stopped as it would disturb them.

After the mantras we were offered some tea and light refreshments and of course gave our offering to the temple.

Toilet door. Pema Choling nunnery

I was struck by a sign posted on the door of one of the common toilets. It reflected the education of these nuns, learning to take pride in each and every task they were assigned to. A lesson for all of us.

Dinner in local restaurant for momos (Bhutanese dumplings) similar to what I had eaten in Ladakh. At night we were back to our Yugarling hotel.

3. - 23 Aug: From Paro to Jakar, Bhumtang

Keeping Paro clean

A couple of hours in Paro in the morning, just getting acquaited with the small town and doing a little shopping. Locals are friendly if somewhat detached. The town is relatively clean, some ladies sweep the streets with simple brooms. We would have to look around when we return but the first impression is one of placid serenity.

In order to save a dozen hours of driving (we'll have more than plenty anyway) today we're flying east from Paro to Bumthang.

The small ATR 42-500 (the only one in the fleet of Druk Air we were told) tooks off after a short acceleration and made a steep ascent into the clouds. Some 45 minutes later the pilot pointed the aircraft's nose down to make a stopover at Gelephu.

A few passengers disembark and new ones board. Again the turboprop was the only game in town at the tiny airstrip and as the turboprop headed up to the sky one more time.

Landed at Bumthang again in dramatic scenery. It took them forever to unload the plane even though it was the only plane at the airport (probably for the whole day). No problem, we sat around the runway and took pictures. Then headed to our hotel, the Yugarling 3 star resort and checked in.

We spent the afternoon exploring the ancient temple of Jamphel Lhakhang. Quite understated compared to other in the country. We also went to Kurjey and Tamshing on foot. We walked over a suspended bridge that was once made of ropes but was recently reinforced with steel cables, like many in the Himalayas.

At the end of our long walk we stopped at a tea house that doubled up as a souvenir seller. A young girl managed the shop and let us use the toilet. Some of us bought some tea.

Bhutanese mountain roads, much like in India, are peppered with road signs that encourage cautious and responsible driving. I noted them down, some were pretty funny and often rhymed, and would note them at the end of each post on the day I saw them. Road sign of the day:

Mountains are pleasure
only if you drive with leisure

0. - 20 August: Departure to Bhutan

Off we go: time to fly again to Asia. I can never get enough.

Destination Bangkok, where we plan to spend a night at a hotel near the airport before joining the rest of our group of travel photographers for a tour of Bhutan.

Bhutan has a reputation of an exclusive destination, and it is, mainly because their government makes it an expensive destination by means of a minimum daily expenditure, 250 US dollars to be precise, that goes toward the visitor's hotel, food and transportation in the country, as well as the mandatory local guide that will escort him or her every step of the way. The current king's father is credited with having replaced gross national product with gross national happiness: money is less important than spiritual contentment. But the spirit is evidently aided by a nice trickle of dollars.



This time it's British Airways via London. Good service, not great really and the plane looks a bit tired, but it's comfortable and punctual. BA seems to be among the few of the old flag carriers to survive. Let's try to get a good night sleep.

Film review: Accidental Tourist (1989) by Lawrence Kasdan, ****

Synopsys

William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis. An author of travel books who is coping with his son's death and his wife's departure has his outlook on life brightened by an offbeat dog trainer. Davis won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress from one of four total nominations. 1988/color/121 min/PG.


Review

This movie is not really about traveling and when I was done watching it I did not plan to review it for this blog. But then I watched it again and I thought it is ALSO about traveling, and not just because the protagonist is a travel guide writer. In fact, that has nothing to do with it. It is a movie about traveling because there are so  many of us who are accidental tourists, though many of us do not even recognize we are.

How many times we go places not because we want to but because we have to? Or for no reason at all? And yet it is part of the innate curiosity of a real traveler to explore new destinations for no reason other than the fact that they exist and we came to know that they are there.

Not only Macon did not want to be a travel writer, but he hates traveling. He's got a job to do however, so he goes places.  He writes guide books for people who, like him, would rather never leave home. And his books are popular precisely because that's the way his readers feel as well. "While armchair travelers dream of going places, traveling armchairs dream of staying put." Macon is a traveling armchair, really, and yet a trip to Paris (a place he'd rather avoid and where he looks for American fast food, while others would kill to have a chance to visit) will define the rest of his life. Is it all by accident?