February 29th - Thimphu to Kathmandu

We left the Hotel early at 5.30am for the one hour drive to Paro airport. With little traffic on the road our driver got us to the airport easily. We said our goodbyes to our guide and driver and then made our way through the beautiful airport to the gate. Our plane left on time, and we were treated to spectacular views of the eastern Himalayas including Mt Everest. Unfortunately due to air traffic at Kathmandu and low visibility we ended up circling for about an hour, by which time the plane was running low on fuel so we had to make an unscheduled stop at Patna in India.

Mount Everest - pyramid shaped mountain in the middle

We were on the ground in India for about 2 hours, however the good natured crowd of passengers calmly passed the time talking and playing games. Finally visibility in Kathmandu had improved enough that the pilot decided to make another attempt to get in. It was a short 20 minute flight and then we were on the ground. By this time we were starting to worry that we might not get back to the Hotel in time to have Sushi before the Japanese restaurant closed, but we were able to use Erica's connections to rush through immigration and customs and were at our hotel 20 minutes after the plane landed.

After lunch I decided to explore Kathmandu on foot. I had seen a bit of the city from the road, and was anxious to explore some of the back alleys. I ended up walking from the hotel to Dhurbar square, a distance of about 2.5 miles. When I was in India a few years ago, it was impossible to walk anywhere without getting accosted by store owners, tour guides, and other people asking for money. In Kathmandu the atmosphere was infinitely more relaxed and I felt very comfortable.

One surprising discovery was a modern shopping mall and multiplex cinema that would not have looked out of place in Encino California. We drove past it a few days ago, but I was not able to find it again.

 

I also wanted to check out "Freak Street" - the destination for a large number of European overland travellers during the 1960's and 1970's. Many of these travellers would make their way by bus and train, others would drive or ride on motorbike. All were attracted to Nepal for one reason - the availability of good, cheap, and legal hashish. These days are long gone, and Freak Street is now just like any other street.

By this time it was getting late, so I took a cab back to the hotel and quickly changed before heading over to the Hotel Shangri-la for a wonderful dinner hosted by our WWF friends.

Arriving back at our hotel at 10pm, we all headed to our rooms ready for a good nights sleep with no plans the next day apart from an afternoon flight to Bangkok.

Feb 28 (Thimphu)

Today the grown ups split off from the kids, with the kids having a full day of sightseeing in Thimphu while we spent the day in meetings. Our guide kindly offered to show our children around the town.

Our first visit was to the National Referral Hospital in Thimphu. Among other people we met Dr Sandrup Wangchuk who was the dentist for whom we smuggled several hundred toothbrushes half way around the world. He was very grateful for the gift - there are apparently only two qualified dentists in all of Bhutan and oral health is not a high priority. Throughout the year he visits several schools handing out free toothbrushes and toothpaste, these supplies are donated by dentists in the US and carried over by whoever happens to be travelling to Bhutan.

We were all very impressed by the facility - despite the shortage of doctors and dentists, it was very well equipped. Medical care is provided free of charge to all citizens of Bhutan, and while the care is very good in the cities, the rural facilities have a harder time due to their isolation. This is one of the problems Dr Erica's organization is trying to address. The main Thimphu hospital recently installed an electronic medical records system that they bought from a company in India. Two of the s/w guys happened to be in town helping install the system so we spent some time talking to them.

The next meeting was at the ministry of forestry which was in a government compound right next door to the Tashichho Dzong - the main monastery/fortress in town.

We then met with WWF Bhutan at their main office, and then finally met with the Secretary of Health at the huge ministry of health building, riding the only elevator in the entire country to get to the fourth floor. All the buildings in Bhutan have open roofs, which helps with ventilation, as well as providing nesting sites for countless pigeons and doves. At times at was hard to hear what was being said from all the coo-ing of the doves in the roof.

We rushed back around 5pm hoping to get in some shopping in our last day in Bhutan before everything closed down for the evening. We met up with our kids, who had just had a great time. Sammy and Owen were relaxing in the room watching a game of cricket on the TV. They had spent the day visiting the Thimphu Zoo, which contains the worlds largest captive collection of "Takin's" which are a kind of sheep-like animal which inhabit the Himalayas. They also visited the "Giant Buddha" which is a massive structure overlooking the Thimphu valley much like "Christ the Redeemer" overlooks Rio de Janeiro.

We quickly ran over to the handicrafts center in Thimphu only to find out the place was closed. Our guide was able to talk one of the employees into reopening the store for us and we spent about an hour browsing the paintings, carved wood, clothing and other stuff, all hand made by native Bhutanese craftsmen. Cathy ended up buying a "Thangka" which is a large piece of hand painted silk. She had read about this traditional artform (which originated in Tibet) in one of her books.

After the handicraft center, we then browsed the half mile long street outside containing over 100 different craft stalls. The quailty was not as good as the handicraft center, but it was fun looking. At one point our children had ran on way ahead, and Cathy noticed way off in the distance a robed Buddhist monk holding Owen's hand and disappearing around the corner. We had visions of losing our youngest child, only to find out years later that he had become a monk and joined some remote monastery. Just then, Owen came running back with a big smile on his face - our hopes for spiritual redemption shattered!

Then back to the Hotel followed by another frantic shopping marathon at the rather touristy gift shop by the hotel. We were able to get a Tibetan singing bowl and some assorted gifts for the childrens teachers including a nice statue of Buddha for Sammy's religious eduction teacher.

Finally we went to bed for what we had hoped would be an early night since we needed to leave at 5:30am the next day for the drive back to Paro and our flight back to Kathmandu.

Fabruary 27th part 1 - Paro (Hike to TIgers Nest)

Last night Erica stopped by our room to let us know that we would be meeting with the Queen Mother (Queen Ashi Tshering Yangdon, former Queen of Bhutan and mother of the current King) today at the royal compound in Thimpu. Erica had gotten to know the royal family of Bhutan when the youngest daughter was at Stanford. Since we were already planning on hiking to Tigers Nest in the morning, this was going to be a very packed day.

At 8:30 Chris, Jon, Madeleine, Arial, Sammy and myself set off for the grueling hike to Tigers Nest Monastery (real name Taktsang Palphug Monastery) - site of an old buddhist monastery build 3000 feet up on the side of a cliff. The monastery unfortunately burnt down during the 1980's but was faithfully restored to its former self.

This is one of the most sacred places in Bhutan, and legend has it that the Guru Rimpoche flew there on the back of a Tigress (who some say was also his wife taking on one of her many forms).

I knew this was going to be a hard hike due to the altitude and the little time we had had for aclimitization. As it was, I had a hard time making it up the one flight of stairs to our room at the hotel. The hike starts at 7000 feet and ascends to 10,000 feet.

From the parking lot we passed the usual stalls selling souveniers, water, walking sticks etc. and then passed some buildings which appears to be shrines - presumably part of the original monastery complex built in the 1600's. Prayer flags were everywhere along the entire hike.Very soon we came to an open area where one could see our destination way off in the distance and very high up!

Due to the fact that no roads connect the monastery, all items must be carried by hand or on the backs of pack animals. We saw numerous horses and mules carrying supplies and also saw people carrying huge pieces of furniture on their backs running down the trail.

After an hour of grueling swtichbacks we reached what appeared to be a restaurant. By this time I had fallen behind, and was happy to see Sammy and our guide Gung Chow had waited for me. An ice cold Fanta provided a welcome refreshment while contemplating the next and hardest part of the climb. Although the monastery was now a lot closer, reaching it required hiking to a lookout tower high above the monastery, and then descending several hundered narrow steps carved into the side of the rock. Although railings have now been added, it used to be the case that there was nothing between you and the valley floor 3000 feet below, and several hikers would end up getting killed each year.

The next bit was very tough due to the altitude, and I ended up having to stop to catch my breath every minute or so. The younger ones seemed to have much more stamina. It was very pleasant, however, and we were rewarded with amazing views of the Paro valley, and the Tigers Nest monastery getting closer and closer. Eventually we reached the highest point of the trek where there was a large prayer wheel and the start of the steps leading down to the monastery.

At the bottom of the stairs there was a waterfall, and I was surprised to see a large snow bank. I had been in my T shirt for most of the hike, but once in the shade it became icy cold. There were then a few steps up to the monastery. At this point we met some police officers who demanded to see our pass. Since we had separated from our guide, we did not have (or even know about) a pass. Faced with the possibility of having hiked this far and now being allowed into the monastery, Sammy started to get sad. Eventually, however, our guide showed up and we were able to tour the building. Cameras were not allowed in this sacred place, so I apologize for not being able to show any pictures.



All the waters surrounding the monastery are supposed to be sacred and have healing properties. Our guide went off to try and bottle some of the water for us, while we set off back down the trail on the much easier return part of the journey.

Panorama showing Taktsang Monastery and Paro Valley

We finally arrived back at the hotel at 1pm, covered in mud and sweat, having 20 minutes to prepare ourselves to meet the Royal family of Bhutan! (see part 2).

February 27th part 2 - Thimphu and Royal vist

First a little bit about the Royal family in Bhutan. The current King Jigme Khesar Namgyel was crowned in November 2008 at the age of 26 making him (at the time) the worlds youngest head of state. His father, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated the throne to his eldest son and (at the same time) announced parlimentary elections, smoothing the transition to democracy for this remote country.

The royal family is held in very high regard by the citizens of Bhutan. Pictures of the current king and his new bride, Jetsun Pema, appear everywhere, and above the doorway of every home.

The former King has four wives (all of whom are sisters), and a total of 10 children - five sons and five daughters. We met with Queen Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck, who is the mother of the current king. Also present were her two other children, Princess Ashi Dechen Yangzom, and Prince Dasho Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. We were also lucky enough to meet the newest member of the royal family, the little Princess daughter of Ashi Dechen Yangzom.

The former King and his 4 wives at the time of his marriage in 1979

Although it was special meeting the royal family, it was not at all unusual. A representative from the Royal family normally meets with all groups doing non profit work in Bhutan. This visit was significant, though, in that it came out of a special friendship that Dr Erica has with the Queen mother dating back to the time when her daughter attended Stanford.

After quickly showering and making ourselves presentable, we all piled into the bus for the hour long drive to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. The winding road follows downstream one fork of a river, and then upstream along the other fork through stunning canyons and valleys. The driver was quite rushed as it would not do to be late for the Queen! We arrived at the Royal compound with 5 minutes to spare, and were courteously ushered in by the palace guards.

For what had been scheduled as a 1 hour meeting, we ended up staying for 3 hours, and were absolutely captivated by the charm and graciousness of this amazing woman are her family. Even Sammy and Owen opened up, presenting pictures they had drawn of Buddha and a temple. We were served traditional Bhutanese food including momo's, deep fried waffles, and cake. I spent about an hour talking to the Princess about her time at Stanford, and about life in Bhutan. The little princess was captivated by Sammy, and spent the whole time following him around.

The Queen mother with her granddaughter

Sammy playing with the little Princess

Owen presenting a drawing to the Queen mother

Left to right. Jon Puro, Princess Ashi Dechen Yangzom and her daughter, Madeleine Traver, Dr Chris Traver, Arial, Dr Erica Weirich, Queen Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck, Cathy Leather, Owen Leather, Sammy Leather, me, Prince Dasho Jigme Dorji Wangchuck and his fiancee.

Around 7pm we checked into our new hotel in Thimphu and then headed downstairs for dinner. We were joined by Choki Lhamo, a good friend of Mike Hawley who was someone I worked with at Lucasfilm. She was involved with the project to create the worlds largest book - a 6 ft high collection of photos from Bhutan. We finally got to sleep around 10pm after the most exhilarating day of the trip.

Febrary 26th - Kathmandu to Paro

We set of fairly early to the airport for our flight to Paro, Bhutan. At this point I was still nervous that there would be some problem with the visa's, but in the end Erica's contacts came through and we were allowed into the country with no problem. Getting through the airport at Kathmandu, however, was an exercise in chaos which would raise the blood pressure of even the calmest person. Upon leaving the van, numerous people rushed over wanting to "help" us with our bags in exchange for a tip. The ticketing hall was so full of people that one couldn't move. There were no obvious signs on where to go, and if you didn't have the right stamps or tags at any point, you were sent back to the beginning. Somehow we made it through all the lines with the right set of stickers and made it onto the plane along with the other passengers, half of whom were Buddhist monks.

Hanging out in the departures hall of Kathmandu airport

The short 60 minute flight took us into the beautiful Paro valley and one of the remotest spots on earth. The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has been effectively cut off from the rest of the world until very recently. Even now, only a handful of tourists are allowed in each year.

The airport in Paro is considered one of the most difficult approaches in the world, and there are only 6 pilots certified to fly into this airport. The plane make a slow descent between two mountain ranges, and then makes a quick 90 degree turn at the last minute right before landing.

Sammy, Owen, and Cathy getting off the plane in Paro

Entry formalities took no time at all, and soon we met our guide, Gung Cho, and were on our way to the Hotel Zhiwa Ling. The short drive up the hill exposed us to the unusual architecture of Bhutan, and we were impressed by how clean and unchaotic everything was. The valley was just beautiful, although the usual snow covered peaks were not to be seen due to the effects of climate change. Soon we checked into the hotel, found our rooms, and then got back into the van for lunch at a local restaurant in the town of Paro.

The lobby of the Hotel Zhiwa Ling

A typical street scene in Paro

After lunch we went back to the Hotel, dropped off the kids, and then headed to a regional health facility higher up the mountain.  This health unit services the Taktshang complex (Tigers Nest temple) along with several remote villages along the border with Tibet, some of which are only reachable via a 4 day hike. Should we return to Bhutan late this year, I am hoping it might be possible to join a health worker as he/she visits some of these remote villages.

We had a relaxed dinner at the Hotel and were then promised no morning meetings the next day, allowing some of us to make the gruelling hike up to Tigers Nest.

February 25th - Chitwan to Kathmandu

Today we split up the team. The kids and two of the adults took the plane back to Kathmandu, sparing them 5 hours of torchurous driving through narrow winding mountain roads. The rest of us went to Sauraha to visit with WWF and see the elephant dung paper making facility (don't laugh!)

There were no animal encounters on the way out of the park, and the road to Sauraha was surprisingly good. Sauraha is the tourist center of Chitwan and is packed full of Hotels, restaurants, and shops. There were elephants everywhere, and we passed a large race track where they hold elephant races twice a year. The meeting was at the main wildlife conservation center and was followed by a nice lunch which was prepared especially for us. Among other things we learned how rhino's are identified though a pattern of bulbous growths on the back side, every one of which is unique. The park rangers have given each of the 500+ rhino's in the park a name, which I though would make it sad when one of them dies. Poaching is a huge problem due to the high prices the rhino horn fetches on the Asian market. Seeing pictures of a rhino whose horn has been ripped out and the animal left to die is just heart wrenching.

Afterwards we visited the elephant dung factory. This is a sustainable facility set up by the green society of Nepal. The process is very similar to regular paper - the elephant dung is mixed with chemicals to form a slurry, and bleach is used to remove the brown color and the smell. A frame covered in a fine wire mesh is then dipped into the solution, and then left out into the sun to dry.

Our 5 hour trip back to Kathmandu ended up taking 7 hours due to a horrendous traffic jam over the pass caused by a stalled vehicle. The line did not move for literally an hour, and then once a policeman had arrived on the scene to control traffic, it started moving very slowly.

We finally arrived at the amazing Hotel Dwarikas at about 8pm just in time for dinner. Since Owen and Sammy had fallen asleep, we left a note saying where we would be, and went down to the restaurant where we were served a multi-course traditional Nepalese dinner which was by far the best meal we had had on the trip so far. Then a (relatively) early night since we needed to get up early the next day to catch our next flight.



February 24th. Chitwan NP

Today we made a side trip to the beautiful village of Laxmibas near Madi to see the health clinic there. This village is in the "buffer zone" surrounding the park, the the people there have a vested interest in maintaing the ecosystem and protecting the animals.

We set off around 8am in two vans - the kids were left behind to do another elephant safari and a hike to the surrounding lookout towers. The weather was very misty and it was hard to see any hazards ahead. Sure enough, after about 20 minutes we saw the faint shape of a huge rhino blocking the road. We waited a few minutes until the rhino slowly moved into the undergrowth, and then slowly proceeded. Upon passing the rhino we noticed that she had a baby with her. "This is not good!" said the ranger who was accompanying us. Suddenly we heard a huge snort and the mother rhino started to charge us. The driver immediately accelerated the vehicle but was having a hard time outrunning the rhino. Eventually, however, she got tired and slowed down.

This is the rhino which charged us

Once we left the park we headed west a through the many villages in the "Madi" area of Chitwan district. Although equally poor, these villages differed from the squalid roadside settlements we witnessed the day before. The villagers all looked happy and wore colorful dress. There were many school children walking or biking to school, all wearing clean blue uniforms. The houses were simple but clean, consisting of maybe a couple of rooms and an outhouse, a large stack of hay, and a couple of goats. This area subsists on farming, but there was no sight of any modern farming equipment - we saw maybe one tractor the whole journey. The electric grid has not reached this area yet (although there was a radio station), and the villages are completely cut off from the rest of Nepal during the 3 months of the monsoon season. As it was, we had to drive through many rivers to get there.

Once we got to the health clinic we saw that all the community leaders of the village had come out to meet us. It was very touching as they each presented us with a traditional silk sash and a flower lei. They seemed genuinely happy that westerners had made the long treck to come and see their village. We all introduced ourselves and at one point Dr Erica asked how many had cellphones, and literally everyone raised their hands.

Next we observed a few clinic visits with the doctor seeing mostly older patients. Despite the primitive conditions, she showed a connection with her patients that is not often seen in todays modern society. In all we spent about 3 hours at the village during which time we all fell in love with the people.

On the way back we stopped for a picnic lunch inside the park which seemed unadvisable given the events of the morning! We reached the resort at 3pm and met up with our children who had had a great day. Next it was time to get in an open topped truck for our afternoon safari and river boat ride.

After driving for half an hour through primitive back roads we reached the river. All 8 of us piled into one boat, and we set off down the crocodile infested river. We were reassured that the crocodiles fed mainly on fish, resorting to eating people only when there was no other food.

On the way back from the river boat ride, who should we encounter but Mr Rhino - standing right in the middle of the road. There was a tense moment of silence as the Jeep and the Rhino played a staring game seeing who would back off first. Sammy and Owen looked genuines scared. Finally the rhino moved off into the woods and we were free to go.

Back at the resort we sat through another naturalist talk, had dinner, and then went back to our cabin. Prior to visiting the resort, I had checked it out on tripadvisor.com, and while everyone gave it 5 stars, one reviewer mentioned that sometimes the cabin attracted unwanted visitors!

Of course I didn't tell any of the kids until after we left!