Inconvenience Regretted

One of the hardest working people in Bhutan has to be the individual responsible for the pithy public service announcement billboards on the highway between Paro and Thimphu.  Most are in couplet form and most attempt to rhyme (but don’t always succeed).  I noticed the following:

Eager to Last / Then Why Fast

Let’s Go Green / To Get Our Globe Clean

Enemies of the Road / Liquor, Speed and Load

Some don’t really work:

Don’t Litter / It Will Make Your Life Better

Pleasure Only / If You Drive with Leisure

Some don’t even attempt to rhyme:

If You Are Married / Divorce Speed

Driving and Drinking / A Fatal Cocktail

And one didn’t even make sense:

Self Trust / Is the Essence of Heroism

There was a different sign that I enjoyed most of all.  In areas of road construction, there was a simple sign saying “Inconvenience Regretted.”  I don’t why, but I loved it.  I want to make a replica and hang it in my office.

A sincere message from the Bhutanese Transportation Authority, and from me as well.

And driving around Bhutan, there are some inconveniences.  From Thimphu to Punakha on Bhutan’s National Highway is about 50 miles.  The drive takes 3 hours.  It’s through breathtaking mountain scenery, so I seriously did not mind, but they are in the midst of a multi-year project to widen the road from its current 1/1.5 lanes to 2.  And forget shoulders.  There are rarely guardrails, even though you could be looking down at a 250 foot drop.  Because there are no highways that can serve as detour routes, they’re widening the road as you drive along, and you frequently have to wait for the heavy equipment to get out of the way.  In some places there’s no heavy equipment, just people (men and occasionally women) using pickaxes.  In other places, the road is a muddy mess.  I’m no expert, but I can’t recommend driving on this road during the summer monsoon season or inclement weather.

Pausing while they work to widen the road between Thimphu and Punakha.

Bhutan on $270/Day

One of the most unique aspects of visiting Bhutan is what it takes to get here.  You have to pay a set fee for every day you’re in the country.  At this time of year (high season), it’s $230, or $270 for the solo traveler.  That sounds like a lot of money, and I don’t deny that it is.  But you get a lot for that money.  My $270/day paid for a driver, tour guide, hotel, food (but not drink) and entrance fees to historical sites.  You can pay more to stay at nicer hotels.  For example, my accommodations were probably slightly below the level of an American Motel 6, though they each had a restaurant.  I doubt that more than $40 of my $270 daily fee went to the hotels.  You can pay as much as $1,000 a night at luxury hotels like the Aman chain, which has several locations near the most popular Bhutanese tourist destinations.  But the day I pay $1000 for a night in a hotel is the day … well, that’s just not going to happen.

And it is mandatory to have a driver and tour guide.  Non-Indian or Bangladeshi citizens cannot be unaccompanied.  I’m not sure whether this is a jobs program for the local citizenry, a way to prevent Westerners from harming the natural environment or the local culture, or simply a way to price Bhutan out of range for the $20/day backpackers you find throughout Southeast Asia.

I would add that Bhutan is particularly good for the solo traveler.  For example, 2 people traveling together would pay $460/day for the same driver, tour guide, and hotel room (though obviously they’d get more food!).  Double that for a family of 4.  For the solo traveler, $270/day is a relative bargain. 

The daily $270 fee covers a lot, but if you want this dried fish from India at the Thimphu Weekend Market, you'll have to pay extra.

And while I’m not really qualified to comment, I think Bhutan should be a good destination for female solo travelers.  I have met several along the way.  Bhutan has a surprisingly large police presence in the cities (another jobs program perhaps?) and the crime rate is very low.

How I Met Your Queen Mother

On Day 2 in country, I made my way to Dochu La Pass (approx. elevation 10,000 feet).  I left my guide for about 30 minutes to explore.  There’s a monument to Bhutanese soldiers lost in battling Indian extremists who were seeking refuge in Bhutan in the early 2000s.  There’s also a new temple atop a hill.  I walked up towards the temple and came to a wide set of stairs.  There were a few monks burning incense and some civil servants looking on.  I thought this was a little strange, but no one said anything to me, so I started climbing the 30-40 stairs.

I was almost at the top when I heard someone yelling at me.  I looked down and one of the civil servants was pointing at me and then pointing at the bottom of the stairs.  I turned around and got down as quickly as I could.  He told me that they were expecting the Queen Mother shortly and asked me to please wait to the side.

Before I continue, first a word about the Bhutanese royal family.  About 10 years ago, the king (who, by all accounts, was revered) decided that Bhutan should become a democracy.  And rather than being a formerly all-powerful king sitting around while there's a newly empowered parliament, the middle-aged king decided to abdicate the throne to his son.  The son and his wife (who happen to be perhaps the most photogenic royal couple in the world) now operate in roles akin to the British royal family.

A giant poster of the smiling young current royal couple greets you upon deplaning.

The current king’s mother (and obviously, the former queen) is about 50 years old.  She’s one of the former king’s 4 wives, all sisters.  (I smell a reality show …)  Unsure of all of the royal protocols, I now awaited her arrival with the handful of monks and civil servants.  I was not dressed as appropriately as I would like for an audience with royalty, but I removed my sunglasses and put my hands behind my back.

I was asked to move once more and then the motorcade approached.  First came an Army jeep with several soldiers.  Then came the Queen Mother’s car (license plate: “Bhutan 5”).  Finally came another vehicle driven by a soldier and a camera crew jumped out.  The Queen Mother’s car door was about 10 feet away from me.  I was the only tourist there with these monks and officials.  I could see she was on her phone and then one of the soldiers asked me to move another 5 feet away.  I did and she exited her car wearing an elegant kira (the Bhutanese dress).  She looked right at me, smiled, and said something.  I couldn’t understand what she said, but I didn’t think I should approach her to shake her hand or ask for a selfie, so I just smiled, nodded, and bowed my head.  She turned and went up the stairs.  I snapped a photo when I was sure that no one in her retinue was looking.

The Queen Mother and her retinue after our meeting.

I waited about 5 minutes and then went up the stairs myself.  There was a red carpet laid out for the Queen Mother and I decided I probably shouldn’t step on it, so I stepped over it.  I could not enter the temple during her visit, so I walked around, and saw some staff setting up tea service behind the temple.  I then walked down, found my amazed guide, and told him that the Queen Mother had just said something to me.  He told me that the temple I was visiting had been built by her for the protection and health of her son, the king.  And since my moment was caught by the camera crew, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was in the background on the Bhutanese Evening News.

The Boy Monk and the Videogame

I’ve wanted to go to Bhutan for a long time, and it’s the main stop on my 2015 vacation (a/k/a “The Lengths to Which I Will Go to Get Away from Work E-mail”).  Why Bhutan?  It’s “The Last Shangri-la,” the Land of the Thunder Dragon, and a mystical Bhuddist kingdom in the Himalayas (pop. 700,000) where the government promotes Gross National Happiness as a better measurement than Gross National Product.  And it’s a place that was never colonized, didn’t introduce currency until 1970, television until 1999, and only in recent decades has opened up to the outside world.  But change is here.  Spend some time in the capital Thimphu and it seems almost everyone has a car now.  In a way, there’s a certain urgency to visiting Bhutan.  Visit now, people say, before it changes forever. 

On my first day in country, my guide took me to the massive dzong (fortress) in Thimphu.  In modern times, dzongs form a dual function as both the home of the regional government and centers of monastic life.  There are certain areas that are off-limits to visitors and others that you cannot photograph.  One of the latter is the assembly hall or “throne room” where there are thrones for the king, his father, and the chief abbot (sort of the pope of Bhutanese Buddhism).  Behind the thrones are massive gold statutes of Buddha and various figures from Bhutanese history and Buddhist tradition.  Along the walls are more statues and colorful paintings from the life of Buddha.  The roof and pillars contain intricate patterns and engravings.  

In the room itself, the only souls present were my guide, myself, and a young monk who looked as though he might be 10 years old.  He wore the red monastic robe, had a shaved head, and was playing a videogame on his phone. 

So there, in one of the inner sanctums of Bhutanese tradition, was evidence that yes, Bhutan has changed.

The courtyard and some of the buildings inside the dzong (fortress) in Thimphu.

Frankly, I wasn't happy to see modernity in this ancient place.  But was I too judgmental?  To live, if done properly, is to change.  I’ve never been one to fear change.  It is a fact of life.  And the tourist’s interests may be at odds with the local population.  Take Cuba as an example.  I’ve heard plenty of people in the last 6 months say they need to go to Cuba before it changes.  By all means, go.  But don’t lament the fact that Cuba is changing.  Yes, some old buildings in Havana will be torn down for Marriotts and McDonald’s, and the 60-year old Chevys may get replaced by Mazdas.  But what is charming and picturesque to the tourist may be depressing and backwards for the person who has to live there 24/7/365.  You try spending your life in a building that’s falling apart or depending on a 1958 automobile for your daily transportation.

So, back to the boy monk.  The Bhutan I’m seeing this week is, for the moment, retaining its traditions.  About half of the people still wear traditional dress and the government is working overtime to promote traditional culture.  The architecture, the temples, the food, the friendliness, the mystical beliefs -- they're all still here.  Should we begrudge the kid his videogame?  I can’t really.  Kids like videogames.  But I do fear that in that moment I saw the future.  Maybe it’s generations off, but it’s hard to imagine this culture retaining its incredible uniqueness forever.  Western culture has a pretty much undefeated record so far.  And as much as I believe in change and progress, we don’t want a world where everyone is the same.  For now, Bhutan is blessedly a nation where maybe nobody knows who the Kardashians are.  I hope that never changes and that our two disparate cultures find a way to co-exist.  It could happen.  Bhutan is trying.

Proof That There Are Too Many Celebrities

On my way home, I stopped at the Hudson's (it's Australian for "Starbucks") at the Brisbane Airport and realized I was standing in line next to reality TV personality Kendra Wilkinson.  I wasn't positive until the barista asked for her name and her dad answered with "Wilkinson."  By the time we got to our gate, people started to figure it out.  If I appear in any tabloid photos, know that my presence in those photos was just a coincidence.

This year alone, I have walked past Al Roker and later Joy Behar on the same day in different cities, sat on a plane directly behind Hulk Hogan, rode in an elevator with Sheryl Crow's band, and seen NBA players and coaches from multiple teams at a hotel I lived in for 4 weeks.  And I didn't even spend any time in L.A. or N.Y. this year.  When the celebrity to normal person ratio is getting this high, there are clearly too many celebrities.

And on that note, this year's Big Trip comes to a close.

Cairns & the Reef

My trip ended in Cairns, Queensland, Australia -- the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and a popular tourist destination.  It's just a hop, skip, and a jump from New Guinea, and you can't go all the way to New Guinea and not see the Reef.  I only had 2 full days here, so apart from the obvious trip to the Reef, I chose to spend my other day rafting on the Tully River.  Most visitors choose a side-trip to Kuranda via a scenic railway and/or cable car that offers views of Australia's tropical rainforest.  Since I had seen plenty of rainforest in New Guinea (and in Ecuador last year), I opted out.

This entry will be brief because there isn't too much to say.  There are plenty of tour operators that will take you out to the Reef and offer snorkeling, scuba, and semi-submersible options.  Rafting the Tully was even more fun, but this brings me to my one tip: if you're coming to Cairns, you're in north-eastern Australia and it gets hot up here, particularly this time of year.  The temperature gauge was in the low 30s C/low 90s F, but with the humidity and the more direct rays from the sun, it easily felt over 100 F.  It was worst-sunburn-of-my-adult-life hot (which is more my fault than Cairns' fault), but if you have a choice, you'll probably want to visit during the Southern Hemisphere's winter, even though hotel prices will be higher than I found this week.  (The already expensive Australian food and tour prices are probably the same all year round.)

Obligatory Reef Photo #1

Obligatory Reef Photo #2

Miscellaneous Travel Tips for Papua New Guinea

1.  Western doctors will recommend you take anti-malaria medication unless you are only travelling in the Highlands.  I was a little skittish about the prospect, because I heard the drugs can cause nausea and -- get this -- nightmares.  Plus, I was only going to be in the country for 3.5 days.  Anyway, I thought I had better be safe than sorry, so although I did not have a chance to visit the Travel Clinic at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago in the few days I had at home before the trip, I made an appointment with a Travel Doctor clinic in Sydney before I even left the States.

The helpful doctor gave me some PNG travel tips and basically left the decision up to me: 1) I could take nothing; 2) I could take a drug called Malarone the night before my trip to PNG, each night during my stay, and one night afterwards, or 3) I could take a different, less expensive drug for 40 days.  I chose the Malarone and did not notice any side effects.  The doctor's visit and the pills cost $71 AUS, or about $60 US.  (On a side note, the Australian dollar is at a 4-year low right now against the US dollar, and it helps, because Australia is a very expensive country to visit.)

2.  Americans (and several other nationalities) can apply for a (free) visa at a PNG embassy, but really, all you need to do is show up at the airport in Port Moresby.  Australians, on the other hand, have some rigamarole to go through.  I don’t fully understand the situation, but it seems Australia requires visitors from PNG to go through several hoops before entering the country.  In retaliation, PNG requires the same now of Australians (despite the close economic, historical, and social ties between the neighbors).  I was told in Australia to be sure to sit toward the front of my plane because I would face a long line at customs in Port Moresby.

In fact, I sat in the middle of the plane, sauntered off, got into the terminal and saw a long line of Aussies in front of me.  Then I walked over to the lonely person at the “Visa on Arrival” desk, waved my US passport, and got my visa in about 90 seconds.  I felt a little badly for all the Australians watching me enviously, but not too badly.

3.  I saw some contradictory information on-line about this, so in case anyone comes here wondering, Americans do not need to bring passport photos for the visa.  I brought some new ones along, but found out that they would only be needed if, for some reason, I had applied through an embassy.  You don't need them at the Port Moresby airport -- they simply stick the visa onto a blank page in your passport.  

4.  If you're flying on Air Niugini -- and you probably are -- I have a few observations.  The surprising good news was that on my flight from Brisbane to Port Moresby, I had a selection of about 25 films to watch on a tablet-like device attached to the back of the seat in front of me.  Airlines in the US really need to get with the program.

On my exit, there were about 100 passengers on an almost completely full flight leaving tiny Madang for Port Moresby at 6:30 on a Saturday morning.  Since there are only a couple of flights leaving that airport every day, I thought there would be no need to get there too early.  I arrived at 5:30 and found most of those 100 people in front of me.  All luggage is screened by hand -- not by machine.  The plane departed 15 minutes late simply because of how long it took to process everyone.  A picture of the "departure lounge" in Madang is below.

All luggage is screened by hand at the table underneath the Hertz sign at the entrance to the Madang airport.

5.  The mask and figurines I purchased at PNG Arts in Port Moresby (and referenced in my earlier post), had to be inspected by Australian customs upon my entrance into the country, because they were made of wood.  I was warned at PNG Arts that this would happen, but after making me unwrap the packaging, the Aussie customs official saw no problem with the items.  And, while I'm on the topic, here's a photo of the 2-foot long mask, bought for about $16 US.