our first scenic stop

not far out of paro, we made our first stop to see a bridge over the river that leads up to a momentary. the original chains on the bridge date back to the 14th century... but the current surface is more wired together chain link fence. sturdy, but slippery. covered in prayer flags flapping in the wind over the rushing river. I definitely feel the overwhelming beauty of the place already. 

the gate house to the bridge was a shelter for travelers passing through before the big roads were put in in the 60's. it is a sturdy little building with elaborate paintings of the guru rimpoché (left), buddah (center), and the first king who United Bhutan (right). 

our trusty steed (Toyota van)

our guide and driver were waiting for us as we left the airport, and took us to our van for the trip. a really nice van, with plenty of space for all of us and our gear. 

arrived in Bhutan!

most of the flight from Thailand was fairly uneventful. we had a brief layover in India, and then continued on for only another 30-45min to paro. as we got closer, we were able to see some huge mountains poking up above the clouds, and the we began the descent below the clouds. the mountains surrounding the valley are steep, and we literally wove our way through the hills down to the single landing strip. it was a rush, and freaky being so close to the hills as we descended! 

stepping off the plane, the mountain air was crisp and fresh, and I was instantly overwhelmed at the awesomeness of being here. big smiles all around in our group. 

expedition queen of the selfies

traveling is part where you go, and part settling into the people you travel with. my specialty is proving to be the selfie queen! I have had loads of practice on this one.... and the kids are getting good at falling into position for documentation of our fabulous 5-some. ha. 

you'll be pleased to know we survived 1 night in bankgo without anyone going to jail, and no one got stopped at the border going out, and we made it onto the (right) and to Bhutan. all we need to do from here is get through immigration, and find our expedition guide... then we are done thinking and an bing, and someone else is responsible for our crazy crew for the next 2 weeks. may buddah give them the serenity to deal with this posse. ha. 

drukair (dragon air), royal airline of Bhutan. 

water taxi, pool and bedtime.

somehow we had the great fortune to get right onto the water taxi as it passed by, and made the same perfectly timed connection onto the boat back to the hotel. the breeze on the river was so nice after the sweaty streets of town, the light along the way had the same flair at night as all the glitter during the day. 

we made it back with just enough time to jump into the pool for a quick refreshing dip (ok, kinda chilly... but so nice), before we showered, packed and passed out for the night. all of us did such meticulous jobs of packing every inch of our duffle bags... that every time we need anything out of them, it is a wicked challenge to get them closed again. anticipating the duffle shuffle game is going to be a daily challenge for the next 3 weeks. ha. 

ex-pat central in the backpacker district.

the backpacker district was pretty much exactly what I expected to find in Bangkok. streets lined with booths selling every tee shirt, beaded necklace, and souvenir you can image, food carts offering endless types of meat on a stick,  and bars full of travelers from all over the world. 

the main drag was interesting to walk once, but in general, the kind of place catered to tourists that I'm not terribly fond of. as we veered off onto some of the other streets, the restaurants and bars were more quaint, and eventually we settled in to get dinner... and more beverages. 

our chosen restaurant had a big fat buddah, and i took that as a sign the the food would be delicious and plentiful. ;)

the food was delicious and spicy (dan cried a little from his chili lime sauce), beers were plentiful... and we topped it off with a pitcher of frozen mango daiquiri to give us the energy to motivate from that spot. 

it was a super fun day in Bangkok, and we could have easily crossed the line of getting out party on... but made the wise decision to make our way back to the hotel to pack. we had to leave for tb airport at 6am to catch our flight to Bhutan, and everyone was wiped out and jetlagged. we walked back to the water taxi lamenting if only we had one more day in Bangkok. just one (don't think I could do more). 

ditch the old ladies.

our cab driver was super amusing (aided by beers in dehydrated empty stomach and everyone being jetlagged). dan, scott, rachel and I were piled in the backseat, while rich had a bit more comfortable of a shotgun experience this time. the driver decide that we were all couples in the backseat, and rich was the lone single man in the party. this lead to not so subtle suggestions of trying to hook him up with nice looking Thai women. he decided that rachel and I were too old, and in need of replacement... and he could help them out with that. there were even brochures and pictures involved. he was eagerly waiting for any of the guys to indicate they were interested.... and he was ready to redirect the ride in a better direction. 

as "tempting" as the offers sounded... we held strong between giggles, and eventually arrived in the backpacker district. 

off to the next mystery destination

with some necessary snack and beverages in our bellies, it was time to move on... but where to? with only 1 day in Bangkok, none of us really did any research to plan any sightseeing. I literally googled "10 things to do in Bangkok in 1 day" the previous morning in Hong Kong. we opened up that page, and chose on a whim. we decided to goto the "soi rambuttri" neighborhood. it was back towards the river, and described as the backpacker-style neighborhood with a plethora of places to eat and drink. just our style. 

the 5 of us piled into a pink cab, and were off. this time we had an idea of a destination, but the ride was no less amusing. 

tuk tuk ride to who knows where

even though we were in two tuk tues and far less squished, it was no less exciting of a ride weaving around streets and highways, having NO IDEA where we were being taken. 

the drivers finally pulled off into a non-descript parking lot near the highway in front of what appeared to be a fancy seafood restaurant. we paid the drivers, and were ushered by a welcoming man into an empty restaurant and seated at a big round table. definitely not what we expected (we had a patio bar along the river in mind), but they had food and drink we were badly in need of! I am guessing my charade of river to the drivers equated to "seafood". lol. at least they got the food and drink part right. 

embracing where we found ourselves, we ordered a round of beers, water, and some veggies rolls to munch on. I won't lie, it was weird and unexpected, but totally hit the spot. ha. 

up to the golden mount

once we were able to untangle ourselves, extricate from the tuk tuk, and recovered from the giggles as the driver proclaimed "one night in Bangkok..." then drove away, we start up to the golden mount. 

the stairs wound around and ascended up, amongst statues, fountains, bells and a giant gong. the higher we rose, the more the breeze picked up and we had 360° views of the city. Bangkok is a lot more expansive that I imagined, and the lavish Wats and official buildings are mingled with lush greenery, housing and shops. a really vibrant city. 

the inside of the golden mount was simple and subdued compared to the golden buddah grounds, but the buddah figures were still shiny and full of lush colors. I love the bright mix of colors and bling! 

wandering around, looking for refreshments

after coming down from the mount, we were definitely ready for a refreshing beverage... so we set off to wander the streets a little in search of a place to take a little rest. 

it was fascinating to walk the non-tourist neighborhoods, and see people going  about their Tuesday. 

the neighborhoods seemed to be sorted by specialty. we walked several blocks (ducking under low hanging clumps of power lines) Lined by woodworking mills, then came the furniture stores, zigzagged over a few canals, and all the stores had ladies underwear, tarps or men's clothing (mostly camo prints). the farther we walked, we were all surprised that we didn't come upon any kind of little cafe or eating establishment to grab a beer. 

we got to the Boabe market, which looked like a lot of clothing, and further down fruits/veggies, but it was all being packed up for the day. by this time, we were starting to get loopy thirsty... so we decided to try our luck again in the tuk tuks. 

no one seemed excited to take 5 of us, so we negotiated to have two follow each other. after a lot of pointing at maps, and sign language (animated charades) indicating eat, drink and by the river... the drivers settled on "something" (what it was was a mystery to us), but we jumped In and went along for the adventure..... 

how many big white people fit in a tuk tuk?

when we were ready to leave the reclining buddah, we decided to venture to the golden mount. due to the heat, and only having limited time... we decided to take a tuk tuk to get there. after dan did some quick negotiating, we found one willing to take all 5 of us at the same time. dan, rachel and I squished on the 2-person seat, scott was sideways across the back, and rich rode shot-gun, basically hugging the driver on one side, with a leg hanging out the other. ur was a sight to be seen. 

our driver wasn't phased a bit by the crazy tourists, and took off weaving I. and out of traffic through Bangkok. we were definitely weighted airtime heavy on the right side, so we all did a lite bit of a high-side maneuver around corners. it was one of the most hilarious rides through a big city I have ever taken.   

I took a fun hyperlapse video en route (check it out on facebook)