Lullanotes

My friend, Greta and I intended fully to go Greece this year and bask in the warmth of the Santorini sun and hot greek males. We were talking about it for months but yet in a single night, our plan took a drastic change and we are now headed for Bhutan.

In my impression, Bhutan is this country which has a visitor quota and that makes it incredibly expensive to travel there but it must have been a misconception or it had opened up its policy in recent years because you can now travel to Bhutan as long as you meet certain criteria such as spending a minimum amount in Bhutan per day.

The one thing that I realize at my age is that it is hard to find travel partners. A lot of my friends are married, some with kids and others have their boyfriends and the scant few who are free to travel want to go somewhere else that you don't want to go or had already been so I learnt to grab opportunities when the right travel partner comes along. Also, big cities with glittering neon lights are nice but having travelled to four of them last year, I crave for a getaway that has no shopping temptations and to find a little peace and quiet within myself. The mention of 'Bhutan' could not have come at a more opportune time.

Tiger's Nest, Bhutan (awesome picture stolen from here)
I'm just marvelling about how everything seems to fall into the right place at the right time. Last year, I read about Baratunde Thurston's great disconnect and the seed to do the same took root in a corner of my mind. I wanted to go somewhere and leave things behind but I didn't know where to go and when is a good time to go. Now that the subject of Bhutan came up, the seed started sprouting. What better place is there to breathe in fresh air, go back in time to the simple life and share the happiness that Bhutanese do? I am born Taoist but am a Buddhist by belief so I've always wanted to experience such a cultural and spiritual place. My first thought was Tibet but seeing how my friend had to fly back on the 2nd day of her trip due to altitude sickness, I was hesitant to commit. Bhutan is of a lower elevation than Tibet and according to the tour guide, it is at a level which is comfortable enough for most visitors not to suffer prolonged effects. I also imagined snapping great pictures of Bhutan. I cannot call myself an amateur photographer but there is a sense of gratification in having taken beautiful pictures. When they come out nice, it makes me happy so Bhutan is a good place to indulge my trigger happy fingers. The time period I am going coincides with the Talo and Paro Tsechu festivals so there will be plenty of photo opportunities. Tell me, given all the reasons above, does it not seem like a calling?

We are making our initial deposit tomorrow at the tour agency then we can start to be properly excited for the next 2 over months!