Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Driving down the Bhote Koshi canyon
Waking back across the suspension bridge from the Last Resort back to the town side of the river canyon. Then we drove about an hour south along the Bhote Koshi river until we hit the landslide and had to walk...
The Last Resort lounging
Turns out we had one free day at the Last Resort where we had nothing planned. We had the choice of doing a bungie or giant swing off the bridge down into the river canyon. Or canyoneering/rappelling down the waterfalls down the cliffs to the river or sitting and reading or massages.
We all choose our own paths. Robin and Rich went canyoneering, Scott and Dan lounged in the sun reading, I got a hot stone massage AND a facial :)
It was sunny and warm, prolly in the 70s - and beautiful.
We then spent the late afternoon, clearing the Last Resort bar out of all tequila and wine and playing card games unti dinner. I'm sure we were totally those "loud and obnoxious" Americans. Especially becuase one of the rules Dan made up in our game of @sshole, was when you completed a 4some you had to yell "Snakes on a motherf$#king plane". Classic. And drunk. We were.
We all choose our own paths. Robin and Rich went canyoneering, Scott and Dan lounged in the sun reading, I got a hot stone massage AND a facial :)
It was sunny and warm, prolly in the 70s - and beautiful.
We then spent the late afternoon, clearing the Last Resort bar out of all tequila and wine and playing card games unti dinner. I'm sure we were totally those "loud and obnoxious" Americans. Especially becuase one of the rules Dan made up in our game of @sshole, was when you completed a 4some you had to yell "Snakes on a motherf$#king plane". Classic. And drunk. We were.
Last Resort Bridge
This is the suspension bridge that leads to our hotel in Nepal - The Last Resort. The river below is the Bhote Koshi.
Kathmandu driving
We left the Kathmandu airport pretty much around 5 pm, prime rush hour traffic out of Kathmandu city proper. We thought once we got out of that madhouse we would be safe. WRONG. The driving and traffic and streets are crazier here than anywhere I have ever experienced. There are litterally hundreds of cars, mopeds, motorcycle and heavy construction vehicles sharing one to 1.5 to 2 lane roads. The basic strategy is pasing cars whenever possible in the other lane of traffic as fast as possible all the while flashing your headlights and horns to let the oncoming traffic know you're there, and then swerving back into your lane at the latest possible second. Or driving on super windy, curvey, 1.5 lane roads doing 40 mph around blind corners and giving a little honk in warning. After about 20 minute of this I just made it my job to stare out the side window, so if we died in a head on traffic collision at least my last sights would be scenic and not the grill of the monster dump truck bearing down on us.
We had a four hour ride north close to the Nepal/Tibet border to stay at the Last Resort, a nice place right on the Bhote Kosi river. For one last Himalayan rafting adventure.
By the time we got out of the city and to a roadside dinner stop it was close to 8 pm. And none of us had really eaten or drank anything most of the day. To say we were near delirious would be an understatement. The place our driver stopped was definitely a "locals" hangout. And we had all avoided any of food/water related stomach issues to this point, but this dinner stop looked like the end of that luck. So we ate lots of really spicy stuff and declined any water, instead opting for Beer, Beer and more Beer.
A water park along the road. "The Biggest Shiva statue in the world" on the hill overlooking it.
We had a four hour ride north close to the Nepal/Tibet border to stay at the Last Resort, a nice place right on the Bhote Kosi river. For one last Himalayan rafting adventure.
By the time we got out of the city and to a roadside dinner stop it was close to 8 pm. And none of us had really eaten or drank anything most of the day. To say we were near delirious would be an understatement. The place our driver stopped was definitely a "locals" hangout. And we had all avoided any of food/water related stomach issues to this point, but this dinner stop looked like the end of that luck. So we ate lots of really spicy stuff and declined any water, instead opting for Beer, Beer and more Beer.
A water park along the road. "The Biggest Shiva statue in the world" on the hill overlooking it.
Kathmandu curbside airport waiting
After all the delays of the day, it wasn't surprising that getting through purchasing travel visas and getting through customs in Nepal took some time.
We were expected in Kathmandu around 9:30am, and made it out to the arrivals area after 3pm. we were all skeptical that our arranged van to the Last Resort was going to still be there.... but totally lucked out, and someone was waiting for us. poor guy had been there waiting since 9:30am. it took another 45+ min waiting on the curb for the van to arrive to pick us up, but it was an enormous relief to know we didn't have to make alternate arrangements on our own.
Outside the airport in the arrivals area was insane and crazy. total 180° flip from where we had been. tons of people swarming, cops with whistles moving people to and fro, and cars honking horns circling, weaving, and being flagged down and ticketed by the traffic police.
We stood around and watched. wide eyed, exhausted, hungry and overwhelmed. This was not Bhutan.
We were expected in Kathmandu around 9:30am, and made it out to the arrivals area after 3pm. we were all skeptical that our arranged van to the Last Resort was going to still be there.... but totally lucked out, and someone was waiting for us. poor guy had been there waiting since 9:30am. it took another 45+ min waiting on the curb for the van to arrive to pick us up, but it was an enormous relief to know we didn't have to make alternate arrangements on our own.
Outside the airport in the arrivals area was insane and crazy. total 180° flip from where we had been. tons of people swarming, cops with whistles moving people to and fro, and cars honking horns circling, weaving, and being flagged down and ticketed by the traffic police.
We stood around and watched. wide eyed, exhausted, hungry and overwhelmed. This was not Bhutan.
Landing in Kathmandu
Once we dropped below the clouds, we got a view of the high plateaus / town / villages in Nepal... and the sprawl and smog hanging over the vast city of Kathmandu.
Coming from the sparsely populated and pristine moutain air of Bhutan, Nepal was already looking like a huge culture shock.
And apparently in Nepal, I was going by my tourist visa alias - Richel
Coming from the sparsely populated and pristine moutain air of Bhutan, Nepal was already looking like a huge culture shock.
And apparently in Nepal, I was going by my tourist visa alias - Richel
Bhutan Travel Itinerary
The towns we stayed in are highlighted in Green.
Our drive is in Red arrows.
Our trek is in dotted Blue arrow.
The rivers we rafted are highlighted in Pink.
Our flights are in dotted Red arrow.
We started the trip by flying into Paro.
Drove to Thimpu
Hiked to Punkha
Rafted Pho Chu and Mo Chu Rivers
Drove to Endocholing Palace
Rafted Mangde Chu
Drove to Bumthang/Jakar
Rafted Chamkha Chu
Flew from Bumthang/Jakar to Paro
Visit Tiger's Nest/Taktshang Monastery
Flew from Paro to Kathmandu
Our drive is in Red arrows.
Our trek is in dotted Blue arrow.
The rivers we rafted are highlighted in Pink.
Our flights are in dotted Red arrow.
We started the trip by flying into Paro.
Drove to Thimpu
Hiked to Punkha
Rafted Pho Chu and Mo Chu Rivers
Drove to Endocholing Palace
Rafted Mangde Chu
Drove to Bumthang/Jakar
Rafted Chamkha Chu
Flew from Bumthang/Jakar to Paro
Visit Tiger's Nest/Taktshang Monastery
Flew from Paro to Kathmandu
Everest
In an incredible stroke of luck we had completely and unbelievably clear weather over Everest. There was one tiny tiny cloud. So we spent 20 minutes in awe flying over the tallest mountain in the world and several other of the Top 5 highest mountains in the world. INCREDBILE!!!
Everest is the black triangle peak with the little cloud over it. The last picture in the set is a view of the southern Annapurna range.
Everest is the black triangle peak with the little cloud over it. The last picture in the set is a view of the southern Annapurna range.
En route from Paro to Kathmandu, Nepal
Our last view of the Bhutanese Himalayan giants on the Tibet and India borders..
Ready to board!
Four hours late, but at least we're leaving!!! Onto another country and another terminal who hopefully has food, as the only thing we've eaten today has been tea, a croissant, some chocolate and a bag of potatoe chips.
AND... waiting in the Paro airport
Our flight out of Bhutan was scheduled for 8:30am, so we made it through final security (with a few more souvenirs purchased with remaining cash) at around 8 am. And then we waited, and waited, and waited some more.. Apparently there was some kind of wind, or fog, or something in Kathmandu and we couldn't take off from Paro without the weather being clear to land in Kathmandu since the flight is only 1.5 hours long. That is what we guessed from ESP, as the flight attendants were nice enough, but not forthcoming in any sort of updates or information.
We had lots of entertainment - American basketball on the TV, more souvenir shopping in the 2 little shops, books, Robin and Scott playing cards, they even served us tea/coffee/croissants at one point. The thing we were really missing was food. We were stuck post-immigration security and the only food available to us in the little terminal was choclate, potatoe chips and a scary shrimp instant noodle box.
We had lots of entertainment - American basketball on the TV, more souvenir shopping in the 2 little shops, books, Robin and Scott playing cards, they even served us tea/coffee/croissants at one point. The thing we were really missing was food. We were stuck post-immigration security and the only food available to us in the little terminal was choclate, potatoe chips and a scary shrimp instant noodle box.
Paro Airport
We made our way to the airport, checked in, dropped off our bags, then had one last tea stop with our guides. Dan and the "blue Beast" - his bag was much larger than everyone's else because he had to bring alot of his kayaking gear with him on the trip... And, YES, that bag was as heavy as it looks!!
Last diner in Bhutan
It is crazy how fast 2 weeks can go by! But alas our trip is over, and we had a final dinner joined by our guide, Tshe tshe, and our Drive, Ashish. And of course the outside of the restaurant had the normal auspusicious Bhutanese sign!
Lunch and Dogs
We made it down from Tiger's Nest around 1 pm. And we were treated to our last picnic lunch in Bhutan, per usual a delicious assortment of hot rice and veggies and meat.
And also per usual, we were surrounded by dogs. Not begging, but just around in case you dropped any food, or felt like feeding them :)
A quick note here on the Dogs of Bhutan. They are EVERYWHERE! They are not necessarily owned by anyone, they don't wear collars, have names or are "walked". But they roam around everywhere and anywhere. There is definitely the mangey, scary dog or 2 out there, but generally they look really well feed and taken care and are really friendly. We definitely did alot of dog petting and made some friends :) They are introducing a program now in Bhutan where they are fxing the dogs to try to stem the size of the packs roaming around the Bhutan. And also I'm pretty sure these dogs are most active between 1-4 am, becuase that is when you hear them the most, having their own conversations at top volumne in packs of anywhere between 4-40. By night 3 I considered these middle of the night crazy dog barking frenzies as almost a Bhutanese Lullabye. The last picture of the dogs is a dog laying in the cooling ashes of a fire :)
And also per usual, we were surrounded by dogs. Not begging, but just around in case you dropped any food, or felt like feeding them :)
A quick note here on the Dogs of Bhutan. They are EVERYWHERE! They are not necessarily owned by anyone, they don't wear collars, have names or are "walked". But they roam around everywhere and anywhere. There is definitely the mangey, scary dog or 2 out there, but generally they look really well feed and taken care and are really friendly. We definitely did alot of dog petting and made some friends :) They are introducing a program now in Bhutan where they are fxing the dogs to try to stem the size of the packs roaming around the Bhutan. And also I'm pretty sure these dogs are most active between 1-4 am, becuase that is when you hear them the most, having their own conversations at top volumne in packs of anywhere between 4-40. By night 3 I considered these middle of the night crazy dog barking frenzies as almost a Bhutanese Lullabye. The last picture of the dogs is a dog laying in the cooling ashes of a fire :)
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