theboonedoggle

Kuzu-zam-pola! For those of you who have never heard of this country (it's easy to miss), Bhutan is a small kingdom east of Nepal between China and India. Most notably, it's known for the use of "Gross National Happiness" to measure its development. We have always heard great things about this place but seriously considered not going when we found out that the government charges tourists a flat fee of $200 (low season) to $250 (high season) per person per night. While this includes very nice hotels, food, tour guide and a full tour itinerary, 5 days in Bhutan is the equivalent of 3 months in South East Asia when you add on the $350 round trip flight on Druk Air (the only airline allowed to fly into the country). In the end we decided to go for a few days to see what all the fuss was about. Initially, our trip started off splendidly as our flight got canceled due to a cyclone going through India. Druk Air got everyone a room at Hotel De'l Annapurna which is one of ...

Hi everyone! We just finished a gruelling 16 days of trekking around the Annapurnas in the Nepali Himalayas. In that time we walked over 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) and reached elevations of 5,500 meters (almost 18,000 feet). We're tired, we're sore, we're skinny... and we are happy. We arrived in Nepal on the 5th of May and spent one very short night in Kathmandu getting situated and supplied for our two week trek. The thamel district in the city is the tourist spot and has just about anything a trekker or climber would want - thousands of little shops selling North Face knock offs for next to nothing! The first hour in the city was pretty hectic as we tried to get used to the constant honking, packed streets, and walking in a single line as close to buildings as possible to avoid getting run over by cars - all this while stepping over animal (and sometimes human) poo. Aghhh Nepal. But before you cringe, I have to say, there is something magical about Nepal because...

Well, two months have flown by pretty quickly and we are off to Kathmandu, Nepal this weekend. We start off our trip there with a 3 week trek along the Anapurna circuit. Not sure when we will have a chance to post next but stay tuned. Here are some more Africa pics......enjoy. T&T http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021082&id=1081248185&l=cf3f9a662d http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021043&id=1081248185&l=c4fad9f7a3