Bhutan....Let the Flags fly

I am here in Bhutan. What an amazing place. It just feels serene. The International airport, is a small strip, not many planes a day. When we came in off the plane, into immigration, there were 6 lines. One for dignitaries, 5 for everyone else. I chose one, and que'd up. As I was reading the various signs on the wall, the one that caught my eye was that you can only bring 200 cigarettes into the country. I think that is a carton. If you bring more, OR do not declare it, you are considered smuggling. You will be arrested. I already love this place.
I was met by my guide, Sherab. (think Cherub) and driver, Nathan. So nice, so sweet! Off to the hotel, for tea and reception. (Get used to the tea. Pretty much every time you are in a spot for more than 10 minutes, you are offered tea). My only concern is that I am on this tour alone. Their English is good, it would be nice to have someone to ooh and ahh with.  They must find me quite lacking in the vocabulary department, I must have said "wow" at least 100 times today. The scenery is jaw dropping.
My room is quite simple. Lighting is not so good, I imagine it will be quite dark soon. They insisted on having the heater on as it gets quite chilly at night. Hmm...I am the girl who turns the heater off at night in the dead of winter in Missouri. I am thrilled to be in 50 degree day weather, and the 30's at night is not so bad. Simplicity is the key, very like Nepal, without the lack of electricity. And hot water needs to be turned on 45 minutes before you wish to use it. I can do this. Easy. 
One thing this trip has given me, is the absolute knowledge that less is more. With so many deaths, I have accumulated a lot of stuff. I do not need it. One more time I have the incentive to purge and simplify. Can you say eBay? Garage Sale? But I digress....
We went into Paro town, only 25 years old~the town, not the city, and had lunch. An excellent meal of red rice, chiles with cheese (both staples here) steamed vegies, some not so great meat and sausage, chicken curry....must have been 8 dishes. Almost all wonderful. I have found on this trip that when I have ventured to meat, it is the pork and poultry that I am eating. Not much pork here, and they do not fish...it is a Buddhist country so one must not take a life (fishing does tend to kill the fish). There is no slaughtering of animals here. If your cow dies, you can eat it. You can use it's milk. Haven't asked about the chickens' eggs yet. So meat is imported from India. (cow? from India???ok, really confused now...must be yak or water buffalo) That is enough to keep me vegetarian here. Not a bad way to live in general.....
We then went to one of the Dzongs in Paro. Gorgeous. I am going to attempt to post pictures, the signal is not very strong. We went inside the temple. No pictures allowed. So here is what I saw.
Amazing Gorgeous Beautiful Victory flags. Somehow I will get a photo of some of these. And young monks in red robes praying. And in those robes were cell phones. And yes, they were periodically checking them. Technology, meet Buddhism.
We drove on to a fortress that we could not access, there was an earthquake here last year and some things are still in disrepair. On the way, Sherab pointed out the "Tiger's Nest". Nestled on a cliff, Guru Rinpoche was brought here on the back of a Tiger and built the monastery. It literally sits on the ledge of a cliff. Accessible only by hiking I was then informed that we would be climbing to it in one week. Hah! I said! And he said, yes you will. OK, One week should have me able to breathe at this altitude without wheezing....
Ok, so my pictures are taking but when I insert the memory card, they are not transferring on to the computer. Gonna figure this out, and hopefully have pix soon.

Hua Hin...Tigers and Elephants...

What an amazing 2 days I have had. 
Yesterday, I took a 6 hour round trip to the Tiger Temple. My driver, Jack (!), also thought it a good idea to see the National Cemetery where the soldiers and airmen from countries other than Thailand were laid to rest following their imprisonment and servitude building the railroad from Thailand to Burma, and the Bridge on the Kwai River. Then, we went to see the Bridge. I could not help by smile as I heard my dad hum/singing the theme to the movie. He so loved that music!
Then it was off to the Tiger temple. This place was originally a temple where the monks who lived here took in orphaned tigers who's parents were killed by poachers for their fur. Tigers are raised here now. It is unknown for certain if they are drugged, certainly, from what I saw and did, they are not mistreated! I played with the babies, 6 weeks to 12 weeks, and bathed, fed and exercised the older ones, 1-2 years. It was amazing. I will not forget that experience...ever.....
Today I went to the Hutsadin Elephant Sanctuary. There are 6 elephants that live here, ranging in age from 3 1/2 years to 86 years. The oldest was most likely used in building the Death Railway. These amazing creatures are rescued. Some are abandoned here, some brought by owners who can no longer care for them, and for 2 the money was raised to buy them from places they were being mistreated. Yes, you can ride them to see the property. Yes, there is a "baby elephant show". And then there are the animals themselves and the volunteers who love them. 
There are only 6. It is very expensive. They are so well cared for, and nursed back to health. Amazing.
I am here one more full day. My head is already spinning about going home. I struggle to just be here, in the moment. For the most part, I am successful. 
I have learned much about relationships. My relationships and how I view them. Some, are completely unconditional. Those I know are reciprocal, and loving. Some, not so much. All of this has to do with how I feel about the person, not blaming them for communication or lack thereof....It is all an adventure. I have been a loner most of my life, sitting back and watching. As a wise woman once taught me, I do not have to fight every battle, pick one that I can devote myself to and learn from it. I do not have to have every relationship. I will pick those that nurture me, and then in turn, nurture them.
Gonna try for a photo upload or two....

Hua Hin

My last stop, with the exception of one night in Bangkok, in Thailand. I am in Hua Hin, a beach resort in the south. I am on the Gulf of Thailand. I got here after a 4 hour drive from Pattaya. Smooth sailing. So much easier than an airport, baggage, and the whole check in get on get out of an airport. This is an older resort property, really lovely with lounging chairs everywhere. I decided to go get a pedi, finally, and walked to the mall. Went into the first massage/pedi place I came across and had an absolutely wonderful 3 hour dry (!) pedi followed by a massage. So awesome. And finally, my toe does not feel broken. I can actually walk. I walked the mall, had some soup and came back to blog, unpack and do a bit of research on the places I want to see.
Hutsadin Elephant Foundation is one. The Tiger temple is another. The elephants are close, the tigers are far. I will check with the hotel about transportation tomorrow. I am done shopping, Not much else I want, or have room for. Plus, there is a bit of room still left in my luggage for Bhutan.
I am alone on this leg. No meetings in this town. Lots of time to journal and to read and to just be. That is what I need, to just be. Not need, want.
My mind is starting to swirl with a to do list for when I get home. I consciously turn it off, and it starts again. This is a spa, and I purposely booked the spa option. Time for a massage, treatment and a good, old fashioned pampering!

Bangkok....

Still in Bangkok. I have not been out much, this intestinal bug wipes me out and keeps me from being as much of an explorer as I would like to be. Amazing what a little protozoa can do!
I have been gone 53 days. I left on Christmas Eve, and it is past Valentines day now. I miss my kids so much!!! I miss the creature comforts of home (would that be my dogs?) and I really miss my bed. Traveling has it's own routine, mostly that there is none. I am more than half way through this journey, and if it is answers I am looking for, I still do not know the questions.
I do know this, it is time for me to move on. Funny to think that as my last paragraph is how I want the familiarity of home. I have some concerns about my kids. Jacob has found that in order to do what he just did 4 years of school to do, he has to do about 4 more. Len really wants to go back to school, not sure for what. I want them to have a home base, and I want to leave the one they are in. We have some decisions to make. Wherever I go, there will always be a place for them.
LA - the house is big. We can set up rooms for them easily. I am not thrilled about living there for an extended time, I cannot imagine they would be.
Missouri - the house is really big. For one of them, I well know, it is a lot of work and responsibility. It is their home!
School - Len will most likely take this option. Not that much different that what happened to me. Right before I went to college, our house burned down. So, I came back to a place that was not my room. Eventually, it was the same building location, but not the house I grew up in. Jacob could go back to school as well,
I am just now seeing that this particular blog has become more of a journal entry. Welcome to my head......
Hawaii - my favorite option. It's happen. I will get there. Just gotta sell a house. Maybe Jacob will go there before me!

OK back to Bangkok.....
So today we will venture out to a noon meeting. We have some kind of directions, and hopefully can get there. We would also like to take a long tail boat ride, and hopefully, if our health allows, go to the flower market tonight. So much to see.....And we need to go to one of the temples. My preference is NOT the grand Palace...Too much clothing required! But Elizabeth has not seen any, and she is here, she should see something!!!!

Dammit, I am going to will myself well.....hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

a short update

So glad to be out of Bangladesh.
The forum was amazing....I could go on forever with stories and photos and thoughts and impressions.....it was amazing. And I will write about it when I get the time, internet connection and photos loaded. 
Bangladesh, not so much. Out of the 50 or so participants, at least half got sick. Some sort of food poisoning/bug/nastiness. The only common denominator was the hotel. No one knows for certain, and those who thought they had missed it, didn't. And like those attending the forum, this bug likes to "keep coming back". I am not a medical person, so I have no idea what to call it, other than NASTY!
I left Bangladesh, and its nice little weight loss program, 3 days early, and am in Bangkok. Staying at the Marriott, loving the cleanliness, and the modern toilets. Had a fabulous Thai massage today, 1 hour, 120 baht, gave her 200...she was worth so much more! (That amounts to about 6 dollars. Maybe 7.) Those are the photos to post. The massage school is in a wat (temple) next to the river. The mats are laid out on marble, about 20 of them, and the ceilings are painted murals. It is open air, and absolutely wonderful. I just may have to go back for the 2 hour version.....
Off to explore. I am traveling with my new friend Elizabeth and we are, as she says, giddy as school girls to be out of Dhaka!!!!

Bangladesh

Welcome to Bangladesh! I have been here 3 days. The first day was a bit rough- Dhaka is a city of over 20 million. (yes, Million) people. Thank you William for paying the guy to get us through customs. We got through so fast, we beat our luggage! Then, my ATM card would not work. Tried a few times, (why I thought trying over and over would work...hmmm). Later that night I heard a story of how a friends card was eaten by the ATM. He spent several hours at the bank, and actually got his card back. I doubt that would happen twice!!!!
Anyway, we were picked up at the airport with a huge smile and a van. The host committee at the APF is super efficient. We got to the hotel, checked in, and I took a flying fall across the lobby. Missed a step. I was so tired, so done with crowds and dirt and honking horns....my ego and my knee were bruised, and I really thought I had broken my toe. (It is better today, almost pain free.)
The Asian Pacific Forum is wonderful. Twenty countries, and (yay for me) Bhutan is here for the first time. So I have been able to talk to them and make, or attempt to make, a plan for the last destination. 
To be in a room with members from Bangladesh, Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, India, Maldives, Philippines, Pakistan, Japan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Hawaii, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore,  Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, and I am sure I have left a few out! All discussing how to best carry the message, and help NA grow in all countries. It is so refreshing to hear people discuss how to reach suffering addict instead of hours of policy changes and what "they" did and what "we" didn't get. Right now we are hearing about how the emerging NA communities started and are continuing to grow. 

Last night we went to a meeting of the local fellowship. Held in a school, maybe middle school, with very small desks. We are not all very small people. The universal laughter was contagious. We were not laughing at some one, we were laughing at ourselves, with each other. And there we were. Many different languages. All wanting the best for each other. One thing. That we could learn a new way of life.
Beautiful.
Life is good!

Pohkara

What an amazing day.
I woke up, walked out of my room, looked to my right and saw what the clouds had made obscure yesterday. The Himalaya's. Annapurna was there, Everest is to the east, too far from here to see. S'ok. Annapurna, amazing.
We got a driver and went up to the Peace Monastery. What a walk! What a drive! What a view. Again, the air, the view, the amazing energy of the mountains and the people. I am in awe. I would like to post photos, however, the internet here is slow, and it takes a long time. I will get them posted soon.
And then, there was the meeting.
Grateful. Went to a meeting in Pohkara today. We got a bit lost in our car. As the driver got out to ask, I looked at the buildings across the street and saw a blue sign that read "Narcotics Anonymous Pohkara Area Service". We got out of the car, and in frenzied English asked how to get upstairs. A group of women kept pointing two buildings over. We could not get up to the landing, so I went 2 buildings over. I showed them men there my shirt, the NA symbol, and they told me go go around the back, and up the stairs.
I had a moment where I thought no one would ever see me again. I went anyway, and found the Pohkara HIV/Drug Treatment center. A woman excited said "NA" when I showed her my shirt, and found a young man who hopped on his scooter, led us to the meeting place, bought us tea across the street, and then took us to the meeting.
The meeting was in a school. There were 18 of us, several new people, some members from Delhi and one other woman. I was overwhelmed, listening to several languages, being served hot tea, given schedules and hugs.
And out the window, through the clouds, Annapurna.
What an amazing adventure. And it did not stop there.
The whole meeting went to coffee, and then to dinner.
I am full of love, gratitude, and wonder.