Chiang Mai is Bangkok on training wheels. Actually, the vibe here is completely different, sort of like comparing San Francisco to New York. I live in San Francisco so it’s understandable that Chiang Mai is more my speed. All the guide books warn against tuk tuks, the open-sided three wheelers that whizz through the streets […]
After Bhutan, I am so ready for this. The hotel has been curated so every nook and cranny offers a moment of aesthetic delight. From the design to service, it’s all very understated with a lot of smiles and traditional Thai greetings. Except for the tea service, which is over the top. I think I […]
Thanks to everyone who has taken this trip with me, for all your good intentions, love, and healing energy. I have carried you with me every step of the way as I’ve hoisted prayer flags and spun wheels, bowed for blessings, and reclaimed childhood lessons that were abandoned along the path to adulthood. Feel free […]
The jaw-droppingly beautiful monastery clings precariously to a cliff at an altitude of over 10,000 ft above sea level and nearly 3,000 ft above Paro Valley. The hike up from Paro Valley requires 2 – 4 hours, depending on your fitness level and tolerance for the high altitude. Starting out in the early morning, the […]
Chimi Lhakhang was built in 1499 after the site was blessed by the maverick saint Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529), also known as the Divine Madman. It is said that Lama Kunley subdued a demon of Dochu La with his “magic thunderbolt of wisdom” and trapped it in a nearby rock. He was known as the “Mad […]
Our trip has been blessed with good timing. In addition to being in Gangtey for the Black-Necked Crane Festival, we also managed to get “stuck” waiting for a procession of important monks and the High Abbott en route to their winter home at Punakha Dzong. It isn’t really appropriate to photograph monks, especially important ones, […]
Meet Kencho, our guide and chaperone on this life-changing and mind-bending journey. Not only did Kencho help us negotiate our way through local customs and formalities, he also interrupted his official tourism duties to help old ladies cross the street and carried their bundles down mountainsides. He also laughed at all their jokes and listened […]
This is not a manicured vision of earthly paradise. People live here, incorporating their spiritual practice and values into every aspect of daily life. Waiting with the locals for The Road to open Lucky for us, there’s a roadside market to keep us all occupied while we wait Hard at work Not everybody works hard
There are places in the world so beautiful they leave you breathless and stunned. I think the Gods made these places to catch us off guard and defenseless. The power of these places passes through us like some kind of spiritual electroshock therapy. Pretty sneaky bunch, those Gods.
Five hours of winding roads takes you from the capital city of Thimphu to the remote village of Gangtey. As fortune would have it, our visit was perfectly timed for the Black Crane Festival. The festival is held every year in November to celebrate the return of the endangered Black Neck Crane to their winter […]
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