The meaning of Travel

Mandalay at Dawn

I was once asked why do I love to travel. My answer was quite direct: I travel because I have to.

I travel, not so  much to be inspired, but to explore cultures and feel nature's overpowering scale. I feel at home in foreign environments, absorbing what does not exist in my daily life. The landscapes help me to dream and often my travels are driven from the pages I read.

My favorite subject while in school in France was geography, I would stare at my globe and dreamed of foreign lands while my friends would play with their Barbie dolls...and I read, I devoured Jules Verne stories, read the great russian classics, dreaming of white russian landscapes, discovered Italy through Stendhal, my mind travelled through Burma with Georges Orwell and... I discovered Marc Twain.

 From that day on, I knew I would end up in America.

 His  powerful sentence..."travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness" marked me for ever, and by these standards I brought up my children. Growing up in France, in catholic school, one does not develop very broad horizon and my friends' way of thinking, expectations of life, almost archaic cast system in Bourgeois society were stifling. My parents always encouraged me to be myself and were the support that enabled me to break away from the standard mold. When I wanted to fly, my father brought me to our small local airport, I was only 15 and he said...go for it, and I learned how to fly, alone in my plane I felt an amazing sense of being alive, free to take my life in any direction I wanted. And I did.

Through travel, I feel that I succeeded in at least one thing with my children, they are not afraid of life, of taking risks, they are amazingly generous young men, their friends come from all walks of life and they hold no judgements. As a working mother, I often talk to them and ask if they missed out on their childhood by having both parents away during the day. Their answers are always positive, and in listening to them, our travels have been an amazing part of who they are, a part they hold on to and relish.

Re-reading George Orwell while cruising the mighty Irrawaddy river, Luke and the boys for an early sunrise. We were profoundly touched by this country, land of gentle people caught in a brutal regime

In Borneo, my children learned how to cope with nature, understand the fragility of natural rainforest in the hands of men and greed, and came to love Orangutans. Climbing the ironwood trunk ladder to spend the night with a Dayak family. An impromptu visit after reading Paul Theroux. 

I love being surrounded by younger people, my advise to them...go out in the world, explore, start with your own neighborhood and open your eyes, you will be amazed how much you have missed.

Bhutan:the land of gentle people

Young monks at play

From Connecticut, I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so many thanks to give and treasure every moment of this life, the good and sometimes not so good... In this last post on Bhutan, I tried to capture images of the simple happiness derived from love and nature.

This journey through Bhutan ends with portraits of its gentle and playful children.

In Bhutan, the GNP is not measured in financial terms but as the Gross National Happiness.

This concept was introduced by the King and has taken the Western world by storm, governments, economists and scholars have invited the young handsome King to speak about the 4 pillars of Gross National Happiness: Environment - Culture - Spirituality - Society.

Bhutan is determined to keep its independence by preserving its culture and its ecology.

Children in school uniform, these young kids walk up to 2 hours each way to go to school they are so engaging and joyful 

Girls dressed up for the religious festival

Little monks getting a break from their studies

Student preparing for his high school examination. From the youngest age, young boys and girls learn english. The brightest student are sent by the king to Colombia (where the king studied), Harvard, Cornell, Yale, UCLA, Stamford, Georgetown, Oxford and Cambridge, Mc Gill, depending on their field of study. No student sent abroad has failed and all graduated in the 10% of their class.

These children wake up before sunrise to walk to school, study for 6 hours, go home for a simple supper, study some more or help their parents with farming duties. The greatest gift is a pencil, they look happy, playful, and love learning.

The people, nature, colors of Bhutan will forever stay with me.

Until next time...there is that one challenging trek (reputed for being the most difficult trek in the world...) along the Himalayas...

Bhutan: Druk-Yul, Land of Thunder Dragon - Part 1, Nature

The Tiger Nest Monastery

For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by mountains. When immersed in the majestic beauty of the mountains, I feel a powerful connection to life, to a higher power who entrusted this extraordinary beautiful planet to us, humble humans.

Ever since my experience in Tibet (here), I have wanted to return to the Himalayas which to me reflect the magnificence and power of this beautiful creation we call Earth. 

Its hard to articulate. When I'm in the mountains, I feel as if I'm merged with nature and I completely leave my self behind.  I am able to shed all of the trivialities and mindless materialism of my daily life.

Magnificent conifer forests of the Black Mountains separating west and central Bhutan

I have travelled through Kashmir, India, Tibet, Nepal and experienced Buddhist culture in its many forms. Bhutan is the only country in the world where Mahayana Buddhism in its tantric form is the official religion. Bhutan is a secluded country in the eastern Himalayas between India and Tibet, sparsely inhabited by 700,000 people in a land the size of Switzerland. Bhutan's policy of restricting tourism is to preserve its natural environment and the lifestyle of its people, but it also has much to do with Bhutan's lack of infrastructure.

The first thing you notice as you disembark at Paro, the only airport in Bhutan, is the purity of the air and the nearly complete absence of noise. Immediately, you feel that Bhutan is unlike any other place. With very few cars, just two planes a day and no trains, the bucolic Paro valley is the perfect welcome to Bhutan.

The first paved road was built in 1962 and by 1992 plans to build by hand 1000 kms to link the valleys was put in place... well... driving is a harrowing experience, mostly dirt, muddy frightening steep roads with hair-raising turns cut into the mountains, wide enough for one and a half car, no guardrails, with passes at 16,000 feet and sheer drops... did I mention that supply trucks from India travel though these roads at full speed with little regard for any one coming across their path... I will mention that I had to resort to prescribed calming drugs after my first complete panic attack which went from screaming to shaking to sobbing.... after 2 days of pure terror (but incredible beauty) we finally reached our final destination where our trek started. Mules and sherpas were waiting for us, the poor mules were loaded with our bags and camping gear. The most rewarding adventure started, just us in the midst of Bhutan's immense mystical mountains, crossing rivers and streams, climbing up the steep terrain, our wonderful guide always watching out for bears and tigers. At sunset, we would arrive at a perfectly set up camping spot, wash out the day with utmost efficiency in freezing temperature, a hot meal prepared on the campfire, listening to tantric stories recited by our highly educated and entertaining guide and off to our tent to sleep.

Mules ready for the trek

Trekking is the ultimate way to experience the landscape,

 the nature, the efforts so rewarded

Farming landscape. Prayer flags are everywhere in Bhutan,

on mountain tops, near clearings, temples, rivers...

Dzongs are part of the Buthanese landscape

The Black Mountains trees are several hundred years old.

 Forests cover 72% of Bhutan and it is strictly illegal to cut down trees.

The enchanted forests of Bhutan

Part two of this post on Bhutan will be about tantric Buddhism, its rituals, and the magnificent Dzongs and monasteries. The last post on Bhuthan will highlight the people and their children. 

Burmese Days ....

Ever since my high school days when I read George Orwell's Burmese Days, I have held romantic notions of a country where time stood still, a country of such diverse ethnic groups, a land where legend tells us that Guatama Buddha once went to teach the people of Dhannavati in the Rakhine region of Burma, a country where the most remarkable monasteries and Stupas were erected.....a country in the cruel grip of a formidable military junta with no respect for human life or rights.

While traveling, we felt the deep fear in everyone around us. Universities were shut, no cell phones allowed, no internet access, very few foreigners. Away from the main cities of Yangon (f/k/a Rangoon) and Mandalay, the people whose path we crossed were kind, gentle, and with a sad tale to tell when they could find remnants of French or English words.

Aung Sang Suu Kyi, from her house arrest in Yangon for the past 18 years, has asked the world to stay away from Burma and to continue its full embargo (including no tourism) against the government. Although I have considerable admiration for Aung Sang Suu Kyi and understand her view that tourists spending money in Burma only benefits the regime, I don't agree with her in this limited sense: People should see Burma so as to witness the terrible hardships imposed on the country's deeply spiritual people, and to let them know that the outside world has not forgotten them.

We also went to see Burma's magnificent heritage and landscape. Via a french organization, I found a french speaking guide to expedite transportation and other matters, and off we went to this beautiful country that has touched the chore of my soul.

The taxi driver is holding the book of his life from which he read to us and
pleaded us to remember and tell his powerful tale of suffering ....
these words were all he had left of a previous life of learning, family and friends.

Bagan, the golden land with more than 2000 temples and pagodas built in the 1000s to 1200s

Mandalay in Upper Burma, once the center of Burmese culture and Buddhist learning during British colonial rule.

Below, a monastic life.... we were warmly welcomed in this monastery near Mandalay. A very old monk gave me a pamphlet on meditation...a five minutes guide to meditation... which is always on my night-stand.

Village life will transport you back in time

The villagers sending their children to the local monastery in hope that they will succeed as Buddhist monks or nuns

A fishing life on Inle Lake..Floating gardens are cultivated around houses built on stilts in the center of this beautiful lake.

Market day on the shore of Inle Lake

Forms of transportation ...

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, its age unknown, its origin lost in antiquity. Pure golden architectural marvel. Its lower stupa is plated with 8,688 solid gold bars, its upper part with another 13,153. The tip of the stupa is set with 5448 diamonds, 2317 rubies and saphires, 1065 golden bells and at the very top a 76 carat diamond... This temple exudes a soft golden glow at sunset and you will immersed in its serenity....a magical moment.

Ngapali, a small fishing town on the Andaman sea. Unspoiled beaches...pristine water

Sunset on the Irawaddy river.....A bientot Burma