Well, obviously the answers to the questions at the end of my last blog, where I was waiting patiently, on the edge of my seat, were yes, yes, and about a month. Yes, I could stay longer in Bhutan in addition to the Laya Trek trip. Yes, I could come up with an itinerary that would allow me to go on the Laya Trek, and also see more on my own. And the itinerary would have a variety of activities, and be almost a month long!
At the end of my last blog I was in the midst of reading the Lonely Planet guide book to Bhutan, taking notes, and underlining anything and everything that interested me about the country. It didn’t take me long to finish the book. And it didn’t take me long to have the desire to travel in Bhutan for a longer period of time, and thus want to create an itinerary for such desires. So I sat myself down in front of my computer and started typing.
Paro Airport
I first made a list of all the places that I had underlined and took notes on that caught my attention. I organized them into areas of the country. Thimphu (the capital); Western Bhutan including Paro (the town where the airport is); Central Bhutan; Eastern Bhutan; festivals and treks. I bolded the places that would already be included in the Laya Trek itinerary. And then I looked at a map to see where all this was to gain a sense of location.
Then I began a spreadsheet. Yes, a spreadsheet. Accounting, it’s what I do for a living. So a spreadsheet was necessary. It was the calendar of the month of October. I started out with the dates of the Laya Trek, and went from there.
White-gloved traffic policeman in Thimphu
First I started out with ideas of things to do and see in Western Bhutan before I would be meeting up with the Laya Trek. There is a festival in Thimphu a few days before that I definitely wanted to see! I put that on the spreadsheet. There are several day hikes around Thimphu to monasteries and temples, or to enjoy the scenery and people. These got added to the spreadsheet. Things to do in Thimphu itself – National Textile Museum, Weekend Market, Folk Heritage Museum, the traffic circle where there is no stop light but a white-gloved policeman guiding traffic, just to name a few. On the spreadsheet they went. Day walks around Paro and into valleys to see more monasteries and temples and scenery and people. Added to spreadsheet. All this filled up six days in Bhutan!
Then the Laya Trek, including other areas in Western Bhutan, and the venture north to Laya itself, including a couple of stops at the Gasa Hot Springs, were all entered into the spreadsheet.
Bhutanese Currency – 10 Ngultrum (about 23 cents)
Then I ventured into Central Bhutan, and several areas that fascinated me. Visits to villages, and day walks to more temples and monasteries in the Bumthang valley area; perhaps another market; arts and crafts of the locals; a walk to see the Black-necked cranes in the Phobjikha Valley, if they are there; and maybe even another short trek between villages in the Gangte region. All on the spreadsheet. Another week in Bhutan!
I figured now that going into Eastern Bhutan was unfortunately not feasible for me at this time, as my spreadsheet was filling up fast. (Perhaps another trip…).
Finally I typed in flying from Seattle to Bangkok, via Tokyo, a day in Bangkok on the way to Bhutan as cushion-time/get-over-jetlag time, and flying to Paro. Then doing the reverse on the way back, less the cushion-day.
While some fine-tuning to my spreadsheet would need to be done, my preliminary itinerary to Bhutan became nearly the entire month of October!!
Sweet Travels!
Photo Credits:
White-gloved policeman from Thimphu information in Wikipedia.
Paro Airport from Wikipedia.
Bhutanese Currency from Bhutan information in Wikipedia.