After I made my initial out-of-country travel decision to go Bhutan in October of this year on Beth’s Laya Trek tour, I got right on the internet, and ordered, from my favorite series of guide books, Lonely Planet, their book on Bhutan. I wanted to learn more about the country, the people, the landscape, and all the places I would be visiting on the Laya Trek.
Now mind you, this was back in February of this year, and Lonely Planet’s newer version of their Bhutan guide book wouldn’t be out until April. But I couldn’t wait. I wanted to read more about Bhutan. Now. So I ordered the 2007 version. I figured that even though a few things might have changed in Bhutan in the last four years, I was sure that enough information would be the same to give me a flavor of the Laya Trek itinerary and the rest of Bhutan.
I waited over two weeks for my book to arrive. Usually when I order books online, they arrive much faster. After about week and a half, I actually began to wonder where my book was. I finally realized that the book was being shipped from London. London? Why did I choose a book store from London, of all places? Oh, well. I continued to wait patiently, on the edge of my seat, for my book to arrive, which was hard because I really wanted to start reading about Bhutan. Now. The anticipation was building.
Finally, the book came! That night, I sat on our couch, and read and read and read. My normal protocol for researching about a country is to not only read the Lonely Planet guide book word for word, page by page, every chapter from beginning to end, but I also take notes on paper, and I underline (or circle) anything and everything in the book that interests me, whether I end up traveling to anything and everything or not. It was no different this time. I sat with book, pen, and paper, and read and wrote and underlined.
a sample of my underlining and note taking
The more I read, the more I underlined. And the more I read, the more notes I took. And the more I underlined and the more I took notes, the more I realized that while the Laya Trek trip covers a lot of ground and shows a lot of the country, the people and the landscape, there was so much more that interested me in Bhutan. I was getting really intrigued about everything I was reading, wanting to experience it all.
I kept thinking, gosh, I wonder if I could stay in Bhutan longer than the Laya Trek!? I mean, after all, if I am going to travel all the way to another part of this world, I might as well make the most of it, right? So why not stay longer?
But could I do it? Could I come up with an itinerary that would allow me to go on the Laya Trek, and then see more on my own? What would my itinerary look like, and how long might the trip be?
Stay tuned for the next blog for the answers to these questions. Are you now waiting patiently, on the edge of your seat?
(By the way, once April approached, I did buy the more recent 2011 version of the Lonely Planet guide book to Bhutan!)
Sweet Travels!
Location of Bhutan in World Map from mapsofworld.com
Bhutan Map from Nations Online Project