Author: Henberta

Bhutan is a startling contrast to Nepal.  A small country near the Himalaya mountains, it is most famously known for pioneering the concept of Gross National Happiness as its most treasured value.

Sparsely populated, Bhutan is a craggy, peaceful place, with glacially cold, crystalline rivers….

The airport appears to be brand-new, with a replica of its historic monastery and the beaming faces of its royal family welcoming visitors.

The political structure is a constitutional monarchy, with both king and legislative body  dedicated to avoiding the rapid growth that could potentially over-tax their resources.  How refreshing!

Most people are Buddhists and many monasteries and temples dot the landscape.

A favorite theme is that of the Four Friends – an elephant, monkey, rabbit and bird who work together to grow trees so they may all enjoy the fruit.  A typical Buddhist lesson about the importance of cooperation among different types of beings……

Monks at one of the monasteries participate in lively debate, while their colleagues look on….

The people are almost uniformly kind, but with a playful sense of humor.  They also have a form of traditional dance.

And yes, members of our group were invited to join in the dancing, an experience we unfortunately missed as we had some pressing business elsewhere…..

Nowhere have we seen such a rich and colorful variety of prayer flags, so we had to have some.  We were cautioned, however, that they must be consecrated by the Buddhist clergy.  Fortunately, a guide knew a shop owner whose brother is the abbott of the local monastery, where we could buy prayer flags that were pre-blessed!

There is a lot to love about Bhutan.  This is a place we would have enjoyed exploring on our own, but National Geographic waits on no one, and we boarded the plane for our next destination – Agra, India.

You will be spared many of our photos of clamorous street scenes in Agra – but here’s a sample nonetheless.

It’s primarily a tourist destination, so likely kept much tidier than other cities of its size in India.  Suffice to say – lively, noisy, stinky, and full of people, cows, scruffy dogs and more than a few monkeys.

The main attraction here is the Taj Mahal, and the weather could not have been more perfect.

Lots of local pilgrims here. 

For many, it’s a singular visit to India’s most prized possession.  Ironic – the Taj is a Muslim monument, covered in Arabic script with Islamic decorations and quotes from the Koran……. yet many of the local visitors are Hindu.  And most of the ladies really dress up for the occasion.

It is, in fact, unexpectedly striking and hauntingly beautiful.  Our hotel had wonderful views….

Our visit also included one of the“summer palaces” of the ruler, which had to be abandoned in the 1600s after only 11 years of residency because of water scarcity.  So history repeats….

Of course, National Geographic made sure we had exposure to some of the local culture, including (no surprise) dancing!

A few purchases from local vendors.

And Henry found a fellow member of the “clean plate” club in one of our traveling companions!

An intriguing and colorful place – not sure if a return trip to India is on our radar, but we won’t rule it completely out.

Next we turn to another continent….. Africa.

The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is the largest intact caldera in the world, an oval about 10 to 12 miles across that is a welcoming environment for most of the popular African wildlife.

It is lush and green at this time of year.  Animals who inhabit this area live with an abundance of water and food, and they thrive.

Rhino, elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and more inhabit the crater, although the strict restrictions on the movement of vehicle traffic prevented us from getting close to them.  Not the case with the baboons….

Lots of baby critters were around; below a mother zebra watches closely while her young ‘un takes a nap.

Fabulous bird life, including a marabou stork and a fluffy coucal…..

Lots of lion were around….. they are well fed and content.  This fellow’s sister was still working over the carcass of a zebra nearby, while he cleaned up from his feast.

One lousy day just does not seem to be enough in a place so rich with natural life and adventure.  But we were able to cram a lot into the time allowed…. enough to make us anxious to return before too much time passes.  A lot of the credit goes to our guide, Henry (the younger), who knows his turf very well, and is a delightful companion in the bargain.

Of course, we had a dance demonstration…. this time by the Masai people…. a striking display.

So reluctantly we bid farewell to the African bush…. heading to our next destination, the ancient Nabatean city of Petra in Jordan.

The city of Petra was enthralling, a community carved into the mountains of Jordan by the Nabateans over 2,100 years ago.  The name Nabatean actually means “people who carve cities from rock” in the ancient language.

Aqaba was our point of entry into the country, Jordan’s only ocean port.

The setting and architecture of Petra are incredible…

But far more compelling to us was the fact that it is not a sterile relic, but an environment that is full of life…..  People and animals actually live here, and their welfare and identity are inextricably tied to this intriguing place…..

Horses….

Dogs….

Donkeys (and donkey boys)…..

Camels…..

And, of course, sellers of goods.  Up until a dozen years ago, many people made their homes in the caves of Petra.  As it gained popularity as a tourist site, the government arranged to move the residents to a nearby village, and in exchange, they are entitled to engage in commerce in the old city.

A sand artist demonstrates his skill…..

The “I have Frankincense” vendor sells aromatic natural substances….

And yes, there are multi-lingual urchins approaching tourists to hawk old coins, postcards and pieces of currency that are not commonly exchanged in this country.

This guy (the father of the little seller of postcards in the last photo) was quite a glib and ambitious purveyor of local crafts.

To give him credit, after selling us some items for outrageously high prices, he invited us to his home for dinner.  On a tight schedule, we politely declined.  So he gave us some “free” refrigerator magnets instead, which we were happy to share with members of the National Geographic jet flight crew from Iceland that just happened to wander by at the time.

Some of our fellow travelers took the opportunity for camel rides back to the city.

We took extra time to enjoy the views, including an overhead shot that looked a lot like our home state…..

And a final homage to this hauntingly beautiful and lively place.

Now we are on our way to our last stop before returning home – Marrakesh, Morocco.

Still another stunning landscape from the air somewhere over North Africa.

The splendid historic colonial hotel called La Mamounia is owned by Morocco’s king, who spent 7 years (and lots of dinars!) renovating it.  The tile work is just wonderful. From there, Marrakesh was an exciting waypoint, with its 12th century mosque commanding the skyline of the old city.

The Majorelle Garden also traces its roots to the French colonial era; it was resurrected after many years of neglect by the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner.

The Jemaa el Fna is the central square that draws all kinds of commerce…..

….. including musicians, water carriers, story tellers, artists….. and snake charmers.

Occasionally charming were the sellers in the enormous market, with an unimaginable variety of objects to tempt the innocent visitor….

An actual craftsman shows off his wood-turning skills…..

We are bad bargainers – I don’t do it at all, and Henry does it poorly.  That’s why these guys are smiling!

Vibrant street scenes, exhilarating to walk through….

A donkey “parked” in a garage, watching the passers-by….

This is another place, as many of them have been, where we would have liked to spend more time.  A parting shot, image from the golden age of Morocco (from La Mamounia’s art collection)…

But, alas, our whirlwind trip is coming to a close.  Next we return to our official starting point, Washington, DC.

It seemed a long way from Marrakesh back to DC…

…. that – and perhaps knowing that our journey had come to an end – left most of our group bleary-eyed and zombie-like.  After a short overnight at an airport hotel, we flew back to Dallas then drove home.

….. Only to find the feral hogs have been quite busy rooting up the meadow!

We accumulated more junk on this brief 3-week trip than we did in 6 months on a cargo ship!  (Photo omits a number of items and does NOT include all the rocks picked up on the way….)

What a singular trip!  Early on, it became very clear how different it was from the way we usually travel.

The selection of sites to visit was amazing – providing exposure to a broad array of both cultures and landscapes, and of course, iconic landmarks.  We would be blown away one day by the things we saw, and bored and restive the next as we spent hours on planes and buses traveling from one place to another.  An extra day would have been most welcome at many of the destinations, to allow for independent activity or more in-depth investigation of a site.

National Geographic managed the logistics as well as possible.  Accommodations were almost all extraordinary, reflecting the history and architecture of the places we visited.  NG’s experience and resources made the flow very smooth.

Fellow travelers were great – after some anxiety that they would be snooty or distant, we found that virtually everybody was interesting and friendly.  Maybe the intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm of folks who decide to make a trip like this overcome the snobbishness that might otherwise come with the price tag.  Although from vastly different backgrounds, we met fascinating people and made some friends who we expect to connect with in the future.

The biggest takeaway from the trip was the enhanced understanding that the lives of most other people on this planet are vastly different from ours…… we are warm, safe and comfortable; their experience is far more vibrant and intimately integrated with family, neighbors and culture.  We are rich in material terms; they are rich in colors, smells, sounds, tastes and relationships.  Lots to learn from each other, and to respect and value.

Are we glad we went?  Absolutely!  Will we do it again?  Not very likely.  For us, a once-in-a-lifetime frenzy of major site-seeing – places we otherwise would not visit.  National Geographic has some other trips we might consider… such as an intensive Galapagos or Falkland Islands expedition.  But no more frenetic “if it’s Tuesday this must be Agra” trips for us.  Worth doing at least once!

Thanks to all of you who were kind enough to post comments.  It’s nice to know someone is looking at our reports from the road.

We’ll be laying fairly low for the next few months….. planning an escape down under to Australia and New Zealand to avoid our hot summer.

Please keep in touch and be kind to yourself and the people you care about.  And don’t forget to spay or neuter your pets.  (Thanks, Bob Barker.)