Bhutan: Day 2 - Tiger's Nest

This was the day that I have dreamed about. And finally I can see it with my own eyes. It is just across the river now, dangling precariously among the cliffs, at 10,000 feet high. Taktsang Monastery, "Tiger's Nest."

BACKTRACK: I have been planning this day for at least a year. Trekking to one of the world's most mysterious and awe-inspiring locations. But less than two weeks ago, I was hit by a mild heart attack - threatening to cancel this and all other plans for the year. The doctor and friends all recommended that I simply return home, recover, and plan for another day. But something told me that I should push ahead...

GIDDY-UP!

I did make a few concessions. For one, I did tell Ugyen about my health issues, and that I would need to go slow and take frequent breaks. Next thing you know, I have a total of THREE guys and a horse to accompany me up the first half of the trek. Embarrassing, because the three guys were walking beside me, leading the horse, while I was on top of the horse, like a pampered diva.

But it was actually a good thing to be so pampered, as I don't think I would have made it without the horse and frequent breaks. My pulse monitor would spike (175+) frequently, and I'd have to wait until it slowed before continuing. It took more than 3 hours for me to get to the top, much longer than the usual time, I was told later.

GIVING THANKS
But the point is... I made it. I had realized a dream. And today I came with a special task - to give thanks to the people who had helped me to create a very special short film this year. "Viewer Discretion Advised (Tape 96)" is a great little story with an important social message, and I was proud to be involved with the all-volunteer crew. So I had carried the poster all the way up with me today, as it mentioned the names of everyone who had helped. It was my way of "taking them all with me," and thanking them for their contributions.  Once inside the temple, I turned prayer wheels and asked the powers-that-be to consider helping our film find a larger audience.

AND RECEIVING BLESSINGS
That was July 7th. When I checked my e-mail the next day, I was informed that our short film had won numerous awards in its debut festival, and was invited to screen at the prestigious San Diego Asian Film Festival in October 2011.

An amazing and powerful experience. Truly a memory of a lifetime.

Bhutan: Day 1

A Handsome Welcome

Ugyen (left) and Rinzin

No tourist may enter Bhutan without a Government-approved invitation and pre-arranged guide, permits and itinerary. I had arranged my travel permits months ahead, so I eagerly looked around for my "keeper." This moment would dictate the tone of my trip: who would I be stuck with for the next week?

While scanning the crowd, I made my first cultural observation: apparently Bhutanese men are handsome. Bonus! And look over there! One of them had my name on his sign. He wrapped a white scarf around my neck to welcome me. "Ugyen" will be my travel companion for the next week? Another bonus! LOL

Within minutes, I was feeling like I was in a dream. This is totally my kind of adventure. The culture, language, architecture, geography is so unique. And yet I have a private car and personal guide to walk me safely through all of it. Perfect.

National Sports

I wanted to test how "free" I would be during this guided tour, so I asked if they would pull over to some sort of roadside sporting event I saw nearby. No problem. This was my first introduction (of many to come) of just how important archery is to Bhutan.

Just as common as a basketball game would be to see on the streets of the US, you will find archery (or hand darts, etc) being played all over Bhutan.

The narrow dirt roads remind me of the mountain roads of Costa Rica. And here too, the few cars on the roads must navigate around horses and cows, which seem to be everywhere.

Meditation... now!

Ugyen and the driver Rinzin took me to my hotel, which is actually a resort and meditation center tucked into a hillside. Probably 16 rooms, and at least a dozen staff, but I am the only guest. And get this, from my room I can actually see that national  treasure of Bhutan - "Tiger's Nest Monastery" Waaaaaaay up on the mountain across the valley. That temple is the main reason I have come here - and reaching it is my challenge for tomorrow.

Say "Datze"

For lunch I had red chilis with cheese. Not as spicy as I was afraid. It is something of a national food. I kind of like it. Also potatoes with cheese. And a side dish of cheese. Getting the pattern? They like their cheese, I guess.

First Word to Learn: Dzong

Starting with the national museum, which is housed in a 500 year old watchtower. Then on to a massive building (Dzong) that is home to government offices, a religious temple, and a monk school. No separation of church and state here. They are very devout Buddhists, and pattern their laws around their beliefs. 

Yak Butter Tea?

By evening, we were at a farmhouse, where I was introduced to butter tea. Yep, melted butter (from a cow or yak, it's up to you), a tea leaf, and a bit of water and salt. Let's just say that it is an acquired taste - one that I do not expect to acquire any time soon.  ;-)  

Luckily, I had a tasty dinner waiting for me back at the meditation center. 

By the way, my idea of meditating was to "reflect" while typing on my iPad.

On my way to Bhutan

Seated With Royalty
Amazing!  It is not often that you have a unique cultural experience even before entering a country. But that's what happened on my trip to Bhutan.

'net photo

For my flight from Bangkok to Bhutan, I had been bumped up to the front of the plane (aisle seat in row 2), as it was the only seat available. Seconds before takeoff, an entourage of apparent VIPs boarded, most decked out in traditional Bhutanese attire. All were being quite deferential to one woman in particular, by keeping their head lower than hers, covering their mouth when they spoke to her, and backing away head down, with their arms stretched out and downward, palms facing up.  Yep, this woman was some big VIP, and she sat down just across the aisle from me! I smiled at her, she smiled back.

'net photo

But later in the flight I noticed that she was being deferential to an older man seated directly in front of me. The man was clearly a monk, dressed in a red robe with both a saffron and gold-colored sash. The important woman held her head lower than his, meaning that his rank or status must be even higher than hers. (This is a fun game for me, trying to figure people out from a distance).  I smiled at the monk when he visited the washroom, and he smiled back.


When we arrived in Paro Bhutan, the VIPs were escorted down the stairs, to a waiting red carpet line of dignitaries. I was held at the top of the stairs as people lined up for blessings from the monk and to bow to the woman. So I asked the flight attendant if perhaps they were part of the royal family. "That's our queen," he answered. Turns out, the woman was a wife of the 4th king of Bhutan. And the monk? It is the Je Khenpo, the highest-ranking lama (holy person) in the country - at the same social ranking as the King. Amazing. I had just been smiled at by two of the most-important people in Bhutanese culture, and I hadn't yet even set foot in the country!

Roller Coaster Landing

the one and only runway in Bhutan

Landing in Bhutan is quite thrilling. The Paro airport (the only one in the country) is surrounded by steep mountain peaks. The pilot appeared to be flying manually the whole time, banking sharply left, then right, skimmed closely over a hill, then dipped quickly into the valley runway. Cool.

A Blog From The Heart

"And what did you do on vacation?" "Oh, we went to the beach, ate great food, had a heart attack. The usual."

Yeah, that "heart attack" stuff is a bit hard to admit. I'm still trying to process what happened. But maybe if I type it all out, I can start to believe it?

Last Thursday, Mano and I were just sitting at the beach on Koh Phi Phi, enjoying a juice and soaking up the beautiful scenery. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and a tightness like someone was giving me a bear hug. I joked to Mano that I was really getting old, because even sitting still made me tired these days.

But within a minute or two, the pain radiated down my arm. Mano took my pulse and found that it was racing, with several "skipped beats" per minute. He wanted me to go find a doctor, but I figured it was just dehydration. (Why would a trained heart nurse know more than me about this stuff?) So I just grabbed a Gatorade and took some aspirin and rested in our hotel room, waiting for it to go away. Probably frustrated, Mano sat out on the balcony.

But about an hour later, an interesting thing happened. Mano had a "hunch" to turn around and check on me. When he did, he saw me clutching at my chest and grimacing. The pain had become quite intense and spread to my arm and jaw now. The palpitations were quite frequent too. I couldn't ignore it any longer. Mano got help from the hotel staff to get me to the hospital, which was conveniently located just next door.

But this is an island adventure story, right? So it couldn't be that easy,could it? Turns out, the hospital had no doctor!

The only doctor on the island was in the Tonsai village clinic, about a km away. So, some dude in a lab coat scooped me into their "ambulance" (a motorcycle sidecar), which was the only motorized vehicle allowed on the narrow footpaths of the village. It was kind of funny actually. I half-expected the lab coat dude to start yelling "wooo-wooo-woo" like a siren.

A few minutes later, we arrived at a 2-room clinic attached to a 7-11. It served mostly a steady stream of hungover college kids, jellyfish stings and ear infections. But it DID have a doctor, and he seemed to know what to do.

My blood pressure was 170/100 at that point, and the chest pain was a bitch. The doc pushed some IV stuff (propanolol and fentanyl) and stuck a nifedipine tablet under my tongue. I immediately started swimming in my sweat, and became so nauseated that I filled every bucket within reach. Lovely.

But after a few hours, the BP and pulse came down enough to get back me back to the hotel to recover until I could get to the hospital the next day.

But the next morning, the island hospital was still without their doctor. So what to do? Should I get on an airplane and fly back to Bangkok?

Mano and I would be celebrating our 20th anniversary in just two days, so I didn't want to ruin our trip. We already had hotel reservations on nearby Koh Lanta, which was a larger island a short ferry ride away. Maybe they would have a hospital too? Besides, the the irregular heart beat wasn't that bad, and the pain pills were helping. So I could postpone the hospital visit for a few days, right?

The day after our anniversary, still experiencing chest pain, skipped beats and shortness of breath, Mano insisted that we fly back to Bangkok and get me to a doctor for tests. {sigh} But ignoring the whole "heart incident" was working so well for me! LOL.

BANGKOK

Within two hours of landing in BKK, we were at BNH Hospital's Cardiac Center. Bangkok is well-known for cutting-edge (LOL) medical care, and this hospital was one of the best. I assumed that they would put me on a treadmill and do an EKG, and then send me home with some meds, telling me to try to avoid being so dramatic for a few days.

But to my surprise, the doctor said that a lab test for a cardiac enzyme (Troponin) was extremely high, indicating that I had a heart attack recently. in addition, the irregular heartbeat and continuing chest pain made him concerned that I could have another cardiac arrest or stroke. He was admitting me immediately to the ICU for monitoring.

Awesome room! Nice view, and they feed me Thai food! Does your hospital do that? LOL.

 AN AMBULANCE RIDE THROUGH BANGKOK TRAFFIC
The three days in the ICU are a bit of a blur. But I definitely recall one humorous moment when I was placed in an ambulance for transport across town to Chulalongkorn Hospital's Cardiac Cath lab. The driver turns on the emergency lights and siren, and immediately halts to a stop in the horrible Bangkok traffic. No one pulls over and even attempts to get out of the way. So the only difference between our ambulance and all the other cars was that we were noisier.

STICK A NEEDLE IN MY GROIN?

I also recall several people standing around me while shaving my pubes - but all I got was a lousy angiogram! (I'm trying to work that into a t-shirt slogan. What do you think?)

Ever had an angiogram? I don't recommend it for entertainment, but it is not as gruesome as it might sound. Yeah, they slit open your femoral artery in your groin, insert something like a knitting needle, and shove a wire tube all the way up into the chambers of your heart. Then they squirt in some dye, and watch it flow on the row of monitors nearby. I kept trying to turn my head to watch too. Pretty cool, actually.

The doctor actually let Mano watch the video in the Physicians' room. How nice of them to respect our relationship AND Mano's medical knowledge in that way, right?

RESULT: The angiogram showed some minor plaque narrowing, but my arteries seemed to have enlarged to accommodate. Thus, there was no significant blockage remaining, meaning that I did not need a stent. Awesome!

They also did an echo cardiograph (like a sonogram) which also showed normal functioning, except for an insignificant mitral valve leak.

The PVCs that I am experiencing (early contractions of the ventricle, or something like that), are quite common, especially in people who have had a recent heart attack. The doctor is suggesting that they will go away in time. At least that is how I interpret it.

BED REST IN BANGKOK?
Really? Sounds like a cruel joke, doesn't it? But I'll take it easy for a week until my followup appointment, carrying my nitro glycerine tablet with me when I leave the house.

But I am thinking that maybe my plan to trek Mt Everest for three weeks in September might need to be postponed, don't you?

Seriously though, all through this, I know how lucky I was to have Mano with me the whole time. In so many ways.

Sunrise, sunsets. BEAUTIFUL!!!

With due respect to all of those "other" beautiful sunsets locations in the world, I have personally never seen one more beautiful than here in Railay, Thailand. Both times I have traveled here, my jaw has dropped over the incredible colors of the setting sky. I have equally gorgeous shots from my last visit, but here a few from this year.

But this year, Mano convinced me to get up early enough to see the sunRISE as well. (it is unfortunate that those tend to come in the morning usually.) Equally stunning, no?

Vomit Cruise (Why would you read this?)

Stuff a hundred tourists into a cramped and stuffy tin boat, and then set sail into wild, rolling seas. Toss in stifling heat and 14 foot swells. What do you get? Yep, hand out the barf bags!

I've been on some wild ocean rides in my life (the 3-day crossing of the Drake Passage to Antarctica was beyond terrifying) but this is right up there with the worst. Luckily this Andaman Sea jaunt, from Railay to Phi Phi island is only a "mere" two hours.

The waves rise, the ship slams down ten feet or more. Rises up, rolls to the side. Rises, rolls. Rolls, rises. Up, down. Sideways. Feeling queasy yet?

First they handed out the small lunch bag size barf bags, then we upgraded to grocery bags. As I type this, we are graduating to garbage bags. And they are being used by everyone around me. Consider yourself lucky you can't SMELL what I smell.

Rock climbing with macaques

Tell me if you've heard this one before:
Two out of shape middle-aged guys have a couple of beers, and decide they can go rock-climbing.

Then they meet some monkeys... Langurs, we believe.

And then something with no tail... A gibbon, we thought.

But later we learned that it was likely a macaque

Emboldened, the foolhardy fellas continue their trek

And are somehow rewarded with the most-gorgeous view ever!

The Lizards of Lumpini

Had to stop by Lumpini Park and say hi again to some of my more-slithery friends.

Back in BKK!

It's been almost two years since I've stepped foot outside the U.S.A. I don't know what addictions you have, but two years is a long time for a travel junkie, like me. So I need to start it out with my favorite drug... A bump of Bangkok.

Mano and I checked in to "my" apartment. At least it is "mine" whenever I pay the $1,000 a month. But it has a great view (check out the non-OSHA window washers) and the sky train stops right at the front door.

This will be home for the next month.

Lesson from the street: Don't assume

I promise I won't blog about every mundane thing that happens each day. Really, I won't. But this one is worth it... okay?

Today I was really moved by one of the hawkers on a pedestrian bridge. A young kid, maybe 12 years old or so, down on his knees and carefully arranging three rows of some old packages. I was overcome with pity for this poor kid, thinking that here he was, just trying to make some kind of money by selling whatever he can get his hands on - a cheap brand of super glue in this case.  I felt so bad for him - he wasn't begging - he was just trying to earn an honest living.

So I went ahead and bought one of his little packets. In fact, I paid him double - about 50 cents total - and told him to keep it.  He had a weird, almost sad look in his eye as I left.

But as I turned the corner, I nearly stepped right on an older guy, sprawled out on the sidewalk, his eyes, glazed, clearly whacked out of his mind. I looked down to see that he was sniffing a tube of the same super glue that the kid had just sold me. 

I could almost imagine what that kid was thinking as I bought the package from him:  "Poor foreigner. His life is so bad that he is strung out, sniffing glue just like the rest of us."

Hey, I'm just assuming ... but that's what got me into that in the first place, no?

Assorted snapshots

Bangkok's notorious traffic. Thank goodness for the the Skytrain and subway!!!

 Looking down from the 7th floor of Mahboonkrong (MBK).

Ummm... "Cabbages?" Really?

This made me smile. He's too good to lie on the ground, apparently?

Vegetarian Chicken

I heart Thai Food

... especially street food.  But sometimes the menu choice gets lost in translation, as happened today. I ordered a common dish that I have memorized from repeated ordering:  "Lat na, gai." (Noodles with gravy and chicken.) But the woman answered back with something I didn't understand.  I just agreed with her and prepared myself to enjoy whatever she served.

As I waited, I noticed a sign with only one word in English:  "Vegetarian."  So no wonder I found it difficult to get chicken! 

I enjoyed  it just as much with mushrooms and tofu, however.

(Photo from last year's visit)

A Walk In The Park: Lizards, Chants and More

Other than the nearly-24 hour travel time to get here, the hardest part of my trips to Asia is getting over the jet lag. After sleeping 12 hours, I woke up at 4am, ready to go!  Lucky for me, one of my favorite things to do in Bangkok is to go for an early-morning walk in Lumphini Park.  (Named after Buddha's birthplace in Nepal, in case you didn't know.)

Just a few hundred yards from the traffic chaos... lies this peaceful urban oasis:

 

And I immediately headed back to the spot where I last saw an old friend - and he was still there!

He seems to have put on a few pounds since we last saw each other (who hasn't?). I also noticed fewer stray dogs in the park. Coincidence?

The Chinese Chorus

As I was walking thru the park, I found a chorus rehearsing Chinese music. I stopped, sat on a rock and listened for many minutes. It was lovely and relaxing, and I was ready to applaud and thank them. But their song never ended. 
 

Then it occurred to me that it might not be a song, but a chant. Then I thought maybe they are a cult? Maybe it was their way of luring in new members before the mother ship comes? I decided to run before they passed out the Kool Aid.

Some other shots from the park: