Have a wonderful time, Craig and Jeane! You know I'm looking forward to your report.

Safe journey. Looking forward to reading about it.

you are not fully packed as i have not been put in your travel luggage.. is there a weight limit?

have a great time. we will of course be waiting for the full in depth report..

we are off to Xian this PM.

fyi...no disgrace to take a horse up the mountain to Tiger's Nest. Of course, good exercise to do it all on foot. It seemed to me that everything we saw in Bhutan was uphill. But well worth it. The flight from Kathmandu was the greatest flight of my life. The landing in Paro the most exciting. I believe that from Delhi you will get lots of photo ops from the plane.

Have a great time, Craig and Jeane! I do look forward to reading your trip report. We really enjoyed meeting you in Boston!

Sorry that your one night in Bangkok does not happen during my trip there. I'm leaving tomorrow from OHare for BKK. I'll be there almost 2 weeks.

Looking forward to your report. And great job arranging that around-the-world trip in business class, Craig!!! Good on you!

Bon voyage Craig and Jeane!!
Wishing you a safe journey and looking forward to another one of your stellar trip reports.

Aloha!

Good trip C&J. Enjoy Bhutan!

BTW, if it's of any interest, you actually can re-arrange photos within Facebook. If you just click to Edit an Album, you can drop and drag photos however you see fit. But I am a fan of SmugMug too, so I get the preference.

Safe journeys and keep us all posted!

Enjoy. Looking forward to many fabulous pictures upon your return. Off to Xian today.

Bon Voyage Craig and Jeane. C U in BKK!

Have a fabulous time!

Have a fabulous time, can't wait to hear all, it's on my wish list too!

Safe travels and have a wonderful trip. I look forward to hearing about your journey.

Bhutan is on my list, so I'll be looking forward to hearing more. Bon Voyage!

Warm greetings to you, Craig and Jeane, from a lovely Singapore evening. Sounds like another fine adventure. Perhaps next year, will be able to entice you into spending time (and money) in our fine home of Singapore. (And, should you choose SIN next year, I just know the two of you will savour flying SQ 21/22, those serene all business class non-stops, EWR-SIN. Sweet, efficient rides with great crews.)

Looking forward to tales from your one night in Bangkok. Re BKK lodging, the Four Seasons was as fine as ever ~ 12 days back for meetings. Another truly unique place I (we) recently enjoyed is The Siam; very special riverside retreat. At present, I'm not scheduled to return to Bangkok for additional meetings until Loi Krathong week (by design; love that evening celebration down by the river with the loved one).

Have fun and best to you and all from Singapore,

macintosh (robert)


... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...

Bon Voyage - We just did the RTW thing as well...epic, helps slightly with jet lag and you actually gain a day for good!

Travel safely, looking forward to your report. Be careful about those data charges if you are posting photos from abroad! We've gotten burned a few times even when we thought we were only using WiFi

Thanks to everyone for your good wishes...

rhk - sorry, there is no room for you in our luggage

Elainee - we may well take the horses to Tigers' Nest - I have heard that it is slower than the hiking, though

AO - we are staying at the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong which is within walking distance of Gaggan

FromDC - on our smart phones we will turn data roaming off to avoid the charges

The horses were not fast, but faster than slow hikers. They take you to the valley where the many, many steps begin. I know that going all the way down and up and then down and up all those steps was too much for me, plus going all the way back down the hill/mountain I had done by horseback was just not worth it for me. My family did it and tho one kid had joined me on horseback.
Do bring some snacks to Bhutan. The food is simple, lots of rice. We used the snacks during the long car rides and sometimes to add to lunches.

Craig and Jeane: bon voyage. You are so well organized, I am impressed. I will look forward to whatever you post by way of report and photos. I am sure it will be the experience of a lifetime!

Bon voyage, Craig.
Have a great trip.

We leave for India next week, and plan to start at the other end of the Himalayas from you---in the Kullu valley and Shimla (himachal pradesh). Kullu valley sites are mentioned in the epics Mahabharata & Ramayana.

Will keep up with your reports. Enjoy.

We are at JFK in the Lufthansa Business Class lounge - decent but not outstanding. Traffic was horrendous but we left extra early, anticipating some rush hour congestion. Rented a beast of an SUV from National and dropped it off - easy train to airport, better than the usual shuttle bus. On to Delhi.

Looking forward to hearing about Bhutan Craig. Are you staying at the Amans?

Pook,

No we are not. We feel that for Bhutan that would isolate us. Hopefully all will go well with our plan .

Oh I am already envious of your dinner @ Gaggan. Will also be interested in what you think of the renaissance in BKK. ( location is so great and I found it super handy for the Skytrain)

Now in Gurgaon, near the Delhi airport at the Courtyard. Thanks RHK for the reco - we have a wonderful suite on the club floor. Picked up by a hotel driver after a delayed flight due to a passenger with a medical problem. Didn't get to bed until about 4 am but had slept on both flights. Spent a few hours today with a hotel driver, mostly window shopping in Delhi. Will nibble on hors at the club tonight and if that isn't enough will do room service. Heading to Bhutan in the AM so posts going forward will be infrequent.

Get your camera ready for the flight!

Now in Thimphu - had dinner last night and lunch today with Kencho, owner of Snow White Tours. We did some touring with Sonam, our guide and Kencho helped Jeane with the shopping. Thimphu is quite modern in some ways and we are looking forward to moving on tomorrow on account of that.

How's the weather Craig? Clear blue sky with cool temp? Any snow on the mountains?

Yes, Pook - clear blue skies, mid-60's (F) during the day, 30's at night. Snow on the highest peaks but not visible from Thimphu. Currently watching the sunrise from our balcony and wearing 2 layers of fleece...

We had really lousy Internet access at the Meri Puensum Resort in Punakha so posting much has been hard. Punakha area is beautiful and the climate is mild. Highlight was morning hike to a gorgeous Buddhist stupa. We are now in the Bumthang Valley with festivals to attend the next 2 days. Had a great dinner tonight - continental food, a nice change from dull buffets.

I'm following along and living vicariously. I wanna go back! Can't wait to hear about the tsechus (sacred festivals) you get to experience. What did Jeanne buy?

Robbie, Jeane bought a colorful traditional kira yesterday (to use as a wall hanging, not to wear). She has also purchased a couple of silk scarves (for accessorizing). BTW, I think we will be hooking up with Kencho one more time before we leave Bhutan.

I too will be interested to hear about the festivals. Looking forward to hearing more!

Festivals were colorful with lots of fun and smiles. Great photo ops of both masked dancers and the locals. Heading now to Gangtey for 1 night and hopefully spot some black-necked cranes...

We are going to Bangkok/Bhutan in March. Bookmarking for reference. Thanks Craig.

reading along... glad courtyard worked for you.. enjoy..

saw barge procession today, quite impressive..

Enjoying the little tidbits, Craig.

pook is anticipating your arrival.

we are going to gaggan with them at the end of the month... he may be gaggan'ed out by that time.

After you dine a lot at Gaggan you will be able to do the Gangnam style!

pook, you and dang and mony present your own style, no need to adopt another style

7 hour drive from Gangtey to Paro over bumpy one lane- wide roads, for the most part. Highlight was our 2-1/2 hour lunch - pizza with Kencho in Thimphu. She is such a sweet, knowledgable businesswoman - we talked about the local travel industry, politics and much more. It was tough to leave. We hike to a nunnery tomorrow and to Tiger's Nest the following day..

7 hour ride...uhg
Can't wait for your full report and pictures.

Pook,
Don't think Bob's knows of the latest song(dance) craze worldwide but that is typical,lol. Should have had Mony and Linda show him how to do the dance at Issaya

Woppa Gangnam Style

i know nothing if it is modern... i'm a guy of the 20's..

Karen here ...Bob is a little slow on the up take. The problem is if Bob dances Gangnam style you would feel the earth quake in Bhutan.

Great day today - mini Himilayan trek to a nunnery at 11-12,000 feet. Best part, we were the only ones there...

Wow! Craig, did it literally take your breath away?

Aloha!

Craig one man and a hundred nuns 12,000 feet above sea level, you can make a movie about that!

Took the horses to Tiger's nest today. Most of the hikers gave up at the viewpoint and did not do the 700 steps each way to the monastery but we did since we were not tired. This was a great way to end our stay here.

It is interesting to note that our driver is aware of the very recent 49%-49% national poll numbers for our election...

what does it tell you if you were the only tourists?

Bob, Bob, Bob - it tells me that we were at a very cool place (like Tong's "secret", for example). The places we Fodorites all want to hear about.

Sounds great, Craig, I await your full report.

you stuck your leg out, so I had to pull it..

Hats off to you and Jeanne. We wimped out at the viewpoint. Do tell what we missed.

Congratulations! You not only did the 700- steps but walked back down the mountain. I had taken hiking poles with me and it helped. My kids used them going up and I used it (the second went to one of the kids) going down. I forgot about them until today...but it was a big help. Then we had a picnic at the bottom and a cow came and joined us. He wanted part of our lunch. A van had come with the lunch and also brought a table and chairs. Very comfy.

Oh I want to do this trip now.........

We are in the Royal Silk Lounge at BKK right now after a fabulous evening with Pook (Hanuman) and his lovely daughter, Mony. We enjoyed an amazing 10(+?) course meal at Gaggon.

Safe journey home!

hope there is 10+ courses left for us at the end of the month.

fly safe

SO, what did you think of Gaggan Craig?

Nicky I think they are still on their way back to the US. Craig enjoyed himself a lot and this time we manage to get the right kind of white choc balloon with fresh truffle - yummy! Gaggan apologised on behalf of his Spanish chef who thought that we, when we went, wanted the authentic El Bulli kind.

Well that means Pook i will have to go back and try the choc kind!! i note from your pic that our spanish friend was there!
sigh... wishing D and I were off the BKK next week BUT looking forward to our CA road trip.
Looking forward too to your full trip report Craig.

We are currently stranded in DC due to a major snow storm in Hartford. United booked overnight accommodation for us while we waited in the business lounge at Dulles. Everything went perfectly on this trip until today. Flying US Air from Reagon National tomorrow. United is picking up hotel and taxi fare.

its the democrats fault

Good for United! I'm sure you are eager to get home.

Home, sweet home - trip report on a separate thread and a link to photos to follow after I get settled...

Looking forward to reading about your trip. Welcome to winter.

OK, YOU'VE BEEN HOME 24 HOURS, WHERE IS THE ACTUAL REPORT AND PICS???????????????????????

Can't wait for your full report and photos, Craig! The Tiger's Nest hike is something I'd like to do.