Hiking the Foothills of the Himalayas – The Annapurnas
Hiking in the foothills of the Himalayas was on Mark’s bucket when I met him 14 years ago, before a bucket list was a thing. Sometimes a long anticipation of … Read More
Tiger’s Nest: The Cultural Icon of Bhutan
As the grand finale to our trip in Bhutan, we climbed to Tiger’s Nest monastery (Taktshang) near Paro. Tiger’s Nest is by far the most photographed site in Bhutan. It … Read More
Thimphu – Bhutan’s “Big Apple”
Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, is by far the largest city at about 100,000 people. It is home to the Royal family, the parliament, international aid organizations, the Bhutan Eleven … Read More
A Royal Encounter, Hiking with the Queen Mother of Bhutan
So, you’re just going to have to trust us on this one because we have no photographic proof, but we did, indeed, hike and share a small lunch with the … Read More
Kuzu zangpo la – Greetings from Bhutan
The Kingdom in the Clouds. The Happiest Country in the World. The Last Shangri-la. Mystical. Magical. What a fascinating country. Bhutan is a (virtually completely) mountainous country roughly equal in … Read More
Springtime in Kyoto
Springtime in Kyoto – what a magical way to end our time in Japan. From the pictures we’ve seen, the only thing that can compare is possibly ‘Autumn in Kyoto’. … Read More
A Baker’s Dozen: Observations on Japan
Here are a few of our observations, based on our very short first visit to Japan: To our outsider eyes, Japan is an unusually homogenous country, due in part to … Read More
A Brief History of Japan
One of the things we’ve discovered about Japan is that it would be very hard to understand Japan today without understanding a bit about its long and unique history and … Read More
Kyoto, the Soul of Japan
Kyoto must be considered one of the world’s cultural and historic treasure troves. With 17 World Heritage Sites, more than 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines, Kyoto has been … Read More