Bhutan: Bumthang Valley

They say things happen in threes. While in Bhutan I got a stomach bug, I was nearly gored by a yak (see me shriek in video below), and I was ‘sling-shotted’ in the face with a walking stick. So the rest of my year will be all good luck, right?!

My tour in Bhutan with Exodus Travels was a mix of hiking, camping, and general bus sightseeing. While it’s a tiny country, driving distances are long thanks to the mountainous terrain. The roads are all actually quite good and well marked compared to other nearby countries. Considering they didn’t really have paved roads until the 1960s, this is pretty amazing. Right now, riding on a tour bus is really the only way to see the country (since tourism is limited and restricted to having a tour guide). You may know from reading this blog that ‘bus tours’ are typically not my thing. Besides the ‘insulated’ feeling, it’s also very hard to be in a small bus all day on twisting and turning roads. And even for this seasoned traveler who never gets car sick, well, I got car sick. Blech.

So, I was pretty thrilled when we arrived in the Bumthang Valley, an area in which we would stay for 3 days of hiking and camping.

The Bumthang district is the most historic dzongkhag (state) when you measure it by the number of ancient temples and sacred sites here. This region is the spiritual heart of the kingdom.  It’s a bucolic scene full of farms, rice fields, small villages, and some great mountain vistas. It is said that it was here that Guru Rinpoche, a Buddhist teacher and philosopher, also known as the second Buddha, cured a local king of some “spirit-induced ailment” in the 8th century, an event that resulted in the king, and finally the whole country, embracing Buddhism.

We stayed at a lovely home, which was essentially a B&B. It was nice to have more of a “home-cooked” meal as opposed to all the hotel buffets we had been eating. While all the food was very fresh and good, I was craving some variety beyond red rice, fiddlehead ferns, and potatoes. Plus, now that I had suffered some sort of stomach bug, the food smells started to bother me (something this hearty eater has never experienced before!). We watched the owner here make us ‘momos’ from scratch (dumplings native to Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan that resemble Japanese gyoza) – which were delicious.

Hike Day 1

Our first day, we did a very easy primer hike right from our hotel that linked a few monasteries and temples.  From one of the oldest temples in the kingdom, Jambay Lhakhang, a monastery built in the 7th century by a Tibetan King to Kurje Lhakhang a large monastery consisting of three temples, it was here that I started to get “templed-out.” They were lovely, but were all starting to meld together in my brain since we were seeing so many in such a short time.

Festivals in Bhutan

Bhutanese festivals are steeped in Buddhist religion and culture. The “tshechu” is a religious festival meaning “tenth day” held annually in various temples, monasteries, and dzongs throughout the country with Paro Tsechu and Thimphu Tsechu being the largest and most famous.

While we’d just missed the Paro festival, we did get to experience something I’d never seen before. The Domkhar Fire Festival happens usually in April or May and lasts three days. We were able to go the first night and watch some masked dancers dancing around fire in the temples main courtyard. It was here, that while filming, I was slapped in the rear by phallus-wielding jester. The atsara, is one of the most revered folk figures in Bhutanese culture. He kind of looks like a clown in his big red mask painted with a permanent chesire grin. More good luck? I hope so. You can read more about these guys and their larger purpose here.

Do you see what’s in his right hand?! Ouch.

Suddenly the show ended with a bang and there was a loud explosion and fireball.  The crowd immediately jumped to its feet and dispersed to a field outside. We high-tailed it uphill in the dark – stepping in all kinds of funky, malodorous cow patties along the way. It was here that an even larger bonfire was created. It was like nothing I’d evet seen before. Thatched baskets, dried grass, and branches were lit on fire, basically creating a huge, blazing archway. And then…regular people started to run through the fire; literally running into a burning wall of fire.  Everyone from children to couples to townsfolk and even our guides and some of our group ran into this inferno.  Many donned hats so their hair wouldn’t be singed off in an instant. Some came out with burn holes on their jackets.

I wanted to do it, but fear got the best of me – I had no replacement clothes, I didn’t have a hat and kinda like my hair, and worse, what if I tripped and fell right in the middle of it?  There was no dress-rehearsal. And there was no ambulance waiting in the wings. So I just stood by in the cheering crowd and gaped at everyone purifying their sins.

Hike Day 2

The first day of our official camping hike started out with pouring rain and mud. As a group, we debated, and the consensus swung from us just staying in our cozy b&b another day to starting the hike and seeing how it went. It went…wet. It rained most of the time, but it was the mud that was maddening. It was a bit slippery. And more than once, I was stuck, calf-high in the muck. The terrain was pretty neat though – varying from big, rocky fields, to mossy streams, and wooded valleys. We were hiking up the valley from Thangbi Goemba to Ngang Lhakhang.  Along the way, we passed many a happy “free-range” cow.

And in just under three hours we had already reached our campsite. By the time we got there, I felt good actually, and enjoyed the hike and conversation with Chris, one of my fellow tour mates. Although, if it wasn’t for keeping up with him (whom I lovingly dubbed “Daddy Long Legs” as he was about 6’2” tall and took very long strides), I’d still be stuck in the mud and I am sure I’d have taken at least another hour to arrive.

5-Star Camping

And what a campsite it was! Our guides called it “5-star” camping. Everything was already set up when we arrived. I had my own tent, complete with area rug and a raised cot with a thin air mattress. I’ve never NOT slept on the ground when camping before. When we arrived there was coffee and tea waiting for us plus biscuits and some fun salty popcorn. It’s the little things out in the middle of the wilderness that make me smile. And there was even a toilet tent – virtually a tent covering a toilet seat on a folding chair that covered a hole in the ground.  I’ve had issues peeing in the outdoors before (although I got pretty good at it during my two-week cycling adventure in Vietnam) and have to admit, I was happy with this makeshift loo. We had supper in the “dinner tent” and then sat around a big campfire (one that slightly melted my new Merrel hiking shoes—ugh!). Time for bed.

The best part? They gave us each a hot water bottle at bedtime to put inside our sleeping bags which warmed them up amazingly well which resulted in a good night’s sleep.

Hike Day 3

This was the l o n g day. Too long for me actually. From what we were told, we thought it would be about a six to seven hour hike. It ended up being nine.  When you are hiking and “in your own head” a lot, it’s good to have an idea of what your day will bring. The fact that psychologically, I thought I’d be done 2-3 hours before I was was a bit frustrating.  Plus, you have to remember we were hiking at very high altitudes. And while we had a few days to acclimate to the elevation here in Bhutan, it was still a tough hike uphill to and around 12,000 feet.  It was a great workout, but I was definitely very fatigued and a bit shaky by the end.

In the morning at 7:45, after breakfast, we hiked for about an hour from our campsite along a pastoral and flat and gently sloping uphill path. That was the easy part of the day.  Soon it turned into a two and a half hour hard uphill slog through forests of rhododendron and bamboo and of course it started to rain again.

We got to the “lunch site” around 11:30am and it was pouring. Somehow I managed to be in the first group that arrived and we huddled together under a tree, getting cold while we waited for the others for lunch. But since they could’ve been an hour behind, we ate some rice, fruit, and vegetables and continued on our journey. It was here, we were told it would be about 3 more hours of hiking until the campsite (and even possibly two once we hit a farm road and our bus ‘might’ come by…which I planned to happily board). I spent the afternoon hiking alone, enjoying it, cursing it, and toward the end, just ready to be done. The first hour after lunch was the toughest — straight up a rocky river bed to the mountain pass.

Tired and wet, but I made it!

The next hour was more downhill through a wet forest, and over streams and through pastoral farmland. Despite being cold, wet, and cranky (and creaky!) it was great to see the diversity of the landscape and also to feel so alone and in nature. We passed yaks, colorful birds, and dozens and dozens of blooming rhododendrons along the way.

What was to be the final hour turned into three more hours of up and down and undulating paths, fields, and riverbeds. Also, bear in mind, these were not marked trails. Our guides and faster walkers ahead (i.e. our amazing eldest hiker, and the most in shape, Eleanor) made arrows in the dirt with sticks to guide us along.

Yakkity Yak

It was also about this time I was nearly gored by a yak. Yes. Gored.  I was shooting some video of this lovely long-haired bovine as it nibbled on some leaves and didn’t seem to care at all about me gawking at it like a paparazzo. Until it did. He suddenly reared up and lunged at me. I turned and let out my best girly-girl shriek as my adrenalin kicked in making my heart immediately pump like crazy and my breath rate quadruple. I narrowly escaped the beast, but was told later by Chris and our guide, Sonam, just how very close it came to possibly adding another hole into my rear end, one that I just don’t need.

See my scream like a girl (hey, I am a girl!) here:

Click here if you can’t see the above video. 

Hot Stone Bath

When we finally arrived at our camp I was wet, tired, and a kind of miserable. But then, I stripped off my damp clothes and lowered myself into a hot stone bath. Ahhhhh. Locals literally heat large stones over a campfire and then place them in a wooden bath filled with water. They were so hot that they had to cool it off by adding cold water. They threw in some herbs and I was like a tea bag floating in a nice herbal chai. While the rain continued to fall outside, Hillary and I enjoyed our soak…and the only shower we had had for 3 days or so.

Don’t Let My Smile Fool You – I am Exhausted!

I really shouldn’t complain though. This trek was probably nothing for seasoned hikers let alone our guides who also do the famous Snowman’s Trek. It is known as one of the world’s toughest hikes as it takes about 25 days and goes over 12 mountain passes, all of them more than 14,500 feet!

Phallus Symbol

I’d be remiss to not mention is the plethora of phallic symbols that adorn Bhutanese homes and shops….especially in the smaller villages.  And when I say ‘symbols’ I mean huge ejaculating penises.  Here in the States, of course, we have our own society-based views of what this would mean (something along the lines of vulgar pornography), but in other cultures things are different.

The belief that this symbol brings good luck and drives away evil spirits is so ingrained in the psyche of the population in Bhutan that the symbols are routinely painted on outside walls of new houses and carved wooden phalluses are hung outside, on the corner eaves of homes.

These phallus paintings have their origins in the Chimi Lhakhang monastery near Punakha, the former capital of Bhutan. The village monastery was built in honour of the “Divine Madman” (Lama Drukpa Kunley) who lived in the 15-16th century and was popularly known for his unorthodox ways of teaching. Admittedly, it was hard to see past my own ingrained societal norms and not just see big hairy penises on these folks homes.

 Stay tuned for the Bhutan Video!

Don’t forget you can win your own Exodus Travels trip by entering a Feel More Alive Moment here.
Also, friends of my blog can get 10% off an Exodus Travels tour if you book by May 31st!
Just Quote ‘BLOG’ at the time of booking and get 10% off!

1. Each blog reader who books any Exodus trip between 1 March – 31 May 2013 will receive a 10% discount.
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5. There is no cash alternative and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with other Exodus offers or loyalty discounts.
7. Exodus has the right to withdraw or change this introductory offer at anytime The discount will be applied to the final balance, not the deposit payment.

This is part of a series of posts on Bhutan. I was a guest of Exodus Travels as part of a Navigate Media Group initiative. As always, all writing, photography, and opinions are my own. 

The post Bhutan: Trekking in the Bumthang Valley appeared first on LL World Tour.

“Kuzu zangpo la!” yell tiny, cherubic faced-kids as I walk past them in towns and villages and on the sides of farming roads all over Bhutan. Some are a little dusty, some have runny noses, but all are friendly and smiley and just want to say ‘hi!’

The child is at the heart of Bhutan’s development. Children receive high priority in Bhutan, guided by the King of Bhutan who has declared that “the future of our nation lies in the hands of our children.”

And now a groundbreaking new child protection framework is being set up within the monastery school system, one that was formerly cut off and separate from state and social welfare programs. Because the Buddhist faith is tightly woven into the fabric of Bhutan’s immensely protected national identity,  monks are still revered and for many remain an integral part of everyday life. For centuries, monasteries here have provided a home and an education to thousands of Bhutan’s poorest children. More than 4,000 live and study in monasteries across the country, usually sent by parents who can’t afford to feed their families.  Designed and funded by Unicef Bhutan, this new program aims to instill the concept of child rights into the monastic orders and, more practically, provide these children with a way of reporting violence, mistreatment, or abuse. It aims to create ties between the monastic orders, the police, and state child welfare services.

The children I see seem innocent and happy in a mostly untouched corner of the world. I wish I could ask them what they like to do or what they worry about.  All I know is they seem content just to run and play with a stick. They don’t have (or need) an Xbox or a scooter or an iPad. But they seem happier than many kids of today in the Western world.

Meet them here:

Stay tuned for more…

This is part of a series of posts on Bhutan. I was a guest of Exodus Travels as part of a Navigate Media Group initiative.  As always, all writing, photography, and opinions are my own. 

The post Photo Essay: Faces of Bhutan appeared first on LL World Tour.

Prayer Flags on a Bridge

Visiting Bhutan

Don’t worry be happy.

That might as well be the national song of the Asian Kingdom of Bhutan. It’s like no place I’ve ever been.

This is a beautiful country where the hillsides are dotted with ancient monasteries and colorful prayer flags blow in the breeze. There are no traffic lights; no chain stores; no billboards. The only signs I see are telling the passersby to “fight the HIV Virus, not people” and “It is not a Rally, Enjoy the Valley.”

From the moment I set foot in the country and meet my local Exodus Travels guides, Dorji and Sonam, I feel a peacefulness, a contentment. Happiness.

Rainbow to Happiness in Bhutan

Gross National Happiness

Since the early 70s, Bhutan has rejected the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) as the only way to measure progress. Instead, this tiny nation has championed a new approach to development, which measures prosperity through the specific principles of Gross National Happiness (GNH): economic self-reliance, conservation of the environment, good governance, and cultural preservation.  For example all citizens are required to wear the National Dress while in public during the day. The men wear a  knee-length robe tied with a belt called a gho and women wear a kira, a long dress.

While they wear dresses, it may surprise you that it’s the women who “wear the pants” in Bhutan. They are traditionally the land owners and run most family affairs. Both men and women work in the fields or own small businesses, but it’s the men that often cook and make or repair clothes.

Happiness=Puppies!

Plus, here, protecting the environment has become part of their constitution. The country has pledged to remain carbon neutral and to ensure that at least 60% of its land will always remain under forest cover. They are on the path to becoming the world’s first totally organic country. They have banned export logging and have even instigated a monthly pedestrian day that bans all private vehicles from the roads. It doesn’t mean they completely reject economic growth (there largest  industries are agriculture and fast-growing hydroelectric power, which is exported next door to India), its just not at the expense of the good things in life.

The Last Shangri-La

Despite its focus on national wellbeing, Bhutan of course, isn’t perfect. While slowly growing, it still remains one of the poorest nations on the planet. A quarter of its 750,000 people live below the poverty line, and many still live without electricity. There has been a slow rise in crime, a growing gang and drug culture, and a rising ethnic conflict due to the expulsion of one-fifth of its population (mostly ethnic Nepalese) in the name of preserving the Tibetan Buddhist culture and identity. After many years in refugee camps, many are now moving to host countries like Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. The U.S. admitted 30,870 refugees between 2008 and 2010.  Of course, I don’t see any of problems while here. Tourism is very controlled since you remain with a guide the entire time.

Until quite recently, this “last Shangri-la” was truly off the beaten path and inaccessible due to its geography and a deliberate desire to remain this way. Bhutan is a remote country tucked away between two big neighbors (literally and figuratively), India and China. This conservative Buddhist kingdom high in the Himalayas had no paved roads until the 1960s, was off-limits to foreigners until 1974, and only just granted television and Internet access starting in 1999. Can you imagine the culture shock when the Kardashians, gansta rap, and Walking Dead hit the airwaves here?  Because of its isolation, Bhutan had been able to preserve much of its Buddhist traditions and keep its landscape free from unnatural interruptions like signs, billboards, and advertising.  Now, some channels have been banned, but it will be interesting to see how this tiny bastion of times-gone-by changes over the next few decades.  The population is very young, so some of today’s kids have already grown up with Internet and television, making western dress, music, and smartphones quite common. Many of this new generation are moving to the cities or heading to India and rejecting the traditional agrarian lifestyle.

Old…

…and New

Many people I have spoken to don’t know much about Bhutan let alone have barely heard of it.

So, some Bhutan Facts for you:

• The first democratic elections were held in Bhutan in March 2008.
• They drive on the left.
• Locals had no television or Internet access until 1999.
• The country did not open up to tourism until 1974.
• It’s the only country in the world to ban the sale of tobacco.
• There are no traffic lights in the entire country.
• Bhutan had no electricity, no cars, and no phones until the 1960s.
• The first 20 students ever to complete high school graduated in 1968.
• English is their second language and taught to all school children.
• Bhutan is the first country in the world with specific constitutional obligations on its people to protect the environment. Among its requirements: At least 60 percent of the nation must remain under forest cover forever.
• Plastic bags are banned in Bhutan.
• The Driving of cars is banned on the first Sunday of the month…it is known as “pedestrian day”
• In Bhutan, healthcare is free for both residents as well as visitors.
• The national sport of Bhutan is Archery.

National Archery Tournament

Bhutan is small (the size of Switzerland), but mountainous, so driving throughout the country can take a long time going up and over mountain passes. The fifth and current king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, wed a commoner and daughter of a pilot, in 2011, and their photos are plastered everywhere. The beautiful, young couple were even on a pin my flight attendant wore on our Drukair flight into the country. His father, the fourth king, was responsible for the start of Gross National Happiness as well as many of the modern reforms in the country.

Tourism in Bhutan

I am touring this beautiful, isolated country with Exodus Travels, the longstanding adventure tour company of the UK. A two-week trip just scratches the surface here, but the tour is giving me a great overview of this stunning and natural wonder.

As you can tell, this is like no place I’ve ever visited. Even the tourism industry has specific rules set in place to protect the culture and environment.

In order to visit Bhutan, you must pay a per-day fee to the government of $250. It sort of becomes an “all-inclusive” country.

The fee includes:

• All internal taxes and charges
• Accommodation
• All Meals
• All travel with a licensed Bhutanese Tour Guide
• All Internal Transport
• Camping Equipment and Haulage for Trekking Tours

So while some recoil at hearing the hefty per diem tax, when you take into account all that it includes, it’s not really that bad. Yes, you could certainly travel cheaper independently, but, well, you can’t do that here.  It certainly is a unique tourism model – one that does keep the country from being over run by tourists and backpackers, something you can easily the effects of just next door in Katmandu.

Stay tuned for more…

This is part of a series of posts on Bhutan. I was a guest of Exodus Travels as part of a Navigate Media Group initiative.  As always, all writing, photography, and opinions are my own. 

The post Photo Essay: Bhutan & A Little About the Country appeared first on LL World Tour.

Bhutan: The Approach

Suddenly, our plane banked and turned right basically to avoid an unwanted head-on introduction to the mountain outside of our right windows. Then we made a left turn and the runway appeared out of nowhere. We were practically on top of it. The landing strip seemed to be smack dab in the center of town with houses and buildings on either side of it.  We bounced down on the pavement and quickly came to a screeching halt outside of an Asian-Pagoda style building. We’d landed in Bhutan.

Drukair Landing in Paro, Bhutan

The hour-long flight from Katmandu, Nepal to Paro, Bhutan was one of the most dramatic I’ve ever been on. But it actually wasn’t because of that hair-raising landing, it was the views of the Himalaya mountain range on the way…yes, the one with Mt. Everest, the highest point on the planet at 29,029 feet (8,848 m). In my worldly travels, I’ve flown over the Alps in Europe, the Rockies in the USA, and the Andes in South America, but nothing was quite like this.  Mountains so high…they popped up through the highest clouds.  It was like gazing at a another planet out of our tiny windows. Was this even Earth? I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and goose bumps dotted my arms. It felt like we were jetting so close to them, my mouth was likely agape most of the flight.

Himalayas Appear in the Distance

Lean Left!

Everyone told us, “sit on the left side of the plane!” So I was pretty disappointed when I ended up with an aisle seat.  Boooo! But, it soon became evident that the flight was only half full. The instant I realized this, I lept out of my seat in mid-conversation with my tour mates and somehow jockeyed past the Chinese tourists on board to land myself a window seat.  Phew!  It was over the wing (not so great for photography), but I couldn’t complain.

Plus, Drukair (the national carrier of Bhutan) was much nicer than I’d imagined. I had pictured a tiny prop plane, but this was a full fledged 737 with leather seats and room to breathe.  And although it was just 60 minutes in the air, they still came around with a lovely snack consisting of a small sandwich and samosa-type pastry with vegetable filling. And didn’t charge for it.  Are you listening United?

Once we landed in Bhutan and were back on terra firma, it felt like we’d just gotten off a great ride at Universal Studios. But now, the real ride was about to begin, two weeks in the magical Kingdom of Bhutan with Exodus Travels.

More to come!

This is part of a series of posts on Bhutan. I was a guest of Exodus Travels as part of a Navigate Media Group initiative. As always, all writing, photography, and opinions are my own. 

The post Bhutan: The Approach appeared first on LL World Tour.

Empty Chairs at Sunrise

“…Some think a single girl must be traveling the world to ‘find a husband.’
But that couldn’t have been further from the truth.  I was truly happy to travel and be single.
But, I fell hard and fast for CP (for whom I coincidentally and Hollywood-fairy-tale like, had a crush on back in high school)…”

This one’s going to get personal.

My adult life has somewhat been defined by travel.  From my first trips to California or Florida as a kid and teen, to my first trip to Europe in my twenties, I reveled in this exciting wanderlust I felt.  The only thing I was sure of in life was that I wanted to travel more. While I was working full time as a TV producer, I made it my goal and a priority to ensure I would go on a big (read: far) trip every year. And I did. Each year, during my 2-3 week vacation time, I headed out to places like Tokyo and Greece and Croatia and Prague. But it wasn’t enough. When I returned, my exhilaration quickly turned to depression, as I didn’t want to be back in my scheduled life.

I want to hear from you: How do you feel in between your holidays or vacations?

I longed to be free in the world. There was so much more I wanted to see and do. I filled my days at home with enriching things like learning to play guitar, taking improv classes, tennis lessons, and volunteering as an English teacher and a Chicago tour guide. I loved being involved and learning more about me and about the world. I wanted to soak up all that life had to offer. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was my way of “traveling” when home.

Travel Around the World

I had no idea this was what I was going to do or even wanted to do until about six months before I actually did it. I knew I wanted to travel more, but, like many, I couldn’t conceive the form that could take.  I thought maybe I could try to get a job in Europe so I could just move there. I never set out to be a nomad.

Until I did. I quit my job back in the summer of 2006 (the same time I started this blog), and left the United States that autumn to not return once until 15 months later. I continued to travel in the U.S. and then left again for more world travels and it wasn’t until 2010 that I actually unpacked my bag, got an apartment in Chicago, and put down some shallow roots again.

Part Time Nomad

Patagonia Lisa

Now I have made travel my life and career. I am immersed in it. I am a freelance travel and food writer/photographer. I speak about travel as well as video and also still do some freelance TV production and video consulting. Many of my new long-term travel friends and peers continue to travel the world with no home base and not many belongings. I love the ‘few belongings’ part, but I know for sure that I like having a home base. I loved my world travels, but I don’t desire to be gone with no home that long again.

I want to hear from you: Do you need a home base or prefer to be totally free?

Slow Travel

Me in Big Sur

Plus I am all about slow travel now. I don’t necessarily need (or want) the momentum of travel like I did before (the continuous change of scenery and loathsome task of packing and unpacking each week), but I still crave newness and adventure.  So, barring the fact that I love my hometown of Chicago and do enjoy returning there each time, that home base could be anywhere really – well anywhere that I like, that makes me feel good, and is aesthetically pleasing to me. For now I travel for a month or two at a time and then return home and it feels right.

Sharing my Life

I have made a conscious choice not to write much about my personal life here. I have made the random reference here and there about relationships, but haven’t revealed too much. It’s a tough balance of wanting to let you in, but keeping some things private and for myself and the ones I love.

When I traveled around the world, I was completely single. I had just left an intense five-year relationship filled with big highs and painful lows. While that was hard, being free and unattached in the world was such a relief.  Mostly because, not only was I guaranteed not to argue with myself (well, most of the time!), I didn’t have to “miss” anyone and feel like half of me wasn’t present in the moment. That truly made my travels clear and pure.  Because when I am with someone and in love, I give my all emotionally and share my life much more than you may think this independent gal-around-the-world would. But I do. I am loyal and giving and dedicated.  I am all in.

It just so happens that upon my return to the U.S., I met and fell in love with someone I knew 20 years ago from my hometown and my high school. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen. I wasn’t really looking. And if I had been, New Jersey probably would not have been the first place I would’ve started. Not only because I’d left New Jersey a long time ago, but because I felt I ‘outgrew’ that kind of suburban lifestyle.

OBX LL & CP

Some think a single girl must be traveling the world to ‘find a husband.’ But that couldn’t have been further from the truth.  I was truly happy to travel and be single. But, I fell hard and fast for CP (for whom I coincidentally and Hollywood-fairy-tale like, had a crush on back in high school – cue music montage).

So now, he is a big part of my life. And that matters to me. Connecting and sharing my life with someone is what it’s all about to me. Life is short and I want to live, laugh, and love.

He couldn’t be more supportive of my travels and hopefully joins me here and there, but I still love to travel alone and he encourages my need for this, so I couldn’t ask for more. So travel is there, but I know for sure, I always want to come home.

The post Modern Day Nomad Turned Part Time Traveler…in Love appeared first on LL World Tour.

Dear Berlin-

I hate to say this, but I feel I must be honest. I think I’ve outgrown you.

What?!

During my ‘round the world tour, Berlin was hands down one of my favorite cities. It was in the top two for sure – so much so that I returned there in 2008 to possibly look for work and live. I only stayed for a few weeks and then I caved to the pull of being on the road and still wanted to explore more places while I could.   I recently returned again for an entire month to live, work, and hang out. I got to live with my friend Sherry Ott in a cool apartment and get to know the city more. While I know one month barely scratches the surface, I did learn…I’m kind of over it.

Say it ain’t so!

How a person feels about a place is entirely subjective, so be gentle on me here before you go all bat shit and get all up in my grill about how awesome Berlin is. I agree, to an extent, and, well, then…I don’t.

What I like about Berlin

The Energy

There is an undeniable, palpable energy to the city of Berlin. At times, it’s comparable to that of New York City. It’s young. It’s growing fast. There’s a feeling in the air – a growing, progressive, a do-anything-we-want buzz.

It’s Cheap

Berlin is one of the cheapest cities in Europe. Prices are going up a bit, but rents and eating out are so cheap compared to Chicago, New York, Paris and London. You can eat a döner kebab for three Euros. You can eat a simple, yet good dinner out for 10 Euros and beer is just €2-3. It’s wonderful. And goes hand in hand with the energy here. It’s because of the low prices that so many artists and young people CAN come to Berlin. Because it’s so affordable, it gives many the time and chance to try to create something and fail or succeed.

The Food

Falafel in Berlin

As you may have seen in my Berlin restaurants and food post, the grub here is great. Varied, International, cheap and abundant, I would never grown weary of the food in this city. Everything from falafel, bratwurst, and Thai curry to Turkish kebabs, Mexican tacos, and great breads and bakeries, is available and cheap. This may be the thing that keeps me hanging on to you, Berlin.

Berlin Breakfast

What I Don’t Like about Berlin

It’s Ugly

Gasp! No she din’t. Yes, I did. There ARE some cool, pretty parts; I love some of the surviving architecture of some side streets of Prenzlauer Berg or Kreuzberg and I even like some of the modern (sometimes controversial) architecture of Potsdamer Platz, the dome on the Reichstag, and some of the government buildings. I love the green band in Tiergarten, the so-close forest of Grünewald, and other parks sprinkled throughout the city. But overall, I find the city stark, ‘blocky’, scruffy-looking (thanks to all the graffiti), and depressing. I know, graffiti can be art and some of it is, but it’s everywhere and on nearly every building. I just find this messy and distracting. I personally wouldn’t want to live in a building that’s been tagged with a bunch of scrawls on the front. It’s just too much for me. Fine, call me a square or conservative. Maybe I’m not hip or cool anymore or I’m getting old, but aesthetics of where I live are important to me and what I see in my neighborhood does shape my mood. There are also the rows and rows of utterly depressing Soviet concrete block apartment buildings. Not to mention the stark, hugeness of Karl Marx Allee. Yes, some of the buildings are cool, but so big and vast that to me they are just cold.

It Doesn’t Feel Like Europe

Poor Berlin. It’s been bombed and bulldozed beyond recognition. The old-world, medieval, cobblestone charm that I love so much about Europe, is lacking. I found a few pockets that gave me this feel, but overall I couldn’t find it.

Yes, I was here in March and it seemed to be grey and snowing nearly every single, freaking day so I am sure this had an affect on my outlook of my once-favorite city. It snowed this winter in Berlin more than it had in decades.  This made it quite tough for me to stroll and wander like I like to do or hop on my bike like I had pictured, being able to explore different streets and neighborhoods all day long.  The gray skies, wind whipping in my face, and cold temps just made me want to take refuge indoors at our cozy and warm apartment.

But, okay, I still kinda like you. I’m torn really. I am sure, I must return once again and give Berlin a fourth chance, because in this case, the third time was not a charm.  But Berlin is fickle and changes so fast, who knows how I will feel in a couple years? She may just pull me back in.

Do you agree or disagree? Tell me why I’m wrong and a big jerk. C’mon, let me hear it in the comments below!

Disclosure: During my entire time in Berlin, I was a guest of Go with Oh and Oh-Berlin. As always, my writing and opinions are my own.

The post I’m Over You Berlin appeared first on LL World Tour.

Weissensee Jewish Cemetery

I didn’t expect to, but I love this place. It is extraordinarily peaceful with gentle snow flakes falling creating blanket of calm and peace all around. The cushion of white and towering trees all above causes such a quiet, tranquil setting. All I hear are my boots crunching the snow underneath my feet and the pretty birds singing above, seemingly enjoying the fluffy flakes even though they must wonder what’s going on, since this is also the first day of spring.

It is almost like I am in a big, forested park save for all the headstones in the snow. I am standing in the Weißensee Cemetery, the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe which was inaugurated in 1880. More than 100,000 people have found their final resting place here.

Right at the entrance, I walk past a monument commemorating the six million Jews who were victims of Nazi persecution. On stones arranged in a circle, the names of all the major concentration camps are inscribed.

In the north corner of the cemetery, there is a burial place for about 90 of the Torah scrolls which were desecrated during the pogrom night of 1938 (Kristallnacht).

Along with the calm, there is an inescapable feeling of melancholy. Of course, when looking at the dates on the headstones, there is an obvious gap in time. All the deaths pre-date WWII. And then nothing until more recent times. What strikes me is here are hundreds and hundreds of people whose families are no more. They ended right here as it is very likely their children were all killed during the war, ending the family line…just like that.

For more info:

Weissensee Cemetery 
Jewish Berlin

Disclosure: During my entire time in Berlin, I was a guest of Go with Oh and Oh-Berlin. As always, my writing and opinions are my own. 

The post Berlin: Weissensee Jewish Cemetery appeared first on LL World Tour.

Tempelhof Airport

Since it opened as a public park in 2010, Tempelhof has become the most popular open space in all of Berlin. In a space larger than NYC’s Central Park, people come out to run and ride bikes on the parallel runways, fly kites, and have picnics and barbecues all over the lawn.

Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport closed all operations in 2008. Since then events like trade fairs and music festivals have taken place here. Now renovations are taking place alongside important conservation measures to preserve and protect the land.

The airport building was built in the 1930s and had since been used by the Nazis as a place for forced labor and arms production, then became the opposite – a symbol of freedom during the Berlin airlift of 1948-49.

Berlin Airlift

In 1948, the Soviets halted all traffic by land and by water into or out of the western-controlled sectors of Berlin. The only remaining access routes into the city were three 20 mile-wide air corridors. The Western allies had to choose whether to abandon the city or try to supply the inhabitants with food and other necessities by air.  Operation Vittles, the unofficial name of the airlift,  lasted the next eleven months and sustained the city’s 2½ million residents in one of the greatest feats in aviation history.

Tempelhof also became famous as the location of Operation Little Vittles: literally dropping candy to children living near the airport.

Tour the Airport

We had a great tour of the old Airport despite buckets of snow falling. It’s a beautifully preserved historical gem and we learned that the Tempelhof Projekt has some plans in the works for preserving the building and outdoor space, with the idea that it would not take away from the history, but only add more useable space to such a great place that all Berliners seem to already love.

Since 2009, the government of Berlin has been the sole owner of the buildings and grounds of the former airport.

The government commissioned the Tempelhof Projekt to propose some development of the area. You can imagine the public, who loves their huge park, is concerned as to what this will mean.  The conscientious new plan will preserve a huge part of the open space, incorporating a new water feature plus adding about 200 trees. On the perimeter, they do plan some new city residences plus a new public library. Also, startups and tech companies are filling some of the old office spaces within the airports buildings.

Now I just have to get back there in the summer to really see the park in full spring full of Berliners enjoying a sunny day.

For More Info:

Tempelhof Tours 

Disclosure: During my entire time in Berlin, I was a guest of Go with Oh and Oh-Berlin. I was a guest of the Tempelholf Projekt for this tour.  As always, my writing and opinions are my own. 

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It is no surprise that Berlin is a huge international city. I found it much easier to find Turkish food than authentic German food. In fact I waited on line (in the cold!) just to taste the famous doner kebab at Mustafas stand in Kreuzberg. You must check out Mustafa’s awesome website, it’s really fun and cool and I probably like it more than I actually liked their kebab. It was decent, but I still love the amazing grilled bread and köfte at Gel Gör on Kottbusser Damm…a great recommendation thanks to my friends at Uncornered Market and the Taxi Gourmet.

During our time in Berlin, we had our fair share of döner kebab, Thai noodles, Syrian and Lebanese falafel and baba ghanouj, Vietnamese spring rolls, even Ethiopian lentils and Mexican tacos.  And since Berlin still remains relatively cheap, it’s a great place to eat out and not break the bank.

German Food

This was in some ways harder to find than other foods. CurryWurst is the true street food and I found my favorite at Curry 66 in Friedrichshain. I have to admit, the first time I was in Berlin, I tried this at the Konnopke Imbiss (Imbiss means snackbar) in Prenzlauer Berg and thought it was just okay, nothing really special.  Or perhaps I just didn’t know how to order? But, this one was charred all crisp and nice like I love and was downright tasty!

During one of our first nights, I treated Sherry to one of our nicest outings at Schneeweiss in our neighborhood. She had the über local schnitzl and I tried a vegetarian dish, of which of course I forgot the name, which was delicious.  It was a soy based ‘meat’…well, just look at the picture. Doesn’t it look pretty damn tasty? It was.

Bavarian-Korean Cooking Class

I took a unique, fusion cooking class at Goldhahn & Sampson, a cute little gourmet food shop and cooking school in Prenzlauer Berg. This was a blast. Our chef and teacher, Lauren (a Korean gal originally from LA and Chicago), aka Fraulein Kimchi, moved to Germany about six years ago to pursue her opera-signing career. In the meantime, she brought her cooking skills and family recipes with her and saw there was a void in the Korean food department. She started making and selling her own kimchi and the rest is history. She teaches here once a month, but there are different classes nearly every night at this neighborhood spot. I learned (sort of) how to make a Bavarian-Korean meal – and before you think, ‘how weird’, let me tell you…it was delicious!

From soup to amazing kimchi käsespaetzle to a cured, roast ham, it all was phenomenal! The class was just the right mix of learning, doing, and enjoying. All washed down with some great German wine and wonderful Korean tea.

Bavarian Korean Soup

Kimchi Käsespaetzle

Krustenbraten a la Fräulein Kimchi with Pickled Plums

Kockhaus shop

I stopped in this unique shop, also in Prenzlauer Berg. Kochhaus basically means Cooking House. It’s like a 3D cookbook. Inside, there are several cute tables with wooden bowls and tins of ingredients. Each ‘station’ is one recipe. You can select what you want to make for dinner and then all the ingredients are right there already measured out and just loose so there’s less packaging. Not only did I drool over all the different recipes and ingredients on display, the shop also has some gourmet food items to buy, and a small café, where I had some quiche before I head off to wander down Kastianallee, a popular street full of cafes and boutiques.

Gastro Rallye

I loved this Berlin food tour. In essence it is like doing a pub-crawl, but with food, good food.  We had a separate course at these four different restaurants in about four hours:

W Der Imbiss

We started at what may have been my favorite (and a place I returned to twice)!  This tiny, hip looking place simply serves what they call naan pizza. Made with toppings like fresh arugula, sundried tomatoes, and a garlic artichoke spread, I was in love.  Seriously good.

Vino e Libri

Next up was an upscale Italian restaurant. Here we had a fish course of Salmon Tartare and Wolf fish with shrimp. Wolf fish? Yep. Just as pretty as it was tasty. Multo Bene!

Mani Hotel

Our third stop was at the hip and trendy Mani Hotel and restaurant. Everything was black glass in that sort of 1990s German “sprockets” feel. They describe their food as Tel Aviv to Paris and it was fantastic with dishes like dry aged roast beef with hummus, roasted onions, pickles; fried goat cheese with truffle, cardoon (artichoke thistle), & tomato jam; beet root with yoghurt, pecans, & pomegranates; yellowfin tuna encrusted in pistachio with quince & Jerusalem artichoke.

Rutz Winebar

We had our dessert course at Rutz, the one restaurant on our tour that has been awarded a Michelin star. I’m not a big dessert gal so this was okay, but the place was lovely.

Kosher

I also managed to find a Jewish deli in Berlin. The Jewish community here is having somewhat of a resurgence and you can’t get more Jewish (NY Jewish) that a thick pastrami on rye sandwich.

Mogg and Melzer is located in a former Jewish Girls’ School. As the thumping bass hip hop music in the backgroundgives away, owners Oskar Melzer and Paul Mogg are former DJs and club owners.

Dinner Parties

Since we had an apartment with a kitchen…we took advantage of it! So we hosted two dinner parties during our time in Berlin.

Mexican food has started to finally come into Berlin and as Joanna and Eitan said, “Authentic, does not always mean good.” They’ve studied Mexican food and have brought some amazing fresh flour tortilla tacos, caramelized onion and cheese quesadillas, and zippy guacamole to Berlin at their restaurant in Friedrichshain: No Hablo Espanol. Que bueno!

Our second party had a Mediterranean vibe. Ofir moved to Berlin from Israel and has been sharing is love of what he calls holyland cooking with Berliners.

In fact, he has created the HolyLand Cookbook with some of his delicious recipes. And we washed everything down with some very local beer brewed right in our ‘hood from Hops and Barley just a few blocks away.

Want to see more of my Berlin photos? Head over to my Facebook Page.

 Disclosure: During my entire time in Berlin, I was a guest of Go with Oh and Oh-Berlin. I was also a guest of the Goldhahn & Sampson cooking class and Gastro Rallye food tour. As always, my writing and opinions are my own. 

The post Photo Essay Berlin: The Food! appeared first on LL World Tour.

What is it about travel that you love? Taking a break? Recharging your batteries? Or is it experiencing a new place, new culture, and new people?

Observation

For me it has almost been the latter. Although relaxing by the pool is very nice, I bore of that very quickly and yearn to seek out more ‘local’ experiences (and eats!) when I travel. But what does that really mean?

I was fortunate enough to get to examine this by spending a month in Berlin with my good friend Sherry Ott of Ottsworld as guests of Go with Oh short term apartment rentals and be a part of what they called “Living La Vida Local” – an experiment to play around with this theme and investigate what it means, at least to me.

Getting Local vs. Being a Local

Of course, I think it is subjective and each traveler’s definition is different. And that’s just fine. I believe there is no way to actually be a local in a few months or even a few years. You really have to live in a place to be able to experience more of the issues and bureaucratic stuff, and have time for some of the sheen of the ‘nice’ people to possibly wear off…or the opposite, to be really let ‘in’ and make real friends.  But to try to get more local is doable and here’s how I attempted it.

Working Hypothesis

For me, the surest way to get more local is to…meet locals. Period. No matter how much I read in a guidebook and walk around and observe, I can’t truly get to know a place and its people without talking to them. Through locals you can not only find out where they live and where they eat, but what’s important to them, what they worry about and what makes them happy. I’ve had eye opening and enlightening talks with locals around the world – it’s these memories that stick with me more than any sight I have seen.

The Experiment

The first thing we did was get an apartment. Go with Oh provided us with a lovely flat in Friedrichshain, a neighborhood in former East Berlin full of artists, dreamers, tattooed and pierced activists, young people, and some older East Berliners. Living in a neighborhood rather than right in the city center is a great start to feeling more a part of the city as a ‘normal’ citizen and not a tourist.  Also, being able to unpack my bag and not feel transient, nad having a kitchen in which to make meals definitely makes me feel more at home.

Having a Roommate

Something I am not used to since I am always traveling alone or live alone when home in Chicago, I am happy to report I fared well with having a roomie. Sherry and I both have some similar styles – especially how much we both have to work while traveling.  So although we wanted to always get out and see and do, there was no pressure from each other (just self-induced pressure) to get off our laptops.  We easily understood that it was our job.  Just as others are in an office 9-5, we might have to be in our home office working just the same…or longer. We enjoyed some meals together and even had some movie nights, which I love as it makes me definitely feel more homey and relaxed.

I enjoy a mixture of going out and staying in and don’t feel the need to go, go, go when I’m traveling or else I will burn out. Traveling to me, doesn’t mean partying every night. It actually never has. I like to go out and have fun and meet people but also need days/nights to recharge my batteries and get centered again.  I’ve never been one to feel like I am “missing out” if I am not partying ‘til dawn.

Sherry was a great listener and sounding board for some work frustrations or personal struggles. Being away this entire month in Berlin, came at a good time for me when I actually needed an escape…to clear my brain from accumulated fuzz and dust from the last year.

Working and Traveling

I did notice that because my freelance career has ramped up much more now than when I was originally traveling around the world, I now have a much harder time with that live/work balance. Whereas when I traveled before, I was much more free to go explore and wander much of the time and write about it only if and when the mood struck. Now I feel a bit of a reverse flip and have to work more than I am able to wander. And that can be frustrating.  But then I remember how lucky I am to do what I love.  If I do want to survive in this new life of making less and spending less, then I have to work  a lot while I travel and that’s okay!

It’s About the People

So despite having a lot of work to do, I tried to meet up with as many new and old friends as I could. I scheduled lunches with some new Berlin locals and expats. I met up with an old German friend of mine who lives in Hanover. The cool thing is that we met 6 1/2 years ago during my first month of my 3-year RTW trip when I had no idea what my life would become! We originally met on a bus in Costa Rica and ended up sharing a room together. It was the first time I had done that with a stranger and he couldn’t have been a nicer guy. And still is today! More proof to me that travel (and life!) is all about the relationships we form and connections we make.

   2006                                                      2013

The best way for me to get more local is to meet locals. And the quickest way for me to do this has always been Couchsurfing. Since I already had a place to sleep, I used it in Berlin during my visit just to meet some locals and travelers for dinner. I am happy to find there is still something so special about this community that wherever I go, I can easily fit in with a group of new friends who openly welcome me. It is sometimes hard to describe this “inclusive” feeling I get from Couchsurfers – but that is what it is all about — being open and wanting to meet new people.

We also invited locals and bloggers over to our flat for a couple of dinner parties. There is nothing better than sharing food, wine, and conversation no matter where I am in the world.  Being invited into someone’s home ups the ante even more, so being able to do this for our new friends was great.  I will have an upcoming post (natch) about all my food adventures in this international city…so stay tuned for that.

And, through another writer, I was invited to attend a women’s writers group discussion. This was another lovely way to meet interesting locals with whom I also had a lot in common.

Biking

We had bikes to use all month from Fat Tire. I LOVE the feeling of riding a bike around a foreign city. Something about it gives me more confidence, makes me feel “closer” to the city, and makes me feel more local. The only problem we had? The weather. Unfortunately, it decided to snow most of March so we barely got to ride at all due to snow on all the sidewalks…even trickier to navigate when you don’t know the streets so well. This was pretty much a fail.

Public Transport

Since I couldn’t ride my bike around town, I got pretty familiar with the public transport system. I love maps and trains and using the subway everywhere I travel. Living on the east side of Berlin, there are also these awesome trams snaking through the streets. I figured out our local tram early on and then started to ride more of them, even taking them farther out on my own little custom tour just to see how the neighborhoods and landscapes changed. Riding with the Berlin masses on the S-Bahn and U-bahn just feels like real life to me.  Knowing where I’m going and not getting lost helps too!

Tours

We took a few tours (being a local does NOT mean you can’t get to know the city more!) too. I really enjoyed the underground bunker tour with Berliner Unterwelten.  It was  a fascinating look inside life during the Cold War and how so unprepared they would have been if some kind of nuclear fall out happened. There were 23 bunkers in Berlin, which meant that less than 1% of the population had some chance of survival. Those aren’t very good odds for the Berliners.  In the one bunker we explored, there was a filtration system installed, but if the power went out (um, kinda likely in the event of an atomic bomb), there was no backup generator. Another bunker was a u-bahn stop that could convert into a bunker. In fourteen days, the bunker would automatically open to let the survivors out. But sadly, if there had been any nuclear fall out while they were underground, they’d now die from the residual radiation anyway. So in essence, all of this was more to give the public psychological hope. One morbid travel marketing poster announced: “Buchen sie eine reise nach Europa solange es Europa noch gibt.”

Translated: “Book a trip to Europe as long as it is still there.”

Yikes.

Another fascinating tour took us up into the beautiful Grunewald Forest (love all the green forest and parks surrounding Berlin) to the eerie Teufelsberg. This former US spy station was used to collect intelligence from the Soviets in East Berlin. Nowadays, the abandoned buildings create a pretty eerie vibe.

Since I lived in East Berlin and have stayed there every time during my three visits to this city, I really wanted to discover the west side some so I took a Get Your Guide tour of West Berlin. We saw the posh shopping strip Kufursdam and some of the quieter residential streets of Schöneberg where a memorial to the Jews hangs from many of the street lamps there. It was pretty interesting despite, the fact that I was the only fool to show up on such a snowy, frigid day. My toes were numb ice blocks by the end…so I can’t say it left me with a warm feeling or that I absorbed as much as I wanted to.

The Analysis

After one month, I certainly knew my way around, could use the subway easily, could shop, and use the post office. I had become familiar with many of the local Berlin websites and blogs which is a pretty fast way to get dialed in to the city. I had picked up some German, and could use basic communication with shop keepers, etc.

While I was able to immerse in the city some, I have to say I wasn’t able to do it as much as I wanted. For one, a month is just too quick. Between work deadlines and other appointments, four weeks can fly by and certainly isn’t enough time to start to get a rhythm and to really develop friendships.

I had hoped to take German classes as I feel the language is intertwined with the culture and is a key way of fitting in more and having locals treat you more like one their own. There’s no need to be an expert and fluent (which would take a long time with German), but to be able to communicate some is respectful and enriches your experiences. Due to work and schedule conflicts, the classes I’d hoped to take didn’t pan out.

Conclusion

With desire and action, I believe it is possible to get more local. But you have to have time and dedication. Travel slow, talk to people, but more importantly, LISTEN to people. I love asking questions and just sitting back and hearing all about them.

Want to delve deeper in how we go local? Check out this fun chat we did with Sean Keener of Boots n All:

This is a series of posts on Berlin. Stay tuned for a food photo essay next (you didn’t think I’d get ‘local’ without food being a major focus, did you??)!

Disclosure: During my entire time in Berlin, I was a guest of Go with Oh and Oh-Berlin. As always, my writing and opinions are my own. 

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