Wanderlust

Posted by Saznin M.

One of my many ridiculous life goals is to emulate one Mr. Anthony Bourdain. The man gets to travel all over the world, eat to his heart's content, and document the entire thing on camera for the viewing pleasure of us lowly mortals at home. What's not to like? Sometimes, when I'm at my most delusional, I'm convinced that I kind of live his life already (sans the Travel Channel show): I travel a ton, I certainly eat a ton, and if you know anything about me you're familiar with my penchant for camera-hogging.

Lucky me, this year my family decided on a two and a half week Asian adventure through Thailand and Bhutan, which proved to be polar opposites in terms of charm and tolerability. First stop, Bangkok. Hot, crowded, bustling, massive; it's New York City on steroids. You'd be hard pressed trying to escape the cleverly (some not-so-cleverly) placed tourist traps all around the city. It was far too garish and tacky for my tastes, I'm sorry to say. The Thai beach town of Pattaya was underwhelming as well, with nary two feet of free coastline to lay out on (yeah, you had to pay to just sit on the beach all day, too). Overall, Thailand was kind of a disappointment.

Except for the food. Just to give you an idea of how IN LOVE I am with Thai food, let me just say that at a particularly blissful lunch one day I ate so much that I literally couldn't stomach any more food for the next 24 hours. Gluttonous? Sure. But how often does one get to say that they ate Thai food in Thailand?

At right: me with a durian, aka the smelliest, ugliest fruit ever. Surprisingly, it tasted sweet.

After Thailand, it was off to Bhutan, a tiny country situated in the Himalayas between India and China. For those of you who know nothing about it, well, that's kind of the point. Bhutan's tourism policy comes down to 'high quality, low volume.' So if you plan on entering the country, be prepared to either shell out $200 a day to be part of a government-designated tourist group or prove some sort of connection to the country in order to gain permission to enter as a non-national. Even though my parents lived there 20 years ago, we were initially denied entry. Luckily for us, my parents worked for the government back in the day and had friends in the higher-ups that vouched for us. 

 It. is. beautiful. The capital, Thimphu, is located in a valley of the Himalayan foothills. Okay, these foothills make some American mountain ranges look like mere pebbles in comparison. The place is just overflowing with gorgeous scenery. The mountains, the river, the monasteries precariously perched upon steep cliffs, the zhongs which serve as government offices and places of worship. Just mind-blowingly gorgeous. Not to mention that the Bhutanese are the friendliest, most hospitable people ever. To add to the sheer traveler's bliss I was experiencing, there were barely any other tourists there. Literally, I only saw about five others during my four days there.

Above: me at a lookout. The clouds were literally below me!

Verdict on Bhutan: hands down one of my favorite places on earth. And I've been to my fair share of places: this trip has upped my country count to 22, something I'm quite proud of!

Unfortunately, I'm home now and only have one month to enjoy it before my parents' big move. August will be busy, busy, busy. Luckily I get to visit my roommate in Maine! But more on that next month.

Hope everyone's having a wonderful summer thus far!

Comments

[JHU_Kate]

No wonder you liked that Bourdain covered Baltimore recently! :) My Thai friend who grew up in Thailand loves it there, but maybe that's because it's different if you're someone who's from there and not just visiting as a tourist...? I'm just guessing, of course. BTW, props to you for liking how durian tastes! I hate that fruit entirely: appearances, smell, taste...haha.

P.S. You should have your own show on the Travel Channel at the rate you're traveling.

[Admissions_Daniel]

I am just tired from reading about all your travels. Sounds like an amazing time. And I agree with Kate -- a Saznin Travel Channel show would be something I would watch.

[Wafa Khadraoui]

I am jealous of all the food you got to eat in Thailand! And that picture of the cafe in Bhutan amazes me everytime I see it. :)

[Lauren Brown]

This looks like an amazing trip, I'm so jealous! Hope you had fun on your short layover in London as well