Plattsburgh, NY
December 13, 2012
Altitude: 138'
In the end, the very end,I added two countries to the ongoing list--Qatar and Bhutan. One of these days I'll hit the illusive 100! Maybe it will take a cruise in the Caribbean to do it.
In the end, the very end, I was gone exactly six weeks. Any longer would have been suicide. I simply could not take any more.
In the end, the very end, I retraced my steps back to Montreal, only this time it was a flight from New Delhi to Doha. It was 18 hours in the air and almost 25 hours door to door. My body fought against time zones for five days. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it to do these long-haul flights. They're far too stressful on bodies. From Delhi to Montreal was a total of ten time zones and a total of 8,014 miles. 1/3 of the way around the world!
In the end, the very end, I got as high as 11,059 feet and as low as sea level. Almost all of Bhutan was well above 5,000'.
In the end, the very end, Bhutan was wonderful. Yes, it has some ugly history in its past, but any country that puts people first before the bottom line in the form of gross national happiness gets high marks in my book. I never saw poverty, nor did I see excessive wealth. To be fair, I didn't get into the poorer eastern part of the country where things might be different, but from what I could see Bhutan was clean, orderly and it seemed to work.
In the end, the very end, Nepal was Nepal--very touristic, well infrastructured, still cheap and always fascinating. Wonderful medieval cities and towering mountains, and the finest weather of the year in November when days are in the sunny 70's and nights in he 50's with not a stitch of rain or clouds.
In the end, the very end, I literally counted the hours to departure. I hated India that much. There has never been a travel time when I've wanted out of a place as much as I wanted out of India. By the time I got to Doha early in the morning on the 9th, the airport was abuzz with activity. There were flights heading to every continent--Cape Town in South Africa, Buenos Aires in South America, multiple destinations in the Europe, North America of course, and many, many to multiple destinations in Asia. Interestingly, I had no interest in any of these destinations. I'd had quite enough of the "exotic." I just wanted the flight that said "Montreal."
In the end, the very end, when I finally went through customs and picked up my luggage in Montreal, I was never so glad to see a human being who loved me more than seeing Steve waiting at arrivals. I started to cry.
"It was that bad, wasn't it?" he said. "You have no idea." But I was home--home to the secure and predictable. Boring old home without the multiple sensory simulations of the past six weeks.
Earlier in the trip I'd had dinner with a Danish couple. When she asked me where I was going, she commented that it was maybe too much. Really, India AND Nepal aren't exactly stimulus free countries. She was right. It really was too much. I'd seen too much and some of it was too overwhelming, even for me.
In the end, the very end, two amazing things happenened. I never lot the baseball cap I started out with and I kicked my Diet Coke habit. The latter was a planned attempt, complete with four months of drug and alcohol counseling. Yay! This I'm proud of!
In the end, the very end, I feel as if I've lost something. There was a time when I'd just be warming up at six weeks, but I wasn't 63 either and I'd seen far less of the world. I was a much more curious person. This doesn't mean it's the end of my travel. It just means it will be tweaked differently. there are still too many places I've not seen. But India will NEVER be part of any itinerary again.
In the end, the very end, it was very much the right decision to leave early. I was very, very glad to be home! But I will not let this temporary set back to affect future travel. Initially,I felt like a failure coming home early, but that's not the case. I will not be afraid to try again--just not India.
In the end, the very end, I missed Plattsburgh, friends, Christmas, December, snow, Steve and home.
December 13, 2012
Altitude: 138'
In the end, the very end,I added two countries to the ongoing list--Qatar and Bhutan. One of these days I'll hit the illusive 100! Maybe it will take a cruise in the Caribbean to do it.
In the end, the very end, I was gone exactly six weeks. Any longer would have been suicide. I simply could not take any more.
In the end, the very end, I retraced my steps back to Montreal, only this time it was a flight from New Delhi to Doha. It was 18 hours in the air and almost 25 hours door to door. My body fought against time zones for five days. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it to do these long-haul flights. They're far too stressful on bodies. From Delhi to Montreal was a total of ten time zones and a total of 8,014 miles. 1/3 of the way around the world!
In the end, the very end, I got as high as 11,059 feet and as low as sea level. Almost all of Bhutan was well above 5,000'.
In the end, the very end, Bhutan was wonderful. Yes, it has some ugly history in its past, but any country that puts people first before the bottom line in the form of gross national happiness gets high marks in my book. I never saw poverty, nor did I see excessive wealth. To be fair, I didn't get into the poorer eastern part of the country where things might be different, but from what I could see Bhutan was clean, orderly and it seemed to work.
In the end, the very end, Nepal was Nepal--very touristic, well infrastructured, still cheap and always fascinating. Wonderful medieval cities and towering mountains, and the finest weather of the year in November when days are in the sunny 70's and nights in he 50's with not a stitch of rain or clouds.
In the end, the very end, I literally counted the hours to departure. I hated India that much. There has never been a travel time when I've wanted out of a place as much as I wanted out of India. By the time I got to Doha early in the morning on the 9th, the airport was abuzz with activity. There were flights heading to every continent--Cape Town in South Africa, Buenos Aires in South America, multiple destinations in the Europe, North America of course, and many, many to multiple destinations in Asia. Interestingly, I had no interest in any of these destinations. I'd had quite enough of the "exotic." I just wanted the flight that said "Montreal."
In the end, the very end, when I finally went through customs and picked up my luggage in Montreal, I was never so glad to see a human being who loved me more than seeing Steve waiting at arrivals. I started to cry.
"It was that bad, wasn't it?" he said. "You have no idea." But I was home--home to the secure and predictable. Boring old home without the multiple sensory simulations of the past six weeks.
Earlier in the trip I'd had dinner with a Danish couple. When she asked me where I was going, she commented that it was maybe too much. Really, India AND Nepal aren't exactly stimulus free countries. She was right. It really was too much. I'd seen too much and some of it was too overwhelming, even for me.
In the end, the very end, two amazing things happenened. I never lot the baseball cap I started out with and I kicked my Diet Coke habit. The latter was a planned attempt, complete with four months of drug and alcohol counseling. Yay! This I'm proud of!
In the end, the very end, I feel as if I've lost something. There was a time when I'd just be warming up at six weeks, but I wasn't 63 either and I'd seen far less of the world. I was a much more curious person. This doesn't mean it's the end of my travel. It just means it will be tweaked differently. there are still too many places I've not seen. But India will NEVER be part of any itinerary again.
In the end, the very end, it was very much the right decision to leave early. I was very, very glad to be home! But I will not let this temporary set back to affect future travel. Initially,I felt like a failure coming home early, but that's not the case. I will not be afraid to try again--just not India.
In the end, the very end, I missed Plattsburgh, friends, Christmas, December, snow, Steve and home.
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