Friday, 14 October 2011

The Road to Bhutan

No, not a late addition to the "Road to . . ." movie list (God, how that dates me! Unless you're a movie buff or over 50, the reference will mean nothing.) We're off this morning to Bhutan - the centrepiece of the overland trip. We missed the young King's coronation yesterday but caught a lot of the ceremonies on TV. The new bride (who is only 22 - he is 32) resembled Diana rather than Kate - but the trappings were very similar: a fairytale wedding.

Initially, the road is not bad. Narrow. Winding. Not too bumpy. Great views. But we've been warned that progress later will be slow - slower even than yesterday when it took us six hours to cover 79 miles! The reason? Moonsoon rains and landslides.

I espied a teeshirt in Kathmandu with the cheesy affirmation "It's the journey that counts, not the destination". Cold comfort, no doubt, for wannabe Trekkers who fail to make Base Camp. And yet. This overland trip is a bit like that. .

Even as I type this and glance out the window, I see yet another, enormous river bed, at least 150m wide, dry apart from a deep channel where the water flows fast and choppy white. And in the middle of the river bed, a truck, collecting stones swept down in earlier monsoon rains. (I had observed yesterday how the collected stones were being used to repair roads swept away by landslides).

How easy to let life rush by and not notice the little things?



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1 comment:

  1. Yep you're right Bob... meant nothing to me!

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