Himalayan ideas enter our heads

After we got back from Russia we couldn't bear thinking about future holidays. It all seemed too much work to organize another holiday so soon. Holidays take ages to research and organize so you have to start planing very early in order to ensure everything runs smoothly. We truly had to force ourselves into thinking about it. I rather fancied visiting Eastern Europe but Ian thought China might be rather nice. If we went to China then Ian thought Tibet should be the highlight.

We began tentatively looking around the internet. China is huge and there is so much to see even in the northern parts let alone seeing the south and Tibet on top of that. We realized it wouldn't be possible in the month we planned to be away for.

The Himalayas were so attractive though. We started to read about Bhutan and boy, did that place look special. The Bhutanese government are so keen on preserving the environment they only allow a certain number of visitors per year and you can't just arrive and wander around Bhutan like you can in other countries. You have to be part of a tour group.

The very thought of a tour group turned us off a bit but the lure of that country made us keep researching. We found that in Bhutan the word "tour" doesn't necessarily mean you get herded around with 30 others on a bus. A tour in Bhutan can be for as little as one person. It was now becoming even more enticing.

Tigers Nest built high on the side of a mountain

Bhutan is a tiny country, really tiny! So we have decided to combine it with visiting Nepal and Tibet too. We are rather pleased that our 23 year old son, Jeremy, is coming with us as well on this trip. We are due to leave Perth on Saturday October 1st and we'll be away for a month.

We've researched Bhutan quite a bit over the last few weeks but we now need to concentrate on Nepal and Tibet. What will be in store for us there? We're fairly sure we have to join some sort of group in Tibet as the Chinese authorities are none too keen on folk wandering about by themselves - a bit like Bhutan but I suspect for different reasons. We are hopeful travel in Nepal is not as restrictive as Bhutan and Tibet. Who knows!

You will learn how we planned the trip and how it all eventutated when we got there. Hopefully our experiences will help you if you are going to visit those three countries.

Next page - Travelling to Bhutan

If you are ever looking for a particular page in any of our holidays they can all be found in the travel Site Map