Our family just spent 2 months in the country of Bhutan. If you are unfamiliar with our wanderings you can check us out at Byers Without Borders and if your geography needs help, you can find this little gem of a country nestled between India and China. You may also know Bhutan as the happiest […]
How Do You Spend 27 hours on a Plane with 3 Kids and Not Lose Your Mind
As many of you know we left the comforts of home to travel to the other side of the world to do volunteer work with the organization Health Volunteers Overseas in the country of Bhutan. My wonderfully talented husband, Bill, has been writing (his true passion) about our adventures and experiences on our blog Byers […]
Farewell & Thank you!!!
And just like that it’s over. A decade of wishing, a year’s worth of hard planning and scheming, and here we are looking out at the frighteningly short and narrow runway of the Paro airport, awaiting our departure. None of us want to leave, the time went too quick, evidence that our life here was […]
YoPlay Away! Kids yoga can go anywhere.
Prior to my arrival in Bhutan, I reached out to the Early Learning Center, in Mothitang, to organize some volunteer work for the girls and myself. Having spent two years teaching English in Japan, volunteering in ELC’s English Literacy class was a no-brainer. However, when principle Madam Kueron discovered my current passion, YoPlay, my true […]
Bhutan, Advanced Settings:
Bhutan, Advanced Settings: Bhutanese consider it impolite to say no. So they have many different forms of yes ranging from “very unlikely” to “it is certain”. If they say yes three times it’s definitely not happening. Bhutanese Ngultrum is the local currency. A one Nu bill is the smallest denomination; there are no coins. So […]
Bhutan Basics
Bhutan basics: National Bird- Raven Favorite Food- Anything with chilies Fridge settings-Winter, Summer, Monsoon Toilets- squat (bring paper unless adept at the Asian bidet, water bucket and a scoop) They drive on the left, so step off a curb and look RIGHT not left (that lesson comes quickly). At day 23, life here is starting […]
Lunch with Lamas
The snows held off. This past weekend we finally made it out of Thimphu, our guide, OR nurse Sonam. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. They stoically endured hours of vomit inducing mountain roads (Jen and Lily were the only ones to avoid a purge) in a tiny car that smelled oddly of […]
Shangri-La 2.0
In Dzongkha, Druk Yul is the name Bhutanese give their country. It translates to Land of the Thunder Dragon. They should call it Land of the Thunder Dog. Packs of stray dogs infest Thimphu. To my torment, they sleep all day and bark all night. The four that camp out at our apartment entrance have become […]
Springtime Snow
We had planned a weekend excursion to Punakha, the former capital of Bhutan. But the Himalayas had other plans, and surprised us with a spring snow. With the 10,000 foot Dochu La pass to Punakha closed, we bundled up and headed out for the girls first ever snowball fight. This was actually the first snowfall […]
Himalayan Adventure: Our First Few Days
98% of a big fat Himalayan adventure is figuring out the mundane. How do you charge a laptop, make a local call, find bathroom cleaner. Our first days in Bhutan are behind us and we’re starting to get our sea legs. The kids have learned to sleep with vests over their PJs and everyone congregates on […]
V-Day is for Visas
This blog post is written by talented husband Bill……. V-Day is for Visas At two weeks to departure and still no travel Visas, I awoke again with knots in my stomach. My hospital liaison has been steadfast in her insistence that they will arrive. She reminds me that Bhutan is a Buddhist country and that […]
30 days to Bhutan!
It’s hard to believe. Our family’s big Himalayan adventure was first dreamt up 6 years ago. But it was just a year ago when we took the first step and applied to go. And it was only 3 months ago that we bought the tickets. So much time and planning and fretting, and it’s almost […]