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04/10/2012
[16:20] OK, so seeing as my holiday actually sort of starts tomorrow (and I won't be here to write this then) I should probably tell you what the deal is, as I won't be back in front of a computer much before the 29th of October.

I'm going to Bhutan.
(I know! Awesome, right?)

I'll be high(ish) altitude trekking the whole time except for a bit of stuff at the beginning and end. The beginning and end bits are also pretty big deals in their own right, but for more reasons that I was hoping for...

The thing is, I'll be flying in to Paro in Bhutan via Kathmandu in Nepal. You remember the airport; it was in the news last week as it's where that plane crashed last Friday, killing everyone on board. That's where I'll be flying into and out of at each end of the trip. You may also know that the seven British people on board were traveling with a company called Explore Worldwide. That's who I'm traveling with. What has been baking my noodle somewhat is that the trip they were on? That was the one I was going to do, except that logistically it didn't make sense for a variety of reasons. So, yes, I could be dead now if not for new server hardware planning at work. The icing on the cake is that there was someone with the same first name as me on the passenger list, too. All of which has made me feel a bit odd, on and off, for a few days... I've been thinking about how suddenly life can be over, and that you should pack into each day just as much as you can comfortably manage, just in case it's your last. Which is probably why my day in London tomorrow is utterly rammed with fun things to do and people I'm meeting.

Y'know, statistically Kathmandu airport and the planes that fly out of there are currently the safest places to be right now if you're involved in air travel. Statistically... (isn't there something about damned lies and statistics?) Either way, as my wonderful parents themselves said immediately after we discovered all of the above, it's better to go out doing something awesome that you enjoyed, rather than crossing the street in the place you live and being hit by a car. Which is why I'm still going, obviously. Or obviously still going. Either. Both. You get it. Or me. Whatever.

Anyway, I chose Bhutan for a number of reasons. The primary one being that I really wanted to see the Himalayas and the cultures of the mountain kingdoms like Bhutan and Nepal. Then, once I'd settled on the approximate area of the world and worked out when I could actually get time off (those blessed logistics) I was thinking about how this trip would probably take me as far away from St. Louis as it's possible to be (currently where I live is about 4200 miles from there) without leaving the planet. So I looked on a map and at latitudes and longditudes:
St. Louis, USA: 38° 38' North, 90° 12' West (aprox.)
Paro, Bhutan: 27° 26' North, 89° 25' East (aprox.)

Amazingly, while Paro is not really the antipode of St. Louis (that's in the middle of the Indian Ocean), it's pretty damned close to the opposite side of the world latitudinally. Which was good enough for me. Previously I've done a sea voyage to reward myself for surviving a breakup (long-time readers may remember my trip to the South Pacific), so looking for something in the Indian Ocean wasn't necessary this time. This trip will be cold, low comfort, high effort, high altitude (Morocco was an altitude acclimatisation and training run), and too great an opportunity to ignore. Amusingly, I seem to remember that Kris will actually be in China on research while I'm in Bhutan. So the chances are we'll actually be geographically closer than usual as she could be as few as 1767 (but likely less if she's not in Beijing) miles away. Not that it matters, but it's another fact to add to the story I'll tell my children years from now.

I'll be trekking most days, above 3000m for the most part, but over 5000m now and then for a few days. There'll be dzongs, other temples, tons of culture, local people, yaks a'plenty, a stay at Chomolhari Base Camp and the mountain village of Laya, pine forests and yak pastures, and breathtaking mountain views of Chomolhari, Jichu Drake and Takaphu. It's going to be fabulous. And something I've been looking forward to since the beginning of the year when everything in my life went sideways.

How do I think I've done since the beginning of February? How would I rate my rebuiding of my life? I think I've done pretty bloody well, thank you. From being a happily (I thought so) married man, to a completely shattered shell of a divorcee, to where I am now. All in eight months. Not the worst I could have done, I think. I'm by no means fixed (good gracious no), but I'm also not utterly unhappy with me and my life as it stands right now. I've so very much more room for improvement, and a terribly large amount of work before I feel like I could even consider entering another relationship again. But while I'm allowing myself to heal mentally and emotionally I feel fitter and physically stronger than I have in a long time. I've some tentative plans for the future, I'm able to attend a job interview and be offered the job, and it turns out I'm apparently not completely unattractive to the opposite sex.

If I make it back alive from Bhutan, who knows what I'll accomplish next?

So, the mundanities of life (in comparison): last night's erg session was pretty good. A chance to burn off a bit of tiredness and logeyheadedness in two 30 minute steady state (changing rate every 5 minutes) pieces, with a 5 minute break in between. Then it was food and bed as I got home pretty late. Work today has been mainly about clearing the decks (and my desk) for my trip. If I don't come back (don't worry, I will), I don't want people having to sort through a lot of crap in and around my work area, and stuff does build up after a while! I'm at the cinema with Kate this evening, which'll be a nice way to start my vacation time off. I'm told the film's very funny, which is just what I need. Food afterwards.

I'm off down to Heathrow on Monday. Before then I've a day in London seeing friends and having just a ton of fun, as well as using the free ticket prize of an evening at the Royal Geographical Society-hosted "Travel Photography Live!" event (yes, I'll be taking photos and posting them online when I get back) before I come back horribly late at night. Saturday morning is rowing, Saturday afternoon is when I do my last minute checks on my packing list. Sunday morning is rowing, Sunday afternoon and evening should be a lot of fun here and there, and I'll be packing my bags. Then on Monday I do a few bits of administravia, clean up my inbox and amble on over to the coach station for the horribly long ride down to Heathrow and points very much East.

I'll fill you all in on the highlights of this trip of a lifetime when I get back. In the meantime, be safe, well, and happy. And make sure you do something fun every day.