If I have to think of brilliant view of a long line of Snow Peaks in the Himalayas, Dochula Pass in Bhutan quickly comes to mind.
Also see: my upcoming photography tour to Bhutan
Sunrise from Dochula Pass, Bhutan
At ten thousand feet, DochuLa is not really high by Himalayan standards. But it is a good enough altitude to get clean air and a clear view of high mountains that are as far away as a hundred kilometers. On the horizon towards north-east from DochuLa is a long line of white summits on exhibit. The peaks include the who’s who of Bhutan’s mountain landscapes, Gangkar Puensum topping the altitude graph among them all. At 7,570 meters, Gangkar Puensum is also the world’s highest unclimbed peak today, primarily because sanctity of the peak makes it off-limits to mountaineers.
I visited this village with a small community of potters near Yangon. Their setups are fairly large for a potter – almost twice the size of an olympic size swimming pool. The process is typical – beat the clay, bring it to shape on a wheel, beat, burn and then paint. Here is a photograph of the burning process in a rather pleasing mix of outdoor light (on an overcast day) and the warm light of the fire.
In October 2013, I fell down from a pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar, and dislocated a wrist bone in the right hand. The problem could not be diagnosed in Nyang U (Bagan) and I had to fly back home for a surgery. It took me a three-hop journey on three different airlines to get home. Subsequently, recuperating from a surgery and permitted by my doctor to travel, I took eight more flights in a span of two months when my hand was still in a sling or wrapped in a splint.
With a total of eleven hops using six different airlines, I had a chance to see how different airlines treat passengers with special needs. I was surprised at the sea difference in their treatment, sometimes even among the staff of same airline in different airports.
During all these journeys, I never requested for wheel chairs or special assistance, as my left hand was intact and I was able to handle my baggage, albeit with some difficulty. In some occasions, airline staff came forward to help me when they noticed my hand in a sling. Most airlines were neutral and in the only instance when I requested for some privilege, I was turned down.
Here is a compilation of my experiences taking eleven flights with six airlines.
The Best – Yangon Airways at Nyang U (Bagan) Airport
It is five months since I took a Yangon Airways flight from Nyang U (Bagan) to Mandalay and I still can’t forget how friendly the staff were. On arrival at airport, my cab driver waved at an airline staff at the gates and asked him to help me. One look at my injured hand (and many cuts on my face as well) and he understood I can do with some help. He sprung into the cab, lifted my bags out and placed them on a trolley. When I stretched my left hand (the uninjured hand) to push the trolley, he refused to hand it over and escorted me to the check-in counter.
