The images below were taken with an iPhone through a Kowa TSN 883 scope at 30X.  This bird at first presented as a Common Goldeneye, but then I noticed white markings behind the eye rather than in front of the eye, a black, merganser-like bill and a slight crest, though it was closer to a goldeneye size.  The bird was in the open water of Ford Lake where the Huron River enters the lake under - I-94.  I took the pictures about 3PM Friday, Feruary 20, 2009 from the boardwalk/path accessible from North Bay Park, Ypsilanti. The closest trail entrance is off of S. Grove Street.  The bird was still there on Sunday morning, Feb 22.  I saw it flying with three Common Goldeneyes, but I could not get close enough to get a better picture. One person who has seen the picture suggests it could be a Common Goldeneye x AmericanMerganser cross.  This is possible, but the bird is goldeneye size and has a black bill.

On our recent Wild Himalaya trip to Nepal, Bhutan and India, I had the good fortune to take several elephant safaris in Chitwan Natinal Park.  On the same trip I rode the elephants in Kaziranga Park in Assam. The Chitwan experience is a better quality experience. On both trips we saw the One-horned Rhinoceros in some numbers, but the Chitwan safari was less routine, involved fewer elephants and was more adaptable tot he interests of clients. We saw more large mammals in Kaziranga including swamp deer, wild boar and wild elephants at a distance, but these animals were all better, more closely and more easily observed from vehicles in Kaziranga.  In Chitwan you feel that an elephant is essential.  Tall grass, deep mud, running streams don’t stop the elephants.  There always seemed to be more potential for an exciting sighting in the relatively dense vegetation of Chitwan. In Kaziranga, much of the ride was across short grass meadows. The deer or rhino were visible from a distance and it was just a matter of walking up to them. In both park the ride lasted about an hour or so, but in Kaziranga it is really not worth doing more than one ride because all the elephants seem to follow the same defined route each time. Do choose to take the earliest ride in the morning, if you have the choice.  This will increase the liklihood of seeing the rarer mammals and birds. In Chitwan the route is more spontaneoous and keyed to the interest of the client and the prospect of seeing different species. Ask your mahout to stop or maneuver for the best pictures.

Both locations were better than the rather contrived and limited elephant game rides in other parks of India.

if you have never ridden an elephant in search of wildlife, do so whereever you are, but if you are seeking the best place to enjoy the exciting experience of viewing and photographing wildlife from an elephant JOURNEYS recommends using the elephants of Temple Tiger or Island Jungle Resort in Chitwan National Park in Nepal.

You are likely to get quite close to rhinos. No telephoto lens necessary.

On Oct. 2, 2008, India put into effect a nationwide ban on smoking in public places.  Long time travelers will recall the days when smoking throughout South Asia was widespread, especially among educated people.  Not any more.   While China and Japan still have work to do in educating their citizenry, countries like India, Bhutan, Thailand and Cambodia have taken bold action to reduce tobacco consumption and tobacco smoke pollution. Non-smokers are much less likely to be inconvenienced by smokers in Asia than they will be in Europe.

JOURNEYS’ Wild Himalaya trip Nov 2-23, 2008, will include the first trek ever permitted in a wild region of eastern Bhutan.  JOURNEYS received special permission from the Bhutan Department of Tourism to travel with a small group of nature tourists from Buli near Shemgang to Mongar in the extensive virgin broadleaf forest of southeastern Bhutan just north of the Manas area. Rare species such as tiger,clouded leopard,  golden langur and more than 400 species of birds are believed to occur in the area. The full trip itinerary includes prime wildlife sanctuaries in Nepal, Bhutan and Assam, India. The trip is limited to 10 participants and as of this writing four spaces remain.  Call 1-800-255-8735 for detailed itinerary, cost and availability. details.

There are lots of reasons not to postpone the travel of your dreams. After more than thirty years helping people prepare for adventurous explorations of far away places I have had a special opportunity to watch the world change from the perspectives of the curious would-be and actual travelers. People develop a desire to see a particular place because they read about it, see a movie or TV show, hear tales of friends or throw a dart at a map.  Travel fantasies, unfortunately, often don’t make the leap to reality. “Not enough money” often evolves into “not enough time” which becomes “can’t get away from family responsibilities” and all to soon,”I am not as fit as I used to be”. That climb of Kilimanjaro or Inca Trail Trek or Everest Sherpa Trek pilgrimage all  become paths not taken.

Age and fitness are not absolute limitations on travel, but sometimes the destination of fantasy changes before you can get there. Tibet is not the same place it was 20 or 30 years ago. The Kathmandu I encountered first as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1970 bears no resemblance to the city of today. The Amazon rain forest has shrunk. You will see other tourists on your safari in any country of East Africa or your cruise to the Galapagos.  All of these destinations are still worth the trip even if you “should have seen them 30 years ago.” Some are better.  There are probably more animals in the Serengeti ecosystem now that at anytime in the recent past, even if there are more people observing them.

The worst excuse I hear from would-be travelers is a paraphrase of the Yogi Berra- attributed  homily: “that restaurant has become so popular no one goes there anymore.”  Destinations in this supposed “too popular” category include Costa Rica, Bali, Tanzania, Australia, Thailand, Galapagos and Egypt. Yes, there will be other tourists from all over the world coming and going from the same busy airport you will use. But, no, they will not spoil your experience, ruin your pictures or prevent you from having a very personal and high quality experience of the destination. Your breathtaking memories and pictures of Machu Picchu are the historical record of the “should have been there 25 years ago” tales you will tell you grandchildren.

In fact most travel destinations were great, if different, before we were born and will remain so long after we are gone. The quality of our own experience is a function of our attitude, optimism and determination to make the most of our encounter. Start checking off those places on your fantasy “must see” list before you run out of time, youth, health or opportunity. You have already run out of excuses.

The Royal Government of Bhutan collects a minimum daily cost from every tourist as a condition of obtaining a visa and confirmed air reservations.  This has made Bhutan one of the most expensive countries in the world to visit. But, it has been a long time since prices were raised and as of January 1, 2009, all peak and non-peak season prices will increase $50 per person per day. 

Most people who have been to Bhutan still feel the experience is still an exceptional, best-in -a-lifetime experience of natural beauty, cultural splendor and Buddhist serenity. 

Journeys will maintain our current prices through the end of 2008.  There are still possibilities for visiting this year, but some air reservations during the busy festival season in September and October are nearly sold out. For more information about travel to Bhutan:  http://www.journeys.travel/destinations/asia/bhutan/

Crude oil reached a price of $138.75 per barrel today. We are all wondering when and how higher oil prices will impact to cost of travel to Asia, Africa and Latin America. So far the cost of plane tickets has not reflected the higher oil prices airlines face. A plane fare , relative to the underlying cost of the energy to operate the plane has never in history provided a better value. Ticket prices may not go up as much as fuel prices. Many national carriers subsidize the costs of their planes. In the case of larger Middle Eastern carriers like Emirates Air, higher oil prices effectively mean more money in national coffers with which to subsidize the airline as a symbol or cultural and national prestige. This makes it harder for competing airlines to raise rates. Some airlines are still buying fuel at locked in, hedged prices far below market prices.

Some travelers can expect to see fewer choices of flights, less convenient connections, fuller planes and the need to reserve seats farther in advance as the most consequential costs of higher, scarcer oil. In time we may see schedule flight cancelations and certain airports dropped as destinations if chronic shortages actually reach fuel storage facilities at remote airports. Whether we are really starting to run out of oil or merely the victims of speculative manipulation seems still under debate. With gas and diesel lines growing in places like China, Nepal, Indonesia, Mexico and other countries which have subsidized the price of fuels, it seems more likely that the real problem is not enough oil reaching consumers rather than artificially inflated prices, or absolute shortage of oil in the ground. Unfortunately, new technologies to produce aviation kerosene and other fuels from crops, shale, coal and heavy grades of oil are simply not available, affordable or environmentally acceptable. High oil prices and occasional shortages are probably the new norm. As a traveler not willing to give up dreams of seeing the world, the best advice is book and buy your ticket early, leave a day or two leeway in your schedule for possible delays and purchase trip insurance to cover incidental cost of interruptions. Airlines will continue to fly safely with tourists aboard to every country in the world. As travelers we are probably better off taking our dream vacation sooner rather than later and with an expectation that the changing economics of fuel are one more factor to figure in our planning.

The Department of State has lifted Travel Warnings for Indonesia. The US Ambassador to Kenya has invited Americans to tour Kenya. China seems on the verge of reopening Tibet to foreign tourists. Are these signs that the world is really getting safer, or just administrative adjustments reflecting evolving policies independent of actual security issues in the destinations? Our view is that the original warnings, admonitions and prohibitions have been overstatements and exaggerations of the actual problems tourists to these destinations have faced all along. Yes, it is a good time to visit Indonesia, Kenya and Tibet. It is all the better because so many tourists have been frightened off by official statements in the past. Those travelers who visit soon will find fewer crowds, more space and eager hospitable local hosts who are happy to see foreign visitors return.

This week I sat with Will, my husband and business partner, at a butcher block table in our Ann Arbor, Michigan, office and planned our travel schedule for 2009 and 2010, some trips together, others separately, all with our clients. For me: Oaxaca and Chiapas, South Africa, India, Guatemala, Indonesia, Western Australia.

How I got from my beginning to here and to there and there and there is a continual wonder to me. I left my apartment house on East 19th Street in Brooklyn 41 years ago at age 17, never to live again in New York. My mailing addresses have been in South Hadley, Massachusetts and Madison, Wisconsin, and Philly, Boston, Ann Arbor and Kathmandu. accessed from the Himalayas, SE Asia, Australia and Central America. But my identity is so clear and my picture of myself as a little girl in Flatbush so indelible that I’m baffled when I look around me: How did I get here? What’s a girl from Brooklyn doing in a place like this? What could Joanie Schwartz, daughter of Edie and Irwin, possibly be doing on a floating island in Lake Titicaca, in a Tzintzuntzan cemetery at midnight on the Night of the Dead, sitting with Buddhist nuns in a nunnery on the outskirts of Yangon? How did Hymie and Rose’s grandchild find herself dancing in a field in the Kathmandu Valley with a bevy of red-sareed women? Sitting with my husband and the fishing ropes on the roof of a small Mekong ferry making its way to Sihanoukville? How do I even know that there IS a place called Sihanoukville?

If you time your trip correctly you can visit Bhutan during the perfect October interval for good weather, great mountain views and a chance to see three or four of the spectacular Tsechus or annual Buddhist Temple festivals. Unfortunately, the limited air space into Bhutan during this period is now almost sold out. If you are interested in, for example, the JOURNEYS Bhutan Temple Festivals trip, call us very soon 1-800-255-8735.