One of the first things that srtike you when you arrive in Bhutan is how classy and well-dressed locals are. All Bhutanese are required, by law, to observe a national dress code and this is to protect and nurture Bhutan’s identity and uniqueness, dating back to the early 1700’s. It starts at school of course with uniforms, but also for all adults who in the main centers are required to observe the national dress code during office hours and religious/official holidays…

Like so many hotels across Asia, arriving into La Résidence driveway is like coming home. This is one of my favorite hotels in Vietnam and how I wished one day I could come here on holidays. What strikes our guest upon arrival is the “mansion feel”, this is not like a hotel. The ground floor is huge with many alcoves, a great bar area and superb boutique gift shop where I have witnessed some serious amount of money spent upon check out….

I have seen a few bears over the years. Black bears in Quebec trying to get into our garbage at the cottage. A pissed off grizzly sow standing a full 8 feet tall with her 2 cubs hugging her hind legs as we hovered in a helicopter near a river in Yukon, polar bears on the shore of Hudson Bay. I even saw the very elusive sun bear in a Sri Lankan national park. Each one of these bears made you think “ok, I’m gonna leave you on your own, don’t mind me”. The last thing you want to do is run up to them for a hug…

They are called the three sisters. The Jinsha, the Nujiang and the Lancang, better known as the Salween, the Mekong and the Yangtze. Three rivers who originate in the Tibetan mountain ranges, running north to south, carving their way through an incredible landscape of sheer cliffs, snow caped mountains and green valleys….