Clifton, I can't thank you enough for your wealth of information! Between you and tower (Stu has been kind enough to email me with lots of information as well) its been so helpful.

I love the idea of training to Brasov! I never even considered it. I don't really have any interest in Bucharest, but my husband was nervous about driving at night. Since we wouldn't even get in until 4:15 (and that's assuming the flight is on time) by the time we got our luggage and the car...it would just be too late. I would much, much, much rather start in Brasov! I'll have to do more research on the train system in Romania.

Hmmmm...there is so much to see! I'm thinking that we may cut out the Bucovina part of the trip. I would rather have some time to explore and I'm worried that if we do the above itinerary it would leave little time for anything unexpected that may interest us. We like stumbling across interesting villages that may not be in our guidebooks, or stopping to take pictures of scenery or whatever. Medias sounds interesting! I do think the painted monasteries look pretty and interesting, but I think I would rather spend my time in the Maramures area. I'm kind of worried that after I see one or two painted monasteries that I would kind of be over it and want to move on! Sad but true. Sometimes I think I have the attention span of a 2 year old! We enjoy sights, obviously, but usually our best times are just spent walking around and experiencing the overall "feeling" of a city or town or place, if that makes sense. We don't always have to be doing something in particular to have a good time.

Is there much to see in between Sighisoara and Sighet? It looks like that would be a longer drive, so it would be great if we could include a few places to stop to make it more enjoyable. And it sounds like Sighet is a good place to base ourselves...is this correct?

Thank you!!!
Tracy

Ah, Stu's great, isn't he? We share a love of both Romania and Morocco and have chit chatted back and forth about those on email.

Well, I will confess to a gap between Sighisoara and Sighet that I don't know enough about. We'd run out there for day trips and what we saw was farming roads and wineries. They make some really nice dry Reislings in that area. But not a whole lot of things to draw us un, unlike to the east and south of Sighisoara. And on the Maramurs side, just so you know... once you get out of the time-locked Maramures proper, it does get industrial looking. Mostly just south and west of there. For instance, Baia Mare & Satu Mare have a lot of mining activities. I believe Baia Mare actually means "Big Mine".

So with that in mind, Sighet is about your only real option for accommodation around there unless you were doing a home stay. I'm sorry I'm not more help with suggesting stops while getting there. We came around the other way, through Bucovina, then left right out of Maramures and back in to Hungary.

I do get what you're saying about the monasteries and wearing out. Anything can be like that unless you're a real aficionado of something. The monasteries are actually similar in many ways - it's the theme of the painting that's different. So in a lot of ways, your time is spent studying the murals. Well, beyond enjoying the setting in the hills, with the nuns working.

Ok, anyway... in Maramures - you have the villages. Ieud and Poienile Izei stick in my memory most, but take the car and a map just weave around on the back roads back there. Stop when you see a brown wooden chuch steeple. You'll definitely get your "slice of life". In Sapanta, you have the must-see Merry Cemetery. They do charge a small fee there. Worth it, IMO and not built just to collect the fee. It's just a poor area and it's their only claim to fame. In Barsana is a not old but looks old traditional monastery of the Maramures building style. You can go in different buildings and have a look around and the nuns just sort of work around you.

When I started typing, I said it was going to be a fast post because it was after 2am. Now it's realllly after 2am! Take care.

Clifton, I hope you are in bed asleep right now! Thank you so much again!

Stu is wonderful. He was kind enough to email me with information on our trip to Turkey last year, and mailed me some wonderful highlighted maps, and we've kept in touch. He stumbled upon this post when I first posted it and has been giving me advice and sending me pictures. Between the two of you who needs a travel agency?!

Is the Maramures area pretty? Well, not counting the mines of course. I do love gorgeous scenery so that would be a bonus, although not a deal breaker. And finally, if we drive up there from Sighisoara will two nights be enough or should we allot for more time? There are several flights each day from Baia Mare to Bucharest, so I'm thinking that maybe we'll take a later evening flight so we would still have the whole day in the area before getting to Bucharest. So if we do two nights, I *think* that should give us at least two full days, plus the driving day from Sighisoara.

We will have an earlier morning flight out of Bucharest so I'm thinking that we may just bypass Bucharest altogether and just stay near the airport for that final night once we fly in. As I said above, I don't really have much interest in Bucharest itself. I've heard some okay things about it, but there is just too much to see in Romania to want to stay in a big communist-era city!

I think Maramures is very pretty. Sort of old fashioned farm pretty. Two days I think is about right. It's interesting, but there really isn't a place to sort of linger over a cup of coffee, etc except back in Sighet. I mean, these really are small villages with no tourist infrastructure. This is my gallery of Romania photos, and the first one is in Maramures and very typical of the area.

http://www.travelisfatal.com/gallery...show&gazgal=12

Sighet is more of a slightly sprawling more modern town, which when there, you'll see why that's a good thing for a casual visitor.

If you look at this map image, -- http://www.romanianmonasteries.org/r...amures_map.jpg -- your "sweet spot" is north of Desesti (the second "s" should be one with a little tail on it, which sounds like "sh". Medias is like that too, so that it's actually pronounced med-EE-ash).

Then Ieud is your far west (and most authentic feeling) point and Sapanta your far east. There's a few areas around Romania, usually coming into cities, where it almost reminds me of Granite City, IL (bet you have a visual now). But if you're in that box, you won't see much if any of the old communist era grey boxes.

You will see that shades of that grey coming into Brasov and Sighisoara and it CAN feel grim on the way in. Just FYI. Push on to the center and it'll change as you go.

Clifton, I had a pretty good laugh at your Granite City comment! This is bad, but my husband and I often reference Granite City when stumbling across various towns...we call them "Granite-esque"! My parents were born and Raised in Granite City and that smell from the steel factory is forever embedded in my brain.

So, when you say "old fashioned farm pretty" we aren't talking southern Illinois cornfield farm pretty, are we? I'm envisioning the areas I grew up in...Troy, Glen Carbon, Lebanon. They are pretty, especially now that I am in NC and don't see too many farms, but I admit I'm not sure if I'm looking for that on my European vacation!

By the way, I forgot to mention that your pictures are gorgeous! I only wish I could take a decent picture. If I do its usually either by accident or because the scenery is so pretty that it's hard to take a bad picture. I'm envious! And congrats about the Lonely Planet guide!

Thanks on the nice pic comments. I used to be able to work on those a little more, before you know who came along. lol

Granite City is etched in my mind too. lol. I just mention it so that so you know. I think there are some people on the boards I would never, ever recommend Romania to. I think some expect that picture postcard approach to a fairy tale looking village (except you get there and the village is a nearly a themed park of souvenir shops, gourmet food and bottle shops and overly precious cafes and pastisseries and galleries. Beautiful and definitely comfy for the tourists. Some people like that. I can see the beauty, and I don't mind good food and wine, but the presentation sort of makes me feel... hmmm... like a customer, rather than a visitor.

Coming into Brasov, or Medias or Sighisoara won't be like that, and it won't be like that once you're in the old own either. So I thought it might be worth mentioning to whoever else picks up your thread later when doing research. They built a lot of grim grey block buildings in the 50's-80s surrounding the old centers. But even that's a new experience.

Hmmm, in Maramures, well these are villages who definitely make their living off of agriculture. Probably more hilly than metro IL, but it's not dramatic scenery. Romania has some stunning mountain scenery, but it sort of wraps in a hook around the southern boundary of Transylvania and then heads north to separate eastern Transylvania from Bucovina. Maramures is more gentle hills and winding one lane roads. You see people farming, but it's by hand. Horse plows, wooden rakes. So a different. Maybe Glen Carbon of 200 yrs ago (although the look is different). If you see the land behind the couple in that pic, that's what a lot of it looks like.

Now... if you're looking for major league 'wow' scenery in Romania, as in dramatic mountain views, I'd say it's the Trans-fagerean road south from near Sibiu. Lots of winding mountain road there. And the Bicaz Gorge, as I mentioned earlier is on the way from central Transylvania to Bucovina. Even the area you'll pass through from Bucharest to Brasov is over the mountains. Sinaia is a ski area in fact. Bran is very hilly, as is Rasnov, the old hilltop fortress just up the road.

You know... I started looking over old pics. Ones never good enough in my opinion to post, but still worth keeping for memories. And Maramures is a lot more hilly and scenic that I remembered. I think I was comparing it to the very big mountains in the south, but... it's pretty.

Then I got to thinking. Anymore, you can find video of almost anything on Youtube, so I looked. And I found a few videos that shows Maramures "live"... I thought you might like this one though. Quite a few shots of the landscape, churches and costumes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6khGsPlpVs

I really appreciate your honesty! I too prefer more "real" destinations instead of those picture-perfect towns that cater to only tourists. While they are pretty, they aren't very authentic. I think the main reason we want to visit Romania is its authenticity.

I loved that video! And the music was absolutely gorgeous! I have my girls in the room with me and they stopped what they were doing to listen to it at first. I do think the region is very pretty with its rolling green hills. I like the feel of the area, from what I saw and read. And interesting...I never even thought to check out youtube for vacation information!

Dear Tracy,
I have read your long posts and change my mind few times :)

I work as a tour guide in Romania, so I hope you don't mind advices.
First of all 7 days seems short for all the regions you wish to see. I will normally say the North (with Maramures & Bucovina) or the south-east Transylvania.
Adding flights will help you a lot.
If you are not too tired you can fly the same evening to Baia Mare (one flight only, in the evening 20:55, not flying Fri, Sat) and stay in Baia Mare overnight.
1st night Baia Mare
2nd night Sighet
3rd night Sighet
4th night Gura Humorului
5th night Gura Humorului
6th night Sighisoara
7th nigth Brasov
You should really add a day or two at least!
From Maramures to Bucovina you drive about 5 hours over the pass, from Bucovina to Sighisoara you do about 7 hours over Bicaz Gorge (a road very well described by Clifton and definitly you should take it instead of boring Sighisoara - Sighet!). You can stay in Brasov your last night, if you have a late flight. The drive from Brasov to OTP takes 3 hours (but count more in case of road work, accident, etc)

Clifton, I love your webiste "Travel is fatal" and I envy you for the pictures. I am a keen photographer myself: have a look to my pictures: http://www.myromania.com.ro/index.php/photos.html
But, its only from Romania and I did no work on them.

one nice hotel to stay at is
panzio lobogo in homorodfurdo

Tracy, I don't know why, but one day on YouTube I typed "driving in XXX" to see what road conditions looked like around there. Since then, it's rare the place that someone hasn't video'd and uploaded.

Ramona - you sure do have a way with photos, especially of people. Your candid shots are wonderful. Thanks for sharing them. You're very lucky to live so near such beautiful scenery and interesting people.

Hi Fodorites!
I've been reading reviews and forum discussions here for quite a while now and throughout time I found many of your advice very useful during my trips.

This is the first time I am actually asking for advice. I have arrived in Romania last week already and, given that I’ll stay here until November, I would really like to take advantage and visit the Maramures and Bucovine regions. I have to say, Clifton really convinced me this is the right choice for me. Unfortunately, as I came here for business, I don’t have time to organize the tour all by myself. In addition to that, I have already asked for some offers to several travel agencies.
The first who answered is a travel agency located in Cluj-Napoca, called Pan Travel. And here is my question: has any of you heard about them? Searching on the Internet I found out they have really good references in other travel guides such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. Moreover, they also seem to have quite a good feedback on their website as well (not to mention their tour guide who really sounds like a very knowledgeable guy).

If you recommend them too, next week I’ll accept their offer and sign with them. I wouldn’t wanna miss the autumn leaves :)

Waiting for your expert advice! Thanks!

Sorry, I don't know about this agency. I write you because you like autumn leaves. Where you stay in Romania? If you are in Bucharest or not far from there, you can have a day trip to Cheia. There is nearby a small mountain, called Muntele Rosu, meaning "Red Mountain", because the color of the trees there in the autumn.

Sorry, I haven't heard of them either RyeCatcher. We were on our own with a rental car, so I don't have any background there with agencies.

If you like the price and what the guy has to say (and you're SURE this is the guy who'll be taking you around), at least it *sounds* like you're on the right track. I guess from other trips in other places, all I could suggest is that you're all very clear about the plans and how you feel about being taken for "shopping", etc. The commission thing, which I haven't heard is a big problem in Romania but it sure is a pain in the butt in Asia sometimes and has soured a couple of what would have otherwise been nice guide experiences.

Hope you're having fun.

I don't know them either. I had a very bad experience with my guide in that part of Romania, so I would suggest very limited money up front, and a back-up plan if they don't work out.

Thanks for the tip Valtor. I’m actually staying in Bucharest and now I’m really considering going to see the Red Moutain. Thanks again!
Clifton, I know what you mean with the shopping commission. It happened to me in Tunisia and Egypt. Hopefully, Romania will prove to be a brave exception ;)
Thursdaysd, I’ve read about your experience with the guide from hell. That’s exactly the reasons why I asked about this particular travel agency, to make sure. I’ll try to keep my back covered. Thanks for your advice!
I am a bit disappointed you have heard about this travel agency. I still haven’t got an answer from any other travel agency and I’m seriously thinking of signing with them. I’ll get back to you with the impressions. Thanks again everyone!

Rye, I remembered something that can help: I know a very good and serious driver, who takes many times tourists in tours in Romania. He knows also good places to sleep and to eat. He was our driver in 2000 and we loved him, recommended them to friends who also said then that he was very good. His name is Viorel Iabcu, he lived in Ploiesti (60 Km from Bucharest). His email is [email protected]
You can say him that you have his address from Liliana Victor.

Fortunately, Romania has very genuine tourism potential, but unfortunately no one deals build on it so happens in <a href="http://www.inchirierimasini.info/satumare"> Satu Mare </a>, in which there are many tourist attractions as the Synagogue, Fire Tower, the Reformed Church, but nobody starduie to make known a great number of tourists.

kiprianis:
1. I did not post your name here.
2. I am not going to take the "Tour Guide From Hell" piece down, so stop bugging me about it. Every word is true.
3. 26 is plenty old enough to know that lying and cheating are wrong.
4. If you've had hundreds of customers since 2006 why are you worrying about my web site?

Tracy, for what it's worth, I honestly think Romania is best visited with a driver tour guide. We were there twice and loved it. This is the company we used

www.tours-of-romania.com

Their most comprehensive tour is the Romanian Rhapsody.

Wow, what a great thread! We're in Barcelona and a Romanian friend who lives in Chicago has invited us to her daughter's christening in Sibhu this August, so I was trying to get some info.

Low and behold I find this from lovely friends Clifton, Tracy and others.

Now to go off and read those trip reports. Thanks guys!

Wondering if you went Tracy and how it went? Is your trip report up yet?

I hear ya on those fast growing babes too. Mine who was 5 when we started our open ended world tour ( and I think 6 when we ran into you Clifton in Morocco by chance) is 10 1/2. Enjoy those baby years, in a blink they are tween!

Mozart is 10 1/2 now? Whoa! Is she still playing her music? And are you still planning on moving on to Penang or is Europe too much of a draw still? We're another year on since this thread, now with a 3 and 2/3 yr old and still loving it everyday.

I love the feel of Sibiu. So not touristy (IMO) compared to so many places. But easily enough to keep you fed and sheltered. How nice to get an "insiders" look!

WTnow, unfortunately we didn't make it to Romania. I'm still a bit bummed about it because we ended up going back to some old favorites instead (Bavaria and then Rome) but my heart was set on Romania. The reason why we chose to skip it this time around was that we jus didn't feel that we could do all the things we wanted to do in our short time frame given the road infrastructure there.

I do hope you visit so I can read your trip report which will give me further motivation to get there, I'm sure!

Everyone says that kids grow up so fast but until you become a parent yourself you don't really understand the true meaning of that. My little ones are 19 months old now and I'm constantly both sad (where are my little angels?) and happy (they are so much fun now) but I sometimes wish I can press a pause button!

Happy travels!
Tracy

Oh my gosh Clifton, your baby is 3 2/3...my time flies! Give your wife and little angel a big hug from us!

Yes Mozart is still playing piano and violin around the world. My heart is still in Europe, but we did winter this past year in Penang so that she can immerse in her Mandarin. We will do the same this coming winter.

BUT I think we will continue to visit Europe for many years to come. ( We keep our RV here super cheaply, so gives us a home/vehicle/storage for practically nothing & we know it well now and have lots of local friends here).

I wrote a recent post about raising a bilingual/trilingal kid and you can see her reading Spanish in Spain at 7 and this past winter speaking Mandarin at 10 in her Chinese school uniform. She is growing! ;) ( Actually still quite tiny for her age).

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2011/0...ual-child.html

In order to get her into the Mandarin school, she had to skip two grades so now she is in 7th grade at a 1000 kid huge high school in the winter, but she loves it and is doing well. They are allowing us to do it remotely while we roam..via skype with the dean of studies.

We went completely around the world this year ( with a small carry on each) over 9 months ( 22 airports) so got to see some new places like Bora Bora, Bhutan,Singapore, Sydney, NZ, Jordan, Kauai etc. ( all on our tight budget)

We're in Barcelona now..planning this foray into Romania for most of the month of August & celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in Budapest at the end, before returning to Barcelona. ( I've started another thread on Romania and haven't had a chance to delve into your trip report yet.) Could you link it here? I am such an ungeek, I can't seem to find it.

We do a road trip in the USA starting Sept 15th..from Miami to SF so I am also planning that ( and writing lots on our blog while we rest a bit here). So juggling lots.

I think we will explore Transylvania, Maramures/ Bucovine regions and maybe the Danube Delta that I just learned about for the small fishing villages.My friend is going to be there all month too and will help us with things as she is very connected. So that will make things easier and I always love meeting locals.

But I am still trying to get a sense of the country and what we will really want to see. It's the small villages and picturesque country side that interests us and local people/foods etc. Not interested in Bucharest, but we loved Budapest, only saw it in the rainy, cold fall, so want to enjoy it in summer in luxury style. ;)

What were your most fave places? ( I think we have similar tastes in travel). Is there anything that you would like to have seen but didn't? Are there any places you felt should have been left out?

tcreath Oh I do understand that disappointment but also why you did it. These are the kinds of choices that happen to travelers.

We were all psyched to go to Romania and Hungary a few years ago and then I broke my arm badly biking the Danube in Melk. Ouch!

ttp://www.soultravelers3.com/2009/09/-a-travelers-tragic-tale-handling-travel-disasters-medical-emergency-.html

My right dominant arm was paralyzed for a year! Any sane person would have stopped traveling...but I even managed to sneak a peak at Budapest on the way back to Spain that year, but we had to let Romania go until now.

I also have been trying to get to the Swiss Alps and Lake Como for ages, and thought we'd do it this summer, but I had to let that go as it's just too much. Plus friends we stayed with in Sweden are going to meet up with us here in Barcelona, so I let that go.

I hate letting things go, but it usually is the right thing and I am sure the right time will come again for you and Romania.

Twins!! That is so cool..congrats! I didn't even know you had them til I read this thread. Wow..19 months already..such a cute and wild age. ;)

I hear ya on that pause button, I loved every age that Mozart has been, but I cry every time I hear that Mama Mia song about how time is slipping away.

Her birthday is coming up this fall and I am not ready for an 11 year old!! ;) We're taking her to Wizarding World in Fla for it as she is an HP lover & thinks it's about time for an USA birthday for a change & I am happy to be able to show her more of her own country.

I will keep you posted on our time in Romania ( although the bulk of it might be written when we are back in Penang this winter when I have more time again).

Sounds like she's doing great WTNow. I'm so glad. What a great kid you have there.

You got so close... Sydney... but not quite to Melbourne where we're at now. Do check it out if you get back! Maybe someday we'll show up in Penang at the right time of year and we'll run into each other again. They run a lot of sales out of here to Kuala Lumpur direct on Air Asia, so we've talked about grabbing a deal if it comes up again someday. And Bhutan too? That's a step above the ordinary!

Let's see. Favorites in Romania. Well, we never went to Bucharest either. Or the delta area. We got as far south as Sinaia only.

Favorites -- any of the Maramures villages. Try to find someone with a key to the village church. They've very old and very indicative of how each community lives.

Bucovina - the exterior murals on the monastery churches. Plus the settings on a couple of them are very peaceful.

Sighisoara. It's the most touristy, but also pretty cool, architecturally speaking. Very Transylvanian gothic with the cemetery and the tower and walls...

Sibiu - Cool city, cool buildings (with "eyes"). Just really liked the vibe.

The walled churches around Transylvania. Biertan in particular, but also Harmann and Prejmer... or just any you happen to drive past really.

There were a lot of other things I liked that may just be my tastes or my interests... and that I may not have the same points of comparison as others. But I probably mentioned them in the (realllly long) trip report. Which is getting pretty old now (even before we met in Morocco) but...

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-cabbage.cfm

The Romania gallery is at the bottom of my main galleries page:

http://www.travelisfatal.com/gallery/


Holy cow on your arm! I'm glad that got better! Getting sick or hurt is no fun, especially away from home. I temporarily lost sight in one eye for a few days when we were in Peru in late '09 and I thought that was bad. Something that lasts a year? That is a bit mad really.

Btw, we're US bound for a brief trip too and leave the day you arrive. Nothing personal!

Oh, I meant to add - just don't drive after dark in RO, alright? The driving isn't as bad as like, Phnom Penh or anything... but I'd say it's worse than Morocco. There's *a lot* of random moving obstacles on the road, there really are... including cows, pigs and elderly ladies in black. And they don't move over even if they know you're coming. Once it gets dark, you come up on stuff really fast and it's just too dangerous. For you, for them. For everyone. I got caught out on an overestimated day once and it was really tough going. During the day, it's an ongoing obstacle course, but the pavement conditions I thought were generally Ok-ish. At night... no.

Thanks so much Clifton, so appreciate it!! Love your photos as always!

I didn't realize you did Romania before Morocco in O7, still probably things haven't changed that much.

I am finding it cheaper to fly right into Romania from BCN so probably will do that and then fly into Budapest and from there back to BCN...still working on the best possibilities.

DO let me know if you head to Penang. I think we will be there an extended stay this year...due to her age ...so she can very deeply immerse in her Mandarin. That goes from Jan to Nov ...so lots of chances for you to catch one of those cheap air asia flight...you have friends in Penang! ;)

Yep, we just did Sydney and would love to do an extended trip in Oz...but wow, it is expensive and with bad internet for travelers like us. If I can figure out how to do a long trip around Oz on our budget, we will def get to Melbourne and say hi! ;)

We're thinking long stays in NZ and Oz when she finishes the school year before heading to south America and Africa, but that's all just in the dream stage now. We'll be exploring Asia more on her many school holiday this year on those air asia cheap flights. ;)

Yowser, losing sight while traveling. Sorry to hear that. Yep, bad illness or accident on the road ain't fun. This year it was some severe problems with digestion, but I am mostly better.

Sorry we will miss you in the US.

Diving in Romania sounds like a trip...at least we won't be in an RV. LOL. We will def heed your warning about not after dark.

I can't tell you how many times we have overestimated in the RV and broken our promise to ourselves not to drive in the dark, but we will really not break it in Romania...sounds like a night mare. Worse than Morocco...yikes.

Bhutan has the record for the worst possible roads in the world of all the scary roads that we have been on. Thankfully we did not have to drive the 4x4 but the curvy, mountain cliff dirt one-lane roads ( trucks coming opposite) are not meant for peeps with vertigo like me ( no need for seat belts when the drop is 9000ft). Rain, sleet, boulders in road didn't help, nor seeing cars that fell off the cliff. That said, the views, monkeys, yaks , nomads, people were spectacular. Even the flight in over Mt Everest in their two airplane airlines is a trip. HIGHLY recommend Bhutan..no place like it.

Please tell me that there are not horrible mountain roads in Romania..I've done my share this year. ;)

Thanks again, keep in touch!! Off to read your trip report and and try to figure out flights and car rentals.

Bhutan sounds like quite an experience. It was always near the top of my list, but drifted a few spots lower as I thought about always being in the car, walking with, and so on.. with a guide person we didn't know well. Just realize how often our best times have been at "our pace" and when we could be "just us" versus when we've had a day guide and have gotten a bit frustrated with the change that's had in our style. Some we've really enjoyed though. I'd just started thinking "what if we got one we didn't click with and was stuck for a week or more in car all day, every day??" Then I read someone's report that had had that less happy experience... and others who commented and said they did too. And Bhutan slipped a bit on the wish list. Sounds like you fared pretty well in that gamble though.

Obviously, I'd be very happy they were doing the driving though!

No, I never saw mountain roads like that in Romania. There may be some, but none we ever had to take. We went over and through the Carpathians several times but the roads always seemed to be in good condition. Magnificent views in many places, but no driving I'd classify as hair raising.

Agree that Australia is really expensive right now compared to when it was 2:1 exchange we used to get when visiting. Now that we earn in AUD, I'd like to say we don't notice it, but... at least it's not as bad. I realized the other day that we could eat your standard cafe or pub meal cheaper inside Disneyland than in our suburban neighborhood, East/SE Asian places and fish & chips aside. Oh well, we get good ingredients at the grocery... but that's not a lot of help to the budget traveler! (tip: stay "ethnic", much like in NYC, to contain costs or look for your local RSL for a meal)

Definitely, if one of us finds the other somewhere near their doorstep, we'll have to say hi in person again! I'll keep an eye on your RO trip!

Yes, I hear you on the guide thing as we like to do our own thing too, but we did luck out with our journey to Bhutan. We adored our guide and driver..they gave us lots of space and autonomy...and they were actually a very positive part of the experience.

Bhutan is an awesome place, but once there one understands why there are the restrictions in place ( and how it has managed to stay a true shangri-la and isolated).

One can set one's own itinerary in Bhutan, so that is the way to do it...research and know and get exactly what you want. It's a place that takes time because of the mountainous location and infrastructure ( basically one poor road into the fascinating central and eastern part) so slow travel and stops to walk the land for days in between the drives are important.

Soon one will be able to fly to the center and east, but there are some advantages to the drive in truly experiencing the country. We had to backtrack, so I'd avoid that and just do one way ( one can exit on the east into India).There is no place on earth like Bhutan so more than worth the effort if done with good planning. I agree though, the driving part was not my fave.

Thanks again for your input on this. I am sure we will meet up again some day or place. ;)