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Trek up to Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan. Arriving at the monastery you may be given a cup of yak butter tea and be blessed by the head monk.
Miranda - Original Traveller
Miranda Boord
Original Travel Expert
I have extensive travel experience throughout Indian Subcontinent and Japan.
My travels
Travel Things I Want To Do Before I Die
- Go to the jungles in Borneo to see the Orang-utans
- To go back to Ladakh and do a proper expedtion in search of the ellusive snow leopard
- To give something back - I would love to go and assist at one of the Original Travel Foundation projects, especially the one in the Sundabans
- To search out a clouded leopard in North Eastern India
- To see giant pandas in the wild in China
- I am desperate to go to the Kumbh Mela in India
- To snorkel with whale sharks on the Ningaloo reef in Australia
- To swim with manta ray in Hannifaru Bay, Baa Atoll
- To explore Canada in the summer once the bears have come out of hibernation and are fishing in the rivers for salmon
Best Moments
- Bhutan - a land of happy mistakes - you never know what is going to happen, on my first visit we had a pretty tough trek to Tigers Nest, I am a little scared of heights and it was very slippery as there was snow all over the ground, but coming back down the mountain having visited the monastery and been blessed by the Head Rinpoche (which was very special) we bumped into a group of young monks and although they didn't speak much English they spied that we were game for some fun and we ended up having a huge snowball fight running back down the mountain - it was extraordinary.
- India - taking time out from the usual touristy sights and sitting and sharing chai with ladies at a dhaba (roadside chai shack) who spoke no English
- The FOOD in Japan - I just couldn't get enough, well until I wasn't sure what I was eating then I was a little more suspect
- Living out in India at Kipling Camp in Central India. This is where my love of India all started and I will never forget the wonderful staff or Tara the elephant, and taking her down to the Banjaar river every afternoon for her daily bath. While here I also saw a tiger in the wild for the first time, which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and sent shivers down my spine.
- Ladakh - I've never seen scenery quite like it
- New Zealand - where do I start? Sublime scenery, incredible food and wine, amazing people and truly wonderful hotels and experiences
- Coming (almost!) face to face with a bull elephant when on a walking safari in Zambia - a serious adrenaline rush
- A safari in Botswana for my fathers 60th. We were camping in the national parks and didn't see any other vehicles for days. It was incredible and we saw so much game.
- Flying into Bhutan - it's the most scenic flight in the world and you get a running commentary from the pilot as you fly past Mt Everest, landing into such a small valley you feel like the wings are about to touch the valley sides
Toughest Travel Moment
- Accidently deleting all of the photographs off my memory card whilst in Ladakh
- Having my knee cut open by a Croatian doctor who spoke no English and all he could say was 'doctor clean aha, doctor clean' when I left his surgery I noticed a lot of people walking around with the same gauze on their legs - they probably had the same experience
- Unsurprisingly, getting ill in India and spending three days in hospital on a drip in the middle of Central India - fortunately I was wonderfully looked after by my driver from Kipling Camp.
Weirdest Travel Moment
- Leaving the Indian jungle after five months of near solitude and silence and pitching up in Varanasi - a serious assault on the senses, a fascinating city, but completely chaotic and extraordinary after the seclusion of having been in the middle of nowhere for months.
- A lost train in India - Turning up at Varanasi station to take a train to Central India and being told 'I'm terribly sorry madam, but the train is lost', we questioned how long it would be lost for 'I am no idea madam - the train is lost, come back tomorrow'.
- Being made to do a sky dive over Lake Taupo in New Zealand
- Flying from Wellington to Auckland and then onto Queenstown with a huge bulbous prosthetic nose that had been put on me at the Weta Workshop - I got some very odd looks and the lady next to me on the flight from Auckland to Queenstown could not stop staring and eventually asked if she could touch it as I had to tell her it was fake.
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