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Keep those flight socks
Those fuzzy socks you get on the plane? Keep them in your purse when you are out and about, as you may be required to remove your shoes to enter certain shrines and temples( and local homes). The socks are easy to slip on, and will keep your feet clean.
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Sort of solo in Bhutan
Though you can plan your own adventure and fly into Bhutan alone, once you get there, the government requires all visitors( other than citizens of India, Bangladesh, or Maldives) to be accompanied by an authorized local tour guide. It’ s part of the government’ s effort to limit mass tourism in order to protect and preserve the country’ s natural environment and unique culture. So you really can’ t travel here totally alone.
A Note from Harriet: You can explore Bhutan in a solo-friendly, small group with O. A. T. And while your adventure will include a lot of small group activities, you’ ll also have plenty of opportunities for individual discovery and the freedom to personalize your experience.
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Know this Cambodian currency quirk
RECOMMENDED
Reading
Married to Bhutan: How One Woman Got Lost. Said“ I Do.” And Found Bliss. by Linda Leaming( Memoir, Bhutan)
Flame Tree, A Novel of Modern Burma by Keith Dahlberg( Fiction, Burma)
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung( Memoir, Cambodia)
One Child: The Story of China’ s Most Radical Experiment by Mei Fong( Nonfiction, China)
White Tiger by Aravind Adiga( Fiction, India)
Kyoto: A Cultural and Literary History by John Dougill( History, Japan)
Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong( Fiction, Laos)
House of Snow: An Anthology of the Greatest Writing About Nepal( Essays, Nepal)
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap( Short Stories, Thailand)
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen( Fiction, Vietnam)
Even though the currency unit here is the riel, in reality it is usually only used for small purchases. The most widely used currency is U. S. dollars. Prices are usually quoted in dollars, too, so that makes things easy. However, U. S. coins are not widely used. So if you are owed change it will be given to you in riel. If you are going shopping in a local market, try to have some riel on hand, so you can pay for small goods in exact change or round your purchases up and not lose money.
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