Waiting to fly on Flickr.

Sixteen hours ago, I was pulling together a few last minute items for my impending journey West – to Bhutan, through Tokyo and Bangkok. After an uneventful flight chasing the ever-setting sun from SFO to Narita, I find myself sitting in the United lounge, trying to keep the anticipation of Bhutan at bay. I’m often asked, “Are you getting excited for your upcoming trip?” I’m always embarrassed to share my honest answer, which is, almost always, “no.” Perhaps from years of heavy traveling, I prefer to detach myself from the idea of the trip until I’m actually underway. This isn’t intentional, the best I can tell it is one of the ways I am able to travel so much – I compartmentalize the trip until I am truly ready to experience it… They say happiness is reality minus expectations…and this helps me keep expectations incredibly low. That being said, it’s times like this, only hours away from my first destination, that I start to feel the proverbial butterflies – that unmistakable feeling that one experiences when they sense something meaningful is about to happen.

I leave Japan shortly to acclimatize in Bangkok and then will catch a flight into Paro, Bhutan on Druk Air. More from the shore of the Chao Phraya…