Roger Harmon, LLC Tel; (505) 254-4666 harmon_roger@yahoo.com

Trip Descriptions
Please contact us for Itineraries of the trips that interest you.

Descriptions

New Mexico at August Festival Time
Sat. Aug. 7-Sun. Aug. 15, 2010.

OVERVIEW

Join us for an intimate experience of our beautiful, multi-cultural state. We will focus on the cultures of our state’s Native Americans, both the largest group, the Navajo, and the state’s 19 unique Pueblo peoples. We will visit their homelands, attend their ceremonies, meet friends we have made over the years and begin new friendships through our genuine curiosity and respect for both similarities and differences. We will also experience Hispanic culture in Albuquerque, Sante Fe and the surrounding countryside,

We use the word, "intimate" advisedly, as we will be no more than 12 plus Roger and Nancy. Key themes include values of the people and how these are expressed in their adaptation to the land and to the multicultural environment; food, sustainability and health; ceremony and creativity in dance and art. We will give back as well as learn, through our effort to connect and understand and through a contribution we make to a senior center or health facility in a community we visit. See below itinerary, references to websites of places we will visit, and reading suggestions.

Starting and Ending Point of Trip. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Destinations include:

--Albuquerque, with its Old Town plaza, Hispanic neighborhoods, and an ecology centered on the Rio Grande River.

-- Sante Fe, one of the main art and craft centers in the U.S. and even more museums than Albuquerque!

--Several Native American Pueblos (Jemez, Acoma and Zia Pueblos) ("Pueblo" has several connotations, including the central adobe living structure used by the native people.)

--The village of Jemez Springs, with its hot springs and meadows set below towering red rock mesas.

--Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, from 850 – 1250 A.D. The center of a complex native culture with extraordinary astrological and other achievements.

--Western New Mexico, including the Navajo rug auction in Crownpoint, the Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial and the area's great high desert scenery.

Silk Road Today in Kyrgyzstan & Uzbekistan.
August 25-Sept. 9, 2010
Pre-trip Extension to Northwestern China, in Xinjiang Province [Uyghur Autonomous Region].
Aug. 19-25, 2010 --POSTPONED UNTIL AUG, 2011

This trip will combine Uzbekistan's old cities of adobe, stone and amazing mosaic facades (in Bukhara and Samarkand) with the beauty of Kyrgyzstan's pastoral life by the lakes and in the valleys of the Tien Shan Mountains. These are two of "the stans," (along with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) which were part of the former Soviet Union. We will be welcomed and assisted by one of the most reputable travel companies in the region, as well as by friends we made while working and traveling in the region in 1997-1998.

The 5-day extension will allow us to meet the Uyghur minority in China (we were familiar with Uyghurs in Kyrgyzstan) and to learn both about their contemporary life and their great history along the Silk Road. The trip will include visits to world-class Buddhist monuments.
We will suggest flights to and from North America and Asia to fit with your itinerary, including ones for those who would like to join our Sept. 11-22 trip to the Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan.

"Your patience and personal efforts on a trip are amazing.
I also appreciate the small group size". S.J. Michigan

HAPPINESS IN THE BUDDHIST KINGDOM OF BHUTAN.
SEPT. 13-22, 2010

OPTIONAL FOUR DAY EXTENSION IN iNDIA, SEPT. 22-26.

ALSO, NEXT YEAR, TOO! SEPT.-OCT, 2011

Our trip at Fall festival seasonin Bhutan will allow us to see amazing ceremonies and dances, as well as see the spectacular scenery, monasteries, and towns and villages of this little-known Himalayan kingdom.

We will tavel by van and have limited walking; separate hikes for those interested can be arranged (Bhutan is known for treking). I have developed our itinerary with a very experienced guide who has led several trips taken by American and Thai friends. As on all of our trips, we have specifically included many opportunities to meet local people, including visits to schools, dinner with local Bhutanese, a donation to a youth project, and, hopefully, a blessing ceremony. Of note: Buthan's former king has developed the Gross National Happiness Index as a balance to the economic measures (Gross Domestic Product, etc.) so often used to measure well-being. We will be introduced to a happy, blessed kingdom at a time when it is still just becoming more open to the outside. We will tavel by van and have limited walking; separate hikes for those interested can be arranged (Bhutan is known for treking). See the March 2008 National Geographic article for an introduction to Bhutan's "dance" with modernity: <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/bhutan/larmer-text>

This trip can be combined with an optional extension in Thailand.

Jan. 7-13 Optional "Pre-trip" Extension to Malaysia and Singapore.
Jan. 15-30, 2011. Bali and Java, Indonesia and Myanmar (Burma).

Main Trip.

Bali + Java , Indonesia.

Indonesia is home to almost half of the people of Southeast Asia. In both Bali and Java we will experience the gracious, friendly ways of everyday life and also the deep artistic and religious traditions of the people. Indonesia is famous for its dance, puppetry, batik cloth making, silverwork, painting, woodcarving and many other arts and crafts. We will see all of these, and get to know artisans and others in their work places, homes and as we interact in their tropical environment.

Bali has drawn all kinds of curious visitors for decades, from the anthropologist, Margaret Mead (see her Dance and Trance in Bali) to painters, surfers, spa lovers. There are a lot of ways to approach Bali! Our stay in Bali will be a relaxing one. We will reside primarily in Ubud, the center of the island both geographically and culturally, and explore the town and the surrounding areas. Our main Balinese guide, a painter and woodcarver, will take us to his home to meet his family, to the homes of his carver/dancer friends, and to the countrside.

Central Java. Here we will visit the sultan’s palaces from the middle of the last millennium, as well as the centesr of Indianized civilizations before the sultanates, Prambanan (Hindu) and Borobodur (Buddhist). These date roughly the same time as Angkor in Cambodia and Pagan in Burma. In today’s Java, we will also see and sense reminders of the Dutch colonial past in the architecture, in the museums and institutions. I fully believe that Javanese people will capture your heart with their graciousness and depth.

Myanmar (Burma).

In Myanmar, we will experience several cultures, historical settings and ecological zones. I (Roger) led three small groups to Myanmar in 2006-7. I am excited to return with you to Yangon (formerly Rangoon) for the revered Shwedagon Pagoda and the Bogyoke Aung San Market, the largest dry goods and handicraft market in Burma; for Mandalay on the Ayeyarwady (Irrawady) River, the last Burmese capital prior to British colonial rule (see Nat. Geo. May 2006); and, for ancient Bagan (Pagan) to see marvelous monuments of the past 1000 years. Our guide will be a friend of many years who has an extraordinary grasp of history and of Buddhism.

While in the Mandalay area we will travel into the hills to Pyin U Lwin (formerly Mamyo) the old British summer capital (2 ½ driving time) to enjoy the Botanical Gardens, the zoo, and buildings of the type George Orwell lived in during his first colonial posting in Burma. In the market we will meet not only Burmese, but also Nepali Gurkhas, Indians, Pakistanis and others who remained after Burma gained its independence from Britain. Near spectacular Inle Lake we will meet Shan, Inta and Pa-oo people. Life on Inle Lake is extraordinary, especially the leg rowing and fishing in one- or-two-person boats, the huge hydroponic gardens in the Lake, and the extraordinary wooden monasteries along its shore.

Myanmar is a captivating country. It offers welcoming people who show much grace under pressure. Facilities are fully adequate--and often very good—and travelers still relatively few. Join us for a unique experience.

Pre-trip Extension. Malaysia and Singapore.

Malaysia is a study in contrasts. We will sample the ethnic mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian cultures, plus the impact of Portuguese and other European traders and British colonial rule, plus its rich coastal and highland ecological zones promote great variety.

Singapore is a full-blown modern miracle. In two-three days we will get a sense of this highly planned, highly technical, highly successful nation state. One cannot but be impressed by the quality of life here. Never have I seen the parts fit together in a whole like they do in Singapore!

Feb. 7-21, 2011. Overview of Vietnam and Laos. Emphasis on Food and Culture.
Feb. 21-29. Optional Extension to Thailand or Yunnan, China.
Starting Point: Hanoi, Vietnam. Ending Point, Luang Prabang, Laos.

We will visit favorite places from our 14 trips these last 6 years, including, Hanoi, Halong Bay and Dien Bien Phu in Northern Vietnam, Xiengkhouang and Hua Phan Provinces in rural Laos and the former royal capital of Laos, Luang Prabang. Let us discuss extension options to Northern and Northeast Thailand or Yunnan China.

F.N. of Ohio wrote: “In all my travels I've never felt so close to the real people in areas that were so unknown to me. Thanks again for a wonderful experience.”

We welcome your call at (505) 254-4666 or e-mail: harmon_roger@yahoo.com For more specific information see: www.worldviews2000.com Or, write Roger Harmon, 412 Lafayette Place NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico USA 87106.