One of my favorite things to do is send snail mail. I’ve mentioned this before, but a hand-written note (thank you, birthday wishes, just because/thinking of you, good luck, you name it!) is guaranteed to bring a smile to the recipient’s face/heart. It also brings me joy, so it’s win/win :)
Traveling and sending postcards are synonymous to me. I think I’ve only missed sending postcards from one country (India, I’m looking at you! Sorry!!). Postcards are always easy to find, but stamps? That’s a whole other ballgame. It’s been surprisingly difficult to find stamps, and many times it’s required me taking us out of our way to get to a local post office to buy stamps. The most memorable instance of that was in Jerusalem, Israel. I'll have to elaborate in a dedicated post soon so that I don't digress too much :)
Back to Bhutan . . . On day one, Jamyang was giving us a run-down of some of the things we’d be doing. He was quick to add that this was our trip, and he wanted to make sure that we did all the things that were most interesting/important to us. Everything he mentioned sounded great to us, and we told him as much, and reiterated the more local the experiences & spots, the better :) I spoke up and added that the only other thing that I really wanted to do was buy postcards & stamps, since that’s something that I really enjoy doing in our travels.
It took a few tries, but we finally managed to find some postcards for sale in Thimphu on our 2nd day. Just down the street there was a shop selling a few used books in English. I pointed out to Paige a “Babysitter’s Club Super Special” book, the kind that I read and loved as a girl her age. At the equivalent of 50 cents USD, it was a no-brainer purchase. After these two quick purchases we plopped down at a nearby coffee shop with Jamyang. Doug & I were in need of a caffeine boost. Paige didn’t skip a beat and started reading her new book, engrossed after a few minutes.
It wasn’t until the next morning, hundreds of miles away from Thimphu, when we realized we had left the postcards & book at the coffee shop. They were both in a green mesh bag and most likely Paige left them on the cafe booth. Jamyang assured us they would still be at the coffee shop - that no one takes things that don’t belong to them in Bhutan. He said he’d call them later in the morning when they were open.
Over the course of the next two days Jamyang tried to reach the coffee shop several times on the phone without luck. Finally on the 3rd day he got ahold of the cafe, and as Jamyang predicted, our postcards & book were still there! I know this might not seem like much. But it made me super happy that we'd be reunited with our belongings and that I could write & send all those lovely postcards to family & friends afar. More importantly, it was a great reminder of the kindness & decency of strangers. Living in New York City the past almost 15 years has hardened my exterior. In the midst of the amazing churn that is NYC, it's easy to loose simple faith in humanity and small acts of kindness. This seemingly little act of someone finding & holding onto our little belongings for a few days (without word from us) was just lovely.
Happy ending: The postcards were written & mailed with extra joy and kindness from Bhutan!
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