This gallery is a throwback to 1985, and made possible by my trusty Nikon Coolscan 4000 scanner.

Within a few short weeks of a scheduled journey from the Middle East back home to Australia, I had noticed a weekend travel story in the local English-language press: the little-known Himalayan nation, a devoutly Buddhist kingdom, had opened its borders to limited numbers of tourists, who would pay a fixed dollar rate for each day of their fully-escorted stay; backpackers (as in, my usual travelling persona) need not apply. This regime still applies today, with the per diem rate pegged to an upscale travel budget.

These images were scanned from the original Kodachrome transparencies, and may be licensed. Please visit my blog.