Bhutan Travel Blogs

Bhutan Day 4
Oct 20, 2008 (67 photos)

The first noise heard on the earth was OM. When you are in Nepal, certain parts of India and here in Bhutan, you constantly here that song, the prayer, and I am now hooked, and the worse part of it is I'm not religious   Om Ma Ni Pe Me Hung   ...

Bhutan, Day 2
Oct 18, 2008 (72 photos)

... mountains on roads, that really are more like lanes !!!   Taktshang Goemba   This is the most famous monastery in Bhutan. In English, it translates to tigers nest. It's not a bad description as this place clings to a cliff !!! Basically, the ...

Bhutan, Day 1
Oct 17, 2008 (72 photos)

... !!! And after a three month wait, we were on our way.   Now some say that Nepal is for backpackers, whilst Bhutan is for flashpackers !!! As I'm a tourist, I was wondering how Bhutan would take me?   Paro   The flight was great, the ...

Bhutan Day 3
Oct 19, 2008 (113 photos)

So after yesterdays debacle, we decided that as it is a new day, lets just get on with this tour shit and get on with life. And with that desicion made, we hit the road.   Chimi Lakhang   Just down the road from where we were staying was the ...

Bhutan Day 5
Oct 21, 2008 (71 photos)

... glasses sat on a throne. And then the word came out, it was the head honcho himself, the chief Abbot, the highest Lama in Bhutan. Our guide got down and started praying, and on the way out, I pulled out a sneaky wobbly video. I've never been this close to ...

Bhutan day 6
Oct 22, 2008 (75 photos)

... personally, I didn't think it was high value that we were getting.   And basically, our trip was over.   And Finally   Bhutan had been fun, the small bit that we saw. Some call it the last shangri-la, whilst I just think of it as a ...

Wangdue and the "No Dogs" Temple
Jan 9, 2008 (13 photos)

Small town Wangdue has a lot of shops (mostly "general shops") and is very windy. Maybe that's why the town is currently being relocated further down the river. The Wangduephodrang Dzong here is among the few that have not yet been entirely restored, so ...

Touring Bhutan
Nov 10, 2006 (27 photos)

... there is not such a large population in Bhutan so passing didn't happen as often as it might. Hotels: The accommodation in Bhutan ranged from adequate (think Motel 6) to quite nice (maybe like a Sheraton at one place, but more rustic and natural, ...

Bhutan Arrival
Jan 4, 2008 (17 photos)

... met by Jigme, my guide for the next few days. And the programme began immediately with a very typical sight in Bhutan: the Paro Dzong (ancient fortress turned administration plus monastery). Bhutan's national museum in the Dzong's former watchtower has an ...

A plea: The News in Lhasa
Mar 17, 2008

... It's our own future well being. I hope you all are in better spirits than I am.  I'm enjoying myself in Bhutan, it's beautiful landscapes, it's beautiful people, and the rich history that's rooted here, but I'm looking forward to returning to ...

Thimphu to Punakha
Mar 20, 2008 (35 photos)

... of Wangdi. It is in town, near the Wangdi Dzong, and serves one of our best meals thus far. This evening a local gay man from Punakha visits with us after dinner to talk about his life in Bhutan. An interesting ending to a glorious day!   Hugs, Dan

Touring Thimphu
Mar 19, 2008 (15 photos)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 Touring Thimphu   Dear Readers:   Today is billed on our itinerary as "Unstructured" so that people can pick and choose their activities. We begin with a visit to the "Painting School," where many of the artistic ...

Newsflash
Jan 7, 2008 (4 photos)

... one of the major sources of income, tourism plays a big role in this, but it is also regarded as a threat to Bhutan's independence and peculiarity. Talking with my travel agent and a friend of hers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was interesting ...

Return to Bangkok / Farewell Dinner
Mar 29, 2008 (5 photos)

Saturday, March 29, 2008 Return to Bangkok / Farewell Dinner   Dear Readers:   We depart the hotel at 6am this morning for the 90 minute drive back to Paro. The day is beautiful, and we have the opportunity to take great photos of the High ...

Last Day in Bhutan
Dec 8, 2007 (14 photos)

... Frauen zu besuchen ohne von deren Vaetern erwischt zu werden. Wenn man erwischt wird, ist man verheiratet. Mein Fazit zu Bhutan: Meine Erwartungen waren sehr hoch, etwas zu hoch, ich bin doch ein wenig enttaeuscht. Die Zeichen des Wandels sind ...

Trongsa to Bumthang
Mar 25, 2008 (17 photos)

... walk the last kilometer or so to the top of the pass to stretch our legs, and then head into the Bumthang province of Bhutan toward the city of Jakar where our hotel is located.   There is a general sense of jubilation today, as the favorite party ...

Thimphu
Jan 5, 2008 (11 photos)

... takes almost two hours on a one-lane road with countless potholes ... Thank you, Toyota, for a good suspension! Being Bhutan's capital, Thimphu has quite an impressive Dzong (Tashichoedzong) in which the central and regional government as well as the ...

Bhutan
Oct 5, 2006 (15 photos)

I flew into the Paro airport, the only airport in the country. A hair raising approach as there are hills very close to both ends of the runway. Got to spend 4 days traveling around the country. Went from Paro to Thimpu, on to Wangdue Phodrang ...

Flying Tigresses and Tipsy Archers!
Dec 22, 2007 (55 photos)

...  (a fortress/monastery) standing impressively beside the river with the ancient round watchtower up on the wooded hillside above it.  Bhutan, 'Land of the Thunder Dragon', the exotic, mysterious, exclusive destination, shrouded in myth and legend, that I ...

Dude! Rinzin!
Sep 27, 2009

We meet this traditional Bhutanse guy on our way up to Thimpu! Rizin who even gave us his SIM card, found us a beautiful hotel to stay and what not. He was with us the whole of next day and took us around the festival . Zoo, museums were the other places ...

The Mighty Phallus...
Dec 24, 2007 (9 photos)

... an unsuspecting female in the nether regions with a 12 inch wooden penis would be construed sexual harassment. Here in Bhutan, I (the unsuspecting female) was expected to be thankful for the good fortune this 'blessing' would bring me.  Hmmm... not ...

Shop, eat, drink
Jan 6, 2008 (22 photos)

... that tastes like, well, Weissbier (kind of).   Thimphu is also the only town in Bhutan where something approximating "traffic" exists. The traffic policeman at the the main intersection moves so gracefully that ...

The Remote East
Oct 10, 2003 (4 photos)

... 's not a rally, enjoy the valley' and "sharp bend ahead, don't bend it like Beckham". Then we visited Bhutan's only university at Kanglung, Sherubtse College. The students were performing in a live musical extravaganza of Bhutanese music, western music ...

Bumthang to Thimphu
Mar 27, 2008 (22 photos)

... to stay.   During the long drive our guide fills us in on some of the more interesting aspects of life in Bhutan, such as how people determine where on their property to build homes, and what the rituals are like relating to death and cremation of ...

Dochula Pass
Jan 8, 2008 (10 photos)

So what about them mountains? Here they are: a glimpse of the Bhutanese Himalayan range from Dochula Pass. And for once, coming here in winter proved to be an advantage. You won't see the mountain range in the summer because the air is too humid ...

Bhutan, Land of the Thunder Dragon
Mar 31, 2003 (7 photos)

... down Paro valley with an airport elevation of 2235m. Stepping off the plane, we had our first encounter with the elaborate Bhutan architecture. The airport terminal looked like a temple! Thus began our magical tour of the land stilled in time... To ...

Bhutan Land of the Thunder Dragon
Oct 7, 2003 (4 photos)

From the Land of Smiles to the land of The Thunder Dragon. Bhutan, Himalayan Mountain Kingdom. We flew Druk Airlines,( Bhutans National carrier consisting of 2 BAE 146 planes) to Paro, Bhutans only airport. The normal routing from Bangkok is Rangoon/ ...

Bye Bye, Bhutan
Jan 13, 2008 (2 photos)

Having arrived at the airport a bit early, I had to wait some time. Security doesn't even open in Paro until 2 hours before a plane departs. With few scheduled flights, that means that you have to be patient until the airport opens - around 11:30 ...

Hotel Phobjikha
Jan 10, 2008 (12 photos)

Knowing it's winter in Bhutan, I brought my winter cloths including my skiing jacket. But winter at 2000m here isn't winter at 2000m in Europe. Cold at night (especially without any central heating!), but quite sunny and pleasant during the day. But ...

Tiger's Nest
Jan 12, 2008 (10 photos)

Back in Paro after a full day of driving through the mountains, we still had Bhutan's most famous sight on the menu: Taktsang monastery. Literally meaning "Tiger's Nest", this monastery is perched precariously on the edge of a cliff. It takes almost two ...