Amankora Paro Bhutan

For those unsure of exactly where Bhutan is, it lies west of Nepal, sandwiched between India and Tibet at the foothills of the Himalayas. It is a beautiful country and is only about 300km wide and 150km deep and ranges in elevation from 188m to 6,500m. It was through this mountainous landscape that our flight from Kolkata weaved, between peaks and through valleys to deposit us in the town of Paro, in the western part of Bhutan. Immediately afer landing (slightly relieved the scenic yet ...

Immersion in local culture and life has been so easy with Tsetan's gentle and thoughtful guidance. Not only did we saunter by rows of marketeers selling local produce but we sniffed touched and even tasted unique items. The names of most have quickly faded but the vibrant colours and jolly traders remain. Goods were weighed in hand held balances often with stones for the weights. There was no meat produce on sale and ...

... prayer wheels containing myriad printed prayers that one turns three times clockwise - some can take a few people to turn communally. Prayer flags flutter like washing rinted with prayers and the dzong buildings are mostly from the 1600's A day that was so sunny turned rainy and cold late afternoon (the only rain on our trip at time of writing) so we popped in and out of the quaint shops where Bhutanese and Nepali women explained various cloth ...

... by such measures as placing the national university in the rural eastern side of the country. They have the highest population growth in the world, and its not uncommon for families to be 7+ households. That being said, increasingly farmers are coming to the big city looking for work to help their children get a better life in the modern world. Thus far, there have been no beggars to speak of, and it seems there are social services provided by the gov't to ...

... are those that have been walked on by centuries of monks, while the ornate wall paintings have survived from the earliest times. I have tons of amazing photos here, although I have yet to have any success with that from Bhutan! Having spent the afternoon at the Dzong, we made our way back to the hotel to clean up before dinner and drinks, and a night unwinding in the lounge. Truthfully, with all of my travelling, it was hard to stay up past 8pm....

... it were paintings which I had seen on the Annapurna circuit. When I questioned this, I was told that their Buddhism was Tantric Mahayana, similar to Tibet's, but different. It actually explained alot. As we drove, there were stupas and prayer wheels everywhere. The place was so clean !!! Next up was Kyichu Lhakhang, which is the oldest monastery in Bhutan. It was built in the seventh century but didn't look it. There were the usual Buddha wheel of life ...

... the pass was an unreal experience. I made it up there before the rest of the group which gave me about 10 minutes of complete silence and solitude on my first Himalayan pass. The first few moments were spent trying to get my lungs back while the next were caught up in absorbing the scene: caught in a snow storm with gale force winds sending snow and prayer flags in a sideways direction. I didn't spend time thinking about leaving Oz, this trip ...

Finally, I got to Bhutan! I was still expecting Irene to turn out and surprise me at my hotel in Paro, but instead I was surprised to see a very handsome young man dress in a black goh (local costume for man) waiting for me at my cheap hotel in Jaigon! Wow! I was even more surprised when he took my hands and said he was my guide because I was supposed to meet him at the border. What a good start! The goh is what I liked the most in Bhutan. I love this national ...

Monday, March 17, 2008 Paro Festival Dear Readers: Our flight departs Bangkok at 5am this morning, requiring an ungodly wake-up at 1:30am. I am standby because of an overbooking, and not only get on the plane, but am seated in the first row in business class for the 3 hour flight. At the airport we meet a gentleman who had been begging to add onto our tour, but who I had to turn away because we had no more seats available. He managed to book his own tour ...