Amankora Paro Bhutan

... br>religious thangka paintings and Bhutan&#8217;s exquisite postage stamps.<br>Paro<br>Dzong. Built in 1646 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal the first spiritual<br>and temporal ruler of Bhutan, the Dzong houses the monastic body and<br>district administration. The traditional approach to the Dzong is<br>through a 16th century traditional cantilever bridge called Neay Zam. A<br>walk through the bridge, over a stone cobbled path, offers an up close<br>view of the ...

... the hill and had a good sleep at valleyview! walked down the valleyview hill for dinner - Fried Rice and then walked back to call a taxi for our way back to Indian side .<br><br>Remember: bhutan has no Cash.. No ATM .. No Visa.. No Nothing!<br><br>But People are awesome !

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 ...

... 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 ...

... boot!), and so we headed down to the hotel bar for some afternoon libations. We met up with a group of fellow travellers - an Aussie, a Kiwi and two Yanks who appreciated the local beer as much as we did, and we proceeded to down many beverages until it was time for dinner. Feeling a little looped, we never the less needed to attend a dinner at the home of the Director of the tour company we were travelling with. This would be a good ...

... ordinary, I went on a horse for part of the way up with one other in the group, while 2 walked the 50min hike uphill to the cafe. After a brief stop at the cafe, I joined the other 2 and walked the remaining 2 hours to the Monastery. The walk was delightful with lovely trees draped in moss and wonderful views of the mountains with the Monastery, and also of the valley below. The final 750 steps went quickly enough on route to the Monastery ...

... about ten minutes of silence as I imagined they were sizing up why I was smashed in this small bus and the lack of chatter of any sorts was more than a little awkward. Then a sixty or so odd man to my left shouted something up to the driver. What happened next was unimaginable. The driver pulled on a plastic box in the cieling and a small flat screen popped down. As if it were happening in slow motion I watched him ...

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 ...