Druk Hotel Thimphu

... environment .in keeping with the high<br>benefit-low philosophy, efforts are being made to spread tourist<br>related and other development projects through the country rather than<br>concentrating them only in a few spots, herby spreading prosperity,<br>discouraging rural migration and diluting environment impact.<br><br>Bhutan<br>opened its door to tourism only in 1974 and right from the start Bhutan<br>regulated the flow of tourist to the country by introducing ...

... in remote areas.<br>Handicrafts<br>The sale of handicrafts to tourists is obviously big business, however handicrafts are also used by tour operators running trekking programs. For example, bamboo baskets are used as containers during trekking. Traditionally the bamboo basket is used for packing containers on horses and yaks. These baskets are purchased by tour operators. The life of the average bamboo basket is about two years ...

... phones, etc. Its clearly a country in transition. To do their best to maintain their traditional culture, the gov't has imposed rules such as men and women must wear their traditional dress when conducting business, they must build houses to code, in movies you can't kiss or depict violence, etc. On the flip side, in the city most homes have cable TV with HBO (it costs $5 a month), and kids play Playstation after school. Movies are $3 and in the theaters are ...

... is great! Very beautiful and serene. Quite a contrast to India. Weather-wise, it supposedly goes down to below freezing at night and up to about 45 degrees during the day. However, I felt pleasantly warm walking around this afternoon so I'm not too worried about getting cold. I exchanged some travelers checks today at the bank (I was amazed they had no problem accepting them! particularly after the whole to do about that stupid 1000 rupee e.g. $20 note that the ...

... today and with our tickets issued and bags checked, we parted ways with our excellent driver and proceeded to security.. The chaos of this terminal I cannot truly describe with justice. Just know that I have the deepest respect for the fact that India functions in the manner that is best for it, and as for me, I prefer queues. And signs. Big-ass signs with specific F'ing directions laid out in logical order. I also like coffee. And thus, I ...

... blown away that we made it to the Takzang monastry -a major ordeal for two not so fit people-was worth all the agony.-an incredible remote monastry.One of the toughest days of our lives was followed by a very late lunch at the yakherders camp where we were served local wine and yak meat. Our guide from Keys to Bhutan has been more than helpful today. Very patient encouraging us all the way. Tomorrow off to Thimpu