Gangtey Palace Hotel Paro

... I felt rather foolish climbing back on board, with everyone staring at me, probably wondering why I was getting back on board. Weird foreigner!

Anyway the plane refuelled and literally climbed to 90,000ft and then came down again, 15 mins and were landed at Paro Airport, Bhutan.

What an amazing sight!

Surrounded by mountains, the sun was blazing, temperature was about 27 degrees C, hot, hot, hot!!! I was directed to the airport immigration which ...

... disconcerting flight was over), we breathed in fresh, cool air for the first time in weeks. Within 2 minutes we were both in love with Bhutan. In order to travel through Bhutan, all tourists must pay in advance a fee of US$200 per person per day (which pretty much covers everything in your trip) and you must have a guide throughout your trip. So, we were greeted by 'T', our 28 year old guide at the airport. 'T' (short for Tshering), we soon found out, was quite the man about town ...

... loved to have taken a photo of her. He kindly went into the café and asked her if it would be OK for me to take a pic. She accepted (and didn't even consider a donation as gratitude) and I have this terrific shot of her in her traditional Layabs clothing. It's the garb commonly found in rural Northeastern Bhutan. Sangay said she was in Thimphu to go to the hospital since she wasn't feeling well. What else... It seems the Bhutanese also take advantage of their ...

... quite large and had some really interesting stuff - thangka hangings from the last 4 centuries, Buddha icons, stamps (Bhutan is famous for its stamps), historical armoury, stuffed animals and animal heads, and historical household objects. The Dzong was on a much smaller scale than the one in Thimphu. After an early lunch, we spent the afternoon hiking to Tiger's Nest. I say hiking, but because I have managed to get a cold and I feel ...

... the guide told me about trekking, and all I could think was, I need to save again as it sounds awesome !!! Back in Paro, we took a walk around after dinner. For a city with an international airport, it is so small. I love it !!! And Finally. I can't believe I'm here, it reminds me so much of Nepal, but smaller and no pollution and no drugs and no evil **** that it offers. Trust me, save your money and come, I've only been here less than a day and I'm sold !!!

... to fall and visibility dropped to about 30' at certain stages. What were surely unbelievable vistas had been reduced to a wall of cloud just meters in front of the group. At times faint shadows of ridges emerged from the fog, but for the most part our world was reduced to a circle with a 50' radius. The second blinding aspect of the descent was the lack of a trail. It would have been not only impossible but extremely dangerous to attempt the descent ...

... till my guide finds out! I got back to the hotel just on time for breakfast, but had no time to shower before going to the festival. This time the dances were different and I quite enjoyed them. There were so many performers, it was quite impressive. I had a good laugh with one of the 3 jokers. Yesterday, most likely the same jocker asked me for a kiss, so I kissed my fingers and put a kiss on his mask. Today, he came back to see me and I got in trouble! He ...

... to have tea, followed by a trip to the bank to change money. There are no ATMs. Finally, we go to the Dzong to observe the Paro Festival. This annual event is one of the highlights of our tour. The costumes and dances are beautiful, almost hypnotic, and it is almost as much fun to watch the crowd. We break for lunch, check in at our hotel, and have some relaxation time to recover from the early wake-up. The tour is off to a great start! Hugs, Dan