Hotel Dragon Roots Thimphu

... at Trongsa.<br><br>Day 04:Trongsa-Bumthang.<br> After<br>breakfast visit Trongsa Dzong, the most impressive dzong in Bhutan,<br>built in its present form in 1644 by Chogyal Minjur Tempa, the official<br>who was sent by Shabdrung to unify eastern Bhutan and enlarged at the<br>end of the 17th century by Desi Tenzin Rabgay. Trongsa Dzong is the<br>ancestral home of the present Royal Family and first two hereditary<br>kings ruled Bhutan from this Dzong. Drive to Bumthang via ...

... safeguarded by the district boundaries at which transportation animals are changed to animals from the next district. Therefore, there is no possibility of large organizations monopolizing the trekking transportation, or animals being moved for long periods of time from their owner's farm where they are much needed. The tour operators are at the mercy of the transporters, as the locals decide on the terms and often charge high prices ...

... are 5 spas that all offer specific treatments and from these spas a member of staff has been chosen to come to Paro and train in yoga with me. They also arrange my booking schedules and help me out with looking after my clients.<br><br>So tomorrow I will be meeting 4 of the 5. Not sure what to expect but am sure will be interesting.<br><br>Anyway take care guys and make sure you post some comments about the blog so I don&#8217;t feel like I am billy no mates lol!<br><br>You know I love you XOXO

... and nursed back to health in the rural countryside. What was great was seeing examples of rural life and costume - things that I had just seen earlier that day in the National museum! The film also showed a lot of imagery of what the country looks like in the spring and fall - extremely lush and lightly foggy - like a place from another world. I was a bit bummed seeing this, as I thought that would have been a better time to visit, but I consoled myself ...

... What else... Well the pristine naturalness is by far the most striking thing - particularly in contras to India. There are beautiful bubbling brooks and clean litter free rivers. People are not allowed to pollute into rivers and are harshly punished if they do. The government has set up an infrastructure to manage trash and sewage. There is no trash on the side of the road and the burning of garbage is banned. They even have people in orange jackets with ...

... no one stares at me here - quite a contrast to India. So, my tour guide, Sangay, and the driver (who's name escapes me) met me at the airport with a sign with my name on it. They were wearing the traditional male Bhutanese clothes, a robe and tall socks, which they legally have to wear whenever they're conducting any kind of business (tourism, workplace stuff, etc). It looks like a striped bathrobe with Bermuda shorts (long socks hiked up over the knees). I find ...

... chance to meet their king up close and offer the scarf. Unlike Western crowds, there was no great and unruly push toward the front - everyoine seemed genuinely patient and good natured about what turned into a rather long, and hot wait under the shining sun. Even as the security guards poked over the fence to tell people that the ceremonies were running late - and then they would be postponed to a later inthe week because of the massive ...

... 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....

... so you might wind up a dog if you don't live correctly. Another myth is that the gods were angry at humankind for some reason, and the dogs talked them out of wiping us out. Lastly, dogs are favored by some of the saints of this country, most especially the divine madman who always had a dog at his side. Whatever the reason, the Bhutan dog is popular, ubiqutous, and in our humble opinion, photogenic - so please enjoy.