Hotel Druk Paro

... one large room with three desks, all the men were wearing dresses and knee high sock with shoes, traditional dress known as a 'gho' and the women were in beautiful silk tops and floor length robes known as 'kiras' a doctor was running around to each person with this little device like something Dr. McCoy form Star Trek would have used to scan my forehead for Swine Flu detection. I paid my $20 visa fee and went to pick up my luggage from one tiny conveyor belt, Druk Air ...

... job as a Bhutanese tour guide was only part time, as he is quite the movie star in Bhutan, having appeared in several local films and co-hosted the final of Bhutan Idol! It felt slightly odd having a Bhutanese celebrity heartthrob insiting that he carry your bags to the car and opening the door for you in restaurants! The first few days were jam-packed with activities and many monastaries and forts were visited, with T explaining the history behind them all (It soon became apparent ...

... seem like the only Europeans in town. All I can hear now is the rain outside as it grows dark around 6pm and a few distant dogs (the ones that sleep all day and bark all night says Lonely Planet) and a woman quietly singing and working somewhere in the back rooms. Although rather tired from the long day we went out at 7pm to the same restaurant where we lunched. The owner Mr Tenzin had a most humble manner as a host and to start with bowed almost at right ...

... situation by employing Indians on temporary visas to do the work they don't want to do (like cleaning the streets). Hello Mexico in Southeast Asia anyone?! Finally, Jane asked about the gov't set up here. Basically there were tons of regional tribal leaders for centuries, who came together periodically to beat back the frequently invading Tibetans. There were also skirmishes with the British who wanted access to Assam for trade as well as access to ...

... suspicious (as well as my jar of jam), so the security people said that "they would have to confiscate it for the time being, but would return it when I landed in Bhutan." OOOOOOO K! Whatever. ;) (Amusingly, halfway through the hour long flight, the flight attendant returned them both to me). So I arrived in Paro, Bhutan easy peasy. The flight had only about 25 people on it, though the plane was much larger and could accommodate about a hundred passengers. There ...

... 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 ...

... real Bhutanese traditions and culture when we celebrate the 100 years of Monarchy. Bhutan will see a grand celebration as 5th King of Bhutan will be officially crowned as the 5th Druk gyalpo of the Land of Thunder Dragon. You will also experience the launching of parliamentary democracy in the Kingdom of Bhutan in 2008. Therefore, Bhutan awaits you with great ...

... a guide. Had Sonam not been leading the way there is little chance that we would have made it down without some serious injury, never mind finding our camp. Countless yak paths criss-crossed one another and diverted in all conceivable directions. To further complicate the situation we would follow one path, switch paths and then often forge our own path in a completely new direction. Combine this with almost no visibility and flat grazing grounds dropping ...

... my 2 legs, lifted them up and placed them on his and just waited there for a long time. My guide was able to take a picture of us, and me a few of this funny clown. Today my guide said we were going to eat at 2h30 surely to please me, but I wanted to eat at 12h30 because the same dance had been going on for almost 2 hours. The problem is, he had gotten up to strech and I couldn 't find him anywhere, damn tour again! At 2h30 he reappeared and we went for ...

Long over due greetings everyone! Please note that our next few entries will be arriving late as we had little access to high-speed internet during our journey and as you know we always like to include photos with our blogs. However, we are safe and sound and have lots to share. First things first...we finally made it to Bhutan!! Bhutan is so beautiful! No exceptions, it is definitely a sight to see. Tucked in the valleys of rolling hills and ...