Hotel Samdenchholing Paro

... 2 planes only and finally stepped out and was greeting by Ian, my dear friend who offered me the job at Amankora. It was so good to see him, Ian and I have an amazing relationship, he's one of those people that you meet and you feel immediately comfortable with. He and I share an instant and a very deep spiritual connection with each other, where he just 'gets' me on my wavelength, (Carma knows what I mean! You'll love him BTW!)

We drove to the Amankora, which is ...

... T was quite the Triple Threat as he could also sing to complement his acting and guiding!). It was quite strange to visit sites of historical interest and have absolutely no other people at them - things like this just don't happen in India. We felt our stress levels of the previous few days of transit dissipating with each cup of tea. That afternoon we visited one of the oldest temples in Bhutan (Kyichu Lhakhang) and sat in a darkened room full of meditators chanting passages from ...

... when approaching us at table. Di let it out that I had done a cooking class in Cambodia. Tsheten took it on himself to organise for Mr Tenzin to take us into the kitchen and help prepare two dishes - Bhutanese potato and cheese (with chilli of course) and "ants up a tree" - fine copped beef mince (the ants), rice noodles (the tree), and chopped spring onions (the leaves). Four of us enjoyed the candlelit dinner amidst a heady aroma of incense and went to bed early.

... In 1907, the most powerful tribal leader gained full control and became the first monarch of Bhutan. There have been four previous Kings, and the most recent (the fifth) was crowned in November at the age of 28. In the past, most Kings would be appointed when their father died, however the fourth king, who has lead the way towards controlled modernization in the 70s, 80s and 90s decided to change the govt to a democracy and step down to allow his son to ...

... only five people who were coming in as tourists, one as a diplomat, and the rest were Bhutanese. There is only one airport in the entire country, which is in Paro, and only one airlines - Drukair. Drukair has three planes total, which alternate flying between Bhutan, India and Nepal. There are only two flights in from Gaya, India each week and only two going out outbound to Kathmandu each week. Thus, my itinerary schedule was fairly restricted by when flights were ...

... after our visit seemed a lot harder. Tiger's Nest Monastery was delightful - incredibly peaceful, nicely decorated and with awe-inspiring views. This would be THE place to aim for enlightenment. One of the monks showed us around the monastery and then we helped him carry some butter up for the butter candles. After a short stay it was time to head back down the mountain before the sun set. And with that, our trip to Bhutan was essentially ...

... and you must never miss to visit Bhutan this year with Bhutan Enigma Tours and Treks as we offer comforts and care for our visitors to be in the celebrations with the people of Bhutan. Mr. Tashi Dorji Tenzing from Bhutan Enigma welcomes you to the Kingdom of Bhutan. Visit bhutanenigma.com for more details and we are there for you to assist you to plan your trip to Bhutan.

... several thousand feet into a sheer ravine and you begin to understand how futile it would have been to do this alone. After 8 hours of hard hiking at altitude we reached camp at the same time that the snow switched over to heavy rain. I can't begin to tell you how much effort it takes to continue to be diligent about your foot placement while coming down a muddy steep slope when all you want to do is take your boots off and lay down. I hadn't ...

... Let me tell you, I ate pretty fast. We went back to the festival, but the last dance was ending, ****! Yesterday, I managed to wear my hat to protect me from the sun, but today they had a masked of the guru in one of the dances and I was asked a few times to take off my hat, so I got sunburn in the face and on on my legs between my socks and pants. On the last day of the festival they unroll a huge thangka. The one here is an image of Guru Rinpoche, the ...

... it is really a lovely sight. On arrival, our dear friend, Tharchean, greeted us at the airport. What a delight to see a face we could recognize. That's one thing you miss while away - is the friendly faces that you do know, never mind all of the new friendly faces that you get to know. In any case, Tharchean was there with a warm welcome. He and two brother-in-laws - Sithar (a Major in the army and the head of Paro airport security ...