Orchard Hotel Wangduephodrang

... country.
If carefully planned, tourism can assist in a country's conservation and development goals. Bhutan's experience with tourism has been positive because the Bhutanese government has controlled and carefully managed tourism policies within the country. Bhutan has learned from the experiences of other developing countries and tried to limit the extent to which tourism can damage the natural and cultural base of Bhutan ...

... sort through the dozens of photos taken along the route from Thimphu. The scenery along the way was priceless - people tending rice fields, herds of Yaks and goats, children playing along the sides of the road, shop owners tending their wares of vegetables, textiles, etc. It is an incredibly authentic place, genuinely interesting and full of colour and texture. I have a tone of amazing photos that Ill have to post once I get ...

... with the help of our guide and driver) did not fit, and instead, I was lead into the back and what I would assume is the 'fat people's section'. Hunh! Kitty was next, and the female costume is called the kira. Basically it is a 3-piece outfit consistig of a sarong like bottom (skirt), a silk blouse and a silk jacket. With the assiatance of the shopkeeper, Kitty found a nice lilac and purple combination that prooved to be VERY ...

... of our way back when we were in Nepal, we spent up, and trust me, just like the entrance fee into this country, things are not cheap !!! Oh well, it is only money and what we bought was nice. And Finally Thimphu was just your typical big city. Shops and people every where. It was fun, but I only hope that Mr Lama doesn't point the evil finger at me for videoing him. Oh well. I can only come back as a cockroach in my next life !!!

... some reason, the people who had used it, couldn't find the hole !!! Once done, we had a ninety minute trek to do through the countryside to another temple. Whilst walking along, it was once again like the Annapurna circuit, well it was until we went down off of the track. Apparently there use to be a lake here, and the earth never dries, so it was wet, and then muddy, until we started to sink !!! Obviously, whoever is out there had not been ...

... the beef in gravy (imported from India as the Buddhist Bhutanese are not supposed to kill any animals, although eating animals they kill is OK - still not sure how the cow gets killed since no self respecting Hindu would kill a cow), the local river fish (shhhh, fishing is not allowed, but somehow it landed on our plate), and red rice (a local favorite grown only here, a bit more nutty than the usual white rice). We were to have numerous meals exactly like this throughout our trip. The ...

Thursday, March 27, 2008 Bumthang to Thimphu Dear Readers: The long drive commences today at 6:30am. We just grab coffee and bread and jam before departure, opting to have breakfast further down the road. As usual, everything takes a little longer to get to than expected here, so breakfast isn't until about 10am, after we climb the watchtower at Trongsa. We eat at a beautiful hotel overlooking the Trongsa Dzong, and ...

... describe the visual and emotional impact of this beautiful creation from the 17th century, hanging from a sheer rock cliff that plunges 3,000 feet to the valley below. We unburden ourselves of all backpacks, cameras and hats, leaving them in an outside courtyard before entering the Monastery. When entering the most sacred rooms, the shoes remain outside as well. We sit on the floor in one shrine for several minutes of silence, meditating as a monk chants ...

... and the women modelling their finest jewell**y. The drum beat was rising from the centre of the crowd so I slowly wiggled through to gain a grandstand view of the action: a c**emony being p**formed by the village shaman as she swayed in a trance to the pounding of the swinging beat** on the double-sided drum she was turning before an altar of modelled rice and butt**. H** actions would bring the village protection ...

... rausgefahren:-) Auf dem Pass grasten ein paar Yaks , die aber scheinbar mit Rindern vermischt worden sind, haette sie zunaechst nicht als Yaks eingeordnet (da zu wenig Fell:-) Dann ging es ein langes Tal hinab gen Wangdue Phodrang. Dort habe ich in einem Hotel in der Stadt uebernachtet, so dass ich abends und morgens Fotos machen konnte (und ein Internet Cafe besuchen konnte:-). Die Stadt liegt direkt vor dem Dzong, in dem sich eine Moenchsschule ...