Zhiwa Ling Paro

... Bhutan is much known for its colorful stamps on varying themes,<br>the display gallery offers a good opportunity to pick up postcards and<br>stamps. Depending on the factor of time and interest visit the<br>adjoining Bhutan National Bank to observe the banking system. Visit<br>Simtokha Dzong (the oldest fortress in the kingdom). Overnight in<br>Thimphu.<br><br>Day 04: Thimphu-Punakha(1300m).<br>After<br>ear ly breakfast, drive to Punakha via Dochula Pass, where you can ...

... teachings I am to give. I can already see that I am in for quite a challenge! Its like having my lot at home from the beginning again, what fun and joy, I have to laugh. <br><br>I am older and wiser now so hopefully it will be easier, I am looking forward to it, I have been saying to you guys at home that I need a new challenge, well the Universe has responded, and it is up to me to rise to it. So we shall see, I will keep you informed.<br><br>You know I love you <br><br>XOXO

... and minded their own business. They are also good at slowing the traffic. We delighted at watching some archery in Paro - a weekend and National sport. Teams of men shoot 2 arrows each at a small target 150 metres away. An arrow close to or on the target wins point and bulls eyes win their archer a coloured sash to tuck in his belt. Best of three games can make for an all day affair. Any target hit leads the archers ...

... rabbit on monkey and rooster on top can reach the fruit for everyone. - a ubiqitous picture on walls, banners and monastery walls as we travel Bhutan and for Indiandy and Di a symbol of the group of four who travel Bhutan - Indiandy, Di, Tsheten our guide (Setten), and Seangey our driver (Sangay). We virtually live together for the 9 days and I leave Bhutan with a Four Friends picture which all have signed. (Bangkok) Rising at 3am Indiandy and Di for ...

... kids (OK, I admit I am taking a lot of photos of kids and puppies - but what can I say? They're cute!!). And what were they doing? They were FISHING in a stream! Of TWO INCH WATER! Baiting their fishing lines with little PEBBLES! AWWWWWW! Common...That is SO CUTE! What else... The zipper flies on both of my pairs of convertable pants have officially busted. On the upside, this has made it slightly more convenient going to the bathroom in squat ...

... my husband in Kathmandu) ;) In contrast to India, there is no pollution here and there clearly is a reasonably high standard of living. Old people get a stipend from the govt when they can't afford to work. The streets are clean and you're not allowed to burn trash. There are some free roaming cows I've been told, but I haven't seen any and there isn't any cow poop on the ground. So to give you some background, Paro (where the airport is) has about 6,000 people ...

... that the best bet for us was to prepare for the coronation ceremonies by going out and buying local costume. For me, that meant buying a goa, basically a heavy smock that wraps around and ties up in the back and sports what I would call a bustle in the back above your butt. The gown extends to the knee, and is worn with wool socks that stop just short of the knee. I managed to find one for about $70 USD, though the first several I ...

... your usual three icons, the Bhudda, the Unifier and the Bringer. It was pretty nice. Once out, we moved on upstairs to another temple, The Demon Subjicating temple. There were no demons and all over the place were Bhuddas. It was different to anything we had seen so we left a donation and walked out. One other thing about Cheri Monastery is that there are loads of mountain goats, and as they won't be eaten, they are ...

... our uber-eco-friendly group came up with a massive list of initiatives that would move towards fixing the situation) but the Bhutanese government needs to actively seek out these solu8tions. Fortunately, after crossing a military checkpoint and moving on to a far less traveled path the litter that was potentially going to ruin my experience practically vanished. Crisis averted. The first eureka moment of the trek punctuated the evening when a ...

... road repair, but we had to wait for almost 4 hours in a small city. Because I was on an organized tour, we could not just eat lunch there, we had to wait to eat where we were supposed to and we only reached that place at 5pm! Luckily I had a few snacks in my bag! My driver thought it was quite funny. Actually he laughs all the time! We reached Paro late and had a late diner so I didn't go out that night. The next day was my first day at the festival, yes ...