Monday, March 17, 2008
Paro Festival Dear Readers: Our flight departs Bangkok at 5am this morning, requiring an ungodly wake-up at 1:30am. I am standby because of an overbooking, and not only get on the plane, but am seated in the first row in business class for the 3 hour flight. At the airport we meet a gentleman who had been begging to add onto our tour, but who I had to turn away because we had no more seats available. He managed to book his own tour package, and we will probably see him and his friend throughout our tour. Landing in Paro is an adventure, as the airport is situated in a narrow valley. The plane swerves dramatically between mountaintops to a hard-braking landing because the runway isn´t as long as at most airports. Right outside the window is the Dzong of Paro, the huge building that serves as both monastery and municipal center. We really feel like we have arrived!
Our first stop is a restaurant to have tea, followed by a trip to the bank to change money. There are no ATMs. Finally, we go to the Dzong to observe the Paro Festival. This annual event is one of the highlights of our tour. The costumes and dances are beautiful, almost hypnotic, and it is almost as much fun to watch the crowd. We break for lunch, check in at our hotel, and have some relaxation time to recover from the early wake-up. The tour is off to a great start! Hugs, Dan More thumbnails ...
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Paro Hotels
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