Our trip took place last July of 2008. I just put this up in February. Yes, it took me a very long time to publish this. Sorry about any confusion. We flew into Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon. The airport was nerve-wracking as we had a problem with our visa. Very few people spoke English and they were rude. I was worried about what the country would be like. My fears were unfounded as the rest of our trip was fabulous. The moment we left the airport, a man was holding a sign with our names. He whisked us off [View Full Entry]

---

---

Kora means circular journey which is what they call it when guests go to each of the lodges. As a new employee and his wife, Shane and I also got to visit each lodge. There are five open now. We were to have a guide and driver who we met at the Thimphu lodge. Our guide was named Tsencho and our driver named Tomgay. They were both very nice. They had worked together in the past so they had a teasing relationship. Tomgay didn’t speak English very well but we were still able to communicate somehow. Our first day we went [View Full Entry]

---

---

Dochu La: After a dinner at our house with friends Chodra and Yangchan, the offer was extended to drive us to Dochu La the next day. Dochu La took about one hour to get to. It is an area with 108 chortens, white stone monuments, surrounded by prayer flags. They were built recently, 2005, as atonement for the loss of life during the flushing out of Assamese militants in S. Bhutan. 108 is also the number of beads on the Bhutanese rosary. Dochu La was beautiful. It lies at the top of a mountain in between Thimphu and Punakha. There is [View Full Entry]

---

---

Paro: Christian who is the chef of all the Amankora lodges took a trip to check out Gangte and Bumthang so Shane and I headed to Paro to make sure all was okay with the food here. It’s nice to get out of Thimphu for a little while. Paro is smaller and the lodge is set about a half hour outside of the Paro town. Paro is located in a valley and is surrounded by gorgeous snow-covered mountains. We stayed at either the lodge or Christian’s house. The lodge rooms are very nice and have HUGE beds, an awesome bathtub and [View Full Entry]

---

---

The first day in Thimphu we headed down to the weekend market that takes place every Friday through Sunday. Local farmers from all over sell their goods; chilies, beans, radishes, carrots, dried pork, Yak meat, etc…The meat area, which is all by itself at one end of the market, is hard to get used to. The heads and hoofs are right in plain site. There are tons of dogs that hang out hoping for a stray piece of meat. Bhutan is basically out of chicken at the moment. They don’t allow any bird meat into the country from outside because they [View Full Entry]

---

---

I walk around a lot since at the moment I do not have a job. Thimphu is a giant hill so I’m beginning to feel like I’m getting in shape. Everywhere I go, I am stared at as though I’m this main attraction. As many of you know, I usually prefer to blend in so this has been an adjustment for me. The young and old usually say something to me as we pass. “Hello ma’am” “Where are you going?” “How are you?” I answer and ask them a question which they sometimes don’t understand. Many times I get giggles [View Full Entry]

---

---

As some of you know and some of you might not, the reason Shane and I came out to Bhutan was that Shane got a job with Amankora. Amankora is the name for the five Aman lodges located in Bhutan. There is a lodge in Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey, and Bumthang. We will get a chance to stay at them all in December which should be quite an experience in wealth. They are very high-end. I walk up to the Amankora Thimphu lodge most days. It is a nice walk further up the mountain and it gets quieter the higher you [View Full Entry]

---

---

After a few days of travel I finally arrived in Paro a little over a month after Shane got here. He was waiting for me at the airport with a driver from the lodge. It was so good to see him. I was exhausted from the hours of travel but felt exhilarated from being in the country I would call my home for the next two years. We are to live in the capitol, Thimphu, but would have to wait in Paro for a couple hours when the road is closed during the day. We met up with Christian, our friend [View Full Entry]

---

---

So, one of the most noticeable things here in Thimphu are the dogs. Dogs are EVERYWHERE. If they are not owned by a family, they live in packs and have there own territories. Many choose to live near the garbage dumps in order to get food. There are about 10-15 puppies and dogs that live up the road from us. I have been very intimidated by them all since I got here but I have slowly started to realize that they are more afraid of me than I am of them. People here can be quite cruel to the dogs by [View Full Entry]

---

---