Oy. I did not sleep well last night at all…I think I got eaten alive around my ankles and that is the worst! It was SO itchy…so I was kind of cranky all day. Anyway, we headed to the Paro Dzong. The architecture is all Bhutanese and apparently the finest. It is a pretty big temple although the area where the tsechu is held in the spring is much smaller than Thimphu. We then headed to the National Museum which used to be the old watchtower for the dzong…its sits up on the hill above the dzong. It is definitely an [View Full Entry]

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Today I spent the day hiking…sorta…apparently my hike is a good warmup for some of the other treks in the country, but I thought it was pretty tough! We were hiking to get to Tiger’s Nest, Taktshang Goemba, which sits on a cliff just outside of Paro. It’s supposed to be a two hour hike…most people take longer, I of course did it in less. Not that I was trying to rush but more I needed the workout! It was fun and Tshultrim was definitely out of breath at my pace. Anyway, this was well worth the heat and the scary [View Full Entry]

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Today was a day mainly of very touristy events…we went to an archery match, the National Memorial Chorten, the painting school (National Institute for Zorig Chusum), the Folk Heritage Museum, the National Library, the Textile Museum, and then I did some shopping…even though I said I would not. I barely have enough room to carry what I brought how could I think to purchase anything?! Well I decided to, even though many times I have buyers remorse, I did not want to wish I had purchased something…only a few things and I shipped it home…obviously my negotiating skills paid off. The [View Full Entry]

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This morning we headed to the Gante Goemba. While under construction (entirely) you can tell it is a gorgeous temple. They are rebuilding and repainting what seems like all of it and so far it looks fantastic. We then moved down to the Gante Nature Trail and “hiked” for an hour and a half along the outskirts of the valley. The valley is off limits to people below the tree line because we cant ruin anything for those black-necked cranes! Thus, we meandered through the forest, which was actually very enjoyable. Anyway, we went to visit the Phobjikha Primary School where [View Full Entry]

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After breakfast this morning we left Punakha and headed to Wangdue Phodrang Dzongkhag in Wangdi. It is yet another temple but it is right on a cliff above the river…I can imagine if it was sunny how much more beautiful it would look. The location is of course due to an auspicious sign…four ravens were seen at the sight of where the dzong now is flying off in four different directions…north, south, east and west. We walked around the village of Wangdi, which is very picturesque with its wooden shops along one strip. I picked up some candy for the students [View Full Entry]

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Day 4 I spent in Punakha. We started at the Punakha Dzong…again an incredible structure but even more impressive were the buddhas inside the temple. Unfortunately we cannot take pictures inside so you will have to trust me. Every little detail is there and it all means something. I don’t know how anyone can remember what it all means! Along the road we saw more workers trying to pave the road…in the photo album it shows the extremely primitive way they make their own pavement! And the construction is also very basic. Much of what they use is man-power and bamboo. [View Full Entry]

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My third day in Thimphu began with an alarm at 5:15am. I needed to shower for the annual bath. Basically you need to shower early in the morning before attending the festival and then receiving a blessing from Buddha. And at six am I was to meet Tshultrim for an early morning brisk walk. Brisk actually turned out to be frigid and I was poorly dressed, despite having brought hat, gloves, scarf and fleece, which I left in the hotel. Oh well…it woke me up, that’s for sure. At breakfast, I ate by myself this time…which I don’t mind since it [View Full Entry]

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Day 2 began after breakfast by heading to Thimphu Tesche (the festival) at the Trashi Chhoe Dzong (mind you there is a 9-hole golf course in front). It is quite amazing to see Bhutan at this time. So many local people attend the festival and their traditional getups…gho (for men) and kira (for women). It’s incredible to see how colorful they all are. It is one of the main industries in Bhutan and that is textiles. And there seemed to be a zillion kids around (all of whom apparently were sick…maybe they weren’t but I’m not sure why so many of [View Full Entry]

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As I write I am on the Druk Air flight to Paro, Bhutan. We have a quick stop in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The flight is not all that long…2 hr 15 min to Dhaka and nearly two hours to Paro. I am beyond excited to start the next part of my journey. Last night I flew from Hong Kong to Bangkok so I could catch this early morning flight. I decided that instead of killing time a t the airport hotel in between my arrival and departure, that I would rather fill my time by heading into the center of Bangkok. I [View Full Entry]

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From Paro we made our way out to Thimphu by mini-bus (not like the little yellow one on road trip). The roads are incredibly worn and bumpy, not to mention there being an excessive amount of cow poop, and much of the way they are constructing to widen the road. This is for next year when the country will introduce a new constitution which will move it to a parliamentary democracy in 2008. Anyway, we passed by a dzong (temple), the Tamchhog Lhakhang. I will leave you to look through my pictures that were also sent in the email for the [View Full Entry]

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