Blogs from Bhutan, Asia - page 3

The Tiger's Nest Today was the day we were looking forward to as the final event of the trip, the hike up to the Tiger's Nest Monastery. It is a 2.5 mile hike (each way) with an altitude gain of 2000 feet. That gain doesn't sound like much, but when you figure we are going from 8,000 to 10,000 feet it is a bit more trying. The monastery hugs a sheer cliff, if you were to fall off the thing it would be about a 3,000 foot ride down before you meet the earth. The temple was built here in 1692, I have no idea how. When a fire destroyed much of it in the early 1990s they had to build a cable car line to haul up supplies and tools to rebuild it. How the ... read more

Traveling the countryside of Bhutan We left Thimphu for the former capital city of Punakha and some traveling through the countryside. Before departing we enjoyed a dinner with some high school students and were dressed in the national dress, a gho for George and a kira for Marcia. It took two hotel staff to dress us, even though the kids we had dinner with claimed that by age 12 they could put on the clothes by themselves. While driving through the countryside we got a taste of the fourth pillar of 'gross national happiness', good governance. Bhutan is a monarchy, now under the rule of its fifth king. It was a state back in the 1600s, but civil wars tore it apart in the 1700s and it was only unified again near the end of the ... read more

21.04.2017 Dochula Pass Dachula pass has 108 stupas or chortens. On road from Thimpu to Punakha. Elevation 3,100 m (10,171 ft) Himalayas Mountain Range The Dochula Pass is a mountain pass in the snow covered Himalayas within Bhutan on the road from Thimpu to Punakha where 108 memorial chortens or stupas known as "Druk Wangyal Chortens" have been built by Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuk, the eldest Queen Mother. Apart from the chortens there is a monastery called the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang (temple), built in honour of the fourth Druk Gyalpo (head of the state of Bhutan), Jigme Singye Wangchuck; the open grounds in its front yard is a venue for the annual Dochula Druk Wangyel Festival. The pass with 108 memorial chortens is adjacent to the country's first Royal Botanical Park. Gangkar Puensum, the highest peak ... read more

19.04.2017 First, something about Bhutan from Wikipedia : "It is landlocked country in Asia and entirely within Himalayan Mountain range.Located in the East Himalayas, it is bordered by China in the north and India in the south. Bhutan lacks a border with nearby Nepal due to the Indian state of Sikkim and with Bangladesh due to the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam. Bhutan is in South Asia and is the region's second least populous nation after the Maldives. Thimpu is its capital and largest city, while Phuentsholing is its financial Center. Bhutan was never colonized in its history. Situated on the ancient Silk Route between Tibet, the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the Bhutanese state developed a distinct identity based on Buddhisum. Headed by a spiritual leader known as the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, Following a ... read more

17.04.2017 Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India Monday, April 17, 2017 Our tour of 15 days for Bhutan and Sikkim started on 17th April 2017. Indigo plane Mumbai -Delhi 8.30am - and Delhi- Bagdogra 2.20 was booked. We started at 6 in the morning for Domestic Airport and reached around 6.30 am. The Indigo planes are always on time and they specifically mentioned it on both the flights. We came to Bagdogra where Shri Salunke alongwith Bhoricha and Bandekar family and his sister Rekha and sister in law Surekha was waiting. Sridevi couple was on our flight only. We all started for Jaigaon a village near Bhutan Border, in 2 vehicles. In between we took lunch in City Dhaba. We travelled through Siligudi and other cities. It reminded us our trip to Darjeeling from Kolkata in 1912. ... read more