April 24 Day 68
We actually slept okay and the taxi was early. At the hostel, the overnight desk person was a ladyboy who was very helpful and sweet to us. There were no problems at the airport and passport control and security were both very fast. We found a food court and had coffee and croissants, breakfast number 1.
The plane boarded all together and we found out we were stopping in Kolkata first and had a big breakfast number 2. We held there for about 45 minutes before taking off again and having breakfast number 3. As were got close to Paro the pilot told us to look out the left side of the plane (our side!) as Everest and a bunch of other Himalayan heavyweights were visible above the clouds. The camera was stowed above so no pictures but it was an impressive view.
The landing was the most beautiful we have ever had. The airport is at the bottom of a valley so the plane seemed about to land but we were close to forest, mountains and the occasional house or temple for awhile going by us as we continued to descend.
The airport itself was wonderfully laid out and painted, unlike anywhere else we've been. Apparently the twisty approach and short runway means there are only about 20 pilots permitted to land there. Only two airlines service Bhutan and if you try to book through commercial sites you draw a blank.
There was a model of a Dzong on the luggage carousel and as we waited for our bags we spoke with a bunch of Australian academics who were touring and meeting to prepare a group of Perth university students who would be going there for two weeks a part of an upcoming course.
We got our bags and Rincheng, our guide, and Tsewong, our driver were there to meet us and help with our bags. In Bhutan you pay a high per person personal amount just to go there, but it covers guide, transport, lodging, meals and entrance fees. We would have our own guide and driver the whole time, making us feel sometimes uncomfortably as royalty.
We had a long drive to Thimpu from Paro through twisty roads, which are basically all of the roads in Bhutan. Rincheng kept giving us information and answering our questions as we headed along and Meg slept to avoid carsickness.
After more than an hour we arrived in Thimpu and checked into our room at the Riverview hotel. Porter took our bags up, which was probably good as our room was on the third floor and we could feel the altitude. It was a three star place with great views of the city and felt palatial to us.
We had a bit of time to get oriented and then went out for a huge lunch with 6 bowls of food served to us in what was obviously a tourist restaurant, as all of the the other customers were foreigners. The guides ate in a back room and occasionally checked on us while we stuffed ourselves. We had heard that Bhutanese food was bland and insanely hot but this stuff was tasty, often Indian and Tibetan influenced and quite palatable. We actually asked for some hot pickle to spice it all up.
We then headed to a craft school where students spent years studying woodcarving, metalwork, embroidery and painting. Toursits were constantly going through the classes where the students were doing their assignments which required hours of painstaking work while being bumped and photographed by foreigners. The level of work was quite high and the classroom walls had charts with the students' names and happy or sad faces rating their performance.
We next went to the third king's memorial stupa which was sort of the central square of the city. It was full of people spinning prayer wheels and walking around the stupa, always in a clockwise direction. Rencheng told us that many retired people spent the whole day here and it was a very social place for older people.
Inside was a picture of the king who died fairly young because he was a chain smoker. Now you cannot legally buy cigarettes in Bhutan and can only smoke in certain designated areas. There were many offerings there, including multiple cartons of milk.
After this we went to a weaving centre where we saw women working on looms creating amazingly elaborate silk pieces one thread at a time. They were friendly and skilled and we admired the fine work upstairs. The cost (one pieces took a full year to make) and utility kept us from purchasing anything but the quality was obvious.
In Bhutan, everyone working must wear the traditional costume, which for men is wraparound fabric with a belt, long white cuffs, shoes and high socks. Women wear a long wrapped skirt and elaborate top with their cuffs being any colour they'd like. People all over the place wear them and it really adds to the experience of visitors.
After the weaving centre we tried to use an ATM but they only could do Visa cash advances and told us that both of our cards were locked. This was frustrating but we said we'd call our banks and try again tomorrow.
Dinner at the hotel was a tasty buffet and when we ordered our lemon soda we had a choice of salty or sweet, we went sweet. We had been up since 3 am ad so were tired and commiserated with two other women who were feeling the same way. When we ordered masala chai as our tea of choice the staff complied but were surprised that Canadians had heard of the stuff. It went very well with the gulab jamon.
Back in the room we were awestruck by our tv which had BBC World and HBO HD. We watched Victoria and Abdul and the first half of The Dark Knight before passing out.
We actually slept okay and the taxi was early. At the hostel, the overnight desk person was a ladyboy who was very helpful and sweet to us. There were no problems at the airport and passport control and security were both very fast. We found a food court and had coffee and croissants, breakfast number 1.
The plane boarded all together and we found out we were stopping in Kolkata first and had a big breakfast number 2. We held there for about 45 minutes before taking off again and having breakfast number 3. As were got close to Paro the pilot told us to look out the left side of the plane (our side!) as Everest and a bunch of other Himalayan heavyweights were visible above the clouds. The camera was stowed above so no pictures but it was an impressive view.
The landing was the most beautiful we have ever had. The airport is at the bottom of a valley so the plane seemed about to land but we were close to forest, mountains and the occasional house or temple for awhile going by us as we continued to descend.
The airport itself was wonderfully laid out and painted, unlike anywhere else we've been. Apparently the twisty approach and short runway means there are only about 20 pilots permitted to land there. Only two airlines service Bhutan and if you try to book through commercial sites you draw a blank.
There was a model of a Dzong on the luggage carousel and as we waited for our bags we spoke with a bunch of Australian academics who were touring and meeting to prepare a group of Perth university students who would be going there for two weeks a part of an upcoming course.
We got our bags and Rincheng, our guide, and Tsewong, our driver were there to meet us and help with our bags. In Bhutan you pay a high per person personal amount just to go there, but it covers guide, transport, lodging, meals and entrance fees. We would have our own guide and driver the whole time, making us feel sometimes uncomfortably as royalty.
We had a long drive to Thimpu from Paro through twisty roads, which are basically all of the roads in Bhutan. Rincheng kept giving us information and answering our questions as we headed along and Meg slept to avoid carsickness.
After more than an hour we arrived in Thimpu and checked into our room at the Riverview hotel. Porter took our bags up, which was probably good as our room was on the third floor and we could feel the altitude. It was a three star place with great views of the city and felt palatial to us.
We had a bit of time to get oriented and then went out for a huge lunch with 6 bowls of food served to us in what was obviously a tourist restaurant, as all of the the other customers were foreigners. The guides ate in a back room and occasionally checked on us while we stuffed ourselves. We had heard that Bhutanese food was bland and insanely hot but this stuff was tasty, often Indian and Tibetan influenced and quite palatable. We actually asked for some hot pickle to spice it all up.
We then headed to a craft school where students spent years studying woodcarving, metalwork, embroidery and painting. Toursits were constantly going through the classes where the students were doing their assignments which required hours of painstaking work while being bumped and photographed by foreigners. The level of work was quite high and the classroom walls had charts with the students' names and happy or sad faces rating their performance.
We next went to the third king's memorial stupa which was sort of the central square of the city. It was full of people spinning prayer wheels and walking around the stupa, always in a clockwise direction. Rencheng told us that many retired people spent the whole day here and it was a very social place for older people.
Inside was a picture of the king who died fairly young because he was a chain smoker. Now you cannot legally buy cigarettes in Bhutan and can only smoke in certain designated areas. There were many offerings there, including multiple cartons of milk.
After this we went to a weaving centre where we saw women working on looms creating amazingly elaborate silk pieces one thread at a time. They were friendly and skilled and we admired the fine work upstairs. The cost (one pieces took a full year to make) and utility kept us from purchasing anything but the quality was obvious.
In Bhutan, everyone working must wear the traditional costume, which for men is wraparound fabric with a belt, long white cuffs, shoes and high socks. Women wear a long wrapped skirt and elaborate top with their cuffs being any colour they'd like. People all over the place wear them and it really adds to the experience of visitors.
After the weaving centre we tried to use an ATM but they only could do Visa cash advances and told us that both of our cards were locked. This was frustrating but we said we'd call our banks and try again tomorrow.
Dinner at the hotel was a tasty buffet and when we ordered our lemon soda we had a choice of salty or sweet, we went sweet. We had been up since 3 am ad so were tired and commiserated with two other women who were feeling the same way. When we ordered masala chai as our tea of choice the staff complied but were surprised that Canadians had heard of the stuff. It went very well with the gulab jamon.
Back in the room we were awestruck by our tv which had BBC World and HBO HD. We watched Victoria and Abdul and the first half of The Dark Knight before passing out.
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| Woodworkers at the craft school. |
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| Meg and I at the memorial stupa. |
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| Our guide, Rinchen, showing hand-woven fabrics. |
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