May 3, 2016 - The crown jewel

The crown jewel. We had a resplendent breakfast at our incongruously western hotel (must. Not. Think. About) which has the most amazing pumpkin au gratin. AB take note. Off we went to ascend the Taksang, otherwise known as Tiger's Nest. I am sure you have seen pictures of it. The good news is we started early. This is some steep climbing. One could have enlisted horses for assistance to the halfway point, but this is not for purists. We slave drive the girls up scree, gravel, slick steep slopes, with our guide and driver bringing up the...

May 2, 2016 - Punahka to Paro

May 2-3 The long and tortuous road from Punahka to Paro. Somehow it wasn't quite as bad going back, maybe because we were prepared for it. We left behind our alpine ski lodge of a hotel (what, is there no more rustic, authentic type hotel for us, please, don't let me start myself up on this arrangement again). I will say the food was quite nice there, a buffet with noteworthy roasted eggplant, asparagus as seen being sold along the road, fish ( I later found out the fish only comes from India as it is not allowed to fish in Bhutan! Should I...

May 1, 2016 - Local color with friends!

After the altitude recovery, I am much better able to enjoy the scenery. Yesterday they had a hike and then we saw the Takin, their national Moose, bison, goat fellow. Today we took in the local government artistry school, Big Buddha, and local culture museum with friends Chris and Emma. We tried the local garb or Kira and goh...and we met with a fellow with CP that the fourth king's wife found, or I should say one of his four wives....and noted how talented this abandoned child was. He was sent for training and can now do 12 crafts. We...

May 1, 2016 - Long and painful road...

Not that I should quote a band I cannot countenance...nor should I complain, but either wait for the road to be completed or fly from Paro to points east! But you cannot fly to Punahka! Aiyo! I pity these poor kids on the trip back to Paro! SUch torture over such short lives!! If I could buy them tickets, I would, but alas, it is not an option. But that is tomorrow's issue. We did have a bit of a rough go from Thimpu to Punahka, but the girls came through remarkably well. Not sure I would have had I been one of them. Thank you, God! We are...

Mar 10, 2016 - Heading to Paro & Thimphu

Starting our Bhutan journey, fly into to Paro and on to Thimphu...with stops at Genekha Primary School & RENEW Happy Home, Gagyel Lhundrup Weaving Centre and Buddha Point along the way! http://www.daraartisans.com/collections/bhutan-home/products/gagyel-lhundrup-weaving-center-bhutan-textile-jadrima http://www.tourism.gov.bt/western-bhutan/buddha-dordenma-statue Staying tonight at the Hotel Amodhara, Thimphu

Jun 16, 2014 - Bhutan

English Version Below =============================================================== Ca faisait longtemps qu'on y pensait et, nous y voila au Boutan...pour fêter nos 10 ans de mariage! sans les enfants. Papoupa et Mouty sont venus garder les 3 lascars et visiter la ville de Shanghai. Le Boutan, un pays difficile d'accès puisque ce dernier a une politique de limitation aux touristes par l'argent. Et ca marche, nous n'étions pas nombreux. Qui y a t-il qui mérite un tel engouement pour le Boutan? Le mystere... On y trouve une architecture...

Jun 7, 2014 - Haa Ha

After the adventures of climbing to the Tigers Nest Monastery, today was set to be a little easier on the feet. We drove up out of Paro and headed to the Chele La pass (actually La is pass in Dzongka the native language, so its like saying Chele pass pass). The pass sits at ~3820m and I point this out because the sign on top says otherwise, yet GPS and every other tool suggests otherwise. It’s a long drive up to the pass close to 36km of winding road. On the way up we saw the Kila nunnery clinging to the side of the mountain. It is an...

Jun 6, 2014 - Journey of a thousand steps to the Tigers Nest

Today was both a difficult day physically and mentally but also highly rewarding. We walked up to the famous Taktsang Monastery aka Tigers Nest Monastery. It sits around 1000m above the valley floor and is at an altitude of around 3000m, the altitude is what made the walk a challenging one. We started off in lovely forested woods with a steady incline before the steepness hit. A couple of times I was shown a shortcut, which was basically a steeper but shorter track. I refused most of them, as it was really starting to hurt and breathing was...

Jun 5, 2014 - Back to Paro

Today we drove all the way back to Paro where we actually landed last Sunday. Back over the Dochu La pass, still shrouded in mist with no view, past Thimphu with a view to the golden Buddha an on past the airport. Today was apparently world environment day which meant no cars in Bhutans cities. Thus we took the bumpy dirt roads around the outskirts to visit the two sites in the afternoon. The first was the ruins of Drugyal Dzong. Drugyel Dzong was critical in keeping the tibetans out of Bhutan. However a butter candle burnt it down in the...

Jun 4, 2014 - Punakha

Well last night was a bit of fun and too much beer. The company we are travelling with had a group of 12 stay in the same hotel, including the owners. Much food and drink was consumed and a late night to bed. I think we all made it up this morning. The other group is mostly motorcycling to Central Bhutan, so we won't see them again. This morning Buddha wanted to test me again with another uphill hike to a place called Khamsum Yulley Namgyel Chorten. My reward were fantastic views from the top. We walked through lovely rice fields (currently...

Jun 3, 2014 - Bhutanese Bacon and long live Noel

Today started with me arising to Noel's alarm clock, having a shower getting dressed and returning to Noel's alarm clock still ringing and Noel having not moved an inch. I thought maybe I should yell his name, but no luck, put the alarm clock close to his ear, no luck, I then noticed the ear phones and gave him a little shake and he awoke. I will admit I was thinking "shit what do I do if Noel is dead". Luckily I have moved on and we went downstairs for breakfast. There appeared to be bacon. yet it didn't taste like bacon. It didn't taste...

Jun 2, 2014 - An easy trek in Thimphu

Today was our first relatively easy trek. We drove up the valley that Thimphu the capital city sits in to the end of the road. Our guide Tenzin, pointed out a monastery sitting high on the mountain ahead of us. I didn't hear him say that is where we are trekking to. We cross a small bridge over the icy river and then started following a trail that switchbacked its way up the side of the mountain. We stopped for a breather at a chorten on the way up. A chorten is a shrine or a stupa, and inside are usually relics, but you can't get inside as...