Nov 8, 2012 - Bhutan Day 2 Tango Gompa Monastery Climb & Arts & Crafts School

Nov. 8 (Thur.) Bhutan Day 2 Tango Gompa Monastery Climb & Arts & Crafts School We rose to a frosty morning at our hotel in Thimphu, had a good breakfast and met with our guide, driver, and Tom & Lois at the civilized hour of 9AM. We headed by minivan out to the beginning of our "warm up" hike to a monastery on the top of a small mountain. On our way to the trailhead, we passed a gigantic painting on the face of the rock along the side of the road. Besides stopping to take a picture of the painting, we had to wait until a dump truck...

Nov 7, 2012 - Bhutan Day 1 Thinphu - the Capitol

Nov 7 (Wed.) Bhutan Day 1 Thinphu The skilled Druk Airlines pilot threaded our Airbus 319 through the mountains on the final approach to the Paro Airport (the only one in Bhutan). No other airline is allowed to land or take off from Bhutan because of the skill needed to navigate through these Himalaya obstacles. After clearing customs and immigration, we met our guide for the week, Tshering Wangchuk. The other two members of our group (Lois and Tom) were scheduled to arrive later in the afternoon, so we went directly to Thinpu with several...

Oct 30, 2012 - Thimphu

What a fab place Bhutan is - Thimphu is a marvellous capital city. Brilliant sights everywhere, majority of nationals wearing traditional clothes really makes it. Our morning walks really opened up the local way of things for us, watching this quaint, almost medieval city waking up was a delight. Bhutan's Tasichho Dzong ("Blue Stone" Dzong, or temple) in Thimphu is a sight to behold. The architecture and stunning artefacts, murals and tankas inside the temple (understandably unable to be photgraphed) dictate life as the Bhutanese know it...

Oct 29, 2012 - "Is this happening?" flight into Paro and the road to Thimphu

What an entry to Bhutan - hurtling out of the sky descending sharply into a deep valley and following the mountain contours along a river before landing with the slightest of bumps at Paro International Airport. At least two people reading this can attest to the experience, both exciting and scary at the same time. An hour after take-off, flicking through Druk Air's inflight magazine Bob sees a highlight in an article that reads "don't be alarmed when we fly close to the mountains. This is what we do." No secrets this will be challenging...

Nov 21, 2011 - Bhutan- a beautiful country

Up and at 'em early today. 5:30 departure from the hotel to take a mountain flight to see Mt. Everest. We heard it was a first come first serve in seating so we need to block and tackle to get our prime seating for pictures. Low and behold assigned seats. The gentleman behind the counter liked us and gave us the front 2 seats. Great we think. Onto the flight and one problem....damn propellers are in the way. The Russian mob is occupying all the good seats. We take off. Beautiful morning. Sun is rising and the mountains are spectacular. The...

Oct 6, 2009 - Drive to Thimpu

06-10-09 We drive towards Thimpu along winding roads, passing paddy fields, apple orchards, pine forests and small hamlets, ‘protected’ by sculptures of the eight auspicious signs of the Tashi Tagye. The Bhutanese capital lies in a fertile valley formed by the Wang Chu River, and has expanded rapidly over the last couple of decades. During our time in Thimpu we will see the Tashichho Dzong – the religious and political centre of Bhutan. We also visit the Memorial Chorten of Bhutan, the Kawasanju Heritage Museum and the Takin Enclosure. We...

May 24, 2009 - Exploring Thimpu, the Capital of Bhutan

I woke up and went for a run around 7 a.m. this morning. Thimpu reminded me more of a small mountain town than a capital city. As it is Sunday, the streets were almost entirely devoid of vehicles and pedestrians. There are no traffic lights in Thimpu - or anywhere else in Bhutan, for that matter. When authorities installed a traffic light in Thimpu several years ago, residents complained of its “impersonal” nature and the light was promptly removed. There are no tall buildings, and as all buildings are constructed in accordance with strict...

May 23, 2009 - Going Overland to Bhutan

We had breakfast at the Jaldapura Tourist Lodge in Madihurat before a taxi van we had chartered came to pick us up around 7 a.m. From here we had an easy drive of a little over an hour to Jaigon, the Indian border city which lies next to Phuentsholing, the Bhutanese border town which serves as one of the only two overland entry points into landlocked Bhutan. We drove through small town after small town en route, with tea plantations providing a near constant backdrop to the drive. Although early in the morning, already the streets and...

May 7, 2009 - Working in Thimphu

Charlotte had been putting in honest-to-God work hours! They are getting 8 hours solid teaching/presentation from her each day. Understand that we did not get any special consideration from the gov't -- we're paying $210/day minimum rate, same as any tourist who is not doing any volunteering here. My experience is a little more mellow, have really enjoyed spending time in the ENT department. The problems and solutions are very familiar -- medicine is the same the world over. I got some photographs at both places and will try to post those,...

May 6, 2009 - Getting around Thimphu

So I spent some time at the psych unit last night with Dr. Chencho, talking with a group about Buddhism and recovery from alcohol/drugs. That was interesting! Today, spent some time at the hospital with my ENT colleague, Dr. Tenzin Norsang. And if I hadn't some experience working in Nepal and Philippines, it would have been exotic, but in fact, it felt familiar. In fact, compared to working at the County, it seemed familiar there too! Too many patients and not enough resources, so OK then, let's roll up our sleeves and get to it! Visited...

May 5, 2009 - Arrival in Bhutan

I always find it strange when I land in other countries and the first person I see is a soldier. But here at least he was very friendly and posed with an endless stream of tourists armed to the teeth with the latest Nikon stuff! Beautiful 90 minute drive to Thimphu, the capital. Right off saw a farmer plowing a field .... with oxen. Stopped to purchase some asparagus which is in season, organic, and very cheap! If I can get photos to upload, the little boy who did the transaction was wonderfully charismatic. The view of the valley from our...

Dec 30, 2008 - Dzongs - Monasteries and Fortresses

HIGHLIGHTS • Sopsokha Temple • Wangdue Phodrang Dzong • Drive to the capital, Thimphu DETAIL I head for breakfast and the ‘Italian Job’ joins me. They are at the end of their tour so they head left and I head right. Our first stop is the Sopsokha Temple. We park the car and it’s about a twenty minute walk to the top of the hill to the temple. It’s a working temple with about thirty monks and I am allowed to see the inner working of the monks. The young monks play in their dorms with board games and electronic games. We then go into the...