The lines are too long for my likening so I head over to Kowloon and within seconds of arriving it's my turn. Aah nice and easy!! I was asked if I wanted to take an earlier flight, while that would be lovely I have to go to work. What a pain. Next time.
After a morning at work I decide enough is enough, time to get out of here. While there are lots of people around, the line at security and immigration thankfully move quickly, within minutes I'm in the Qantas lounge. Ooh how I've missed thee.
I decide to leave the lounge at a reasonable time this time - no need to be running through the airport like a man woman like last time! - to get to the gate on time. What a great plan.....until I get to the gate and see we are delayed. Grrrr. Thankfully there is a Cathay lounge a hop, step and jump from the gate. I find myself a seat and make myself comfortable.
At last there is an announcement that my flight is boarding, I make my way to the gate for the second time. This time I am successful! No buzzing of the boarding pass - fingers crossed for the next flight. I thought I was one of the last to board, but as I keep being bashed into its obvious there are still so many people coming - and some are going.....quite possibility the worse boarding I've experienced.
We finally push back from the gate 35 minutes late. Let's hope there's no hold up when we are waiting to depart. The pilot finally lets us know we are delayed, really.....wow thanks for that! The next shocking, but exciting, news is that's its 34 degrees in Bangkok - woo hoo finally some heat!!! 55 minutes late we take off - Bhutan here I come (via Bangkok for 12 hours).
Once I'm off the plane it's a short walk to immigration where the lines are LOOOONG! It seems we weren't the only plane arriving into Bangkok at this time. I'm finally through, collect my bag then it's off to find a staff member in a pink jacket. Given our crazy early morning flight tomorrow (6am....) we decided it would be best to stay close to the airport. The hotel offers free shuttles, hence looking for a pink jacket. After a 15 minute wait it's my turn. Man traveling is tiring and I've only flown 3 hours!
It's a super quick check-in for me at the hotel given Sunny has been here for a few hours. Our holiday begins :)
We decide on eating dinner in the restaurant, don't want to overdo it tonight. We have until 2am to use the free drinks voucher, yeah as if I'll still be up and awake at that time! I'm nearly asleep now. Huge school boy error thinking it would be alcohol.....yes I'm tired!
I had packed the things I need over the next 15 hours into my day bag, super thankfully given Sunny is now packing up her suitcase.
Time to sleep - we have a 3am wake-up call scheduled.....
Good Friday (25 March) I wake just before the alarm, ooh how I would love to switch it off and go back to sleep for a few hours. Alas it's not to be today. Check-out of the hotel is slow and painful but we get there in the end. We join the packed 4am shuttle to the airport. Still hasn't really hit me where we are going.
The roads are basically empty, the complete reserve of last night. No surprises really given the time of the day. The airport check-in is super easy, with no line. Clearly no-one else is as crazy as us to be on such an early flight.....or they have already checked in. For once it's straight through security and immigration - absolutely no lines here! One perk of being up so early.
We board the plane, after being brought here by bus, in the dark with the moon still very visible. As we take off night is turning into day, a lovely time of the day. And finally I see blue sky - hello blue sky, boy have I missed you!!!
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country at the eastern end of the Himalayas. Its borders are China (to the north) and India (to the south, east and west). If you would like to learn more about the Kingdom of Bhutan please visit Google.
We land into Paro international airport just after 8am (two hours behind Hong Kong), the sun is well and truly out here - woo hoo!! Landing in-between rice paddies and houses is very cool. We have finally arrived in the Kingdom of Bhutan, one of the happiest countries in the world! On exiting the plane the cold hits us, while its total blue sky and sunshine it's bloody freezing! I'm hoping given its 8.15am the temperature will increase as the morning goes on. A hot drink is needed as well as a hundred more layers.
Getting through immigration was nice and easy, then within minutes the luggage arrived. Bonus when it's a small airport and we are the only plane here.
We meet our guide (Chimi) and driver on exiting the building - brrrr it's chilly! But thankfully the sun is strong!
We are driving at a snail’s pace, no wonder it takes an hour and a half to get 56km! Chimi must be able to read our minds as he explains to us the speed limit in Bhutan is 50 km - right that makes a lot of sense now.
We head off towards Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan and our home for the next two nights. I'm trying to look in a million different directions at one time - never easy! The scenery is amazing!
We are told the road between Paro and Thimphu is the best we will go on during our time in Bhutan and that on some roads we will receive free body massages.....this will be interesting.
I'm loving the road signs they have! Whoever has the contract for the roads has done an awesome job. Unfortunately I’m only able to capture a few.
We stop at Tamchog Lhakhang (also known as Tachogang) iron bridge; across the bridge is a monastery that was built by a Tibetan saint.
To say it's scary walking across is an understatement! Thankfully we aren't too high above the river but....I kept being told not to look down but it's hard when what you are walking on is far from flat! Thankfully Chimi is walking super close by to assist. I'm very thankful to reach the other side :)
As we continue our drive to Thimphu we notice a number of small stalls on the side of the road selling fruit and vegetables. Reminds me a bit of Sri Lanka. One I saw has a bucket of asparagus. Yum. We are told it's just come into season. Ever better. We stop at one super small stall, which is selling asparagus and one other item which I have no idea what it is, to buy a bunch. Chimi announces we will give it to the chef to cook over lunch. Yum yum.
As we get closer to Thimphu we notice more and more English signs. We are told that everyone learns it at school, that definitely explains why everyone's English is so good.
We arrive at the hotel at 10.40am - seems so much later but I guess that happens when we have been up for hours (coming up 9 hours). After getting a cup of coffee Chimi comes to ask for our itinerary, ooh this can't be good......the hotel has no reservation for us. Sunny is onto it and immediately advises there was a change to our hotel for tonight - whoops I had no idea. Right thanks very much for the coffee, we will be off now!
The correct hotel is literally just around the corner so within minutes we are inside enjoying another cup of coffee.
CHimi and the driver leave us at 11.15am with the instruction to meet them at 1pm in the lobby. We had given them USD which they were going to exchange for us. On entering our room we are told we have been upgraded to the best room. The view is amazing!!!!
We decide to head out for a walk before meeting up with Chimi and our driver - that plan doesn't quite work out as we get downstairs and they are there. Right ok then change of plan, its straight to lunch we go.
We elect to sit outside - such a refreshing change to be in the sun and fresh air. I will never tire of this view! Lunch is a huge spread with the addition of our asparagus that we dropped off this morning. The cauliflower was out of this world delicious! All the vegetables were local organic. The staff, like everywhere we've accounted so far today, were kind and attentive.
We head out of the city slightly and up a hill to the Buddha Dordenma. The view looking up to the Buddha is amazing, I can only imagine what the view down will be like when we get up there.
Buddha Dordenma is a 50 meter tall steel statue, currently a large part of the grounds is still under construction. Up close it’s massive! And amazing!
After enjoying the views down to Thimphu city we enter inside the Buddha which is impressive. We see the statute of the general who unified the country and went on to build the fortress that we'll see later today.
We head back into town to the General Post office. Yes ok it's a tad strange to be visiting a post office but this one allows you to get stamps printed from one of your photos - way cool I think!! After a few small hiccups we manage to get the photo from my iPhone to their computer and within minutes I'm on Bhutan stamps! World famous in Bhutan.
Chimi takes us to one of the main streets to a souvenir shop then leaves us for 2 hours. Our itinerary had said we would have the afternoon free so I'm rather surprised but very happy with what we have done already today with him.
We wandered the streets - taking lots of photos! After a few minutes we leave the main drag and take the back roads. I always find it fascinating just wandering around seeing how the locals live. We manage to get ourselves to the clock tower. The clock tower has four faces and seems to be a famous landmark in Thimphu.
A cold drink stop is needed! Thankfully there are a couple of options here on clock tower square and within seconds are sitting outside watching the world go by.
Before making our way back to the hotel we stop in a shop where Sunny makes a few purchases.
Now to find the hotel. To start with we have no idea if we are going in the right direction but I know we need to go down one more road. It's getting close to when we need to meet Chimi and the driver - this is interesting. I notice something I had seen this morning so make a decision to turn right....fingers crossed this is correct! We ask someone where the hotel is and he tells us it's back in the town - this I know is NOT true so we continue walking. Ye ha we are back!
Within minutes of arriving back at the hotel we are in the car and heading to Trashi Chhoe Dzong (Fortress of the Glorious Religion). Trashi Chhoe Dzong is a Buddhist monastery and fortress that now houses government offices, so is only open to tourist for one hour, Monday through Friday from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. Chimi informs us there will be lots and lots of tourists here, on arrival we see a few people lining up to enter but this is definitely not lots and lots. If this is how the tourist sites will be while we are here this will be great!
Finally it’s our turn to enter, after passing the armed guards Chimi signs us in while we stand in line for security – bags go through a scanner while we walk through an airport type scanner.
On entering the courtyard it’s a WOW WOW WOW. I don’t know where to look!
We enter the assembly hall, which houses a large statue of the historical Buddha along with the thrones of the current king and past king. Unfortunately no photos allowed so goodness knows how I’ll remember what I’m seeing and being told about. There is a Monk siting in the window practicing….that is until his phone rings so he stops and answers. Aah got to love modern technology.
On exiting the assembly hall we wander around the other buildings. I offer to take a photo for an Indian family and within seconds am then in their photo with them.
We end up leaving very close to 6.30pm, at this stage the majority of the other tourists have already left so we had the place basically to ourselves. It was so nice to just wander around and take in the changing from day into night with the red lights coming on.
Once we are outside the building looks great all it up.
As we start to drive away Sunny and I turn around to take one more look. Wait another photo is needed - out we get and snap away one more time. Wow is really the only word I can come up with!
We drive into the town for dinner. It feels like there are more people around, but perhaps it's just because traffic isn't moving overly quickly. Dinner is delicious - started with carrot soup, then followed by similar dishes that we had at lunch (rice, vegetable spring rolls, chicken, spinach, eggplant and asparagus). Thankfully the portions were smaller!
We decide to walk back to the hotel, thankfully this time we are well aware of what direction we are going. I definitely do not have enough clothes on but thankfully it's not as cold as it was when we arrived. We have only been in the country 12 hours but it feels like it's been days. What a wonderful start to our Bhutan trip it's been!
I wake at 6am on Saturday, 26 March and can head music outside. Wondering if it's from a night club or the start of a festival. Either way it's not too bad a noise to wake up too! The alarm had been set for 7am so it's nice just to relax before having to get up. Especially given I'm up and out the door 5 days of the week in Hong Kong!
We enjoy breakfast in the hotel before meeting up with Chimi and our new driver - yesterday's driver unfortunately was only with us for the day.
We head to the National Memorial Chorten, which is a Tibetan-style Chorten that for many Bhutanese is there focus of their daily worship. It was built in 1974 as a memorial to the Third King. You are supposed to walk around three times, clockwise, chanting a mantra. The same applies to the large red prayer wheels. We walk around the Chorten once.
From here we head to Simple Bhutan which is an interactive "living" museum where the guide explains to us the Bhutanese traditions. I decide to dress up in the traditional clothes. Would be prefect to wear this when its freezing! Alas not today. We tried the local rice wine, which was 19% alcohol. Definitely neither of our cups of tea! What I found very interesting (and we were told this yesterday) is that no nails or cement are used when building housings. Back in the day it use to take around 5 years to build a house. Before leaving we have a go at archery - definitely not as easy as it looks! After two failed attempts bingo I get it somewhere! I'll leave this sport to the experts.
We head further up to we arrive at Motithang Takin Preserve. The Takin, Bhutan's national animal, is one of the larger and stockier of the goat antelope. They have dense, yellow to brown hair with short, stocky legs that are supported by large two-toed hooves. As they had recently been fed there were a few hanging around the fences still grazing.
Heading back down the hill we stop to admire the view of the Trashi Chloe Dzong - it would be a great sight to be here at night-time.
Directly across the road is the Thangtong dewachen dupthop nunnery, also known as the Zilukha Nunnery. The Chorten is tiny compared with the one we saw this morning.
A bathroom break is needed so back to the hotel we head. The men are still practicing their archery (the archery ground is directly across from the hotel) which makes for interesting watching!
We head back to last night’s restaurant for lunch - a little annoying we are going back to the same place but hey ho. Today was buffet style.
From here we head to the Jungsi Handmade paper factory. Interesting to see how the paper is made; not an easy job! Then we walk down the hill a bit to take a look around two art galleries.
Back into the car, honestly it seems like Chimi doesn't like to walk! And down the hill to the Weekend Market.
We wander around the fruit and vege part with Chimi. I see a lot of chillies, and I mean a lot! After purchasing some apples and oranges it's clear he is bored so we tell him we are very happy just wandering around ourselves. We part ways and agree to meet back at the car.
We continue to wander around the market, seeing more fruit and vegetables then incense, spices then dried fish. A tad smelly for my likening! We spy a stall just outside of the market grounds so head out then onto the street where there are homeware stores. It's great just to wander around!
We head over the bridge (known as the Kundeyling Baazam to the other side of the Wang Chhu where there are handicraft stalls on one side and clothing stalls on the other.
Chimi informs us there is an archery competition going on, obviously that's what we saw from the room this morning, so we head there.
It's great to see archery up so close. The range is slightly different to ours this morning - it's 145 meters. Wow I'd be lucky to get it 30 meters and even then I think I might be pushing it.
The men do a dance while singing, at both ends, when someone hits the target. An interesting interlude to the match. I decide to walk back to the hotel - taking a slightly longer route. Good to be outside in the clear air and stretching my legs. Tomorrow is going to be a LOONG day in the car.
We relax in the room for a bit before heading out for a coffee. I'd found a place on trip advisor so we go off in search of that, first passing through the clock tower square. Its late afternoon so there are a number of people around - reminds me of my time in Italia.
Ambient Cafe found, result! And it's good. We take one of the last tables then within minutes a lady by the window leaves - thanks very much we'll have that. Great for sitting watching the world go by.
We head back to hotel after stopping off at a photo gallery - so many amazing photos from around Bhutan. Sunny had asked that we sit outside as the restaurant was so dull and had no external light. I was totally down for that but the ladies at reception weren't so keen as it was cold. We informed them we would be aok; but after putting layers of clothes on and sitting there for less than 5 minutes we headed back inside. Such a shame but hey ho. Dinner is definitely nothing to write home about.....I would say my worse meal in Bhutan. Fingers crossed it stays like that! We had lots of laughs about it.
Easter Sunday (27 March) we are both awake before 6am. I had been awake for a bit and was thinking how peaceful it had been in the night with next to no noise, then that all changed with a choir performance from the dogs. Honestly! Where is my brother to quieten them down??! After they had finished the pigeons became. Goodbye sleep in!
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