Bumthang - City of Temples and Beautiful Himalayas

Bumthang - City of Temples and Beautiful Himalayas

The flight from Paro to Bumthang is an exquisite half hour overlooking the pristine beauty of the Himalayas.  It's important to sit on the left side of the plane where you get a gorgeous a
riel view of Thimpu.  The Bumthang airport is the smallest airstrip you've ever encountered, not to mention the lack of a building usually called a terminal.  All quite charming.  They bring your luggage in a large wagon to the field where the cars are parked and everyone just grabs their bags and take off.

This is the Bumthang Airport Terminal

We had a day-long drive to Ura in the Tang Valley that was a cluster of beautiful houses - a Bhutanese village of 7,000 people.  The drive there was on their old national road but very few people use it anymore.  It was abosolutley breathtaking.  There are no signs along the road, absolutely nothing to mar the natural beauty of the mountainous landscape.  

A recently constructed temple by the men in the local village.

Tashi showed us an incredible crumbling former residence of the King.  They are restoring it in honor of the recent birth of the prince. 

Tashi, our guide, had an old friend, Yeshey, who lived in Ura and so he called him and we got an invitation to have lunch at his house.  We'd brought food that was prepared at the hotel so he supplemented our lunch with his own home made wheat and barley liquor.  Stephanie tried it and Yeshey then added a little bit of egg in her cup as they always do.  Strange to us but Steph said it tasted good.

We took a hike down a steep mountain to the Ura valley.  These two stray dogs accompanied us the whole way down - at a respectable distance.  We also saw many prayer walls and prayer flags.  

Ura Village in the distance

Archery is the national sport and they compete in the Olympics.  We came across boys practicing.

Ura Valley - they grow potatoes

On our return drive back to Bumthang we came across this man on the road and stopped to take a photo.  He was amenable and told a story of other tourists who had asked him before and he had said no, just to tease them, but he really didn't mind.  Tashi said to offer money would offend the Bhutanese after taking a photo.

Our encounter with a man of the Ura Valley

Gardens of Bhutan

We Made it to Bhutan

We Made it to Bhutan

Nestled between northern India and southern China, Bhutan, or Druk, as the locals call it, feels both magical and otherworldly.  Its 750,000 people are mostly dressed in their national
Druk clothing made in their weaving houses.  Bhutan is comprised of mostly Buddhist followers with about a quarter of the population Hindu.  The country has a charismatic (and photogenic) King and Queen and the Prime Minister is at the United Nations right now representing Bhutan.  From what our guide, Taschi, says, the country is developing quickly.

It took thirteen hours to fly from Philadelphia to Doha, Qatar, then seven hours from Doha to Bangkok.  In Bangkok we had to go to an airport hotel as our lay over was overnight for six hours.  We were able to have a good meal, shower, and sleep two hours, then back to the airport to board Druk Airline's flight to Park, Bhutan that left at 4:30 in the morning - yet another six hour flight.  Travel time was 40 hours all together.

Stephanie and Jeanne at the Bangkok Airport Baggage Claim

Thai dinner at the Nohotel in Bangkok

Our first city was Paro where we stayed at the Haven Hotel.  The Paro Valley is just beautiful.  We took a walk to see the National Museum.  First they explain their dances and
their significance.  There are so many different ones that it would take years to understand them all.  Then they display their clay sculptures, their bronze sculptures and finally their natural beauty featuring their rich and abundant wildlife, and forests.  They are working to become the first country in the world to be carbon neutral.

The old watchtower 

Blue skies and gorgeous mountains with prayer flags

Bhutan Magical Mystery Tour

Leaving for Bhutan tomorrow morning with my great friend Stephanie Eley. We're looking forward to experiencing a place that has been cut off from the world as we know it for so long.  We'll see their spectacular dance festivals complete with intricate dances for each God and colorful costumes, dramatic masks, and hear their music. I'll create a Happiness index as we travel since their country measures their gross national product in Happiness.  Part of the trip will be a three-day camping trek through the beauty of this Himalayan kingdom's mountainous country - between 9,000 and 10,000 feet high.  I've wanted to go there ever since I heard about it in the early 1970's.  So glad Stephanie was eager to travel there with me.  It's a long trip over and I'm not sure how internet will be so I hope. You'll here from me again in a couple days.