The Bhutan Series - Day 3 - Arrival in Bhutan
The alarm clock went off at 1 AM...yes 1 AM...and I took my 3rd shower in 24 hours I was looking forward to some cooler weather. The tour company made a point of stressing check in 2 hours before the flight so I was at BKK bright and early at 2 AM. I was sweaty and sleep deprived but somehow managed to get myself and my gear checked in. Of course a storm had broken out so our 4 AM flight was delayed about an hour. The happy portion of this part of my traverse was that I was sitting in first class a result of changing my arrival date. We had a stopover in Calcutta before flying into Bhutan but prior to that I finally got my chance to see EVEREST. I think the plane tipped to its left side as soon as the first person spotted Everest. It was a really clear beautiful day so we could see Everest and the surrounding big 'uns very well. I was totally stoked my trip was made by just seeing that. Yes I admit I have a slight Everest obsession which is shared by Beth and Gretchen :). The plane got very chatty after that and I found out that the guy sitting next to me was leading a photography tour in Bhutan and was going to a bunch of festivals. He accidentally burst my festival bubble by telling me the Thimpu festival was just okay (boo) but when I said I was going for a portion he said it was still worth seeing. I also figured out by reading the magazine on the plane that the portion of the festival I was going for was a small non-all day event and that I wouldn't be able to take pictures....oh well.
We arrived about 9 in the morning which meant I was not going to get any sleep for awhile. I
should mention here that Bhutan is 13 hours ahead of the west coast. The airport was really beautiful and held exactly 2 airplanes. My guide met me in the terminal...Penjo...19 years old and he was the brother-in-law of the owner of the local tour company Snow Leopard http://www.snowleopardtreks.com/. I immediately liked Penjo when he told me that he had applied to the University of Hawaii (Go Bows!). We hopped in the car and we headed to the National Museum which was not yet opened. When it did finally open it had a lot interesting artifacts including old photos, farm equipment, religious paintings and stamps...yes stamps Bhutan is known for their large variety of stamps (http://www.bhutanpostagestamps.com/history.htm). On the way down in my sleepiness haze I noted all of the cows blocking the road, people walking on the narrow roads, the honking and the excellent picture opportunities including my first picture of a prayer wheel. After the museum we headed to an old dzong which also would be the starting point for the trek. The views from the dzong were really beautiful as it looked out onto lots of rice patties that had turned a golden color and were almost ready for harvesting.
We then headed for lunch in the city of Paro where the airport is. Apparenly vegetarianism is not so popular in Bhutan but Penjo arranged it so there would be some veggies options for lunch. When we got the small hotel where we were having lunch we were joined by Peggy Day. Peggy runs her own tour company and has been coming to Bhutan for 28 years. She was very interesting and very well traveled in Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Lunch was very good and included pumpkin curry and red rice which I was destined to have lots and lots of. After lunch we all hopped in the car and headed to the capital of Thimpu. The road itself was an adventure that followed the Paro river and winded and twisted around bend after bend. There was more honking and passing of cars around blind corners and people walking along the highway and the highway had just been expanded. The drive was beautiful though and then...the big moment I had been waiting for...a hotel room with a bed...zzzzzz. I was so happy to get a few hours of sleep in. After my nap we went to go meet Tandin who was going to be our trekking guide at a bar close by. I had some local brew..Red Panda...which I instantely fell in love with. After some beer it was dinnertime and I ordered some ema datze which is popular local dish. Upon it's arrival and consumption of a couple bites I ordered a dish of momos. Let's just say the ema datze (cheese and chile) was a tad spicy and the momos (dumplings) promised to be on the milder side. Penjo also got to laugh at the fact that I ordered some whisky that I mistakenly thought was beer. I was pooped after dinner so I headed back to my room for some zzzzzs.
Terms/Items of interest for the day
Tourist Fee - Bhutan does implement a daily tourist fee to help control tourism. The fee is currently $200 but scheduled to go up. This price includes a guide, transportation, lodging and meals (no alcohol...bummer).
Dzong - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzong
The alarm clock went off at 1 AM...yes 1 AM...and I took my 3rd shower in 24 hours I was looking forward to some cooler weather. The tour company made a point of stressing check in 2 hours before the flight so I was at BKK bright and early at 2 AM. I was sweaty and sleep deprived but somehow managed to get myself and my gear checked in. Of course a storm had broken out so our 4 AM flight was delayed about an hour. The happy portion of this part of my traverse was that I was sitting in first class a result of changing my arrival date. We had a stopover in Calcutta before flying into Bhutan but prior to that I finally got my chance to see EVEREST. I think the plane tipped to its left side as soon as the first person spotted Everest. It was a really clear beautiful day so we could see Everest and the surrounding big 'uns very well. I was totally stoked my trip was made by just seeing that. Yes I admit I have a slight Everest obsession which is shared by Beth and Gretchen :). The plane got very chatty after that and I found out that the guy sitting next to me was leading a photography tour in Bhutan and was going to a bunch of festivals. He accidentally burst my festival bubble by telling me the Thimpu festival was just okay (boo) but when I said I was going for a portion he said it was still worth seeing. I also figured out by reading the magazine on the plane that the portion of the festival I was going for was a small non-all day event and that I wouldn't be able to take pictures....oh well.
We arrived about 9 in the morning which meant I was not going to get any sleep for awhile. I
should mention here that Bhutan is 13 hours ahead of the west coast. The airport was really beautiful and held exactly 2 airplanes. My guide met me in the terminal...Penjo...19 years old and he was the brother-in-law of the owner of the local tour company Snow Leopard http://www.snowleopardtreks.com/. I immediately liked Penjo when he told me that he had applied to the University of Hawaii (Go Bows!). We hopped in the car and we headed to the National Museum which was not yet opened. When it did finally open it had a lot interesting artifacts including old photos, farm equipment, religious paintings and stamps...yes stamps Bhutan is known for their large variety of stamps (http://www.bhutanpostagestamps.com/history.htm). On the way down in my sleepiness haze I noted all of the cows blocking the road, people walking on the narrow roads, the honking and the excellent picture opportunities including my first picture of a prayer wheel. After the museum we headed to an old dzong which also would be the starting point for the trek. The views from the dzong were really beautiful as it looked out onto lots of rice patties that had turned a golden color and were almost ready for harvesting.
We then headed for lunch in the city of Paro where the airport is. Apparenly vegetarianism is not so popular in Bhutan but Penjo arranged it so there would be some veggies options for lunch. When we got the small hotel where we were having lunch we were joined by Peggy Day. Peggy runs her own tour company and has been coming to Bhutan for 28 years. She was very interesting and very well traveled in Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Lunch was very good and included pumpkin curry and red rice which I was destined to have lots and lots of. After lunch we all hopped in the car and headed to the capital of Thimpu. The road itself was an adventure that followed the Paro river and winded and twisted around bend after bend. There was more honking and passing of cars around blind corners and people walking along the highway and the highway had just been expanded. The drive was beautiful though and then...the big moment I had been waiting for...a hotel room with a bed...zzzzzz. I was so happy to get a few hours of sleep in. After my nap we went to go meet Tandin who was going to be our trekking guide at a bar close by. I had some local brew..Red Panda...which I instantely fell in love with. After some beer it was dinnertime and I ordered some ema datze which is popular local dish. Upon it's arrival and consumption of a couple bites I ordered a dish of momos. Let's just say the ema datze (cheese and chile) was a tad spicy and the momos (dumplings) promised to be on the milder side. Penjo also got to laugh at the fact that I ordered some whisky that I mistakenly thought was beer. I was pooped after dinner so I headed back to my room for some zzzzzs.Terms/Items of interest for the day
Tourist Fee - Bhutan does implement a daily tourist fee to help control tourism. The fee is currently $200 but scheduled to go up. This price includes a guide, transportation, lodging and meals (no alcohol...bummer).
Dzong - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzong
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