Well, you have to love Asia. When communication, hot showers, toilet paper, and electricity become intermittent, you learn to appreciate home. Last blog update didn't include photo so this time I am not even trying. We have a slow working computer and connection in Thimphu so here is a quick update. We made it to the capital, population 100,000 earlier today. We visited the textile museum where … [Read more...]
Crane Festival
We traveled to Phobjikha in central Bhutan to experience the Black-necked Crane Festival. The local community organizes this annual event. All the school children perform dances in honor of nature and the crane. It's the only nature festival in Bhutan. The festival lasts one day and features 18 dances honoring the natural world. The crane winters in the valley and nests on the Tibetan plateau. … [Read more...]
Going with the flow
In Bhutan, one learns to relax and enjoy the moment. A calming breath can also help. As the bus rounded the corner, everyone gasped. I was in the back so had to stand to see what caused the exclamation. Well, we were in mountainous country with potential for landslides. Fortunately, a road crew caused this one so a large backhoe was already on site. A short break and photo opp and we were on our … [Read more...]
Hot springs and luxury camping!
Everyone enjoyed the camping/hot spring excursion! We drove about five hours along the Mo Chuu river to 7800 feet. Along the way, we purchased freshly harvested rice and visited two farms where we got fresh guavas, oranges and mushrooms. The camp was set when we arrived. It was luxury camping with tasty food, evening fire, hot springs along the river, and comfortable tents. On our full day we … [Read more...]
We saw a white-bellied heron!
Today we had great success and saw a juvenile white-bellied heron. There are only 26 in the country! This cute young man serenaded us. You can see the Po Chu River in the background. Most of the herons live in this area. Everyone saw this majestic bird and we celebrated by walking the suspension bridge, a great lunch, visit to the Khemsum Temple, and now a quiet dinner. It's Tuesday evening. … [Read more...]
Day 4 – Dochula Pass
We left Paro to travel east to wilder parts of Bhutan. We spent the night in Dochula Pass - home of 108 temples (chortens). The eldest wife of the fourth king built this temple, Dochula Lankang, in honor of her husband and all of his accomplishments. It is one of the newer temples we have visited which was quite apparent by the artistry. Tomorrow we seek the endangered white-necked … [Read more...]
Tiger’s Nest
Yesterday we hiked to the sacred Tiger's Nest. This high mountain monastery is located above Paro and the belief is Guru Rinpoche rode a dakini tigress into Bhutan in the 15th century. He brought Buddhism to the country and today all Bhutanese hike to the Tiger's Nest at least once in there lifetime. Everyone did great! We depart this morning for Dochula to visit 108 chortens (small temples) and … [Read more...]
The group arrives from Bangkok
The flight arrives on time from Bangkok. Benj and Kinlay greet the group wearing ghos, the traditional dress for men. After everyone gets their luggage, we head to the Paro Dzong - the spiritual and government center of the district. It was a beautiful day and everyone feels quite happy in this land of happiness. Catherine Shill The Hole Hiking Experience Sent from an iPhone … [Read more...]