Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon

see all photos »

Scott: Here in Bhutan at last! A long-held dream for me finally come true! We arrived in the Land of the Thunder Dragon on Friday morning on a flight from Bangkok via Calcutta on Druk Air. We could see the hills of Bhutan rise suddenly from the Indian plain and soon the airplane was weaving between hills on its approach to Paro. Not much room for error - and Druk air only flys in the daytime and good weather. The terminal building was relatively new and built in the style of a Dzong, the fortress / monasteries that dot the countryside here. After lunch we visited the national museum in Paro and the main Paro Dzong, where we saw red robed monks tending to one of the temple rooms inside. Dzongs now have both monastic and administrative functions now, so the district administrator has his office there and it is a functioning monastery and Buddhist temple (90% of the people here are Buddhist.) Prayer flags are everywhere.\r

\r Today we hiked to Taktshang Goempa, a monastery built in the 1600's on the side of a cliff. Paro was about 7000 feet in elevation; we hiked up almost another 800-1000 feet more. The view was spectacular, looking across a ravine at this monastery clinging to the rock. It is perhaps the most important site in all of Bhutan. Legend has it that the Buddhist saint Guru Rinpoche flew there on the back of a tiger and meditated in a cave there for three months in the 8th century. The building was built to mark the site.\r

\r After the visit we drove about 1.5 hours to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. At a population of 50,000 it is the biggest city in the country, but it feels very manageable as capital cities go. The main disturbance are dozens of dogs barking at night.....\r

\r People have been very friendly, and we look forward to continuing to explore this fascinating culture. Thanks for all of your kind emails and thoughts.....\r

\r \r