Bhutan 2013 Dec 22-28 (day 2)

Today our itinerary starts with Tango Monastery. It is actually a university for Buddhist studies and is located up a mountain 2,3230m above sea level.

Tango is the highest center of Buddhist learning in the country; almost every Je Khenpo (religious head of Bhutan) completed the 9-year program there. After completing that program, monks traditionally spend 3 years, 3 months and 3 days in mediation at the nearby Cheri Goemba retreat, built in 1619 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the founder or first unifier of Bhutan. It is currently the home of an 19 year old boy believed to be the seventh reincarnation of the fourth desi, or ruler, of Bhutan.

It was supposed to be an hour's trek up but since we are from the geriatrics, we took nearly 2 hours to reach Tango. When up there, really no strength to tango. During the trek up, I kept feeling breathless and dizzy. Another felt headache. This was due to our bodies not being used to the higher altitude. Little did we realise this trek is chicken feed in comparison to another that we would be doing to Tiger's Nest, the highlight of the whole journey. Well, we took lots of rest stops along the way to allow our bodies absorb the rich, pure and clean air. Incidentally, 70-80% of Bhutan is covered by forests and no prizes for guessing the air quality there.

Throughout our slow climb up to Tango, we were overtaken by monks lugging supplies back up. Seemed so effortless for them while we really felt like some octogenarians taking an arduous stroll. After what seemed like hours and after countless photo taking stops (aka rest stops), we finally reached the "promised land".

It was about time for lunch for the student monks and they were all at the entrance waiting for their lunch. 

Inside the monastery it was beautiful. Surrounded by the backdrop of the beautiful Himalayan mountains, we were trigger happy and pointed our cameras at everything and anything.

We were invited by the principal of the university for tea and snacks along this corridor.

We continued touring the compound and went higher up each level of the buildings for the breathtaking scenery.

Next stop, after lunch, to Buddha Point to see a 169 feet tall bronze statue of Buddha. Located on a hill, it overlooks Thimphu Valley where you can see the capital of Bhutan. It was freezing cold as the winds were very strong and the temperature then was only about 2 or 3 degrees Celsius. We quickly snapped our pictures and off we went.

Next up was to see the national animal of Bhutan, the Takin, a strange looking animal that resembles a bee stung moose. Sadly, we didn't get to see it as it was shy and far away into the enclosed forest. Instead we came across a very docile lamb that followed and played with us.

We returned to our hotel for an early night and dinner. Going to be a long journey tomorrow to Punakha.

Bhutan 2013 Dec 22-28 (Day 1)

Woke up super early at 3.30am as my flight to Paro, Bhutan was at 6.30am. Super tired as I only slept at about 1am. Well, I can catch some sleep on the flight.

For anyone who wants to know, I booked the trip with Druk Asia Pte Ltd located at OG Building at Albert Street for approximately SGD2,800, for a 7-day 6-night trip, inclusive of all airport taxes and surcharges, Bhutan government levies,  airfare on Druk Air, 3-star hotel accommodations, meals, transport, entrance fees to places of interests. etc. Its really cheap compared to some of the established tour agencies, anyone interested should go check them out.

Back to the trip... The flight will take 4 hours from Changi Airport to Kolkatta, 1 hour stopover, 1 hour from Kolkatta to Paro. All in, 6 hours, less 2 hours time difference behind Singapore, we arrived at Bhutan approximately 10.30am.

Flying into Paro was an experience. The pilot alerted us to the beautiful sight of the Himalayan ranges on the left of the plane. We could see Mt Everest far away, wow wow wee. We were also warned not to be alarmed when seeing mountains so close to the plane during landing.

Can you see Mt Everest?

Mountains all around flying into Paro

View from the plane

Upon arrival at Paro airport, we disembarked from the short flight of stairs onto the tarmac (as there are no aerobridges) and what greeted us were beautiful mountains all around us. You could identify the tourists from the seasoned travellers. All the tourists were busy snapping pictures all around.

We had to walk to the immigration building from the plane

Tourists all over the tarmac taking pictures

Clearing immigration was a breeze. As Paro doesn't have many aeroplanes landing (we were the only one then), the lines at immigration weren't long and it was all done in about 10-15 minutes. I think our picture taking on the tarmac took a longer time, haha.

We were met outside by our tour guide, Chunjur, and a driver (forgot his name). They were both polite young men and were quick to introduce themselves and make us feel welcomed. We were informed that there is only 1 road from the airport in Paro to Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan, and it was the best paved road in the country. On the way to the capital, the scenery was beautiful with the Himalayan ranges everywhere. We stopped along the way to have a rest and visited a traditional Bhutan bridge over the river. Little did we know that this was an introduction for more to come at a later date.

I'm crossing slowly due to my fear of heights

After the short pit stop, we proceeded on our journey and after about 45 minutes later, we arrived at our hotel, The Gallingkha. Its a 3-star hotel, rooms were pretty spacious and looks out onto the street. Temperature dropped to somewhere near 0 degrees Celsius and the heater in the room was of no use. Showering was torturous as well as the bathroom was icy cold.

After checking in, we went out for lunch. After lunch, Chunjur, brought us to watch the finals of their local archery competition. It was an experience for us. Their cheer team was most entertaining to watch.

After half an hour, we proceeded to our first tourist attraction, the Centenary Farmers' Market, selling all kinds of produce and dried goods. It was indeed interesting to learn about the Bhutanese diet and various ingredients from the market. We didn't stay too long as we weren't really the house minding type :D

Across the road were stalls akin to our pasar malam, selling Bhutanese wares, musical equipment, souvenirs, etc. Now, that was more interesting for us typical Singaporeans :D

We next proceeded to Thimphu Dzong (aka Tashichhodzong). Constructed in 1641, the "fortress of the glorious religions" currently houses some ministries, His Majesty's secretariat and the central monk body.

From outside

Entrance into Thimphy Dzong

Inside Thimphu Dzong

As the King's residence was nearby, we were told that we may bump into the King as he walked from his residence to his office at the Dzong, but no such luck :(

Inside Thimphu Dzong

After our sightseeing we proceeded back to our hotel. We were tired, hungry and the weather was cold, we can't wait to gobble our grub and hibernate.

Although lunch wasn't too great, our dinner at the hotel was pretty good. In fact, since I've been back from my work stint in India circa 2013, I haven't had much Indian food, much less good Indian food.

Dessert. Not sure what it is but was quite yummy.

4 naans and half a plate of rice accompanied all these down into my gut. After the satisfying meal, we were all pooped and retired for an early night. Good decision as little did we know what lies ahead tomorrow...