We arrived in Astore, a Himalayan village perched on the mountainside, to find access to our guesthouse blocked by a polo match. It was on the edge of the field, on the other side. We were stoked, polo is the best audience participation sport there is and we’ve only seen a game once before in … More Hanging in the Himalayas – Astore and Rama Lake
Flight 16 must be one of the most spectacular in the world. Both of our routes to and from Bhutan flew directly over the Himalayas. Unfortunately when we flew from Delhi the cloud was too high to see anything. On our way out to Kathmandu we got lucky… This time as we took off from … More Flight 16 – The Most Spectacular Flight in the World?
There was much confusion over the time of our flight out of Paro to Kathmandu. When we booked it the flight time was 2:45pm but it is important to reconfirm as Druk Air flights having a monopoly means they can basically just do as they like. Pensoc had made a call a few days earlier … More Farewell Bhutan
Pensoc and Sangay were an hour late getting up and ready which annoyed us as it meant that we missed the opening procession of the festival which Pensoc had suggested would be really good the night before. The Teschu (Buddhist religious festival) was what we were here to see although with the late departure we … More Being a Tourist – Wangdue and back to Paro
We retraced our drive back to Punakha and on the way managed to catch both an archery and darts match. We clambered down a steep muddy path from the road to get a closer look. We had really been wanting to see the archery (the Bhutanese national sport). There was a distinct smell of (alcoholic) … More Up on the Farm – Phojibkha to Punakha
We were up, dressed and out on the hotel balcony by 5:30am hoping for a clear morning. It was slowly getting light but a couple of peaks were visible. Pensoc only managed to show his face at 5:45 (not 5:30) so it was lucky for him it was cloudy else we would have been very … More Early Mornings and Erect Penises – Dochu La Pass to Phojibkha Valley
After breakfast we caught the school assembly from our balcony as it is held outside. School children regardless of age all wear traditional dress and lessons are given in English, as is school assembly. Today’s speeches were on dealing with change and working with others. We left Haa and followed the river north, the road clinging … More Museums and Markets – Thimphu
We woke as soon as it got light as the room had no curtains, but this gave us a good view of the valley below, as there was some blue sky and sunshine. Having had a brief glance around 5:45am we went back to sleep partly because we were warm and partly because we had spent the … More High Passes and Marijuana Pigs – Kila Nunnery to Haa
Our first full day in Bhutan and our first sight on our list was Takshang Goemba (better known as the Tiger’s Nest Monastery), the most famous monastery in Bhutan and probably the most iconic image of the country. It perches on the side of a sheer 900m cliff and is said to be held in … More Up and Up and Up – The Tigers Nest & Kila Nunnery
There was low cloud as we landed in Paro and we could see rain down in some of the side valleys. Paro is supposed to be a very dangerous airport as the flight path involves weaving between mountains at very close quarters. We felt the plane twisting and turning but couldn’t really see anything. The … More Peaceful Paro
