Left Darjeeling on a warm day for our 5 hour bus ride to Bhutan. More winding roads, some washed out because of the storm from several days ago, which made for rather treacherous driving. Fortunately, we have really good drivers.
Said farewell to Santos at the border of India & Bhutan. Needed to pass through India immigration & again through Bhutan immigration. Stayed a night at the first city in Bhutan which certainly was not representative of what we came to see.
Anyway, a few facts about Bhutan: Population of about 700,000, primarily Buddhists. Ruled by a democratic monarchy who the people respect & revere. Bhutan became open to tourism in 1974; however, the first road was not built until 1961, so travel would have been slow & arduous when tourists first visited. Internet was introduced in 1999, television in 2003 and mobile in 2009. Bhutan is surrounded by the Himalayan Mountains, a lot of the time not visible because of fog & mist. The Bhutanese strive to be the happiest people in the world & believe strongly in their deities. There main economy is rice production & some farming. All in all, a most beautiful culture.
Harvesting the tea. Probably migrant workers from India or Bangladesh. This taken from bus window on way to Bhutan by Melinda.Loading our bags for our trip to Paro. Two buses, 11 per bus. Very basic ride on these curvy roads. Bags covered with a tarp to hopefully protect from the rain. While working, the Bhutan men & women required to wear the native dress.Roadside view.Eight stupas which contain relics from smaller stupas made from clay mold & broken apart. Buddhists are cremated so the ashes might be buried in these stupas along with objects of the person’s life. Eight is an important number in Buddhism as it often means a bridge between the physical & spiritual realms.The international airport in Paro deemed the most dangerous landing airport in the world because it is surrounded by the Himalayas & the runway is very short. We are departing from this airport on Tuesday.Visited a Mandala Museum to learn how to create a simple Mandala using colored sand. A Mandala is a spiritual & ritual symbol used in both Hinduism & Buddhism. The Mandela is destroyed after completion to remind us that nothing is forever; we come into the world with nothing, go out with nothing.Visited the Namgay Artisanal Brewery where we had a guided tour led by this lovely young woman. After the tour, we tasted some of the beers produced here, then offered a full glass of our favorite. I chose the Paro Red Rice Lager.Inside a most interesting Museum of the history of Bhutan. The museum is housed in a historic watchtower built in 1651 & became a museum in 1968. Artifacts date from as early as 3000 BC. The traditional fabric makes for beautiful light coverings.
One of the highlights of visiting Bhutan is the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, one of the most famous of many located in Bhutan. It is perched on the side of a cliff 2952 feet above the Paro Valley floor which is at 7300 feet. Legend has it that Guru Rimpoche arrived here on the back of a tigress & meditated at the monastery for 3 years, 3 months & 3 days, hence its name. The site has been recognized as a most sacred place, & all Bhutanese hope to visit at least once in their lifetime.
Bird’s eye view of the Tiger’s Nest Monastery/Temple. Called a temple today because in order to be called a monastery, monks must live & study there. Today, only 3 monks reside at Tiger’s Nest as caretakers.
Trekking to the viewpoint, which is at 9500 feet, of the Tiger’s Nest Monastery. From where we started, we experienced a 1245 foot elevation gain. Extremely difficult because of the elevation, steep steps, & uneven surfaces. Took about 2 hours to reach our destination.Some people choose to ride a horse to the viewpoint of the Tiger’s Nest Monastery/Temple.We made it to the viewpoint/cafe.Success for those of us who managed to complete this part of the trek. Two from our group made it all the way to the top. You can see Tiger’s Nest in the background, so the brave 2 had another 50% to go. Our round trip uphill/downhill was just over 3 miles.
Another viewpoint. Russ, who made it to the top with Pam, is responsible for the two photos of the temple.
Enough for this post. We have another two nights after tonight before we head back to Paro for our flight to Kolkata.
Traveling with Judy 
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