My wife along with 5 friends contacted Connecting Asia to arrange our trip to Bhutan during the Coronation of the new King. The travel arrangements made by Connecting Asia were superb by all standards.
I would like now to share some of our highlights of this trip to the Land of the Thunder Dragon-DRUK.
Day One-We flew into the Paro airport, the only airport in the country. A hair raising approach as there are hills very close to both ends of the runway. Need excellent Pilot skills for this -for sure. Great Landing. Spectacular views. Upon arrival were greeted by Connecting Asia partners -taken to our bus which was big and comfortable. Each of us was then given a personal gift from Connecting Asia-Lovely Gifts too I might add-I was given the traditional Bhutanese dress .Then off we were to Thimpu the capital-Checked into a very nice cozy hotel -had lunch and off we were too see if we could get a glimpse of the new King. Our guide insisted we wait and be patient and through her good advise the patience paid off and not only did we get to see the King but we all got to shake his hand and in turn he gave us all a commemorative coin--How lucky can you get!!!
Day Two-Sightseeing Thimpu- see the market place Ladies with their prayer wheels and beads-went to the zoo to see the rare Taken -animal that looks like a mixture of a goat and a cow-you have to see one to believe me.
Then off we were to Wangdue and up to Punakha. The roads are winding all the way up but once you get to the mountain pass between Thimpu and Wangdue you will be in for a grand surprise -you almost get the entire view of the Himalayan Range and if you happen to be there during sunset like we were even more spectacular. Before heading off again a nice cup of hot tea did wonders as the weather was getting cold now. Finally arrived at our hotel -all tired -had a good dinner and off to sleep waiting to see what lay in store the next day.
Day Three-Went to the Punaka Dzong before heading on to Paro. All the towns in Bhutan have a dzong, or fort, that was built around the 16th century for defense against Tibet. Now they are used half for government offices and half for monasteries. The Punaka Dzong was grand and in fact the coronation of the King was held here. After lunch we were off to Paro -the same winding road -the drive about 3 hrs and we were back in Paro for a wonderful dinner.
Day Four-An early breakfast for an early start to the Tigers Nest-Along climb about 3 hrs plus -3 of us made it up to the view point about halfway while 3 others went all the way -I made it to the view point -was just too lazy and tired to go all the way-next time perhaps?
After coming down had lunch-got to eat Yak Meat-Tasted quite good I must say. Finally back in town-did some shopping and back to the hotel for a heart dinner.
Day Five -Back to Bangkok.
Finally these are some of the memories I would also like to share:- Every local meal in this country involves a lot of chilies! The national sport is archery. They shoot at that tiny target for the distance of a football field. They dance around between shots when their team members hit the target and when the other team's members miss.
Local women who can't get pregnant come to the Chimi Lhakhang Monastery for a blessing. There are penises all over the place in the monastery and even painted on the outside of houses in this town. For a Buddhist country it is very progressive. They like to drink and party, they can choose who they marry and even divorce.and even women can have 2 husbands. It was clean without all the crazy traffic or people begging that I am so used to here in Asia. The houses were different, more like swiss chalets. The locals have a unique dress, somewhat formal.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST -WITHOUT CONNECTING ASIA ALL THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE FOR ME AND MY FRIENDS SO TO ALL YOU FOLKS OUT THERE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TRAVEL WITH A DIFFERENCE-THEN CONNECTING ASIA IS THE ONE YOU NEED TO GET CONNECTED TO.
Ashok
Traveled to Bhutan in November 2008
