After a very long journey measured in days rather than hours, we arrived in the Kingdom of Bhutan. The airplane landing in Paro was quite the experience. The pilot needs to bank sharply to the right, then the left, as he descends rapidly, in order to avoid the mountains and make it onto the narrow valley’s runway. Couldn’t they find a bigger valley to put their airport? Just asking. I’m glad that I was on the right side of the airplane because that last turn made the ground seem awfully close.
We are fortunate to be in Bhutan the day after the royal wedding. We didn’t plan this, but we’re lucky, since the place is very festive right now. Yesterday’s event was “private”, meaning for the families and religious community. Tomorrow, the public celebration begins, and all sorts of dignitaries are showing up. We hope to be able to participate in the festivities ourselves. We’ve already been well cared for by the staff at the Amankora resort. Someone greeted us this morning at the Bangkok airport, then our guide and driver greeted us at the Paro airport, then the head of hospitality greeted us at the hotel the first time, and we just returned to be greeted by the general manager. The Bhutanese are known for their friendliness and I’m beginning to see why.
The entrance to the hotel is unusual. The car seemed to stop right in the middle of the road, and the guide led us off into a pine forest. After a little bit of a stroll, we arrived at reception. Our room is beautiful – all wood paneling, high ceilings, and a dramatic tub situated in the middle of the room.
We decided to go for a walk through town. We had added this extra day in the beginning in order to take it easy and get acclimatized, both to the time change and the altitude (about 7000 feet). Our first stop was an archery range where we saw a group of Germans competing against the Bhutanese. Archery is the national sport. They use these quite high tech looking bows, and shoot at targets that are remarkably far away. I couldn’t even see the arrow as it came off the bow, let alone see if it hit the target. We rendez-vous’ed with Guy and Pascale in town, who had just arrived from their flight from Delhi. Since we started planning this trip about 9 months ago, it seemed amazing to actually be here.
The countryside is beautiful, full of rice paddies, colorfully painted houses and prayer flags, all of course in the shadow of enormous mountains. There are few cars and narrow streets, barely paved, and many stray animals, whether dogs, cows or horses. The resort is a bit of a ride out of town, and a winding road. I already can tell that this is going to be a unique experience!
-- Donna
