I left Samui yesterday and flew into Bangkok to enable me to catch a flight into Paro in Bhutan. have to admit that getting up at 4am to catch a plane is not necessarily my idea of fun but sometimes it has to be done.

Before reaching Bhutan we had to make a quick refueling stop in India so I spend 30 minutes on the ground in downtown Bagdogra – a place I went to in about 2000 to which I never wanted to return. Needless to say I didnt get off the plane. Bagdogra’s only redeeming feature was that it was the gateway to Darjeeling. For those people who have been harassing me to come to India… I was there… where were you?

Flying into Bhutan we saw Kangchenjunga and Everest as it was an incredibly clear day. Not the first time I have seen these mountains but they are always impressive

Landing at Paro Airport is an experience in itself. There are very few pilots in the world who are certified to land at this airport. It’s a visual landing only as you actually fly in zig zagging in a valley between mountains on the way through. In some parts you can see into the houses on one side and feel like you could reach out and touch the trees on the other. I found this on youtube. It might give you a rough idea. Just before the plane landed it banked steeply to the right and I was sure that the wing was going to hit the ground. When we finally landed the entire plane broke into a round of applause.

The first thing that you do when you go to visit any country is to get some local currency. Thanks to Bhutan, it will never be called going to a cashpoint or an ATM for me anymore. I will now have to call that activity “visiting BOB” as the ATM’s here are run by the Bank of Bhutan and have “BOB” written all over them.

Once leaving the airport we headed to Paro town for some refreshments before driving to Thimphu where I will be staying for 2 days. Driving into Paro, I had to laugh as my guide was very quick to apologise for the crowds of people on the street. Apparently it isnt usually that crowded… There were all of MAYBE 2 dozen people that I could see 🙂

Today we visited the Memorial Chorten and the local Sunday market before heading to the hotel. Tomorrow is when the real siteseeing begins.

Myanmar

On a side note, I have been following the Burmese Elections and I am really happy to see that Aung San Suu Kyi has won her place in parliament. What a brilliant time for the Burmese people!

cheers

KC