Today's the day we head to Bhutan! Got up, packed and met up with our driver and off to the airport we went. Got to the airport in plenty of time, but unfortunately, the airport was still locked up. Yes, their airport actually locks down at night I guess. First time in all my travels that I have come across an airport that's locked down until the first flight. Then again, it's not a big airport so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Finally a couple of armed soldiers came out and motioned for us to go in and go through security. Really interesting here- every time you go through a check, you are thoroughly patted down. It was a tad disconcerting.
We got through and went to check in to our flight and discovered we were the only people on our flight- all 6 of us. Gotta wonder how big the plane is if there's only 6 of us on it! The flight was delayed for a bit due to heavy fog, but by 10 we were airborne in one of the smallest planes I've ever been on. It was an 18 seater prop plane. It was so small that we just had to get a photo of us in front of the plane! 2 small steps took you up inside of it and when we were prepping to take off, every time the pilot gunned the engine the entire plane shook. There was a constant drone throughout our flight from the propellers so we had to yell at each other to be heard. However, the views we had as we flew to Bhutan were spectacular. We saw the Himalayas, Mount Everest as well as the 3rd, 4th and 5th highest mountains in the world. It was so breath taking. Landing in Paro was quite an experience as we had to come down hard between 2 mountains (Paro's located in a valley)- it was like taking a nose dive straight down in to the valley. There was some bumping around as we came in but we landed alright in the end.
Quick trip through immigration- everyone there smiling and happy- they take Gross National Happiness seriously here!- then we met our guide, Wangchu, and piled in to our van for our trip around Paro. Our departure from the airport was short lived as 1 of our group had left their passport back at the airport, so we had to circle back so we could get it. thankfully, with so few tourists coming to Bhutan, it wasn't an issue finding it. In fact, some of the employees were trying to locate us so that the passport could be returned to us. Passport collected, we headed off to the Paro Museum.
A quick tour of the museum, which had everything from weaponry to stamps to animals native to Bhutan to Buddhist artefacts- it was all there to be seen. Once we'd seen our fill, we headed up to Ta Dzong- a monastery built on the side of a mountain in Paro. It was quite lovely- gorgeous views of the valley and while we stood there admiring the view, we got to see another airplane fly in for a landing- dipping back and forth, manipulating between the mountains, then dropping quickly so they could land at the airport... really, not for the feint of heart! then it was down to an old pedestrian bridge, hundreds of years old, that spanned the river connecting the 2 sides of Paro. We crossed the bridge, stopping to admire the views and watch the activities going on around the river, then piled in our van for the drive to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan.
Oh, forgot to mention lunch- our first meal in Bhutan! We went and ate at a restaurant on the main street of Paro. Very tasty meal of red rice, fried beef and veggies, potatoes & cheese, cooked veggies and fried cauliflower. Didn't eat all of it, but what I ate was great! (no cauliflower for me please).
Drive to Thimphu lasted just over an hour- we entertained ourselves by playing "Guess that Christmas tune". It is Christmas Eve after all. We also had a Santa camel with us- a little taste of the Middle East blended in with some Christmas kitsch. When we arrived in Thimphu, we walked in to our hotel and were greeted with a cheerful looking Christmas tree in the hotel lobby, all decked out for Christmas. Quite a surprise when you consider that the official religion is Buddhism- guess they wanted us to feel at home. It was not until I saw the tree that I actually realized it was Christmas Eve. Ate an early-ish dinner, then most of us headed up to our rooms to see if we could get the space heaters going to warm up our rooms and ourselves. The cold here is unbelievable-- chilled me to the bone. Ended up putting many layers of clothes on, then hunkered down under the down comforter to try to heat up. if that doesn't work, I may have to consider putting the space heater in my bed!
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