Blog 2: Land of the Thunder Dragon

After many security checks finally boarded Druk Air flight to Paro and got a seat on the much prized left hand side of the plane! The views of the Himalayas were just stunning, including the one of Everest (29,028ft).

Mt Everest


View above Paro


After a 45 minute flight we found ourselves being ushered into one of the prettiest airport buildings I have ever seen and were then greeted with smiles at immigration – all too much! Stepped out of the building into bright sunshine, blue skies and clean air with a hint of woodsmoke - the 4 of us haven't stopped smiling since we landed, this country already has a good feel about it. Met our guide Kim (who has the dubious pleasure of our company for the next 18 days) and am writing this now at our first hotel (Gangtey Palace) which is a traditional building as you can see from the photo. Gorgeous.

Gangtey Palace


Another very early morning start to climb to the 8c Tigers Nest (Taktshang) monastery perched on a rocky ledge at 3000m - a bit of a hike then!!!!! It is perched on a sheer cliff face and it took a long, hard and hot struggle to get there. All this at altitude as well – this was my excuse for the breathlessness and the urgent need to keep stopping!! (nothing to do with being a bit unfit....) I have to say it was absolutely worth the effort we put in to reach it and was magical when we finally arrived. We spent an hour hearing about, the history, and wandering around this beautiful holy place before undertaking the much easier descent. Off to the capital, Thimphu tomorrow....................

Tigers Nest


Prayer Flags


And Ted's here too!