Zoom in the detail of Rinpung Dzong

The photo shows roof and windows of Rinpung Dzong (a.k.a. Paro Dzong) in Paro, Bhutan. Paro is a town which has the country's only international airport, so I started to travel around Bhutan from Paro. I visited Thimphu (the capital of Bhutan), Dochu La (where the place is altitude 3,150 meters high), Punakha, Wangdue Podrang and returned to Paro to spend a night before departure. My soul purpose of going there were having Bhutanese cuisine as much as possible (includes the world-spiciest chili salad), and to buy a handicraft colorful lunch case. I took in a lot of sights during five days and I loved everywhere.

I had a blast

I took this photo when I was taking a little break at the point of altitude 3,150 meters in Western Bhutan. The place is called Dochula and I visited there twice. At that time I was heading to Punakha to see stunning Punakha Dzong (a.k.a. Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong) from the capital Thimphu by car. After dropped by Punakha for a while, I headed to Wangdue Phodrang where my hotel for that night was. At night, I visited the heart of the city of Wangdue Phodrang and had a blast drinking and eating.

Take someone's mind elsewhere

The photo shows Paro, Bhutan. I took this photo the day before I flew back to Kathmandu, Nepal. By the way, Paro is the city where the Bhutan's only international airport is. On the day of departure, my Bhutanese guide and a driver took me to the airport and we exchanged cards or something near the airpot gateway. Even though after I was left alone at the waiting lounge, I was still thinking about my trip in Bhutan quite a lot. Then, the passengers around me began to move toward the boarding gate, I came back to myself a bit and followed them impulsively. At the foot of the plane ramp, I asked the airport staff ' To Kathmandu, right? ' just in case. He said ' No! To Bangkok '. I didn't notice that there was another airplane ready to take off to Bangkok, Thailand. I may add that there was only boarding gate. So, that was why, but my bad on this.

Be on your guard

I took this photo in Thimphu, Bhutan. There was a zoo like place where I could see some caged takin exactly like the photo shows. I've heard that takin have a curious nature and sometimes they were easy to caught. Hey takin, be on your guard. From my point of view, takin were slow and the quiet type of animal. Come to think of it, when I looked at takin and was taking some photos, they gazed at me. When I left, I noticed them still looking at me. It created an illusion that I was being caught in a cage, they were living in nature.

KB203 KTM - PBH

I flew to Bhutan from Nepal by Druk Air; Royal Bhutan Airlines which is the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bhutan. There are several scheduled flights from South and South East Asian cities. First of all, I flew to Kathmandu, Nepal from Bangkok, Thailand then spent a night in Kathmandu. Then, in the next afternoon I flew to Paro, Bhutan. There was a scheduled flight from Bangkok, Thailand as well, but I chose Kathmandu - Paro route just to see the Himalayas from above. Bhutan is located at the Eastern end of the Himalayas, so that's why.

Good to go

I took this photo in Wangdue Phodrang in Bhutan. Tourism in Bhutan was totally different from other South and South East Asian countries where I've been to. First of all, I needed to apply all cities and places I'd like to visit in Bhutan. Also, I needed to book hotel rooms in each city in advance. When I got out of the airport, a guide and a driver were waiting for me, and they were with me until the last minute. It's forbidden to travel around Bhutan without a guide and a driver. First, last, and always my travel was good to go.

Hand signs only

I took this photo in Thimphu, Bhutan. I visited Bhutan in August 2003 and there weren't so many cars on the streets. However, Thimphu is the Bhutanese capital, so compare to many other cities and towns in Bhutan, the main street was a little busier. There weren't any traffic lights in Bhutan, but traffic police officers were giving arm and hand signals at the only trafficky spot in the capital. I took this photo there. Right under the colorful hexagonal roof was the standing point of police officers.

Bhutanese truck

The photo shows one of the typical Bhutanese trucks. I took this photo somewhere in between the Bhutanese capital Thimphu and Dochula. There were this kind of colorful trucks in Bhutan, but no so many. I mean when I visited Bhutan in 2003, there were so many cows on the streets much more than the amount of cars and trucks. I thought a speciality of Bhutanese trucks were the vivid illustration of eyes above the headlights. I don't know why, but they looked pretty. I flew in Bhutan from Kathmandu, Nepal. Compare to Nepali capital Kathmandu, Bhutanese capital Thimphu was much more quiet. The streets in Kathmandu were a lot of cars taxis, and cows. Also, almost all drivers tended to beep the horn beyond necessity. Speaking of Nepal, taxis are distinguishable from license plate in nepal. Nepali taxis have black license plate and white license number.

The national animal of Bhutan; Takin

I took this photo at a takin pasture in Thimphu, Bhutan. I described the place as a takin pasture, but it didn't look like a pasture I've seen, it more like national home of takin, but there were fence between us and Takins. I don't know the official name of the place, though. The takin is the national animal of the Kingdom of Bhutan who has stubby legs and blackish nose. My Bhutanese guide told me that they were ubiquitous long time ago, but they are way fewer nowadays. Who is at the top of the food chain?

Treasure in the moment

I took this photo somewhere in between Thimphu and Dochula, Bhutan. Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan, and Dochula is a pass point where connect to Eastern Bhutan from the capital Thimphu. There was sort of a tourist check point near the bridge in the photo and my Bhutanese guide went there to show a document. I got off the car and got out into nature. While my Bhutanese guide was talking to an officer at the check point, I had a few time to kill, so I took a photo of a river and a bridge. I was going to treasure every second in Bhutan.

Cloud-shrouded cow, Dochula, Bhutan

I took this photo in Dochu La, Bhutan. Dochula means mountain path in English. I was shrouded in the cloud of suspicion then I found this cloud-shrouded cow this close to me. In the cloud. As you can imagine, right behind cow was drop-off and the altitude there was 3,150 meters. I was relieved that the cow didn't come to me. Anyway I spent a few more time in Dochula to feel greet nature. Bhutan is a landlocked country which is located at the eastern end of the Himalayas which is well known as a national policy; Gross National Happiness.

Bhutanese crash barriers

The photo shows Bhutanese crash barriers and mountains. I took this photo in Paro, Bhutan near the International airport. The Kingdom of Bhutan is located at the eastern end of the Himalayas. I think this photo explains a lot of the fact. Generally, before leaving the airport, there are a lot of things to do such as to get through immigration, to pick up the baggage at the baggage claim, to clear customs, and most of the time I need to wait. However, back when I flew to Bhutan, there weren't so many tourists, so I took this photo about an hour later from the landing.

It's about another unforgettable brekkie

I took this photo in Wangdue Podrang, Bhutan. The town is located in central Bhutan and has nice breezes. I don't know why, but I guess the town has been topographically-affected and has the such nice breezes. I still miss the tasty breakfast at my hotel in Wangdue. In that morning, main dish was Bhutanese fried rice with veggie omelette. The fried rice was totally nice and was piled high on a big plate. I really loved it. I love rice. Come to think of it, the staple food of the Bhutanese is Bhutanese red rice. Red rice is not exactly red like the color of Danish flag or Swiss flag. I'd say the color of Bhutanese red rice is kind of like brownish pink, and the texture of Bhutanese red rice is a sort of sticky like Japonica rice. It went well with all tasty Bhutanese cuisine which I had in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Gray langur monkey

The photo shows a Gray langur monkey in the woods. Gray langur monkeys mostly populate across South Asia and in the Himalayas. I took this photo in Dochula, Bhutan. Gray langur monkeys have characteristic body parts such as black faces and long tails. When my Bhutanese driver and guide and me drove toward Paro via Dochula, they found a Gray langur and gave me a heads up. The monkey had beautiful whitish hair like the photo shows, but I don't think I could find the monkey without any notice from the locals. They have eagle eyes. Thanks for the heads-up.

Have one's head in the clouds

I took this photo in Bhutan. I saw a lot of prayer flags like the photo shows. At that time, I was in the place called Dochula for a short break of long drive back to Paro. The altitude there was 3,150 meters and I was in the clouds literally and idiomatically in a way. The air was crisp and I saw a few wild monkeys, cows, and such, but car except the one that I was getting in. There's no end in site to discuss the theme of coexistence of people and nature, but I thought a bit about it in some small way even I had my head in the clouds.

Look puzzled

The photo shows a view of Paro, Bhutan. Paro has only international airport of Bhutan, but I'd say the city was really idyllic. I flew in Paro, Bhutan from Kathmandu, Nepal. At that time, Kathmandu International airport had a sort of complicated and confusing system to get on a plane, so almost all tourists looked puzzled. When I was looking for the boarding gate, a couple of Caucasian ladies asked me how to got to the boarding gate. I said it was somewhere over there. They also asked me where I was headed. I said I was going to fly to Paro. They asked me where Paro was. I said it was in the Himalayas. They said they had no idea, but thanks anyway. They looked even more puzzled.

Self-preservation is the first law of nature

I took this photo in Wangdue Phodrang, Bhutan. There were a lot of cows. I don't have so many opportunities to see cows this close to me, so it was kinda interesting experience. I've heard that some people visit Bhutan to see takins or yaks, but from my point of view, cows were ubiquitous, but the others were not. I saw a few takins in Thimphu, but I couldn't see yaks during my stay in Bhutan. A Bhutanese locals told me that yaks live in cold places, so during summer they go to a higher altitude to avoid the hot temperature. Bhutan is located at the end of the Himalayas, so they know the drill. Self-preservation is the first law of nature is a really good proverb.

Prayer Mani wheel

The photo shows a view of Wangdue Phodrang, Bhutan. The buildings in Bhutan were looked like this and they looked so beautiful and interesting for me. Color, design, and everything was so nice. I really enjoyed to see buildings and its details in Bhutan. Also, there was a huge place for prayer Mani wheel. Prayer Mani wheel is also called Mani wheel or Prayer wheel. Small prayer Mani wheels are hand-held. I often saw small ones in Bhutan and Nepal, but I didn't often see this much large one. It was huge.

Feel short on time

The photo shows the beautiful windows of my hotel in Thimphu, Bhutan. The hotel was located in the heart of the city. My room had a queen-sized bed, a sofa, a desk, a chair, and such and it was pretty comfortable. The receptionists were skillful at the job and they were very helpful. I exchanged my money into Bhutanese ngultrum at the reception. One ngultrum coins looked so nice and I loved the design. Also, I felt short on time and asked the receptionists a favor to go send some postcards. It was really considerate of all of the staff members.

Enjoyable to watch and hear

This is my first photo in Bhutan. I took a Drukair (a.k.a. Royal Bhutan Airlines) flight from Kathmandu, Nepal to Paro International airport in Bhutan. Drukair is the only airline fly in Bhutan and their flights between Kathmandu and Paro are sort of "sightseeing flights". Passengers are able to fly in over the Himalayas. During my flight there were some announcements that passengers had been having a close encounter with Mount blah-blah-blah which was blah-blah meters high or something like that. It was enjoyable to watch and hear. Absolutely a fabulous flight.