I got up and went for a walk toward a fancy new temple and got some good photos.
I also got semi-chased by a stray dog. Breakfast was solo again, but good. Eggs, cabbage, grapes, toast, pancakes. We went to the airport and I thought that I’d left the keys in the hotel room. The airport called back to have them search the room, but they weren’t in there. The airport security folks showed me the x-ray of my backpack, which clearly showed the keys in the pocket. The flight was delayed 30-40 minutes because of a backup at Paro. The terminal was super-cold, so we stood outside in the sun. Security paid no attention to metal detector going off constantly as people walked in and out.
The plane was a turboprop with 40-50 seats. It was the prince’s birthday, so we got a piece of cake and a cup of champagne on the flight in addition to the regular in-flight snack. The flight was 30 minutes, tops. Our guide for the day, P., picked us up at Paro and took us into town. We walked around the shops for a bit and I bought a bottle of whisky for $5. We went to Authentic Pizza for lunch, which was fine. We had a margherita pizza with mushrooms and Molly played with a couple of kittens which were in tough shape.
We drove to Chelela Pass, which was ~40 km from Paro by road, but maybe 10 km as the crow flies. It was all switchbacks, and there was snow/slush/ice on the road for the last 25-30 km or so. It wasn’t slick except for a couple of spots. Our guide was awesome and we discussed several things that we hadn’t with Choki. Buddhists are against smoking, so it’s very difficult to buy cigarettes. Buddhists are anti-abortion, but pro-contraception. Women can’t register their children unless they’re married, so they are less likely to consent to sex or at least unprotected sex. Our guide grew up in a village south of Paro. His parents are farmers and strongly encouraged education. P. got a government scholarship and studied tourism, but didn’t score highly enough to get a government job. Chimi is his uncle’s in-law. He pointed out that Bhutan is a carbon-negative country, but it still will bear the brunt of climate change. Chelela Pass was amazing.
The day was perfectly clear and we could see all kinds of peaks. It was windy but warm and there were tons of prayer flags that whipped in the wind.
We are better acclimated to altitude and were stronger hikers. It was lovely throughout.
We drove back to the Tashi Namgay Resort, which is right across the river from the airport. O it fancy! They had spelled out “Happy Honey Moon” on the bed in leaves with flower petals and arranged two towels into swans kissing. It was very cute.
There were also flower petals in the bathroom sink. Takin Wine was only $4 a bottle from the minibar, so we gave it a shot, but it was extremely sweet in a caramelly way – nasty. AWP, the manufacturer of the wine, stands for Army Welfare Program, and it handles most of the distilled beverages and wine for Bhutan. The power went out twice before we went to the bar, and twice when we were at the bar. It’s not a big deal, and it seemed like the staff were told to say that it was rare even though it’s probably not. We had buy-2-get-1-free Druk Lager tallboys at Zee Bar, and watched Indian VH1 Top 10 video countdown. 10 to 2 were bad, but #1 was still Beyonce’s “Formation.” Dinner was buffet-style with a salad bar, more Indian-style food. The paneer was good. We had the prince’s cake for dessert in the room and I watched La Liga highlights.
I also got semi-chased by a stray dog. Breakfast was solo again, but good. Eggs, cabbage, grapes, toast, pancakes. We went to the airport and I thought that I’d left the keys in the hotel room. The airport called back to have them search the room, but they weren’t in there. The airport security folks showed me the x-ray of my backpack, which clearly showed the keys in the pocket. The flight was delayed 30-40 minutes because of a backup at Paro. The terminal was super-cold, so we stood outside in the sun. Security paid no attention to metal detector going off constantly as people walked in and out.
The plane was a turboprop with 40-50 seats. It was the prince’s birthday, so we got a piece of cake and a cup of champagne on the flight in addition to the regular in-flight snack. The flight was 30 minutes, tops. Our guide for the day, P., picked us up at Paro and took us into town. We walked around the shops for a bit and I bought a bottle of whisky for $5. We went to Authentic Pizza for lunch, which was fine. We had a margherita pizza with mushrooms and Molly played with a couple of kittens which were in tough shape.
We drove to Chelela Pass, which was ~40 km from Paro by road, but maybe 10 km as the crow flies. It was all switchbacks, and there was snow/slush/ice on the road for the last 25-30 km or so. It wasn’t slick except for a couple of spots. Our guide was awesome and we discussed several things that we hadn’t with Choki. Buddhists are against smoking, so it’s very difficult to buy cigarettes. Buddhists are anti-abortion, but pro-contraception. Women can’t register their children unless they’re married, so they are less likely to consent to sex or at least unprotected sex. Our guide grew up in a village south of Paro. His parents are farmers and strongly encouraged education. P. got a government scholarship and studied tourism, but didn’t score highly enough to get a government job. Chimi is his uncle’s in-law. He pointed out that Bhutan is a carbon-negative country, but it still will bear the brunt of climate change. Chelela Pass was amazing.
The day was perfectly clear and we could see all kinds of peaks. It was windy but warm and there were tons of prayer flags that whipped in the wind.
We are better acclimated to altitude and were stronger hikers. It was lovely throughout.
We drove back to the Tashi Namgay Resort, which is right across the river from the airport. O it fancy! They had spelled out “Happy Honey Moon” on the bed in leaves with flower petals and arranged two towels into swans kissing. It was very cute.
There were also flower petals in the bathroom sink. Takin Wine was only $4 a bottle from the minibar, so we gave it a shot, but it was extremely sweet in a caramelly way – nasty. AWP, the manufacturer of the wine, stands for Army Welfare Program, and it handles most of the distilled beverages and wine for Bhutan. The power went out twice before we went to the bar, and twice when we were at the bar. It’s not a big deal, and it seemed like the staff were told to say that it was rare even though it’s probably not. We had buy-2-get-1-free Druk Lager tallboys at Zee Bar, and watched Indian VH1 Top 10 video countdown. 10 to 2 were bad, but #1 was still Beyonce’s “Formation.” Dinner was buffet-style with a salad bar, more Indian-style food. The paneer was good. We had the prince’s cake for dessert in the room and I watched La Liga highlights.
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