The flight from Kolkata to Paro is only around an hour. I was pleased that as we descended, I could see something of the dramatic approach to Paro with fairly substantial mountains rising above the aircraft with the tree-fringed skylines in silhouette. My snatched pictures don’t do justice to the majesty of the scene.
I was met by my guide for eight days, Tashi, and our driver, Karma. We were soon on the road for our drive to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. The population of Thimphu is only around 100,000 - the population of the whole country is only about 700,000 - so it's more like a small town than a capital. I think it might be my kind of place! The internet certainly works well.
It was warm enough for a tee shirt when I arrived this morning but the rain started about lunch time and the temperature has dropped so it's far more like the weather I'm used to in the U.K. at present. I'm in a very attractive suite at the Amankora Lodge (and I don't always like 'Minimalist' design, but this is nicely done with lots of real wood and no MDF or plastic in sight). The lodge is a few minutes drive from Thimphu, set in an idyllic spot on a hillside with a stream running through it and adjacent to a pine forest. I'll set about giving you more details later. but, in the meantime, an update on my last blog post from Kolkata.
By dint of not getting a lot of sleep, I uploaded a fair number of pictures using the facilities at the Oberoi Grand, although most of them are untitled at present. You may spot various errors which I'll correct as soon as I can.
There are now pictures of two schools I visited in Myanmar at "Educational Support in Myanmar". I've still to add my pictures of the Doe Pin Orphanage.
Finally, I've added pictures of Kolkata Rail Museum here and more railway pictures will be added when I can.
Arrival at the small airport at Paro was painless and my visa was issued on arrival, as promised. No photographs were required. A charming customs officer added my laptop and camera to my customs declaration to avoid any problems on departure and I was soon in the public area. Nobody seemed to be displaying my name but after a few seconds a young Bhutan man in national dress (as were most of the men) introduced himself as Tashi, my guide, and he took my luggage outside to a waiting Hyundai 4x4 with a driver, Karma, also in national dress. Unusually, I was invited to sit in the front for our journey to Thimphu.
After 24 km, we stopped at a confluence of two rivers, Paro Chu and Thimphu Chu, at Chhuzom where there is an Immigration control post. Chortens (the Bhutan word for what are sometimes also called 'stupas') in three different styles have been erected here to make the site more auspicious. The location is also an important road junction because the road from the border town of Phuntsboling Gewog and India joins here. Some types of rice and high-value goods are imported and vegetables and fruit are exported. Relations with India are good and the 'DANTAK' organisation is reponsible for a number of road and other projects in Bhutan. We carried on along quite a good road, with signs of the repairs and improvements in hand through a countryside strangely reminiscent of Switzerland, with the black and white houses with low-pitched, overhanging roofs. Oddly, I discovered later that Switzerland has been quite active in support and charity work in Bhutan.
A short distance outside Thimphu, the road suddenly became dual carriageway with street lights. We passed through what appeared to tbe a bustling town rather than a capital city. At one junction, we passed a traffic policeman. A few years ago, Thimphu lost its claim to be the only capital without traffic lights when a set was installed. I gather there was something of an uproar at how impersonal it had become and so the traffic policeman was restored. The city nestles in a valley so we were soon climbing hard out of Thimphu, which is starting to sprawl with a lot of new housing been built. After a few minures we turned off the road onto a metalled approach road to the white-painted, Bhutan-style Amankora Lodge.
As possible, I'll post pictures and add to this description.
