Trips

Bhutan and Nepal

October 17 to November 8, 2012

             This was really a very interesting trip.  The travel part, itinerary, accommodations, transportation, experiences, etc. were just fine.  It is really hard evaluate the trip because of the “culture shock” involved with being in these two countries.  One positive constant in both countries is the beauty of the land and of the mountains.  The Himalayas are breathtaking! 
            Everyone (nearly) has a cell phone and even the most rundown looking lodgings seem to have satellite dishes and some electricity.  Both countries sell hydropower (Bhutan much more than Nepal) and the governments help with solar power for the outlying farms and villages.
            Bhutan, at least, is making progress toward modernization (without threatening their basic way of life).  They have a king and queen who are committed to making life better for their people.  The people, though very poor by our standards, are happy (Gross National Happiness) and don’t appear to be starving.  The country is also taking steps to upgrade the amenities necessary to attract tourists.  The roads are awful and the food, largely due to the vegetarian diet of the Buddhists, is not a reason to travel there. 
            Nepal, on the other hand, is a disaster.  The Maoist (a political party designation, not the Chinese) controlled government is doing nothing to improve anything – but still collecting taxes, of course.  The roads make those in Bhutan look like superhighways (which they certainly are not).  The litter makes Mexico look like paradise.  Kathmandu is a sprawling metropolis (over 1 million inhabitants) of unpaved streets, uncontrolled building (in terms of both construction and location), no trash removal, and on and on.  Culture shock is definitely the right term for Nepal.  Outside the cities (Pokhara is marginally better than Kathmandu), the farms and villages appear to be somewhat more prosperous, the people happy, and no one looks as if they are starving, although they are struggling.

We hope you enjoy the pictures and descriptions that follow.

Bhutan: October 19-25 and Nepal: October 25-November 8

Wed. & Thurs., 10/17/12 - Estes Park to New Delhi, India

Notice that there are not many "roads" in Bhutan. The airport is at Paro. We drove from Paro to Punakha (about 88 miles - 5 hours), back to the capitol at Thimphu (48 miles - 4 hours), and back to Paro (40 miles - 2 hours) to fly to Nepal.
Fri., 10/19/12 - New Delhi to Paro, Bhutan After a skimpy breakfast at the hotel we met the rest of our group at the gate.  The flight to Paro was on Drukair, the National airline of the Royal Government of Bhutan - a new plane, friendly crew, and another chicken and rice meal.  Out of the left side of the plane we had our first views of Mt. Everest and the Himalayas – beautiful!
Surya-The Resplendent One - a sculpture in Delhi airport	Dragon flag of Bhutan The top half of the flag is yellow, which stands for the populace and the king.  The other half is orange representing Buddhism.  The dragon (druk) runs diagonally across it and is the name of Bhutan.
Bhutan license plate	Apple user's license plate
We were fortunate enough to have a flight with extra seats. Plus, even though we were on the "wrong" side of the plane, everyone took turns at the windows so everyone else could get pictures of the Himalayas and Mt. Everest.	Himalayas
Sagarmatha - Mt. Everest - It is actually not the prettiest peak in the range, but it sure is the tallest!
Mt. Everest
Himalayas	At the Paro airport
Drukair's dragon symbol	Paro airport terminal and our first look at the beautifully painted buildings which are found throughout Bhutan
Building detail	Interesting vehicle in the airport parking lot
Our Bhutanese chariot	We met our Bhutan OAT guide, Tashi, and rode in a minibus, with our luggage on top, to lunch at a local restaurant. Then we rode over a very narrow two-way road - barely enough room for two vehicles to pass at most places - to the Paro Dzong
Paro airport and surroundings	Paro Dzong and mountains
Rice fields	Harvesting rice by hand

 Continue on next page