Departing Kathandu was more strange than our arrival. Our Taxi driver drove past the unloading zone and got into a heated argument with a policeman. While that was going on we grabbed our bags and left them to continue their discussion without us. There was an massive export of Nepalis going to different cities in India so the marshalling area was a zoo. Once we found the correct entrance to the Druk Air gate we had to blaze our way through a thick wall of people all equally intent on heading the opposite direction. All this just to in a queque to get inside the building. Apparently some of the Nepalis did not expect such a huge line up and were panicing about missing their flight so were line jumping, yelling at the guards and generally causing mahem.We finally got to the Druk Air counter and were not questioned about the weight of our luggage or carry-ons at all, they pilled all our bags and ushered us through.Suprising because the literature we had warned on the opposite. The flight was one hour late boarding but when we finally sat down we were happy to see that we were sitting on the left side. The day was clear so we had a marvelous view of the whole Hymalayan range from Everest to K2 , absolutely the best view of Everest we have had thus far.
The landing at Paro is spectacular in itself. The pilot informed us that he would be performing some acrobatics to land and to expect close flight path to the valley walls.. He had to drop altitude abruptly in a circular flght path with last second addjustments to meet the runway less than 100 feet from the ground. No autopilot at play here, very impressive! The only other large plane landing I have witnessed that was even close to this for technical difficulty is the Air North DC3 dropping into Dawson City Yukon.
Entry into Bhutan was seamless except for the fact I had cigars with me. You are required to declare tobacco items or it is considered smuggling. I paid 200% the value in duty and have to carry the form to show authorities if questioned if I smoke one. Smoking is not allowed in public places here and I have not seen any for sale.The vice of choice in Bhutan is the chewing betel nut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel with a touch of lime wrapped in a leaf. It turns the mouth and lips beet red and makes for a vile spittle. You will often see dogs with betel nut juice stains in their fur. It is also likely the cause of a rise in throat and stomach cancer.
We were met at the gate by our naturalist guide, Kencho and driver Dorje. The vehicle was a Hyundai Santa Fe, so new that it still has the plastic on the head rests and door handles. The seats are covered with hand-woven rugs as are most of the cars here. They are actually very comfortable. The driver is very particular about the car to the point of obsession. It is very nice to drive in a new vehicle after some of the ratbag vehicles I have been in on this trip.
Before checking into our hotel we visited the old ruins of Drukgyel Dzong. http://www.raonline.ch/pages/bt/visin/bt_drukgyel01.html It was a bit of an uphill hike and once we got to the top we saw a spectacular view of the valley. We couldn't go into the ruins as they were unsafe due to the recent earthquake.The resort we stayed at was quite new and very nice. http://www.tenzinling.com.bt/
The landing at Paro is spectacular in itself. The pilot informed us that he would be performing some acrobatics to land and to expect close flight path to the valley walls.. He had to drop altitude abruptly in a circular flght path with last second addjustments to meet the runway less than 100 feet from the ground. No autopilot at play here, very impressive! The only other large plane landing I have witnessed that was even close to this for technical difficulty is the Air North DC3 dropping into Dawson City Yukon.
Entry into Bhutan was seamless except for the fact I had cigars with me. You are required to declare tobacco items or it is considered smuggling. I paid 200% the value in duty and have to carry the form to show authorities if questioned if I smoke one. Smoking is not allowed in public places here and I have not seen any for sale.The vice of choice in Bhutan is the chewing betel nut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel with a touch of lime wrapped in a leaf. It turns the mouth and lips beet red and makes for a vile spittle. You will often see dogs with betel nut juice stains in their fur. It is also likely the cause of a rise in throat and stomach cancer.
We were met at the gate by our naturalist guide, Kencho and driver Dorje. The vehicle was a Hyundai Santa Fe, so new that it still has the plastic on the head rests and door handles. The seats are covered with hand-woven rugs as are most of the cars here. They are actually very comfortable. The driver is very particular about the car to the point of obsession. It is very nice to drive in a new vehicle after some of the ratbag vehicles I have been in on this trip.
Before checking into our hotel we visited the old ruins of Drukgyel Dzong. http://www.raonline.ch/pages/bt/visin/bt_drukgyel01.html It was a bit of an uphill hike and once we got to the top we saw a spectacular view of the valley. We couldn't go into the ruins as they were unsafe due to the recent earthquake.The resort we stayed at was quite new and very nice. http://www.tenzinling.com.bt/
