Hello Everyone,
Everyone always talks about how magical and beautiful Bhutan is, but it’s hard to really understand what people are talking about until you step off the plane and walk across the tarmac, looking out into the mountains and hillside monasteries, that it starts to settle in. For the rest of the day for the group here in Paro it continues to settle in. There is no traffic, not much noise, and no crowds. Maybe it’s because I just came from Kathmandu, but Paro seems completely silent— in a way that seems like that’s exactly how it should sound.
Our whole team arrived at roughly at the same today, and once through immigration and customs (which didn’t take more than a couple minutes) we met with our local outfitter and headed to our beautiful hotel overlooking the Paro valley. We then hopped back in the van and headed a short distance to a fortress/monastery called Rinpung Dzong on the other side of the valley. An impressive building originally built in the 17th century, its current condition was constructed over 100 years ago. The courtyard, the size of the buildings, the paintings, and the peacefulness of the setting made this one of the most beautiful monasteries I have ever seen.
After a nice tour and some review about different types of Buddhism, we headed back to the hotel for dinner and a good night’s sleep. We are all a little tired from the travel but excited for our first full day tomorrow when we will head to the famous Tiger’s Nest Monastery.
Follow along here on our great adventure through Bhutan!
Ben Jones
