Daddel's Footprints

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Changangkha Lhakhang,Thimphu

Built in the 12th century, this is the oldest temple in Thimphu.

Downtown Thimphu

Yes this was downtown Thimphu in august 2006. There were lots of developement and construction going on. This is also the main shopping street of Bhutan.

This is the only form of traffic control when I was there in 2006. No traffic lights only a policeman directing traffic from his post. You could probably find clips of him in action on You tube.

Paro market

I always make it a point to visit local markets whenever I can.

Prayer Wheels

Bhutanese are religious people. Monastaries and prayer wheels are everywhere. People pray all the time rain or shine.

Druygel Dzong

All that remains of Druygel Dzong, built in 1646 and was burned down in 1951.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Bhutan, Land of the Thubder Dragon. 2006 August Recounting the steps,,,

This Bhutan trip was made in august 2006. I had not known what to expect and neither did I know that this trip was going to change the way I travel and my decisions on future destinations. I made this trip with an Olympus C3040 which I had bought a couple of years ago for a trip to Japan. At 3 megapixels it was one of the better digital cameras then and I love its vivid colours but with the rapid change in technology and image quality of new DSLR cameras. The decision to upgrade after this trip was not difficult.

Land of the Thunder Dragon

A view of Paro River from the hotel. Hotel was simple without air-conditioning. During the time of the trip, quite a few luxurious boutique and international 5 star hotels were in the process of being built. Food was generally simple and indian influence was very strong in bhutanese cuisines. Being a buddhist country, fishing and slaughtering of animals are not encouraged and vegetarian is the way to go in most places. Bhutanese apple juice however is wonderfully delicious and it's people perpetually smiling.

Paro River