Well, it wouldn’t be the Bhutan Group if there wasn’t a small snag to delay us from our adventure. While checking our passports, Tracy (yes, President Fitzsimmons, Tracy) has a passport that does not match the number we registered with. In between the time we applied for visas in Bhutan and actually arriving here she had to get a new passport and the number was changed on all the forms but this one. Or so she says, really I think she is in cahoots with doubt agent Ryan. After some time she was able to cross over and enter the country, on the condition that they hold her passport.
The city of Thimpu is about an hour from the airport and we make our way on the only highway in the country. Although I use that term loosely, because it was a simple two lane road carved out along the mountainside. It’s such a stark contrast from America, where we cut through nature to save a couple minutes off of our commute.
We checked in to the hotel and had some time to relax before we began our activities. First, we went to a stupor in the middle of the city where the people of the city go to pray every day. We walk around three times to make good wishes for the day. Next we headed to the 50 meter statue of Buddha that is just out of the city. On the inside there is a beautiful temple. The walls are covered in religious hand paintings, the ceilings in hand painted mandalas, and the pillars in hand carved statues.
We then made our way to their weekend market where on the bottom floor they have all imported goods and on the top they have all local products.
After a long day we headed back to the hotel for dinner where most of us called it an early night.
