Punakha

Our landing in Paro in Bhutan on a small air track which is nestled between high mountains was one of the most stunning ones in our life. You had immidiately a feeling a peace and freedom as the houses where spread out on the hills and the low land, the air quality was very good and it was green. By the way, 70% of the country has trees and therefore Bhutan is only of 2 countries in the world who are carbon negative. Television was only introduced in 1999. No traffic lights exist in Bhutan.
The immigration process was very fast and we were greeted by our guide Wangdi and our driver with a Bhutanese Welcome Ceremony.
During our 1h ride to the capital Thimpu we did a stop at the Iron Link bridge just below the Tamchog Lhakhang temple.
The great iron bridge builder was Thangtong Gyalpo (1385-1464). He was a wonder working saint and engineer who is believed to be the first to use heavy iron chains in the construction of suspension bridges.
Our hotel was 10 mins outside the Centre so after dinner we took a taxi into town to explore 2 bars. First the Drunken Yeti (4th floor walk up but cute place) and then The Tipsy Cow with Nirvana Cover Live Music. Great choices.
The second day we did start with a visit of the Buddha Dordenma, a 51 meters high statue overlooking Thimphu. It was built to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the fourth king Jigme Singye Wangchuck. It was finished 2015. The completed work is one of the largest Buddha rupas in the world and contains 100,000 8-inch-tall and 25,000 12-inch-tall gilded bronze Buddhas.the statue did cost 47 Mio USD and financed by a Business man from Singapore. The total costs are around 136 Mio USD.
From there we stopped in the nearby woods to watch a private Darts competition between 2 groups of around 8 men each. Throwing distance was 35 meter and the darts were massively bigger and heavier as we know it. I had the chance the throw 2 darts and they didn’t reach the finish point, they fell down at around 25/26 meters. But was a great experience.
The National Memorial Chorten was our next break on a sunny Sunday with blue sky. This large chorten is one of the most visible landmarks in Thimphu, and for many Bhutanese it is the focus of daily worship. The Tibetan-style stupa was built in 1974 as a memorial to the third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1928–72). The third king of Bhutan is often referred by history as father of modern Bhutan, because during his reign, most of the modern developments were first brought into Bhutan. We saw loads of older people in traditional dresses worshipping around the stupa but it was also great to see them meeting their friends and to have a chat.
Last stop before lunch was Simply Bhutan, which is a privately owned Bhutanese Heritage museum. We had a good guy who did explain us a lot about how the Bhutanese lived in the past, music instruments, kitchen and other stuff.
After a quick stop at Jungshi Handmade paper factory (bark of Daphne bush) we arrived at the Trashi Chho Dzong, The 17th-century fortress-monastery on the northern edge of the city, has been the seat of Bhutan's government since 1952. It is an impressive structure that houses the throne room and offices of the king, the secretariat and the ministries of home affairs and finance. There are thirty temples, chapels and shrines within Tashichho Dzong.
The final stop was at Changlimithang Archery Ground. We heard that the Final of the Coronation National Archery Tournament is happening on Sunday and that why we wanted to see how it looks like. The distance is 145 meters and 2 teams competed against each other. 4 female supporters tried to support their own archer with singing or tried to confuse the opponent when it was his turn. Like the dart game it goes till 25 points and you get points when you hit the target.
We finished the day by strolling around in the center and by having a final drink at the Drunken Yeti.
Very packed but interesting first day in Bhutan.Read more