Flight to Paro, Bhutan
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Jackie Lallier wrote "We went down for breakfast at 4:30 and Deepak came for us at 5:00. We got to the airport at 6:00 (Sharon & Suzanne's luggage is still not found). Our flight was delayed, the plane didn't leave until 12:15 and the girls found their luggage was in New York! We arrived in Paro at 2:15 and met Karchung, our guide, and bus driver, Ugyn. We learned to say "Hello" = "Kuzu zangpo la". Bhutan was originally called Druk Yul (Land of the Thunder Dragon). The people are Buddhist so no hunting or fishing is allowed. On the 7th of the month marijuana plants are pulled up and gotten rid of. Red rice is their big export. Crime.is minimal because of their Buddhist religion. The present king is the 5th king. The last king abdicated in 2007 but stayed on to teach his son for the next 3 years how to rule. We got off the bus on our way to Thimphu to walk down a hill to a river - there are seven big rivers and many lakes in the country.
Sixty million years ago all the Himalayan mountains were in an ocean. The people do a big mushroom business here and sell them at roadside stands. Chilies with (cottage) cheese is a national dish. The literacy rate is 60%, up from the former 30%. Buddhism is not taught in schools, it is learned by experience at home. The 4th king has 4 wives, all sisters. Unemployment is a problem because Bhutanese do not want blue collar jobs so Indians come with 3-year work permits and work construction jobs. Denmark has helped with a lot of new construction in this country.
We arrived in the capital of Thimphu at 4:00 and were greeted with tea and cookies (crackers) at the lovely Hotel Puntsho Pelri. Our rooms had hand-carved furniture, wood floors, open windows and there were ornate buildings and a park across the street. Right now they have a democratic form of monarchy. There are no homeless, no prostitutes, and no poor. People are putting their money into education instead of monuments, etc.
The 4th king is 54 and the 5th king is 29. We were taught not to point but put palms up or put fingers together when asking about something. The money here is nul truro but rupees are acceptable. We had a 6:00 briefing and had dinner at 7:00 tonight (including Chili/cheese). "
Jackie Lallier wrote "We went down for breakfast at 4:30 and Deepak came for us at 5:00. We got to the airport at 6:00 (Sharon & Suzanne's luggage is still not found). Our flight was delayed, the plane didn't leave until 12:15 and the girls found their luggage was in New York! We arrived in Paro at 2:15 and met Karchung, our guide, and bus driver, Ugyn. We learned to say "Hello" = "Kuzu zangpo la". Bhutan was originally called Druk Yul (Land of the Thunder Dragon). The people are Buddhist so no hunting or fishing is allowed. On the 7th of the month marijuana plants are pulled up and gotten rid of. Red rice is their big export. Crime.is minimal because of their Buddhist religion. The present king is the 5th king. The last king abdicated in 2007 but stayed on to teach his son for the next 3 years how to rule. We got off the bus on our way to Thimphu to walk down a hill to a river - there are seven big rivers and many lakes in the country.
Sixty million years ago all the Himalayan mountains were in an ocean. The people do a big mushroom business here and sell them at roadside stands. Chilies with (cottage) cheese is a national dish. The literacy rate is 60%, up from the former 30%. Buddhism is not taught in schools, it is learned by experience at home. The 4th king has 4 wives, all sisters. Unemployment is a problem because Bhutanese do not want blue collar jobs so Indians come with 3-year work permits and work construction jobs. Denmark has helped with a lot of new construction in this country.
We arrived in the capital of Thimphu at 4:00 and were greeted with tea and cookies (crackers) at the lovely Hotel Puntsho Pelri. Our rooms had hand-carved furniture, wood floors, open windows and there were ornate buildings and a park across the street. Right now they have a democratic form of monarchy. There are no homeless, no prostitutes, and no poor. People are putting their money into education instead of monuments, etc.
The 4th king is 54 and the 5th king is 29. We were taught not to point but put palms up or put fingers together when asking about something. The money here is nul truro but rupees are acceptable. We had a 6:00 briefing and had dinner at 7:00 tonight (including Chili/cheese). "
Labels: Bhutan
posted by DT at 10:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home