After traveling across the North Pole (according the map on the plane), we landed in what is said to be the happiest country in the world, Bhutan.
Our route to Bhutan looked like this: A 14 hour flight from Detroit to South Korea, 6 hours from South Korea to Bangkok, then about 3 hours from Bangkok to Bhutan. With layovers this trip takes 30+ hours but you soon forget your exhausting when flying into Bhutan, as the view is spectacular. We were lucky to be coming over the mountains as the sun was rising.
There is nothing like flying through the mountains, and pilots are talented in maneuvering among the mountains to make a flawless landing (maybe this is why only two airlines can fly in and out of the country?)
We landed at the airport in Paro (the only international airport in the country), and were greeted by the large photo of the Royal family as we walked from the plane into the airport.
We came to Bhutan to work on a project with the World Health Organization to evaluate the feasibility of a toolkit for antimicrobial stewardship in LMICs. We had been planning this project for months through emails and phone calls. The project will be in Bhutan, Nepal, Micronesia and Malawi. Bhutan is stop #1.
As we passed through immigration, we were ushered to a van where we met the two women from WHO headquarters who we had been working with via email and phone calls for months. It was nice to finally put faces with the names and voices. The timing also worked lovely as next three days is a workshop on antimicrobial stewardship with WHO in Southeast Asia region.
A large group of us arrived at the hotel which was absolutely beautiful. Despite being the middle of winter and shades of brown instead of green, the view was still breathtaking to see. The photo below is looking out of the hotel window.
After what I meant to be a quick power nap, but lasted 3 hours, we went out to explore the city of Paro. We hired a lovely driver who showed us the main points.
When you are in Bhutan they say you must visit the Tiger’s Nest (Paro Taktsang). Tiger's nest is a prominent Himalayan Buddhist sacred site with the temple complex built on a cliff at an altitude of 3,120 meters (10,240 ft). Paro Taktsang was built around the Taktsang Senge Samdup cave, where according to the legend the Indian Guru Padmasambahva, who is believed to introduce Buddhism to Bhutan, meditated in the 8th century. According to the legend he was transferred to the cave on the back of a tigress. This is why the monastery got its popular name - the Taktsang, which literally means Tiger’s Nest. Here Guru Padmasambahva, according to the legend, meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours. Later the caves became a holy shrine.
We saw the temple from the base but didn’t have to time go up the mountain, but plan to do this on our free day (Sunday). I can’t wait! It is a 5-6 hour hike on average, and reaches slightly over 10,000 feet.
On on our way back to the hotel we stopped at Drugyel Dzong. This was a fortress which had burned down in 1951 and is now in the renovation process. You cannot enter but you can see the beauty from the outside.
I did also also find a small hole in the wall to sneak a peak inside.
It it also has an amazing view of the mountains in the background!
On the way back to the hotel we took a route leading to a wonderful view of the airport. It is truly amazing to see the planes fly in so close to the surrounding mountains.
Excited to start the conference tomorrow! Stay tuned..
Comments