Kingdom of Bhutan, First Day

Our first day started rather early, I think we have forgotten how to sleep until a reasonable time and we are used to getting up very early now. I went for a 7'o clock meditation and when I could not see my monk I went for a walk instead.

Hotel gardens

Place of Blessing

Dogs everywhere, they are just in every place. On the road people just drive around them, no hooting, no chasing away, they just drive around. Later we learned that all people feed them, the dogs belong to the Nation and everyone takes responsibility for them. After breakfast 10 of us met our guide and he took us for our first adventure activity in Thimphu, capital of Bhutan, we live in for the next few days.

Our knowledgeable guide

In the bus

On the way to the Buddha

We had a most interesting and enspiring day, looking at diverse and different locations, starting off  with a place called 'Buddha Point', above the valley. 

The Buddha, after 10 years of construction with another 2 years to go

We saw a 'Painting school' where the students not only learn how to paint but also embroidery, sculptering, pottery etc. I could have spend hours there, the athmosphere was very peaceful and we felt very welcome.

From there our bus took us to a Heritage Museum where we also had a delicious light bhutanese traditional meal.

We saw stupas, praying wheels; we visited a monastery and a good part of the day had passed when we decided to do a hike the next day. Dietmar would use that day to catch up on admin and flight planning and relax a bit. The evening was ended with a group dinner.

By the way, Tuesdays, that's today,  are alcohol-free days in the country, and that includes our hotel. We enjoyed Green Tea.

The following words of wisdom from Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk - People's King of Bhutan:

"If you're a good human being, then the skills and knowledge you acquire will benefit the whole society. Otherwise, it's like giving a weapon to a child."

We have seen signs with the above message at various places throughout Bhutan.