Prayers Wheels and Buddhas in Thimpu

The King of Bhutan declared Thimpu the capital in 1961 and the first cars appeared on its streets in 1962.

In the center of Thimpu sits the Memorial Chorten.

  The big Buddha statue and temple are currently under construction at Kuensel Phodrang overlooking Thimpu. It is 51.5 meters (almost 169 feet) tall and the 17th tallest Buddha statue in the world. The temple is scheduled to be completed in December and will be a major attraction for Buddhists from all over the world.

 The girls with our amazing guide at the top of Buddha point.

Blue Skies of Bhutan

This week we flew out of the smog and pollution of Delhi, across the Himalayas and into Bhutan. 

 Seeing the blue skies as we landed between the mountains in Paro was incredible.

 The Bhutanese have gone out of their way to preserve the culture. They are proud of the traditions and feel that retaining Bhutan's history is better than a military to protect the country. Even the ground crew at the airport wears the traditional Bhutanese attire and the terminal is built in original architectural styles.

 The terminal in Paro.

 The beautiful royal couple can be seen everywhere.

 From Lonely Planet....."Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon, is no ordinary place. This is a country where buying cigarettes in illegal, where the rice is red and chillies aren't just a seasoning but the entire dish. It's also a deeply Buddhist land, where men wear a tunic to work, where giant protective penises are painted on the walls of most houses, and where "Gross National Happiness" is deemed more important than the Gross National Product."

 The girls loved Bhutan from the moment we touched the ground. Watch this space for more of our amazing visit to the Land of the Thunder Dragon.