1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #241 - Thimphu Chorten (Stupa), Thimphu

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #241

- Thimphu Chorten (Stupa), Thimphu

 

(Built as a memorial for Bhutan's 3rd King, grandfather of the current king, this stupa sits elegantly atop a hill just a few kilometres away from the city centre. Devotees would walk around it in clockwise circular motion many times a session, according to our guide, as part of their prayers. The white façade and its golden spire make it stand out from afar. It does not actually contain the mortal remains of the King, just a photo of him on the ground floor)

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #240 - Kira National Dress, Bhutan

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #240

- Kira National Dress, Bhutan

 

(The national dress of Bhutan, the kira, was way too distinctive to not try it on, and yes, buy. The lady in this shop was nice enough to give me the full treatment, with much care and patience. So with hubby's gho, we paid ours for U$65 each, and walked out along the street for our Carina Lau-Tony Leung moment, when they married in Bhutan. Feeling like a million ngultrums! Nice!)

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #239 - Children of Bhutan

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #239

- Children of Bhutan

 

(The children in Thimphu and Bhutan in general were simply adorable! There's a warmth and sense of curiosity everytime we approached them for a quick snap - they never refused a single request. Is this why they are the happiest people on earth? And inventors of the GNH, gross national happiness? If these faces were testimonies, they have achieved it in bundles. We took the opportunity to pass a bag of older clothes we brought with us to one of the school girls..hopefully, they could be of some use for her and her family)

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #238 - Thimphu at dawn, Bhutan

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #238

- Thimphu at dawn, Bhutan

 

(Dawn at 5.15am in Thimphu was a cool 15C, and at 2500m, was heavenly with floating fog against the towering mountains. Massive roses and willow trees lined the main road, which was eerily quiet..until we found out it was a once a year "no-cars-into-town" day. We took the opportunity to play traffic-warden at their famous roundabout, and people were milling along this main road, their equivalent of Orchard Road)

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #237 - Thimphu, Bhutan

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #237

- Thimphu, Bhutan

 

(The first glimpses of the royal capital of Bhutan, Thimphu, were in sight and just look at that "traffic light" system..the cop with the white gloves does the job, and there is only one of him in this city of about 110,000. With a cool 24C temperature, it was a nice stroll through all the sidewalks, off the main street. Our hotel was the delightful Namseling boutique hotel, located a convenient 10min walk away. But look at the view from the room - the Golden Buddha sitting on the mountaintop, some 5km away)