Day 1

This whole idea of making the trip on my own was always going to be iffy. Will I be bored to tears....well I guess this attempt at a first ever blog might give a clue.

It was a bloody early start - 5.30am at the BKK check-in counter of Druk Air for the 6.50am flight. Tip for fellow travellers...do give it time cos there'll be people checking in light bulbs, fridges, WCs, and all sorts of non-living paraphernalia imaginable. And if you're flying in from Singapore to connect, try to avoid staying at the Airport Hotel tempting as it may sound. SGD250 for a 5hr kip is a bit of a price gouge.

Was somewhat relieved spotting the aircraft on the tarmac was the jet plane rather than the propeller one. Inflight entertainment discovery of the year runner's up - there is none on Druk Air. But fret not, there is the Inflight Magazine - Tashi Delek, which is a real find. Most of the articles are written by Bhutanese which is fantastic to begin with...but these guys have quite a flair me thinks. Confident, unpretentious, delightful observations and a rather unique self-deprecating brand of humour ...a bit reminiscent of Top Gear, done Bhutanese style. Had me in stitches good part of the way....and gave me the perception while they are known for their Gross National Happiness, spirituality, etc, etc they don't take themselves too seriously on those counts at all...perhaps a good sense of humour is where happiness starts.

..."For a country where everything flies - Dragons, Garudas, Ravens, Black Naked Cranes (yes - here they go naked), and Tigers - there is only one airline with two planes. The in-flight peanuts are to die for!"

Landed in Paro at 10am. Was politely told that the guide who was supposed to accompany me the
whole trip has been called away to more important things - archery. Next suggestion was why don't we go and have a look. When we got there it was all shaping up to be a great 'insider', authentic local experience...which it was...the skills were amazing - hitting the target from 140m away (Olympic distance only 100m apparently) - it looked no larger than a 10cent coin from that distance. We sipped butter tea (which is tea with a good dosh of ghee :p) in the fields accompanied by bees, flies, dragonflies, gnats, and a myriad of other bugs; watching the archers do a little celebration dance after each hit. It was all really good but two hours later, having exhausted every question I could possibly think to ask about archery and watching 300+ arrows fly past....I was ready to go

We finally got to lunch at 1pm which was a cultural experience but otherwise uneventful. The yak ghee still takes some getting used to...

Next we travelled from Paro to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. My guide decided I looked a bit tired at 3 pm and decided to leave me for the day - which actually worked out fine cos it allowed me to wander round Thimphu properly...even if in the rain....which led to a few interesting finds and encounters....best told rather than documented.

It's about time to go to bed - I've run out of whisky and wifi. 5hr trek tomorrow...am getting a bit worried about the "thousands of leeches falling from trees during monsoon season". May have a lie in.

All in all having a great time :)