But, when we arrived, it hardly even mattered! Bhutan is probably the most beautiful place I've ever been, largely because of the mountains. In fact, if you're wondering about the name of my blog, it is essentially what the pilot says when you approach the airport in Paro, Bhutan. The airstrip is deep in the middle of huge Himalayan mountains and it can be a bit alarming... of course, it doesn't help when there are literally people on the runway so at the last minute we had to pull up and circle around again to land!
Even though we had been traveling for so long, we couldn't go to sleep when we arrived under pains of never adjusting to the time change (we are 10 hours ahead of the east coast). When we first reached the hotel, we were told about its illustrious history housing important dignitaries and officials. It is a beautiful building on a hill that overlooks rice patties and "downtown paro" (it's about 2 streets by 4-5 blocks). Sitting opposite us is the Paro Dzong and the National Museum (originally a watch tower for the Dzong).
A dzong is a central part of Bhutanese society. They were originally fortresses that the Bhutanese used to protect their lands. Now they are used to house the government offices of each area. They also often house the monastic body, symbolizing the important duality of secular and spiritual leadership in Bhutan.
The rest of our first day was spent walking into Paro. As we walked into town we heard loud cheering and happened upon an archery match. Archery is the national sport of Bhutan and is a little different from our "western archery." Instead of a round target held up at eye level, they shoot at a rectangular piece of wood (with a round target in the middle) that is at an angle sitting on the ground. If an archer hits the target, then the opposing archers have to do a dance in honor of his hit. It is a great thing to watch and when they are shooting from 300 metres away, it's also very impressive!
Now, I have to go to bed and you are probably starting to get bored from this insanely long post. I'm trying to catch up with this blog so keep an eye out!
PS The internet here is incredibly slow which makes uploading photos very difficult (except in the middle of the night!) I will update entries with photos when I am able to get better internet like in town or if I'm awake at a weird time. Sorry!
