The Drukair Airbus 319 stopped in Bagdogra, India, before proceeding on to Paro, where Bhutan's only international airport sits at an altitude of 2300 meters (7500 feet). Paro frequently appears in lists of the ten most difficult airports for takeoff and landing, and this photo, taken the next day, will give you some idea why only a handful of pilots have been certified to fly here.
We landed safely, and after stepping off the plane I took some photos. A couple of Thai monks were on board -- in Thailand the Buddhist monks wear orange, while in Bhutan they wear burgundy. They belong to different schools of Buddhist thought (Theravada vs. Vajrayana) but that doesn't inhibit visiting back and forth.
The airport terminals are built in the Bhutanese style, with plenty of ornately carved and painted wood. Carving wood and painting are two of the thirteen traditional arts and crafts of Bhutan, the zorig chusum.
The large outdoor banner is in honor of the 5th King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk, and the queen, Jetsun Pema. They married on October 13, 2011.
On exiting the airport we were met by our guide, Tshering Dorji, and driver, Kaka. We had arranged our trip through Geographic Expeditions (GeoEx) and the tour operator that they employ in Bhutan is Yangphel Adventure Travel. This was a private trip -- just Joan, myself, Tshering, and Kaka -- and the first such for us. Our 2005 visit included seventeen guests, and our 2009 visit five.
The first order of business was to check into our hotel, the Zhiwa Ling, unpack, and have lunch with Tshering. Borrowing from one of the next day's photographs, here is the layout of the Zhiwa Ling. The main building holds the restaurant, meeting rooms, gift shop, a temple, and suites.
This is the view from the front of our room in one of the satellite buildings. It's a lush opposite of what we had seen before, because our earlier visits had been in winter (November, December).
Our room was spacious. We never turned on the TV.
Here is an initial look (I have plenty) at the atrium in the Zhiwa Ling. All the woodwork is hand-carved and hand-painted. This image captures primarily artificial light on the ground floor, more daylight on the next, and daylight so intense at the top that the murals are washed out. I find it breathtaking to stand in the center and attempt to take it all in.
Looking down into the atrium from the second floor.
After lunch Tshering took us for walk. We had requested some day hikes be in our itinerary, and of course he had to see what our capabilities were. Kaka drove us down to the Kyichu Lhakhang, a temple originally built in the 7th Century. Joan and I had seen this temple in 2009, so today it was just the starting point for an easy walk along the paths lining farm fields, and then a farm road.
This image taken from the farm road shows an old, abandoned building next to a new one. Buildings may be abandoned after some unlucky or devastating event, but effort is not expended to tear them down. The walls, usually of rammed earth, slowly erode.
Looking further up the valley, we can see that the winter wheat has sprouted but the rice seedlings have not yet been set out (this is May 3rd).
Near the end of the walk this combination of wall and flags caught my eye.
The walk was successful; my legs and Joan's were up to the task. We breathed heavily on the uphill parts, but Tshering understood our need to adapt to the altitude. At dinner he said that we'd take a more ambitious hike to a gompa, or monastery, the next morning, which sounded great to us.
Still feeling our jet lag, we were ready for an early night.
April 30th, 2014. Joan and I arrive at the Columbus, Ohio airport early in the morning, embarking on our third trip to Bhutan. (The second trip, in December 2009, was blogged starting here.) We have a tight connection in Philadelphia with our Qatar Airways flight to Doha, connecting to Bangkok, and our flight out of Columbus is delayed because of the weather. It's hard not to feel anxious. Fortunately 1) our US Airways flight lands at the international terminal because it's going on to Halifax, so we're much closer than expected to the Qatar gate, and 2) the Qatar staff is on top of things. Are we from Columbus, they ask. Yes? We've already printed your boarding passes. We'll be boarding soon.
Almost a full day later we arrive at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Miracle of miracles, so do our bags! Joan and I sigh with relief.
We take the shuttle bus and a few minutes later are checking in at the Novotel Suvarnabhumi. It now has the novel feature of 24-hour checkout; it doesn't matter when you check in, you get your room for 24 hours. This makes sense for an airport hotel that sees guests arrive and depart at all hours. It's in the evening, local time, and after dinner we collapse into bed.
The next day, to combat jet lag -- Bangkok is eleven hours ahead of Eastern Time, so day is night and vice-versa -- we return to the airport via the underground walkway to prowl around, to take a look-see, not dashing to departures or hurrying out of arrivals. First, we wanted to find which aisle the Drukair (Royal Bhutan Airlines) counter sat in. It's at the far end, aisle W. That's door #10, but the shuttle drivers already know that.
Suvarnabhumi opened for business in 2006, and has some civilizing touches within a very busy airport. The exterior doors are functional, and more.
In the center is a Buddhist reliquary with flowers.
Towards the back, after check-in and before passport control, there are more than four guardian warriors. Demons beware.
I'll just show you these two.
Most people never see the pavilions that fill out the airport, being anxious to get somewhere, but they look inviting, if you can enjoy the heat and humidity of Bangkok.
There is also an interior garden display.
Some of the escalators are smooth, rather than stepped, which is more friendly for rolling luggage.
There are premium passport and security lanes, available to higher-fare passengers, diplomats, air crew ... and monks.
A monk-only waiting room (before passport control) is also available in Suvarnabhumi, as well as a Muslim prayer room.
The next morning we arose early for our 6:50 Drukair flight. No longer did a local Geographic Expeditions (GeoEx) representative need to meet us at the airport with our Bhutan visas; these had been e-mailed to us and printed out before we left, one more small change.
