Deeper dive into Bhutan

October 11, 2026

Punakha, Bhutan

Woke with the alarm at 7:00.  Sat around in a big comfy chair for almost an hour (probably drifting in and out of sleep).

Finally forced myself into the shower and then got dressed.  Just street clothes for now, as we will not be riding till around noon today.

Went down for breakfast and talked a bit while there.

Back in the room I packed up as much as possible so things would be faster later today.

When it was close to our departure time of 9:30, I went down to the lobby and then we all got into the van for a few stops around the city.

We drove down and around the block to reach our first stop.

The National Memorial Chorten is a large structure that was built in remembrance of the 3^rd king of Bhutan how passed away in 1972.  It was constructed over 2 years by his mother.

The complex is a large grassy space with the main Chorten in the center and a few smaller buildings used by the staff on the edges.

We arrived and once admission was paid, we went inside to get a lesson in the history of the place from our guide.

We then walked over to the small building holding 8 large prayer wheels and did a circle of most of them, setting them spinning.

Then we proceeded over to the chorten itself and had some more discussion.

Afterwards, we went up the steps and removed our shoes so we could visit the interior.

Inside there is a small hallway that runs along each side of the building, the center is taken up by a massive statue, which is really just lots of smaller statues all stacked together.

The figures represent various gods and individuals within the Buddhist system in this region.

The guide explained various figures, and some of the photos of the 3^rd king and his family (the current king).

We then went up stairs to view more statues and offerings in that area.

We then proceeded to the 3^rd level which was again filled with various figures.

At each point, the guide explained a high level history or gave some of the symbolism intended by the figures.

At this time, we exited the building, put our shoes back on, and then walked around to the front for a group photo.

Then it was time to move onward to the next stop.

We exited the complex, found our van parked on nearby street and headed to the edge of town.

It took around 20-25 minutes to reach the next stop which is a wildlife preserve.

The Royal Takin Preserve is a fair sized area of forested park land set aside for some of the native species living in Bhutan.

The primary residents are the Takin.  This animal, which is part of the Bovidae family, is similar to a cow, but with some different features.  The legend claims it was created by the local god after combining the bones of a cow and a goat.

They also have several other species in the place, typically animals harmed in some way that need some time before being released back into the wild, though some animals may never get released.

After our admission, we walked up the hill the main park area where the animal enclosures are.

An elevated walkway runs around various sections, staying about 10 feet off the ground, though there are lots of steps as the terrain is very hilly here.

We viewed the various animals and got some additional stories about them.  We walked all the way to the upper areas to the café there, though we did not order anything, it was just a rest point after climbing so many stairs.

Himalayan Goral

I found a black kitty laying on one of the tables, half in the sun, sleeping.

I tried to get him to respond, but he refused to open his eyes when I stroked his paws and pet his head and ears.  Even a full body rub did not wake him.  He would move a bit, and I saw him kneading a little as I pet his head.

But it was time to leave, so had to say goodbye.

We walked back the way we came, then took another route over to see the takin a bit closer, though by now most were already laying down to sleep, I guess they are quite lazy animals, which makes them easy prey for predators.

At this point we left the complex and met up with Brad.  He and one of our guides had gone golfing this morning.  They had finished the game and he was dropped off to meet up with us while the guide went to attend to other business.

Back on the van we drove back into the city and reached the farmers market space.

This area, rebuilt during the covid lockdowns, was a huge open pavilion on 2 levels with stalls for vendors to sell their goods.

Most were selling various vegetables, and some also carried local honey or spices.

I guess there was a fish and meat area as well, but I must have missed seeing those.

We wandered around the stalls for a bit, mostly just looking, but not really something I would buy while travelling like I am.

However, Jude did by a bag of Guava fruit to take along the rest of the trip.

We stopped for a bit to try using the ATM, first Brad, then Dennis, but the machine failed to work, so again I am unable to get any local currency.  Really should have found a place around the border that first day. (Well, we did try for an ATM, but it also was not working).

We eventually got the group together again, as a few had wandered off to do their own thing, and we walked over to a nearby coffee/mushroom lounge.

The main guide who owns the local company we are working with in Bhutan also has this business.

While I do not quite understand the full concept, they deal on various products made from some kind of mushrooms, typically sold as a health supplement of some kind.

They are also a small coffee shop, and the stored has several chairs, tables, and the coffee bar.

Our guide (not the one that owns the place) made our coffees, and it appears they sprinkle flakes of the mushroom on it as well.

The mushroom used is called Cordyceps, but still do not know what the draw is.

When we were ready to leave, we were all gifted a small jar of honey from the shop, which is cool, though not really sure how well it will travel during my continuing adventures.

We went back outside, and since the van was off picking up the photographer that will join our group now, we had to walk about 15 minutes to get back to the hotel (probably ½ mile).

After reaching the hotel, we all returned to our rooms to gear up and then bring down our luggage and check out of the room.

Once done with that, we then set about getting stuff on the bikes.

I was talking to Ben about not liking the location where I had the GoPro, so he called over the lead rider, and after some back and forth, they found some spare hardware they had that would allow me to mount the camera in a better spot.

After some trial and error, we had the RAM style mount installed and the extension pole connected.

The GoPro thankfully had the screw in socket for the mounting.

Once installed, we zip tied the lower part of the mount to hold it on as it was still a bit loose if you moved it just right.

As we are mostly on pavement, the movement issue should be minor.

Shortly after we, all put on the last gear, and hit the road.

It took a bit of time to get out of town, but we eventually reached the highway that would start taking us eastward into Bhutan.

The road started going upward right away, and as most roads here, was narrow, steep, and full of curves.

It was a great ride, and the weather finally turned out great for us.

We reached the top of the pass (Dochu La) where we stopped at the large complex at the top.

This is the Druk Wangyel Chorten.  These 108 stupas were built to honor the soldiers who died in the battles against the Assam radical groups that invaded the Bhutan border region in the early 2000s.

After spending some time checking out the place, we were back on the bikes and heading down hill now.

This road was amazingly nice, with lots of curves and some great sections.

Traffic was sadly a bit heavy, as this is a main east-west route.

Roughly 1.5 hours later we pulled off the highway and headed up this dirt path into the forest.  It had some really muddy parts along it, and the bikes are running street tires, so they were a bit slippery.

We reached the top where a large building was, and I then asked the lead rider if Ben was aware of this stop, as he had not been with the group when we pulled off.

The guide was a bit alarmed, and got on his bike and headed back down to go find him, and he would have likely passed by if not aware of the stop, and we were way back in the trees, so would not see the place from the road.

We were led into the building and across the large open courtyard to the back courtyard.  Here a small building sat in the corner and we would be having lunch here.

We took seats, used the toilet and waited.

Not long after the guide and Ben arrived.  He had missed the turn, but he also realized we must have left the highway and had stopped when the guide found him and led him back.

The food arrived about then, and it was a great lunch.  We were all really hungry by this point, and all enjoyed the food.

Once done, we then prepared to leave.

We headed down the same steep, muddy, dirt track.

I was the last rider except Ben, and Mike was in front of me.

At one muddy section, his bike got a bit wobbly and he slid over toward the edge of the muddy rut, and just as I thought he would get it out, his foot slipped perhaps, or the wheel, but the bike slid sideways and tipped into the embankment along the road.

I quickly stopped a few feet back, and Ben passed me by and stopped.  He got off and the driver of the van also got out.  I also saw Sam coming back up the road, so he must have been down lower taking photos?

They got the bike lifted and Mike was okay, not a hard fall or anything.

They started pulling some of the weeds and mud off the bike, and then seemed like maybe there was a problem as they were not moving yet.

Ben had already ridden down to the very large mud section to be ready to assist.

I pulled around the guys and headed down myself at this point.

Ben motioned for me to use the other side of the track, and just like coming in, I was able to power through without needing to stop or put my feet down, though I did have them off the pegs in the air for quick deployment if the bike would suddenly slip and lean.

I reached the bottom where the lead rider was trying to stop traffic so we could turn out on the highway.

I got out, and Mike and the van soon followed.

We then headed onward and turned off onto a smaller highway to head north into a small valley.

We were going to visit the Punakha Dzong (Fortress) first.  It was supposed to be for tomorrow, but as we had arrived early enough, it was decided to stop today, and use the extra time tomorrow for a scenic detour.

We reached the complex and went inside.

The first part is crossing the river on a really cool bridge.

We then took some photos on the steps, and proceeded to climb up and go inside.

We reached the first massive courtyard right away, and this is where we got the history lesson for the place.

We walked around a bit to get additional details, and then we entered a small hallway that took us around the central tower to the second courtyard.

The entrance to the tower was on this side, but access to it is restricted to the monks who are using it most of the time in prayer.

A small building next to it hold the mummy of someone of importance, but I did not quite hear who the person was.

No one can go into that place except the monk that takes care of the building and mummy (including feeding 3 times a day), the King and 1 other top government official, and they require permission to enter from the caretaker.

The other building in this space was the main temple.

But as with all the other temples, you must remove shoes to enter, and no photos are allowed.

As my riding boots are a bit of a pain to get on and off, I decided to skip the interior and wait.  Brad and Mike waited with me as well.

After some time, the rest of the group exited the temple and we prepared to leave.

We did spend a few minutes talking with some riders in a group that were from Slovakia (or at least those we were talking too were).

As we were walking out, a smaller group of Australians took some of Dennis and Mikes time as they said hello.

We retraced our path then and exited the complex, and proceeded back to the bikes.

Once everyone was ready, we rode out and back up the road to reach an intersection that would take us over to the town of Punakha.

We passed through the town and out to the outskirts where we turned off to the hotel.

This road was another very steep dirt road, but at least it was dry.

At the top we reached our stay at the Bhutanic Resort.

After parking the bikes, we all went into the lobby, had our welcome tea, and then were given our room keys.

After some talking, we all went out to claim our bags, and the staff insisted on carrying the bags to the room.  I feel bad as most of the staff are women, and they are a bit small in size, and my bag is quite heavy.  But they handle it quite well.

My room was in building 3, and on the top floor, so had to walk over to the building, then up 3 flights of stairs.

I had some issues getting door open, the key is a physical key, and the key fob on it is huge, which makes turning the key in the keyhole difficult as it is tucked right under the door handle and very close to the door frame.

Once inside the room is just a small chamber with the bathroom door on one wall, the doors to the deck on the other, and stairs up to another door.

This door leads into the bedroom and dressing/work space.

The staff dropped back inside this door and left.

I then wandered the room trying to figure out what switches turned on which lights.

Then I organized and unpacked a few things.

Afterwards I took a shower and dressed in street clothes for dinner.

I played a bit online, uploading some photos and such, then went down to find Ben who said he would be in the bar at 6:45.  Dinner was to be at 7:30.

I reached the lobby and it was packed with people.  Looks like two small busses had just spat out a large group, so will be a busy hotel tonight and in the morning.

I went up to the bar after finding Dennis, who said the bar was full of people as well.

We found it, then went out on to the patio outside, and found Ben there.

We walked up to the next floor where a dinning room was.  Seems there was some confusion and Ben and most of the others thought we were eating at the hotel, but I seem to recall the discussion when we arrived that it would be a van drive into town.

Sam showed up and confirmed that, so we went down right at 7:00 and found the van waiting.

We all showed up eventually and we left the hotel to go find our restaurant

It was a bit of a long drive, and we crossed over to the far side of the river, which at night did not display many lights or structures we could see.

The road was narrow and pretty beat up, but we eventually found the place and went inside.

This is the Merengma Bistro.  It is owned by a friend of our guide, and it was his idea to have dinner here.

It was a nice place inside, so we took seats at a large table and ordered our drinks.

We then sat and talked for quite some time, and just as I was thinking we should be ordering food soon, the food arrived.

Turns out this place works on the fixed menu model.

The menu is planned and you get what they are serving at that time.

The food was good, though not much that really impressed me, but filled the stomach.

As I was not that hungry, I did not have too much to eat.

We continued talking throughout dinner and afterwards for some time.

Eventually we left to take the van back to the hotel.

We had a good idea what tomorrow would bring, and would be hitting road at 8:30AM.

Back at the hotel we all went to our rooms.  The resort is nicely lit up at night.

I pulled out the laptop and other things that needed to get charged up and got those going.

I then went to work on this blog entry.

Now that we are finished, I will probably go to bed as I am getting really tired and need to be up by 7:00AM at the latest.

Should be a good riding day tomorrow if the weather stays nice, which so far, it appears it might.

Catch ya down the road!

 

High Passes and Twisty Roads

October 10, 2026

Thimphu, Bhutan

Woke around 7:00AM and got ready.

Went down for a quick breakfast and then back to the room to finish packing.

Once done, I sat around for a few minutes to relax, then gathered up the bags and went down to the lobby.

Dropped bag at the van to be loaded and then went to the bike to install the things on it.

Skies were looking a bit overcast and clouds hanging low on the mountains.  Thinking we will be getting some rain again.

We got on the bikes and rolled out of the hotel, then we headed south the way we had come originally to reach the road that would take us up to the highest road in Bhutan.

We pulled off and started going up, and the rain also started.

After a few minutes, it was raining enough that my jacket was starting to get wet, so I decided to pull over and put on the rain jacket.

Once that was complete, then myself and the tail rider had the fun of trying to catch up with the group, in the rain, on wet mountain roads.

But we did catch them after about 15 minutes.

The ride continued to wind upward, and the rain continued to fall in a light steady pace.

About half way up, the rain stopped, but roads were still quite wet, so it was a real challenge at times to corner on some of the tighter sections, and occasionally the road was covered in dirt as well.

As we neared the top, the clouds closed in on the road and visibility was cut down quite a bit.

We reached Chele La (pass) and parked up on the side of the road near the sign.

This pass is at 3998m, and is the highest drivable road in Bhutan.

Most of the group walked over to the “café” on the side of the road for something hot to drink.

I walked around a bit to take a few photos, then hiked down the hill a bit to the toilets.

When I returned up top, I went in the café, which was nothing more than a partial shelter with a truck parked in it, and the owner was serving drinks out of the back of the truck.

I had a coffee, and then went over to the bike to grab my now soaked riding gloves so I could put them in the van and get my waterproof gloves out.

Not long after we were ready to head down, but now the clouds had thickened to the point where you could only see about 100 feet ahead of you.

We headed down the hill slowly with flashers going, and after about 10 minutes we dropped out of the clouds and could continue down at a better pace.

The road was starting to dry up, though still many wet sections that you had to watch out for.

After a series of very long switchbacks, we reached the valley below and entered the town of Haa.

Our plan here was to park at the restaurant, then take the van over to the Haa Mela festival.

This event celebrates the cooperation of the Bhutan people and the Indian Military.  India provides a fair share of the military personnel, as well as some of the more advanced equipment.  This arrangement has been in place since the mid 1960s.

Each year, the Indian military staff in town hold a festival showing off various skills and challenges.  Things like motorbike riding, archery, martial arts, horse riding are all included.

We entered town and found the hotel/restaurant where we will come back to later to have lunch.

After parking the bikes, then removed some of the bags from the van to make room for us, then we left (minus our road guide who will stay with the bikes to watch over them) for the festival.

The van dropped us off near the entrance and we stood around trying to get a good view.

After trying a few spots, we found the narrow path that would let us inside the fence.

Here we mostly split up.

I found an open spot on a fairly steep hillside, and was just able to stand on it and see over the people in front of me.  Holding my cameras up above my head gave a decent view of the field.

When we arrived, a local martial arts school was performing various fights in the field, and then they left and a large team of staff started to setup the next event.

This was the Indian military horse riding groups.

The first group of soldiers rode the horses down the field and jumped a series of fences (steeples), each higher than the last.

Then they ran a course that had them jump over a park bench, a table (with two people sitting at it), two motorcycles, something else I was unable to see, and finally they jumped the hoods of two jeeps parked nose to nose.

Once they were done, a different group took the field and rode along the front side of the area with spears and would spear targets placed on the ground.

Once done with the horse segment, that ended the events, except the presentation of awards and then they would draw the raffle winners as well.

We did not stay for the awards, and only heard the winners over the speakers.  (lots of prizes including cars and motorbikes).

We next walked down along the outer edge of the field where many vendors were setup selling food and other items.

Then we walked out behind this area and found dozens of tents with more vendors, bounce houses for the kids and a few games and other activities.

We stopped for a bit at one tent which was having a betting game.

You put your money on one of the numbers on the table, then a ball was drawn from a bag, and the winning number was paid out.

It cost 100 Ngultrum to place a bet, and if you won, you got 1000 back.

Ben and one of our guides each put some money down, but did not win.

I did not have a 100 bill, so the guide loaned me one.

I put it down, and then they asked me to pick the ball through the bag, once I had it selected, the lady reached into the bag and took the ball from my hand.

I did not win.

We then wandered a bit more and watched a few other things before regrouping with the others and finding our way back to the main road. But before that, we ended up having photos with a group of local men in some kind of traditional outfits.

The van picked us all up and we headed back to the hotel/restaurant.

Once there, we had lunch, which was pretty good today, then we got back on the bikes and ready to head to our destination.

We rode to the other end of town and stopped at a local monastery and temple complex.

Here the guides changed into local traditional clothing, then gave us a quick tour of the place, and Kinley also dropped off a donation of food and other items.

I did not go inside the temple as again, you had to take boots off and I was not going to mess around with that.

Near the end of our visit, the leader of this group was banging on a gong to call the monks for services.

He then walked down the steps cracking a small whip, and then walked along the courtyard next to the temple.

Many of the locals, and our guides would walk up and bow and he would smack them with the handle of the whip and say a few things, a blessing of some sort.  Dennis, who does practice the local Buddhist faith, also went over. 

Then a few of the others went over just for the experience I guess.

We then got back on the bikes and now were ready to head onward to the next town.

We would be taking a loop following the old highway back toward the area we started at today, then take the main highway up to the capital city of Thimphu.

We did not even get out of town before the rain came back, and this time it was coming down a bit harder.

We all pulled over to road side and put on our rain gear, jackets and pants, then headed up into the hills.

The rain only lasted about 15 minutes, but again road stayed wet for many miles.

As we went up and down the various hills, and navigated the huge number or curves, the road started to dry out and we could have a bit more fun on the road.

At one point, I pulled over to fix my GPS screen (it had gone off for some reason) and fix the GoPro (it too had stopped working with the remote).

Ben, who was brining up the rear, caught up to me while I was doing that, after he had stopped himself to do some photos a few miles back.

We both then took off to catch up to the group, and had some fun doing so.

We caught up with the rest of the group and continued on for a fair distance.

We then stopped along the way for a rest at the top of a steep incline to the river below.

We then headed down the hill and then back up the other side, which was a bit of a challenge as the road was quite beat up and covered in dirt and a fair amount of mud.

We had ridden this section 2 days prior, so followed along till we reached the junction that would go back over to Paro, or continue on to Thimphu.

This time we headed to Thimphu.

After a short time, the traffic increased, and slowly became a long line of cars in both lanes.

We stopped about 20 minutes out from the city to have coffee, and then rode back into the traffic mess.

Now we were getting slowed to the point where we had to stop occasionally.

Once we got into the city, things were very slow, and we navigated our way through the heavy traffic on various roads to reach our hotel.

Near the end, a very busy intersection caused the group to get split up, and by time the last 4 of us were able to turn onto the road, the rest of the group was no longer in sight.

We followed the road for a bit, but then things got confused.

We needed to go straight, but stared to turn.  Guide in the very back honked horn a bit and stopped us, but then we noticed the rest of the group coming back up the road as well, seems they might have missed turn as well.

After getting on the correct road, the hotel was only about 200 feet up the road.

We pulled in, parked and unloaded our bikes.

We got into the lobby and sat down where they brought us all a cup of tea.

Then they started to hand out the room keys, though this time we had to show our passports.

I was one of the last to get a room, and for some reason, John and I were both given suites.  John had joked with the desk staff that he wanted the presidential suite, and for some reason, the changed two of the rooms to the bigger suites.  As they were the last two rooms, John and I got them.

The staff helped us up to the room with the bags.  I entered the room, and then the girl with the bag came in just after, then she went around the room turning on the lights.

The room has an entry area, a sitting room with a desk (at which I am currently sitting), then you pass into the other room which is 3 times larger, it has the bed, another sitting area in the window, some tables and other chairs, and lots of open space.

Off this room is the dressing room with the closet and a bench, then the bathroom comes off that room with the toilet, a walk-in shower, a jacuzzi tub and the vanity and sink.

I checked out the room, then started to unpack the things I would need and figured out all the lights.

Took a moment to check out the view from both sets of windows facing in different directions.  It was overcast and near dusk, so not much to see, but still nice.

I then got out of the riding gear and took a nice hot shower.

After dressing, I organized a few things, and then it was nearing 7:00PM, so went down to the lobby to meet the others so we could drive over for dinner.

I stopped for a moment to check out the really cool atrium in the center of the hotel.

We loaded onto the van, in the rain, and drove around the block a bit to the restaurant.  Had it not been raining, we could have walked over.

We took our table at the restaurant, ordered drinks and then food.

The guides showed up to go over the evening and the next day’s plans.

The chief guide is going to take Brad golfing in the morning, something they talked about on our arrival in Bhutan.

The rest of us will meet around 9:00am (after breakfast) and head out to do some sightseeing.

We were supposed to visit the huge Buddha statue in town, but it’s currently closed for renovations.

We will instead go to an animal sanctuary/preserve, then stop at the Sunday market, and end at the coffee shop that our guide also owns.

We will return to the hotel around noon, gear up and hit the road.

We have a short ride tomorrow, but will be more mountain roads (all roads in Bhutan are mountain roads).

If we get into the next stop early enough, we will go see some sights there as well.

After dinner, half the group returned to the hotel, and half of us went out for some live music at a local club.

Ben, Brad, John and I went, along with Sam and our driver.  Kinley later joined us there.

The band was pretty good, singing all western music, but doing it quite well.

Brad left early to walk back to the hotel (only about 1/2 mile away).

A bit later, Sam's fiancé showed up with a friend of hers and joined us for a bi

We finally headed back to the hotel around 10:00PM.

That means it is now time for me to close this out, put stuff on charger and then head to bed.

Catch ya down the road.

Ascent to the Tigers Nest

October 9^th, 2026

Paro, Bhutan

Woke with the alarm at 6:00AM.

I moved over to a chair and sat there for at least 20 minutes, not really wanting to get up.

Finally went in to take a shower, nice hot water, but not much water pressure.

Dressed in normal clothes as we will not be riding today.

I then gathered the cameras and a few things I thought I might need or want during the day and went down to meet the group for breakfast just before 7:00AM.

Arrived in the main hall of the floor, restaurant had not opened yet, so we were all sitting around talking.

Once it opened, we took the big table we used the night before and went through the buffet.

Not a huge selection.  Made sure I grabbed a banana and some fruit juice to help give me some extra energy today.

Once we finished eating, we all went to either grab our stuff from the room, and I went back to use the toilet in my room instead of those in the restaurant.

We met in the lobby and waited a bit, then we all got into the van and we departed.

The first order of business was to pick up one of our guides (the one who lives in this town).

We then drove around looking for a shop to buy more umbrellas as it was raining quite good out since the middle of the night, and we were probably going to get wet.

I had worn my rain jacket to help, but having an umbrella would be nice.

Took us a bit of time to get all that done, so were now running 30-40 minutes behind.

We left the city and drove over to the edge of town and then up a hill that seemed to go on forever.

We reached the parking area and got out, still raining lightly.

The guide went to buy our entrance, and a few of us took the chance to use toilet before we started hiking.

Today we are hiking up to the Tigers Nest.  A monastery built on the face of a cliff.

Originally bult in the 15^th century, the place has been in constant use since then.

Tragically burned to the ground by accident in 1995, the King of Bhutan had it rebuilt to the original specs (whether designs existed, or were made, or from memory of the monks, I am not sure.)

So, the structure today is about 95% new, and all the relics inside are of course from other parts of the country as well.

We headed off to start our hike, which was approximately 2 miles one way, and would be 3000 feet higher, though we would go up and down so much we probably hiked 5000 feet of vertical trail.

Image taken after coming down, was too foggy on way up.

It was still lightly raining, and the trail was quite muddy in spots.

We slowly worked our way upward and it was steep.  Lots of mud, and so many steps I would not want to even try counting them.

Thankfully the rain mostly stopped after about 30 minutes, so I collapsed the umbrella and the guide took it from me to carry it.

I did good for about 20 minutes, then slowly started to decrease speed, and soon my feet were sore, my lower back was sore, and I was quite short of breath.

I have never had good stamina since having pneumonia as a child.  Combine my being horrible overweight, with the altitude (around 3000 meters or more, so 10,000+ feet) and it was a struggle.

One of the guides stayed with me, the other with the main group that soon was out of sight, and one with Jude who was having same issues as me.

About half way up the first trail section I started to regret not renting a walking stick.  The guide handed me back my umbrella to use as a walking stick.  Guess they are built quite strong to server this function.

That helped immensely.

Just over 2 hours it took to reach the half way point of the trial which is a café on the mountain side.

We found all the others there and sat down for a bit.  I had a cappuccino and rested for a few minutes, but as we were the last to arrive, our rest was quite short.

We started back up the hill, though I was having serious concerns on my ability to make it to the top.

But since I was here, I had to try, and it was warmer when moving versus sitting still.

The clouds started to thin a little, they had been clinging to the mountain all morning.

I was by this time completely soaked, 5% from rain, 10% from the mist, and the rest from sweat!

We just kept up a steady pace, again being left behind.  Jude and his guide made a bit better time and pulled ahead a little.

We reached the top of the mountain and got our view of the Tigers Nest.

Then the cruel reality (which I knew was coming) was the 200+ steps to walk down, then back up to reach the actual building.

Going down is easier, but the path was mostly stone or concrete steps, quite narrow in spots and changing direction on the steep descent quite often.   Was also quite busy with many people heading down already.

We reached the bottom where a small bridge crosses the creek that has just cascaded down a waterfall at least 200 feet talk, and it would continue with other drops all the way to the bottom.

Then the steps up again, and these were steep, narrow, and just took the last bit of energy I had.

We finally reached the ending point at the top on the edge of the complex.

We stood around for a few minutes, then found that we had to remove all cameras and phones and put them in a locker.  While I fully understand the history of not filming inside temples, usually you can at least photograph the exterior parts, and the views.

Then there was a bit of an issue that two of our guys had only worn shorts to climb up in, and it was required to be wearing pants inside!

They had to borrow/rent a pair of pants from a building to be allowed inside.

Once all that was settled, we started inside, again going up even more stairs.

We learned some of the history of the complex in general and the local mythologies that supposedly created it.

We then headed over to the edge and were to go inside one of the temples, but had to take of shoes.

I was a bit annoyed at this. It was cold, the floor was cold stone, and damp, and my feet already hurt, so walking without any kind of support was not going to help.

I did it, and inside I was really unimpressed.

While the décor was interesting, and the buddha statues cool, it was a small room that that was intended for prayer.

Without the background to the religion, and its customs, it was hard to grasp the specifics of what we were seeing.  And I was so exhausted I could not really focus on the items around the room, and was hampered by my glasses not being on either. (I had to remove them during the hike as they were so fogged up and streaked with sweat, I could not see out of them.  I had nothing to dry or clean them with and they were still covered in humid fog when I pulled them out on top.)

The guide was explaining everything, but it was hard to hear as he was talking low to not disturb those praying, and again, I was so tired, I could not process what he was saying.

We left, and I grabbed my shoes to carry them with me so I could put them on soon as possible.  We visited another temple, and this one I just sat outside for a bit first, then went in.

I realized that the building hallways I could wear the shoes, only the temple interiors required them off.

So, I put them on, and then never entered any of the other places, I would get in door, peak around, and without offending anyone, they all looked the same.

I sat outside while the others were inside through two more visits, and was getting colder by the minute.

The guide finally asked how I was, so told him, and he asked if I wanted to start back, and that sounded like a good idea.

So, he walked me out to the main entrance, turned me over to the other guide waiting there, we got the key to the locker to remove our bags, retrieved my umbrella and then started down.

Mike joined us as he was just sitting near the exit anyway.

The hike down was painful, slow, and knees and feet were hurting.

We reached the waterfall bridge again and started up.

About this time Brad joined us.  He had seen enough and decided to head down.  John soon came up as well, but he passed us and ran (literally) off to climb up to some higher buildings.

Brad moved on ahead after a bit, and Mike would get ahead, then stop to rest until we passed him, then continue on.

The uphill section again took forever as I could only take the steps one at a time.

I did stop for more photos on the climb up though as the clouds had cleared out some and the views were much better.

Once we reached the top, it was pretty much downhill from here, but still mostly steps, or steep sections of dirt and a bit of mud (though much of it had dried up some).

We reached the café again, where we would stop for lunch, and sat down with the others, who were all there, having caught up and passed us earlier.  Only Jude was still coming, but not more than a minute or two behind me.

I ordered a Coke, and then it started to rain a bit, so we went inside to a table to eat.

The food was not that impressive, though difficult to bring too much up to a place on the side of a mountain.

Had some rice, noodles, and potatoes.  Figured that was enough carbs for me to burn on the hike down.

Once done, we headed down the remainder of the trail, the main group getting ahead (except John who ran off to try another hike).  Only Jude and I were slowly making our way down, but they passed us while I was taking photos and stayed about 100 feet ahead of us for the trip down.

We did catch up with a few, but they took a steep short cut trail, but with my slowness and difficulty getting down, they recommended I stay on the more gradual, but longer trail.  I agreed.

We finally reached the final sections that were not as steep, but were going through the lower forest and all the tree roots had been exposed after years of traffic walking the route.

The mud also got worse down here for some reason.

Upon reaching the parking lot, I dropped off the umbrella, used the toilet and then sat on a bench till we were ready to leave.

The van was not here yet, so sat for about 10 minutes.

We then loaded up and headed down the mountain and back onto the road into town.

The next stop for the day was a hot stone bath house.

Took a bit of driving to reach it, but we arrived a bit earlier than our appointment.  (Mostly my fault, I had warned that it could take me much longer to get down the hill, so we should book later.  I actually did make it down in much better time though, so we were early now).

The guide got us checked in and paid (we will reimburse him tomorrow) and then stood around in the yard outside the main building near the bath house.

To use the time up, we messed around with the bow and arrow they had on had with the target.  Archery is the national sport around here.

Nearly all of us tried a shot, a few then wandered off to sit and talk, and a few more took more shots.

In then end just myself, Ben, and the guide were left, and we were determined to keep trying until either he or me hit the target. (The guide had hit it once).

The one bow was odd as every shot I took with it the arrow would fly off to the right and hit the grass.

The other bow though would fly straighter, and I soon was hitting the wood wall behind the target.

We were both getting better.

I managed to get the shots to fly straighter, but never could get the angle for height right and was hitting way above the target.

Ben was hitting lower, but he did eventually get a hit, and a good hit too.

Then we called it quits.

Not long after the baths became ready.

Due to the late booking, we were unable to get the private solo rooms, so we all had to share rooms that had two baths (mostly intended for couples or families to use).

But they did have a curtain that went down the center, so there was some privacy once in the tub.

The first 4 guys went in, and then I ran off to use the toilet.

When I returned, everyone else was gone, so walked over till I found the guide and he took me to the room I was in with Ben.

The room was small, with a raised floor covering 2/3 of the room, and a small bench on the wall of the lower floor.

We closed the door and changed.  Though in my case, I had not brought an extra pair of clothes as I originally was not going to participate, or would just sit on the edge with my feet in.

I had though they would be pools in the floor, but they were actually wooden tubs.

The tubs were on the wall, actually going through the walls.

They would fill them with water and some kind of herb (lots of leaves floating).  The tub was maybe 3 feet long, and about 2 high and wide.

On the other side of the wall, there was another 1-2 foot of time, and this is where they would dump in the hot stones that would heat up the water.

There was a wooden partition to keep stones from coming into our side, and keep our feet on our side.

Ben got into his tub, and I pulled off my pants and sat on the edge of my tub to soak my feet as originally planned.

But after a few minutes, the warmth felt good, and I was kind of wanting to get in.

I pulled off my soaking wet shirt to at least rub warm water on me, and then decided the hell with it, I would just get in with my underwear.  Once done, I figured I could just wear the pants without them (Commando!) when we went out to dinner.

The water was a bit hot at first on my legs, so when the staff on the other side of the wall asked (thin walls) how things were, I said a bit hot, so they poured some cold water in to help.

Once I lowered myself in, it was still quite hot, but did feel good, though would have been nicer if I could have put my legs out a bit more.

Our sessions were for an hour.  Ben I and both decided that was enough and thought we were getting out early, but actually had used up most of the hour, so time really went by quick.

Ben got out first and was ready before me, and he opened the door a bit to air out the steam now filling the room.

I dried off and sat on the edge of tub a bit to let the cool air finish the drying.

I then pulled my pants off the hook and they were still very damp, so figured I would just wear the wet underwear anyway (and they actually dry really quick, why I paid $30 a pair for them).

Sat on the couch to dry my feet and put on the socks and shoes, and then dried upper body again, but then had to put on the damp, and now cold shirt.

Left the room and went over to the main building.

The group was having tea inside, but again the damn taking off shoe’s thing.

Myself and John did not want to do that, so we took our tea out to the picnic tables in the yard to drink.  Still a very large group using the archery range, so watch them a bit and talked.

We were soon joined by several others of our group.

Ben found us and once everyone was there, we headed out to the van so we could drive over to town for dinner.

We were eating at a well known place in town, Park 76 Café & Pub.

We arrived to a nearly empty place, took some comfy sofa chairs with a long table between them and ordered some drinks.  Music was thumping in the background, some sports on TV, and we spent some time talking while looking at food menu and choosing what we wanted.

The list was turned in and we kept talking, having drinks, and soon Kinley, the local tour operator that partners with Ben on the Bhutan trips joined us again as he had been out of town since we arrived last night.

We finally got our food (took about an hour) and ate, then talked more till we were left to decide if we wanted to go back to hotel, or stay for karaoke.

In then end we all wanted to go back, we were all tired, and we would be hitting the road on the bikes again in the morning.

We waited a bit for the van to arrive, and then rode back to the hotel.

Once back we all found our rooms.

I got out of the now slightly less damp clothes and hung them all out to dry out hopefully overnight.  Put on some dry clothes to sleep in tonight.

Put the GoPro batteries on the charger as 2 were really low and the 1 in the camera was down about 30%.

I also put the battery pack I had been using all day to charge my phone as I had forgot to put it on the charger last night.

I then pulled out the laptop to upload the footage from today and then type up this blog.

Now I will put the phone on the charger (after setting alarm for 7:00 as we are not leaving till 9:00.

Then will go to bed, and hope the pain pill will let me rest better as my body still hurts (though that hot water did help a lot).

Catch ya down the road!

Into Bhutan

October 8^th, 2026

Paro, Bhutan

Woke around 7:00AM and sat around for a bit.  Took a shower and then partially geared up.

Went down for breakfast, nothing too amazing, and then went back up to the room to finish packing.

Once done, checked over the room again, then grabbed my gear and the bags and headed downstairs.

Dropped bag in the front lobby where the driver was already loading them onto the support van.

I then walked over to the bikes which had been moved out onto the main parking lot.

Put the phone on the holder, installed the Go Pro in its holder and then ran it for a few seconds so I could adjust the angle of the camera, then tightened it all down.

I then spent a few minutes adjusting the straps for the tank bag so it would fit like I needed.

I had put the rain gear in my small backpack and grabbed one of the straps I used in Nepal.

Tried a few options and finally got the rain gear attached to the tail of the bike so I could easily access it when needed.

Once done, I ran the room key over to the hotel front desk, and when I returned it was time to get going.

We did a quick group photo first, then we put on the rest of the gear, got on the bikes and all started up.

Leader took off and we came in behind him.

First thing I found was trying to use the turn signals was a real pain.  Unlike every other bike I have ever ridden, the horn button was above the turn signal switch, so I kept hitting the horn instead of the signal.  Going to take a bit of time to get used to this setup.

We meandered through town for about 5 minutes until we arrived at the traffic center.

Here we parked up, and they the reviewed and verified that we were all riding the correct bikes. (They assign the bike number plate to you and it’s put in the official records).

Then one of the officers gave us a 20 minutes briefing to go over the road rules. 

Much of it was just common sense and similar rules we see back home.

A few things were new, like yielding to official vehicles, which can be determined by the yellow number plate.

The other odd one was the use of turn signals.  Besides using them to indicate a turn, they also use them to let someone know when they can pass, or to signal oncoming cars that they can go through as you will not be passing yet.  Confusing.

Once we completed this, we got on the bikes and headed out of the town.

We reached the main highway that heads north and started are journey.

The road is mostly 2 lanes, one in each direction, but some narrow spots do make things tight still.

Road was in fair shape, all paved except in areas where they are working on it, and few damaged spots where it has been worn away.  Lots of pot holes and uneven surfaces, especially in corners.

Some loose material on the roads in places as well.

The roads here are nearly all curves.  Straight sections of road are rarely more than a few 100 meters at most before another curve.

Also have hills!  The climb up was quick and steep in spots.  And the roads are just clinging to the hillsides in many places.

We stopped a few minutes out of town at the 1^st of 2 police checkpoints.

Here they again verified the bikes and riders matched and logged our passing.

We proceeded from there up the road, keeping a fair speed and having some great times on the corners.

The views would have been amazing too, except it was overcast, and the clouds were down low on the hills, so not much to see when you looked out over the edge.  Some places it even got foggy as the clouds were so low.

After some time had passed, we pulled over for a quick pit stop at a place with public toilets.  Primitive, but at least something to use.

Once everyone had the chance to use them, we moved onward and shortly after stopped for our lunch, though we arrived a bit earlier than expected.

Once we parked up the bikes, we all got off and spread out, some sitting at the table, others going to the toilets and others just standing around the bikes.

I went to use toilet, and then when I came back, I noticed a cat wandering around, so of course I had to spend some time trying to get the kitty to come over.

It would walk past and let me pet as it moved, but kept moving around.

I eventually went up and took a seat at the table an we snacked on a few potato chips Ben had put on the table.

The kitty came up on the patio and I managed to get it to come over to me, and it meowed at me wanting the potato chips.

I let it have a small piece, and then I patted my lap, and after a few seconds, he jumped up into my lap.  I pet him for a few seconds, and then he moved around to face a different direction, but this time he settled in for a longer stay.

We talked and I petted the cat for 20 minutes or more until the food was ready inside (buffet).

Once it was ready, I had to put the cat on the ground, which he did not really want to do, and then went over to wash hands.

Went through the line to get some food, not a huge selection, but most of it looked good.

Went back and sat down to eat.  Kitty was meowing at everyone, as he could smell the meat (not sure if yak, or buffalo, or even beef?).

I tried to give him some rice, ignore it, also tried some bread, ignored it.  He wanted the meat!

He made the rounds, and John did give him a small piece.

Once lunch was done, we all washed up, used toilets, and got ready.  Kitty was no where to be seen, wanted to pet him goodbye.

As I was getting on my bike, cat ran up on the patio with a piece of meat on the bone still, not even sure if this was cooked or not.  Thinking he had either been fed by the staff, or had found some garbage.

We moved out onto the road and it was much of the same, lots of curves, lots of hills, and lots of fun.

Later we pulled up at the next police checkpoint, and repeated the same process again.

Once past there, we pulled over about 15 minutes later for a coffee break.

Most of us were not really needing it, but this was the last place we would be able to stop as the rest of the route was on the older highway which no longer had as many shops on it.

The place we stopped was quite large, with a café, store, and restaurant in it.

I went inside to use the restroom after doing some photographs, then came out and wandered a bit.  Watched a few of the lazy dogs doing there thing, then went inside to see what the others were doing.

I was not really needing anything to drink, but as I wandered the store, I found a few snacks that looked good.  I decided to by a bag of spicy potato chips.

Tried to open the bag next door in the café, and it would not open.  Would not tear either.

Our guide saw me trying and he also tried, and then the staff noticed us and offered us a pair of scissors to cut it open.

Really good chip.  Naga Pepper flavored.

Once done, I went over to wash hands, then spent a bit of time talking before walking out to the bikes and just waiting there.

Soon everyone else appeared and we prepared to leave.

We continued down the road and then turned off onto the older road.

This road went up and over the higher points of the mountain, and was a narrow road, not much more than a single lane, with some wider sections.

Thankfully it was not heavily used, mostly just the local traffic to the villages on the road.

We zoomed in and out of the corners, tucked up in the trees and cliffsides all along the way.

After some time, we pulled over for a quick rest at a viewpoint looking out over the valley.

We could see the new highway below us, and the clouds had cleared some, so better views, but still quite hazy out.

We were now also at the highest point along this section of road.

We started heading down and soon reached the connection with the new highway.

Once we all go on the road, we took off, increasing speed here as the road was in much better shape and two full lanes again.

Traffic sadly increased as well, so lots of passing or waiting to pass.

As we neared Paro, we pulled over to stop at a small park area next to the river.

Over the river was a 600 year old iron chain link bridge that had been built back in the early 1400s (though could see many areas of more recent repair).

Sadly, you can no longer cross this bridge and people were stealing the iron from it for some reason.

There was another suspension bridge nearby that would allow you to cross and access the temple on the other side.

I wandered the area doing photos and video, and crossed over to the other side to check out the iron bridge from that angle, but did not hike up the hill to the temple.

Once we were done, we got back on the road, and headed toward town.

We were really zooming along as we were trying to get to the airport overlook to catch a plane that was coming in to land.

The International Airport in Paro is the only one in the country, it only gets flights from Bhutan airlines, private planes, and military.

It is also a very technical and difficult place to land a plane.

The valley is narrow and not that lone, surrounded by steep hillsides and peaks.

Only a small number of pilots can even land here.

We hit the view point, but were too late.  The plane had already landed.

We stayed and took a few photos, had a history lesson from our guide, and then we heard jet noises and managed to catch a plane taking off at least.  Even that was quite a crazy thing to watch.

We then headed the last few miles to the hotel.

We had to ride into town a bit, and school was just getting out, so it was quite busy with cars and pedestrians.

We turned up onto the steep, rough road that goes up to our hotel area.

We pulled in and parked the bikes, then grabbed our gear off the bikes and went into the lobby.

They were unloading our bags from the van into the lobby as well.

We stood around and talked a bit about tonight’s plans, and the following days plans.  We will be staying here two nights, to allow us time to explore some interesting places nearby.

We got our welcome hot tea from the staff, and once done, we picked up our room keys.

Our rooms are actually more like cabins, located out back behind the main building.

We walked over and got into the room and then left door open till the staff arrived with the bags as they insisted they carry them.

I checked out the room, figured out the lights and started to organize stuff.

Bag arrived shortly after, then I closed up the door and got out of the riding gear.

Used the bathroom to clean up some, and then sat and worked on getting Wi-Fi setup, and updating a few things.

While I was doing this, the message ding went off, and it was Ben asking if we were joining the group.

Myself and two others had missed something about going into town, I guess.

After I inquired about what we were going to do, I told them to give me five to finish changing.

We all met out from, except Jude who had not yet replied and later did say he did not want to go, boarded the van and were driven into the center of town.

Wow is this place busy.

Turns out that this week is part of a 3 week blessing ceremony where 200,000 people travel from all over Bhutan to pray and get blessed by one of the main religious figures in the country.

People were walking all over, cars filled the roads and large tents were setup to hold the people.

We finally parked and got out of the van, and then we split up into various groups.

I went with the guide, and 2 others to find an electronics store.  John needed a new screw for his action camera, and I was hoping they might have longer extensions I could use, as I do not like the camera position on the bike currently.

All the stores we found though only carried cell phone camera stuff, no action camera or GoPro equipment.

We wandered around a bit more, stopped inside a store so Ben could pick up some stuff and checked out the local goods.

We then found our way back to the van and once everyone was there, we loaded up and tried to get out of town.

By now the ceremony had finished for the day, and traffic was insane.

Took us probably 15 minutes to get 1 mile.

We stopped briefly to let the guide out of the van, and he lives in this town when not working, so will go home tonight instead of staying at the hotel.

We then continued on our way, the driver taking a shortcut that took us up one of the steepest hills I have seen.  Bit shocked the van made it up the hill with the 6 of us in it.

We reached the hotel and agreed to meet for dinner at 7:30.

I stopped inside the hotel gift shop to look around, and found the coin set for Bhutan, similar to what I had bought in Nepal.  I went over the sets and picked the one with the best looking coins (they were all roughly the same, but some had better conditions).

I took it over to the front desk and paid for it.  Cost me about $18 for 7 coins.

Went back to the room, got the Wi-Fi going and checked out the coins with image searches.

Managed to get most of the coins I wanted to find, and a few older coins I had not known existed.

Then I did a few online things until it was time to go get food.

Walked over to the restaurant, and found the table we were at.

It was a buffet setup, and the place was also packed.  Busiest hotel I have stayed at this entire trip.

Food was local cuisine, but all looked good.

Ate and then decided I was not hungry enough to get more, so we sat and talked for a while.

Eventually we all went back to rooms, many were tired, and I needed to get footage uploaded and this blog typed, so needed an hour.

But now that is done, and I am also tired, and need to be up around 6:00AM tomorrow to get breakfast and get ready so we can leave around 7:30 for our local explorations.

Time for bed.

Catch ya down the road.