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Advantages: Offers insights into the daily worship of Bhutanese Buddhists Disadvantages: There's not REALLY all that much to see
During our tour of Bhutan last November we visited many different temples and monasteries but it was relatively rare to actual see real people (i.e. not monks) interacting with their religious surroundings. The National Memorial Chorten was one big exception to this pattern
We arrived in Thimphu, the country's capital city, after dark and so had no idea what to expect when we opened the curtains of our hotel room the next morning. Directly in front of us was a river and then beyond the river lay a pristine city with the streets laid out in neat rows. One building caught my eye for its glistening golden spire and this turned out to be our first destination on our tour of Thimphu. It was the National Memorial Chorten or as I'll refer to it for this review, the NMC.
In major cities there's often a particular church, mosque or other ...
Advantages: Great views, quiet location Disadvantages: Boring food and no real character
Fame At Last
The River View is one of the best hotels in Thimphu ? it must be, my guide book said so. Even Ciao had it listed without me having to even request it. That doesn't happen very often with the places where I stay.
It's not one of the most expensive hotels in Thimphu ? apparently that accolade goes to the Taj Trashi which is still being built and is said to be likely to cost about $1000 a night. But who needs that much ostentation on their holiday? Not me. Actually despite being good enough for the Lonely Planet to know about it, I have to be honest and say that I don't think the hotel's as good as it thinks it is. However it's in a country where no hotel really needs to try very hard.
You can only go to Bhutan as part of an organised group, even if the 'group' is just one or two people. All your hotels are included ...
Advantages: Educational visit Disadvantages: It's not exactly Disney Land
"Would you like to see the paper factory?" our guide asked us as we wandered around the tourist attractions of Thimphu, Bhutan's capital city. We'd just left the National Library and he'd clearly realised that all his attempts to explain to us what sort of plants were used to make the paper used in the historic volumes had failed completely.
"It's made from Daphne" he said and we looked at him vaguely, with absolutely no idea what or who Daphne was. He tried and failed to explain and eventually realised that, unlike more horticulturally savvy guests, he'd landed himself a pair of ignorant dodos. We were clueless on plants appropriate for making paper.
And so, heading back to our hotel, the River View, we pulled off the main road and scuttled up a rather rough looking side road and parked up outside a small building with a hand ...
