I was in Bhutan in June 2007. Bhutan is a hassle to get into. For tourists the government has a set price of 200USD per night in the country, and you must be part of a guided tour. Most companies don't want to sell anything less than 5 or 10 days which was far beyond my budget at the time I was in the right part of the world. You can also be invited in if you know a local, or do aid work. With a lot of searching around I found a company willing to sell me one night and I got in. It isn't my style to have a guide, although mine was a nice guy. Bhutan is very different than the countries than surround it. The people are not that much richer, but seem it. The style of houses is uniform, a lot of things are uniform. It's a very friendly place, a place where people do seem satisfied. But it left me with a feeling of creepiness. The police checkpoint on the road. The Indian laborers living in squalor. Although the police were the only ones in South Asia not to carry big guns. So I am left with mixed feelings. Although I would like to go back.

Map of Bhutan

Bhutan Gate between Bhutan and India. Phuntsholing. June 2007.

Bus station at Phuntsholing. June 2007.

The highway from the border to Thimphu. Bhutan isn't very densely populated. Especially compared to the other countries in that part of the world. It is mostly forest. June 2007.

More of the road to Thimphu. June 2007.

More of the road. June 2007.

A religious building along the road. June 2007.

Now and then I saw farms along the road. They were mostly pretty neat. The buildings large and clean. June 2007.

While the Bhutanese seem to be quite well off, Indians working in Bhutan seem less so. The Indians are hired on a temporary basis to do hard jobs. It seems all the road work was being done by Indians, men, women and children. They live in poorly constructed hovels just off the road. While all the Bhutanese homes seemed to be quite nice. June 2007.

Downtown Thimphu. June 2007.

In Thimphu there are no traffic lights. Traffic is directed by hand. June 2007.

Thimphu by night. June 2007.

Hotel where I stayed my night in Thimphu. June 2007.

Stairs leading up to a temple. June 2007.

Thimphu has a few beautiful temples. June 2007.

Prayer flags on a hill above Thimphu. June 2007.

Another temple. With a clock. June 2007.

Looking towards Thimphu, farms and government buildings. June 2007.

Me on a hill near Thimphu. June 2007.

Going down from the mountains to India. Bhutan is in the mountains. Just over the border you start to go up and up. This is when I was coming back down to India. It was a beautiful sunset. The clouds covering Bhutan and India in the sun. I just made it to the border before it closed. June 2007.

View of Thimphu from prayer flags on a hill, June 2007.

Central square in Thimphu, June 2007.

Passport Stamps

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