Fes

25 November
Took a deep breath, asked the friendly man in reception how much a taxi would cost for the Granaries, and he said there's a meter and that's what you pay. Thanked him, onto the street, flagged down a taxi, and after showing him the map in our notes, he took us to a gate at the Royal Palace. We were a little lost as we didn't know where we were exactly, so we rounded the corner and found some guys to ask, and of the 3 one spoke a little English - we couldn't explain much in our crap French  - showed us where we were on the map, and gave us directions to get to the Granaries.
   We walked and walked and finding a small guardpost, asked the soldier there - who was very jolly and friendly - and he pointed to buildings diagonally opposite, maybe 500m away, to take a road opposite the guardpost, and then a left and head for the grande porte … finding ourselves at a reservoir, which serviced the Granaries, which we heard later is now only ornamental, but a substantial body of water nevertheless. We walked along the edge of the reservoir to the big doors, noticing there was restoration work going on on the upper walls of the palace, as Moulay Ismail's Heri es Souani Granaries are a part of the Palais Royale grounds; saw that the walls to the left of the doors were already buttressed. We guessed we had to head left and around a corner and found the entry door to the Granaries, but it was closed … bugger … today being Friday = the holy day for muslims, as well as election day today. Forgot to mention that everywhere on the streets and footpaths today, are election flyers. So much litter!
   We walked a little further, and noticed a cat, then a man appeared and asked if we wanted to see the Granaries, and we said yes, so he made a call and said wait 10 mins and we have to pay a guy the entry fee - MAD10 each - but this guy would show us around, and it was up to us if we wanted to tip him. So we wandered around with him, as he explained that slaves built all of this, that the Granaries, when full, would hold up to a year's supply of food for the King's horses; there were also artesian wells inside, with mechanisms to draw up water; we found out that the cat was very efficient kliller, that there aren't any rats [even birds] there … it followed us around, just like a dog, it was funny to see how all it wanted to do was pounce and chase shadows on the walls. We came to an area where horses were stabled, unroofed now, but capable of holding hundreds of horses … fantastic arches. I asked about the small square holes in the massive walls on the inside and outside, they are to stop the walls from cracking in the heat and cold, and to provide ventilation. The tour was over in perhaps 30-40 mins, and we thanked him [as well as a tip] for the privilege - and damn good fortune to be at the right place at the right time - and doubt either of our tour companions will have seen the Granaries as we did. Wow, how lucky was that?! The man also gave us directions to get back to the Palais Royale, even though we wouldn't be able to enter. And, once we knew all that, we had our bearings and could follow the Intrepid self-guided tour notes.
   It was a long walk, in the sun, the sky was blue, the palace walls high and dark brown, we had to pinch ourselves that we were where we were … sigh! Passed some impressive entry portals, tiled and decorated, one was open and a guard was hanging around and so I went back to have a look and made gesticulations with my fingers regarding "walk" and he said "non, privet" which I guess no mate, it's private, no access" and with a thankyou and a smile and a salute, kept going to a lovely big plaza lined with palms and orange trees. Finally got to the spot where the taxi dropped us off, and opposite were some handicrafts shops, and I spotted a kangaroo made of damascene metal - the proportions were all wrong but was a joy to see - the owner came over to ask us in to have a look and when we said "kangaroo" he knew we were Australians, and welcomed us in to have a look, no obligations. Lots of beautiful stuff, including tablecloths and napkins and cushion covers made by franciscan nuns, damascene metal objects, leathergoods, ceramics, glassware, as well as teapots and daggers [not sure if they were soley decorative]. Sheryl bought some cushion covers and I was tempted to buy a damascened Lucky Hand of Fatima, which wards off bad luck, but declined. The owner gave a short demonstration as to how he makes a damascened object, stamping silver thread onto blackened iron, which gets blackened 3 times and polished so the silver shines, but it was nothing like the damascened work we saw in Malta, which was exquisite; his stuff was a likeness, attractive, but not worthy of collecting really. Thanked him and bid fond farewells and wished us a happy visit.
   Found our way to the underground jail, that held prisoners who worked on capital works, and a man appeared asking if we wanted a guide to show us round, so Sheryl and he agreed on a price and spent the next 20 minutes in this space. It's been restored and is rather cavernous, and could only imagine the conditions for the inmates at the time. At one end were a number of thick columns and we shown the bits where neck, hands and ankle chains were attached for the "worst prisoners", 4 prisoners per column. Afterwards we found our way to the large plaza, Place de Medina, which had a large ceramics shops and half a dozen cafes to one side, the medina side. At the end of this plaza was a bank, which is our meeting point for our group at 12:30pm. We had an hour so agreed to follow a very well dressed tout for his cafe as the clincher was they sold avocado juice … so we sat down in the sun, watched the world go by, I had a coffee, snapped off some pix every now and then. The avocado juice was yummmmmm, we found out as we left that it was avocado and yoghurt put thru a blender, so it was thick, creamy and delicious, as well as quite filling. We still had 20 minutes so we checked out the nearby alleyways, which had fantastic windows and doors and colours, hearing the call to prayers the shopkeepers started shutting up shop, even though many were still trying to entice us to buy …
   Met up with Miloud in the square, and Simone wasn't far behind, waited on Grant, but he didn't show, so we wandered back into the alleyways to a tiny shop where we were going to try camelburghers, along with mint tea. The kitchen area could barely contain the cook and his little stove, and the seating area had a small table which could probably only fit 4 or 5 people at most, no bigger than 4 x 8 foot total. The burghers were delicious, the patties contained herbs and spices, a yummy light lunch. once done we returned to the square, to the giant portals and were picked up by our van. We stopped along the way and waited 5 mins, and suddenly Grant was in the van with a camel burgher … don't know that happened! back to our hotel for a toilet stop and picked up our luggage - I had a quick chat with the proprietor, who is the brother of the friendly guy at reception. Said our thanks and goodbyes, and loaded onto the van. The outskirts of Meknes were quite attractive, with many nice looking houses which gave way to olive orchards and farmland - Miloud told us the land between here and Fes is very fertile, with olives, almonds, oranges and crops as well as some sheep, didn't see any cattle. We were on our way to the Roman ruins of Volubilis, passing by a famous town whose name I didn't catch, but has something to do with the foundation of the royal lineage and creation of Fes.
At Volubilis we were met by a wonderful guide, Abdul, who took us round the ruins for well over an hour, explaining the many facets of what we were seeing, including entry gates, villas, mosaic floors, underfloor heating, a brothel, vomitorium, toilets, washing trough, temple, cemetery, drains, etc, amazing, dating from 1st century BC to 4th century AD. At its height it was estimated that some 20000 people lived there, and the city was flattened by an earthquake somewhere round the 1600s - not sure on the date. The guide, Abdul-lai, was a thorough gentleman and very enthusiastic with imparting loads of information and background. Once done, thanked him, also a tip, then boarded the bus for our journey onto Fes, which we reached after the sun had sunk. Another city, but we're told it's the most complete medieval city in Africa, so can't wait to see what we will see tomorrow.
   After mint tea we were assigned our rooms, then met in the lobby at 7:30 to be driven to a restaurant called Dar Hatim, which is found in a typical riad - home - the surrounding area was quite grotty and seedy, and reached by walking up dimly lit narrow alleyways to a metal door, and once in it was like another world, whitewashed walls with tiled decoration, lovely colourful plush couch furnishings, and onto a larger room, which looks like a courtyard that is now covered, the walls up to headheight covered with wall hangings, it was a welcoming room. Miloud told us it was a typical house whose lower floor and courtyard has been converted to a restaurant, the husband and wife owners, as well as husband's mum and a couple of assistants do all the cooking. The wife welcomed us warmly and we knew we were in for a treat! The entree was 12 vegetable dishes plus bread that we shared, followed by a main course which is the house specialty, pastilla - a chicken pie, but a chicken pie I've never tasted before: a complex dish of many spices plus chicken, encased in a filo like pie, with sugared cinnamon and a few almonds on top - it was simply divine, like nothing I've ever tasted before, sweet, scrumptuous, filling! A large platter with fresh fruit was delivered along with hot drinks and an accompaniment which tasted like moist crumbled spekulaa biscuits infused with sesame seeds, yum. We were also treated to a quick tour of the private house, the main bedroom had a ceiling of carved cedar, as was the large headboard, wall lights, screens … it was gorgeous - we met the cooks in the kitchen and thanked them warmly for our delicious meal - then up to the closed in terrace, with views to the old city. Wow! What a day!

26 November
Wandered downstairs, to the cafe on the corner, which seemed the only one open, ordered crepes with honey and banana and hot drinks each, yum, great way to start the day, chatted, watched the world go by. At 9 boarded the van and head off to a big square opposite the Royal Palace, where we were met by Mohamed, a local guide who was going to spend most of the day with us and show us around Fes. It ended up being a big day really, lots of walking, but first we admired the main gates of the Palace, a larger central gate with 2 smaller ones either side, decorated with tiles, stucco, bronze doors. Very impressive. Boarding the bus we were taking to one of the defensive towers dating from the 16th century, the Borj Sud - South Tower - from which you got a fantastic panorama of the old city in front, with hills in the background with olive groves.
   From our travel notes: Fes was founded in 808AD by the Moroccan ruler Idrus II. It is divided into 3 parts: 1) Fes el-Bali [Old Fes medina], one of the largest living medieval cities in the world with c35000 people living there, a labyrinth of 9400 narrow lanes packed with bazaars selling pretty much anything you can think of. 2) Fes el-Jdid [New Fes] dates from the 13th century, which is where the Royal Palace is located, and also home of the town's Jewish population from the 14th century until the mid-20th century [originally expelled from Europe]. 3) The Ville Nouvelle built in the 1920s, during the French Protectorate era, an area of boulevards, cafes and restaurants. Fes is the oldest of the imperial cities, and arguably the symbolic heart of Morocco.
   We could see all those 3 parts from the South Tower. We returned to the van and made our way down to the medina, where we visited a ceramics factory, and given a short tour of the factory, where we saw the preparation of clay, the creation of pots on foot-powered wheels, the kilns, and the handpainting of glazes to the creation of coloured tiles, which were then chipped and tapped by hammers into various shapes which were then used to create mosaics for tables, fountains, etc. Their showrooms were amazing with all kinds of pots and platters and bowls and tagines and vases and tiles, etc for sale …and, of course we were enticed to buy, that our large orders could be packed most carefully and shipped to Australia …
   Returned to the van and driven closer to the actual market area, where we followed our tour leader and Mohamed from one alley to another, stopping every now an then for an explanation of what we were seeing, where they came from, etc. In no time flat there was no way we could have figured out where we were and how to get out of there! People everywhere, noises, sights, smells, donkeys, handcarts, touts, sellers, displays, quiet little nooks and crannies, even smaller alleys leading off to god knows where, sometimes nothing but sky overhead, other times lattice or plastic sheets, whatever came to hand … it was almost impossible to find the time to keep walking and look up to notice windows or shutters, little towers, etc. Every now and then we came across rather elaborate doors and portals, entrance to the mosque, where again beautifully decorated with tiles, stucco, carved and painted and gilded cedar, carved marble, etc, with beautiful hanging lamps. But underfoot all manner of paving, littler, detritus, bits of this and that, cats, dried up donkey poo - the donkeys are not shod with metal shoes but with bits of car tyre. We saw clothing and wool and cotton and silk being dyed in the alleys, we visited a leathergoods shops, which had a terrace overlooking the dye vats, all the dyes are natural, ie the blues from indigo, green from pistacchio, yellow from saffron [the most expensive colour], etc. The white vats had pigeon poo in them, which had ammonia in it, and guys were in there, boots and all, quite literally. It was almost overwhelming at times, and it was great we were being led by Mohamed, who has lived there all his life, and who was frequently greeted by many people. He explained to us that a greeting forms a very important part of meeting someone, the handshake, kisses, and spending time asking after family, health, life, work, everything … different forms of greetings for family, friends, parents, etc.
   We had lunch at a small cafe in the medina, where we were warmly greeted by the family, and asked to taste the different mains to see which one we wanted, and once seated were brought bread and dishes of vegetables - like last night - as well as our main, and drinks, with mint tea afterwards. It was delicious, and a respite from the hustle and bustle of the bazaar, great to take a breath and chillax! Once lunch was over, we continued our tour of the bazaar, moving from the woodworking area to a weaving factory, converted from a former caravan stop - ie camel caravan, where we were shown some beautiful woven cloths and scarves, etc, and an older gentleman was weaving a piece, which was fascinating to watch. Then onto carpet making, ushered into a carpet showroom, with 2 ladies producing a carpet on a loom upstairs, and were given a show of various carpets, and enticed to buy, but of course! Had my eye on one piece in particular, and guess what, it was the most expensive one there … funny that! It was nice to be complimented on my refined taste … sure, haha!
   Onwards we went, it was all becoming a bit of a blur, and by c4:30 we finally returned to our van, and realised by remembering our surrounds last night, that it was quite close by where we had dinner last night. We returned to our hotel, with Mohamed giving quite an eloquent farewell, thanking us for our visit to Fes, Morocco, to spend time with him, for our attention, to pass on his warmest wishes to our fellow countrymen, families, loved ones … and to continue to have a wonderful time in travels in Morocco. We thanked him warmly as well, a tip. Another big day.

Last days in Malta

20 November
Woke up to the sound of a band playing, coming from the harbour, a large cruise ship had docked, not many church bells. After brekky, to the Tourist Information Office to ask about the Sunday market, and were given some basic directions, so we headed down the sweep of Triq Girolamo Cassar to St Anne St, most of the shops on either side were closed, empty or very tired looking; a couple of bars were open and people were already drinking, seemed a bit seedy here. We kept walking, found the main city gate, and round the corner to our left we spotted some stalls and hoped that was the market … yes it was … the first stalls we came across were ones selling live birds, in small cages, of many different varieties, don't know what they were called, but mostly quite small, not many coloured, some very pretty little feathered things, as well as finches, cockatiels, budgies, and a parrot, which we think might be Australian. Was told not to take pix, and I wondered how legal this trade was. From then on it was a real flea market, of all sorts of stuff from plumbing, leathergoods, clothing, bric-a-brac, "collectables", food, Maltese lace, Christmas tableware, knock-off DVDs/CDs, etc … had a wander but we didn't think much of it.
   Decided to head back, and along the way saw one of the old-fashioned buses, probably dating from the 50s or so, the one I saw was orange, in beautiful condition, gorgeous looking beast! To the Upper Barrakka Gardens kiosk for hot drinks and a cake, in the sun, wonderful. Down to the town, to find the Museum of Archaeology, round the corner from St John's, on Republic Street. Paid our entry, and wandered over to see the exhibition of Neolithic objects, with information panels - here were the originals of objects and stonework found at the temples we visited yesterday, as well as the Hypogeum, which we're visiting this afternoon. Stunned to know that some of the artifacts are from 5000BC, or even earlier!
   There was info overload, and if we had more time, and some rest breaks to process everything, a lot more would have sunk in. Suffice to say, was impressed. Upstairs was an exhibition called "Metal Magic, Spanish Treasures from the Khalili Collection". Wow, wow, wowwwwww!!! Never seen anything like it before, the most amazing metal works of art I think I've ever seen – heritagemalta.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/metal-magic. I don't recall ever seeing pieces of Spanish Damascene Metal before - googled 'damascene': pieces of real gold and silver are inlaid into the surface of the metal that receives them, and then the base metal field that received the inlaid gold and silver is blackened. The pieces we saw were exquisite: jewellery cases, mirrors, vases, as well as various weapons like daggers, swords and pistols which had damascene decoration. One major piece was a massive box, commissioned by an English collector, 201 x 121 x 86 cm, it was an incredible piece of work, every inch of it was decorated, the detail of it was awe-inspiring, and I wish i could've taken a photo of it as no words would be able to describe it, even the inside of this chest was inlaid or painted, couldn't tell which. I cannot believe how beautiful it was, and I can't imagine how much it would be worth on the art market if it was ever to be sold.
   Wish we had more time but we needed to hightail it to do some washing [no washing service available today], then for lunch and to get an earlyish bus to the Hypogeum. Returned to the kiosk at Upper Barrakka Gardens, for baguette and cold drink each. Then to the bus terminus to work out which bus to take, buy tix, and off we went. Got a little waylaid finding the Hypogeum, which is actually underneath early 20th century housing - it was kept a secret from the government for a few years on discovery by land developers. The government bought some houses and demolished them in order to preserve the site, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were early, and tried to find somewhere selling icecreams or even hot drinks, but, being Sunday, everything was pretty much closed, so we trudged back to the Hypogeum, and waited about half an hour before entering the exhibition building.
   The Hal Saflieni Hypogeum is an incredible underground necropolis, discovered during building work in 1902. It consists of halls, chambers and passages hewn out of the living rock and covering some 500 sq metres; it is thought to date from around 3600 to 3000 BC, and an estimated 7000 bodies may have been interred here. Entrance is limited to 80 persons a day. No pix allowed, bags stored in a cupboard, our group of 8 people were given an audio tour, which was great. It was incredible to tour this site, which is being very thoughtfully preserved and conserved, being monitored closely for water and carbon dioxide, which causes degradation of the limestone. To think that these chambers were carved by basic stone, horn and antler tools, with limited lighting, amazed us. It was explained that it may taken a 1000 years to carve out these chambers. Of note here, underneath the surface, were rooms and entrances that mirrored how buildings were constructed up above, which gives archaeologists a great insight on building techniques of structures that are now collapsed. Today was from one extreme to the other in terms of human endeavour and creativity, from human hand and clay and simple tools to damascene … mindblowing!
   Caught the bus back to the terminus, found a cafe nearby for an almond tart and hot drinks. Was asked by a group table of Russian, Chinese and Spanish youngsters to take their pic, which was fun.It was c8pm, realised we were hungry, climbed the stairs to the rooftop restaurant, which had a handful of tables with people eating and talking. We sat a couple of tables away from an Englishman and an American lady, who were chatting away, especially the gentleman … we were intrigued: how did they meet, was it a date, what was going on there? Ha ha … all part of the fun of being travellers and gently eavesdropping and coming up with theories … Dinner was yum, and afterwards, back to our room.
   During walks, recognise many of the names on shopfronts; Agius, Fenech, Camilleri, Grech, Vassallo, Galea, Micallef, Azzupardi, Zammit, Vella, Spiteri, Schembri, Saliba, Pace, Mercieca, Gauci, Farrugia …


21 November
Told the very friendly fella down in the hotel lobby we're off to Mdina today and he said that it was his favourite city, which bodes well for us. He told us the bus number to take and wished us a good day. To the bus terminus, checked the routes, bought tix, and waited for the bus. Unfortunately, the Maltese are as bad as Italians when it comes to understanding, or following, the concept of queueing, they just push in and rush the entrance to the bus as it arrives, even when people are trying to get off. Had to stand for about half the trip, which wasn't all that far anyway. Finally got to Mdina after c20 minutes or so, loved the view from the plain to the fortified city.
   Once we got off at the stop, had to cross the road and walk maybe 50m to the city gate, noticing the ditch, which was a moat, was quite deep, again the creamy/honey colour of the limestone looked quite beautiful, even though the fortifications were quite foreboding. Admired the impressive main gate and once in were transported to another time, another place, and it reminded us of San Gimignano. A wider central road with smaller, narrower, curving lanes branching off it, with impressive buildings on the main street, and in the lanes mainly residences, with their simple doorways and maybe a window, every now and then a religious Madonna and child set into the wall, on main corners were simple black wrought iron lanterns.
   A simple, elegant, small, quiet world away from any hustle and bustle, where you could lose yourself in your own thoughts and imaginings, a very romantic place too. Found some shops selling beautiful arts and crafts, especially one with Mdina glassware, which is gorgeous … could have bought many pieces there. Walked our way to the edge of the city, which is tiny, maybe 200m if that, to a small square, and a vantage point overlooking the plain below, with farms and views to distant towns … we could see Valletta from here. We let what we saw soak in, and a lady in a uniform and clipboard approached us, a tourist survey for European visitors, and Australia was not on her list, grrr. Had a good long chat with this lady, she looked to be in her late 30s, early 40s, and is the youngest of 17 - yes, seventeen! - children, she never knew her eldest brother, who lives in Sydney, who left home at 18. She had the impression that there were poisonous snakes and spiders everywhere, as well as sharks, which was funny to hear. Other than that she didn't seem to know all that much about Australia, never been there.
   Life is harder in Malta, housing prices, electricity, etc, all up, difficult to get your own place, especially if you're starting out in life … same as everywhere in the world. Heard that a 2 bedroom flat, no garage, sitting room, kitchen, bathroom, linen cupboard, not all that big, would set you back perhaps 77000 Eu upwards … seems cheap to me … electricity here appears to be produced by fuel generators, and we heard from someone else water is created by reverse osmosis. There is a "green belt" here for farmers, as land is precious, and you can't sell it for development. People are moving away from the older parts of Malta, like Valletta, because of the prohibitive cost of maintaining the residences, so people buy up the new places, as in Sliema, Bugibba and Qawra, which are booming. Other things she told us were that Arabian money is big here in Malta, lots of investment; also the new bus company, Arriva, which is foreign-owned, is causing everyone headaches as the route numbers have changed, it's more expensive, etc; that the African refugee problem in Lampedusa in Italy is massive, and that refugees are being sent here from there … once they are found to be genuine, many of them try to get visas to work in Germany. Our paltry 5000 asylum seekers that come by boat in a year are a drop in the ocean in comparison – saw an article on the web where 4000 arrived from Tunisia in a WEEK! The politicians, shock jocks and one-eyed media in Australia really need to get a grip on reality! It was a good insight given to us on a few issues concerning the average Maltese person … each day we have a short conversation with someone where we learn something. It's always good to hear Aussies are held in high regard here, as there are many Maltese in Australia … our newest friend told us that if they were all to return, Malta couldn't fit them in.
   After our farewells, we continued wandering the back lanes, enjoying the slow pace and silence, coming across small groups of students with their sketch pads. We were invited to check out "The Knights of St John" and "The Mdina Experience", the latter a video showing a short history of Mdina including the various conquests by the Romans, Phonecians and the British over many hundreds of years – the Turkish and French ultimately were repelled, even though the Turks caused massive havoc and seized the entire population of Gozo and took them away as slaves – and once again amazed by the very thought of some 7000 years of human history on these small islands. The things you learn as a traveller …
   Found a nice cafe for lunch, then headed back to the bustop, returning to Valletta as the sun began to fall, which is towards 5pm. Walking down the hill from the City Gate Project found a cafe for a rest and hot drink before returning to our hotel. Our time in Malta is drawing to a close, tonight is our last night, need to pack and get ready for an early start and a long day of travelling tomorrow. We fly to Rome, which is 1.5 hrs, then a 6 hour layover, then it's c3.5 hrs to Casablanca, where we have a night to ourselves, then join our 2 week Intrepid tour group the following evening.
  Our time in Malta was slow-paced, enjoyable, relaxing, easy to get around despite the crazy Hop-On Hop-Off "system" on our first full day, food and drinks were relatively cheap - white tea 1,20 Eu, coffee 1,60 Eu, toasted sandwich <5 Eu, main pasta course <10 Eu, etc. Weather was pleasant for this time of year - Autumn - and pretty much everyone we dealt with were pleasant and it was a joy to meet some Maltese people and to have a chat or cheerfully given directions. Well worth the visit, we could have seen more, but … Mdina is definitely a must see if any of you are considering a visit to Malta, and plenty to see for the history buffs.

Christmas is early in Valletta

18 November
Leaving the hotel, turned left and headed towards the building diagonally opposite our room window, thinking it might be a church or exhibition space, but was the Malta Stock Exchange. To the Upper Barrakka Gardens, which were quite pretty, with a fantastic view across Grand Harbour, 2 arched colonnades with a garden, trees and many statues, and balconies to admire the views. Below the gardens, set on a terrace, was the Saluting Battery, with patches of healthy green grass behind the black cannons. There was a small kiosk in the gardens where a bunch of cats lazed and prowled amongst the pigeons.
   Walked down the hill, seeing a Hop-On Hop-Off bus, flagged it down as it was about to leave and boarded it. It drove to Lascar's Wharf, paid for our tickets and were handed a pair of earphones each. We eventually boarded a Hop-On Hop-Off bus, but unknowingly took the wrong one – we were hoping to get the one that went past Blue Grotto, but instead took a shorted Violet loop bus. It was OK as it was, except that the commentary wasn't playing on our side of the bus. So, we just watched the scenery go by, going thru various suburbs or towns, not sure what we were seeing, but the housing was like legoland, 2-3 story structures side-by side, like boxes or variations of cubes, mostly built of the yellowy-cream coloured limestone. Small shops set underneath, narrow roads, and every now and then glimpses of farmlets.
   We arrived at Mdina, and when a pile of people disembarked from up top, we moved upstairs to the open top for a better vantage point. Mdina looks really interesting, and we'll probably take a bus out there in our own time. According to the Hop-On Hop-Off bus info book, "Mdina is the old capital city of Malta, dating back to pre-historic times. It's a medieval walled city and is surrounded by Baroque style palaces and churches". We passed thru an arts "colony" called Ta' Qali Crafts Village: "shortly before WWII, the area of Ta' Qali was used to build a military aerodrome and served as a station for the RAF". Here you find Mdina Glass and jewellery production, as well as other arts and crafts. We passed thru the town of Mosta, whose Church of Santa Maria – better known as the Rotunda [styled after the Pantheon in Rome] – is quite impressive … another place to check out. We also passed by the beautiful marina which can house 900 yachts … it looked quite swanky indeed.
   Back to Valletta, time for lunch, and we noticed hordes of people in the streets, courtesy of the cruise liners, so thought finding a space in a cafe would be very difficult. Sheryl found a small place and we had a lovely lunch – toasted sandwiches with the nicest crustiest rustic bread [yum] and small side salads, and drinks, again, very cheap. We had a hell of a time trying to work out how to get to our "free" harbour cruise, as part of our Hop-On Hop-Off tickets; Sheryl went to our hotel concierge, who helpfully explained we need to cross over to the other side of the city [only 300m] to take a water taxi over to catch a ferry from Sliema. Was tricky to work out how to get down to the jetty from the battlements, bought our tix, then waited for the taxi. A beautiful sunny day, it wasn't a terrible thing to have to do, the view over to Sliema was very interesting as it was obviously where all the holiday apartments are being built, looked very ritzy and Gold Coast without the high rise towers.
   The ride over to Sliema was a little hair-raising as the water was quite choppy, was fun. Once there, we found out we had to change our Hop-On Hop-Off ticket for a Cruise ticket, found an gelati van and for 3 Eu each, got a large waffle cone with 3 different scoops, amazing value! and yum, yum, yummmmmm! Boarded the rather large cruise vessel, and after c10 mins we were off, at a nice gentle pace, travelling around Manoel Island, withe the Fortizza Manoel at the tip, to the Lazaretto Bay, with yachts and what looked like Malta Navy vessels, used to patrol Malta waters for illegal immigration, etc. We then headed out to the tip of Valletta, past Marsmaxett Harbour, past all the fortifications, bastions and watchtowers which were quite ominous, onto quite choppy waters so that even our large vessel bobbed quite a lot. We entered the Grand Harbour and visited the dry docks, spotted vessels in for repair, as well as a RAN vessel docked opposite the dry docks. I think I heard the commentary saying these were the largest dry docks complex in the Mediterranean. Some of the cranes there were HUGE.
   Visited the 3 cities Cospicua, Senglea and Vittoriosa, with Fort St Angelo and Fort Ricasoli and their battlements and watchtowers adding to the mix of houses stacked against eachother, churches, marinas, etc. The views across the water to these towns were unique and wondrous, especially with the now golden sun slowly sinking. Valletta has 3 km of battlements surrounding the city, and is the only city of Europe to be contained by such walls; they are huge and imposing and an amazing feat of design and engineering. You could imagine how forbidding all the fortifications we could see would have been over the centuries of attempted blockage and invasion. We retraced our path thru the choppy, heaving entry to the Grand Harbour before returning to the jetty at Sliema. We were told all the buses head to Valletta so we caught the next bus to arrive back to the main bus terminus. Went for a wander down streets we hadn't visited, to get more of a feel of the place, before heading back to our hotel after picking up some cold drinks. Saw a Christmas tree with lights in one of the built-in baconies, as well as Christmas decorations being installed in Market Street.
   All in all a lovely day, loved the cruise, highly recommended. Noticed during our saunter that there are many shops/houses that look locked up and perhaps not lived in; wonder how many people have left this area for the more swankier parts of Malta, if they're vacant? not able to be sold? what? More questions to ask …

19 November
With map in hand headed down into town to try to find The National Museum of Fine Arts, as we wanted to book for the Hypogeum. Had trouble finding the Museum, stopped a passerby for help, and once we found it, we booked for 4pm tomorrow, as well as entry tix for us [2 Eu each]. A small museum, 2 floors up, one floor down, mainly paintings, some wonderful wooden furniture, many with inlay, as well as religious artefacts, and a fresco dating back to the 14th century. Downstairs was a small exhibition of contemporary acrylic paintings by Maria Dalmas, some of which I'd be happy to take home with me. The paintings were exhibited below, on the walls of the interior courtyard, when you looked up you saw 2 floors with balconies and to a square of blue sky with white clouds whizzing by overhead. It was bright, cool, and quiet, a lovely space.
   Headed back up the hill towards the St John's and St Michaels' Bastions, a quick wander into hastings Gardens, with views of to Sliema, the Black Pearl and the marina we visited yesterday during our harbour cruise. Due to some major works, there was a diversion, and walking back we encountered a very genial Maltese man in his 80s, who gave us quick directions for a shortcut, and a chat for 10-15 minutes. It's times like these I truly enjoy being a traveller, as you bump into so many lovely people who welcome you to their country, offer little insights into history, politics and a "slice of life" of their hometown. The impression we've gotten so far is that they don't like German or the French very much … haha! He thought we might have been English, but when we said we were Australians we were asked if we had a kangaroo as a pet, with tongue in cheek. We thanked him and bid him a fond farewell, and made our way to the main bus terminus, via the works of the new Parliament House, designed by the eminent Italian architect, Renzo Piano.
   Asked for information on how to get to The Blue Grotto: take the X4 or X5 to the airport, then the 201 to the Grotto … easy! Bought day tix, 2,60 Eu each, and perhaps 45 minutes later we were buying tickets for the Blue Grotto Boat Service. Once the small boat was full, we were asked to put on lifevests, and off we headed, in choppy waters with perhaps a 1m swell, which was quite fun, the vessel bobbing about in deep blue waters, following the cliffs round to various caves and the Blue Grotto, where, if it was a bright sunny day, we would have experienced a deep blue shimmer to the waters … we got a reasonable approximation, and in one cave, where there was a sandy bottom, the clear waters indeed looked a beautiful pale aqua, beautiful. We saw abseilers at the bottom of cliffs, ropes anchored up top, looking upwards … glad it was them, not me. There was an arch formation too, which was quite impressive. It was a fun little cruise, and after about 30 minutes, we returned to the jetty, then up to a local cafe for lunch and hot drinks.
   Returned to the bus stop for the bus to take us to the Heritage Malta Visitor Centre for the Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples. Lots of dry stone walls made of the local cream and honey coloured limestone, bordering small farmlets, lanes and properties, plenty of prickly pear cactus, dark brown coloured soil … looked very rustic, charming. Arriving at the Visitor Centre drive, we walked up and around, bought entry tix, then waited a few minutes to see the short video presentation. There was a very informative display to take in, on exiting the cinema, a great introduction to what we were about to visit. A short walk to the Hagar Qim Temple, which, according to the brochure, "consists of a group of monumental megalithic buildings … built during the late Neolithic, around 5000 years ago". In short, damn old, the oldest free-standing human structures, older than the Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge! Being constructed of the soft local limestone, they were severely weathered and are covered by massive steel and plastic sheets. Nonetheless, what we entered was awe-inspiring and incredibly impressive … there were some massive pieces of limestone arranged in walls and doorways, with no metal tools! There was something deeply moving by these structures, human hands moved these stones, shaped them, drilled holes into them, carved shapes and decoration into them, all that time ago … a 5 minute walk down a slope was the Mnajdra Temples, built 3600-3200BC, again, impressive, and amazed that one piece of limestone there was about 20 tons! According to the brochure some of the doorways were built aligning to the rising of the sun at equinoxes at various times of the year, which is impressive. Couldn't get over the fact of the age of these structures, the landscape looking rather bleak and rocky, weathered, ancient …
   We returned to Valletta via the airport, noticing that Christmas lights were illuminated at various points along the way. Headed down the hill for dinner. We saw people congregating outside St John's, with banners and instruments, and as we paid for dinner, the band struck up and a precession wound it's way towards us, and then along Market Street … love a good brass band! We followed the procession for a while, with the bannermen stopping for a few minutes every 50m or so. We asked a lady standing next to us what it was all about: it was for the Feast of St Cecelia.
   Tomorrow we intend going to the Sunday Market, maybe see a film about Malta, then off to the Hypogeum in the afternoon. Monday is our last full day here.

Istanbul delights

15 November
Rugged up with jackets and off we walked round the corner and found many lovely handicrafts shops, with beautiful ceramics, lighting, clothing, carpets, etc, as well as old stone walls and turret. We spotted a carpet shop which looked rally nice, so she went in and I soon followed after taking some pix. There was a big carpet on the wall which took our eye, we asked the young man in there how much – he couldn't really speak English, so he went upstairs and woke the owner, who came down and told us it was USD5500 – way, way, way out of our league – and then proceeded to show us all sorts of carpets, different shapes and sizes, silk, woven, woven/carpet mix, etc, then said he could that original carpet we liked for USD4000 including shipping … tempting, but no, too expensive and probably way too big for our living room. Thanked him, took his card, said our farewells and walked further along the street, which has a tram route on it, and saw double- and triple-length trams running up and down this street. There were some beautiful shops there with more and more to see, ceramics, lighting, carpets, cafes, all manner of shops, as well as sweet delicacies which were very inviting. Stepped into a shop that sold all sorts of turkish delight, teas and spices, and we tried some delights and bought a kilo of mixed types of turkish delight. Some of the teas were for stomach, love, cholesterol, apple, cherry, mixed, green, etc, they smelled fantastic when the shopkeeper shovelled scoops and got us to smell, yummmm. The delights were enough and we kept walking, looking at shops, taking pix, etc. reached the end of the street and saw this amazing shop which had coffee, tea, baclava, turkish delight's, looked inviting so we went in, ordered 2 different pieces of baclava, an apple tea and a turkish coffee, sat at a table next to the window and noticed that most of the shops there were for photographic supplies. Enjoyed our morning tea, watching the people walk by.
   After lunch back to the hotel, where a fella was waiting to walk us to a nearby bus for our half day tour; we were met by a lovely young lady, Melik, who welcomed us. Melik gave a short rundown for what was going to happen. After a while, the bus finally left for the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, which is opposite the impressive Yeni Mosque, and near the Sirkeci Train Station. We had spotted a tower from the rooftop of our hotel, and saw it again, closer, form where we were, and asked Melik what it was: the Galata Tower. Diagonally away from the square next to the Bazaar is Suleymaniye Mosque. Melik organised that we meet next to the bustop at 2:20, so we had 40 minutes to check out the Bazaar.
   Walked in thru the massive wooden entry doors and suddenly transported to another world, perhaps 100 shops selling all kinds of goods, from ceramics, tapestries, cushion covers, scarves, spices, turkish delights, footwear, lighting, jewellery, belly-dancing outfits, all kinds of handicrafts and souvenirs, with touts saying hello, asking where we were from, did we want to try this, that and the other, etc. We bought some cushion covers, haggling a lower price with a scarf thrown in. Time to head back to the meeting point, had to wait for some stragglers, then we were off. Drove over the Galata Bridge – lots of guys fishing off it – Melik telling us there were 9 million one side and 6 million the other, with 2 million people crossing from Europe to Asia side each day. Also that we were crossing from the Old City, with structures dating from the 4th century, to the New City, dating from 16th and 17th centuries onwards … it didn't take long to reach the ferry jetty once over the bridge.
   Hopped on, there weren't many on board, so we practically had the run of the vessel. It was quite cold, and we were on the rear top deck; had a chat with Melik, she recommends 5 days in Istanbul, 2-3 days in Cappadocia, 2-3 days in Ephesus [which includes Mother Mary's house], so 2 weeks would be enough. The snow covered mountains we saw on our way in yesterday afternoon are near the Cappadocia area. The earthquakes happened in the far east of the country, and Melik said over 500 people have died. The ferry trip was fantastic, albeight damn cold, passing along the West Bank of the Bosphorus, seeing lots of guys fishing from the bank. Heaps and heaps of apartment blocks, many painted tuscan colours, as well as light mint greens, yellows and blues, seems that every square foot of the slopes of the hills either side of the Bosphorus were covered in some form of housing, as well as the occasional mosque, and plenty of massive Turkish flags flying on top of high flagpoles. We passed some very magnificent palaces, one of which is now a very exclusive hotel, as well as mosques: Nusretiya Mosque, Dolmabahce Mosque, Dolmabahce Palace, Tomb of Barbarossa, Ciragan Palace Hotel, Nusretiya Mosque, and a massive old fort with battlements and towers on the left bank just before the Bosphorus Bridge … we crossed over to the opposite bank, passing by many beautiful houses, and saw some cemeteries, we were told they were amongst the most expensive in all of Turkey. Also, Iskele Mosque, Yeni Valide Mosque, Semsipasa Mosque, and in the "bay", what looked like a small lighthouse, called Leander's Tower, which is pretty much where the ferry headed straight back to the jetty from which it departed.
   Shame it was so grey, overcast and showery, the colours of the apartment blocks would have looked even more beautiful. We were asked where we wanted to be dropped off and we said Galata Tower. So, off we went, saw some amazing big views of the Beyoglu area and across to the Fatih area on the opposite bank. About 5 minutes later we were dropped off near some traffic lights and given basic directions to get to the Tower. We kind of followed our noses and found our way to the Tower, the area reminded us of Paris, with narrow, cobbled streets, rising to the Tower, lots of small shops. Entered the Tower and paid the entry fee, took a lift, then we had to climb a few flights of stairs following the curves of the walls, and then stepped outside to the desk with sweeping views which took our breath away, amazing to see the size and scale of the city below us, as well as the waters of the Golden Horn, and Bosphorus, bridges, mosques, rooftop restaurants, the streets below really did remind us of Paris. Pretty much figured how we needed to go to get back to the Galata Bridge. Stayed up there for a while, before it started getting dark and really cold, and it was raining lightly. Read the info on the display in the area in front of the lifts, then we descended to ground area, and walked in zigzags down the hill, checking out the shops, feeling like real adventurers, feeling safe, enjoying the moment, being together, with no-one telling us where to go and when … found that we needed to go to an underpass to get to the bridge, the tunnel had heaps of shops selling all kinds of stuff. Walked along the bridge, enjoying the views, as well as seeing just how many people were fishing, the ferries, mosques all lit up, etc. Over the bridge, and another underpass to get to the square opposite the Spice Bazaar, and worked out that it was a simple route to get back to our hotel. To the hotel, and booked for a whirling dervish show tomorrow night as tonight's wasn't going to be put on due to not enough numbers.

16 November
We were picked up by the Globalite van just after 9. The driver was the smiling guy who met us at the airport 2 nights back, Genghis Khan, as well as a young man who was to be our guide today. In the van was a mum and 2 daughters, as well as her mum, all from Melbourne [Essendon], small world! We drove to the Blue Mosque, which was a rather large structure on top of a hill, and very impressive inside, once we'd taken off our shoes. We were given a short tour of the interior, which was gorgeous, the central dome on top of half domes, 4 huge columns, so much decoration, tiled and handpainted, along with rings of lights, carpeted floor, another space that inspired awe and faith. I think from floor to top of central dome was 43m. I think the mosque we saw in Cairo 3 years ago was more impressive, but who am I to quibble?
   Once outside and shoes back on, we headed to Topkapi Palace, main residence of the Ottoman Sultans, passing thru a number of courtyards with grand gates, till we reached various pavilions and large rooms now used as galleries to exhibit treasures amassed by the Sultans, many of them encrusted with emeralds, rubies, and turquoise, various thrones, religious relics including the staff of Moses and arm bones of St John, etc; also clothing used by various Sultans, some of which dated from early 15th century. We only had an hour's free time and we could have spent a whole day wandering around taking in the amazing architecture, the collections housed there, as well as a wonderful view of the Bosphorus from a terrace at the end of the complex, where we recognised what we saw on yesterday's cruise. It was quite a grand view indeed. Arring at our meeting point, we left the Palace grounds and headed for Aya Sophia, a place I've always wanted to see, as it was an architectural wonder I'd studied in High School Art History. I was thrilled to finally step inside this wonder of the world, steeped in history, both Christian and Muslim, built in the 5th century, with some wooden doors at one end dating from the 2nd century … with again a tall central dome sitting on half domes, angels painted on the 4 corners underneath the central dome, byzantine mosaic, tiles, undulating marble floor … quite beautiful. I could have wandered round admiring the interior for hours, but we didn't have time, as we had to get over to a rather trendy looking area, nearby, full of restaurants and shops, to the place where we were to have lunch, which was delicious. There we had time to have a good chat with our new friends from Essendon, as well as ask questions of our guide, who is very knowledgable and quite an amiable fellow.
   After lunch it was off to the Central Bazaar, which has some 4000 shops and 30000 employees, similar to the Spice Market only heaps bigger. There are "streets" devoted to all the wares, like ceramics, jewellery, carpets, lighting, etc. Easy to get lost, so we didn't stray from our small group. We were then led to a magnificent carpet shop, housed in the building that was once used as a stopping point/warehouse/lodgings for the camels bearing cargo from the Silk Road. This is why Istanbul was so important over the centuries, as the place where East meets West: it is the only city in the world spanning 2 continents, Asia and Europe. The owner of this company organised tea and coffee for us, then gave us a short commentary about the different types of carpets, and the skill involved in their production; a weaver came in with her loom, with a silk carpet in progress, who proceeded to show us the double-knotting technique. For example, a silk carpet about .7 x 1m would take approximately a year to produce and cost about AUD2400. There was one that we saw and loved, and it took a lot of strength to say no to it, and of course it was an expensive one … sighhhhhh … it was a great insight for us, and appreciated the hospitality and generosity of time afforded us, and gave us a better understanding and appreciation of this amazing art.
   This pretty much ended our day tour, and parted ways with 2 of our group who decided to tram it back to their hotel, the rest of us walked to a nearby shop that sold all manner of chocolate and nuts and hot drinks, so settled down to hot chocs, accompanied by dark chocolate spoons … yum. Once done, we waiting for the van to pick us up and drop us off at our hotels, and farewell the rest of the Essendon mob, who we good company, and the driver and guide.
   Time to leave for the Mevlevi Sema Ceremony and Sufi Music Concert, 7 for 7:30, a the Hodjapasha Culture Centre, which was only a 10 minute walk away from our hotel. Pre-show hot and cold drinks with as much turkish delight as you could take, mmm. Admired the space where the concert was to take place, it was converted from a 550 years old historical turkish bath in 2008, with a high dome made of cut stone and also corner walls were designed like a peacock tail. Loved it, a small troupe of players performed a couple of songs, 2 long wooden flutes, a lute like instrument, a finger picked lap harp and a large round drum like an oversized tambourine with rattling metals disks … we were transported to another place and time [which we were anyway, you could smell the history … After a short break the troupe returned, with added members, wearing large grey felt caps on their heads, and long black robes. 5 men in the same outfits entered the circular performing stage. One of the band started an unaccompanied vocal, which was otherwordly in sound, like the call to prayer, it was beautiful and haunting. The last piece was quite a long and complex one, where the 5 "dancers", the whirling dervishes spun in an amazingly hypnotic, highly choreographed pattern around the performing space … you almost were spun into a trance just watching those men, eyes closed, head tilted, arms raised, long white robes spinning out, it looked so effortless for them … I was mesmerised by looking at their feet movements. Wow! When the piece was over, there was total silence from the audience, and as the dancers left, followed by the band and singers, it took a while before there was applause. I'm sure my had will spin as we go to sleep tonight.
   Time to pack tonight as we have an early start, we fly to Malta tomorrow morning. Have loved what we've seen and experienced of Istanbul. On the way to and fro our walks and show tonight, friendly touts imploring us with good humour to their restaurants or shops, one particularly charming man who runs a rug shop a few doors from the hotel, gave quite a fun performance with shaking of hands, kissing of Sheryl's hand, a good dose of flirting and charm … lots of fun. Another thing we noticed was the amount of cats we've seen in this city: dogs rule in Thimphu Bhutan, cats here. The people are friendly, there's a huge amount of history and culture here, tons to see and experience. plenty of cafes and bars and restaurants, places serving delicacies … you could go nuts with buying beautiful artifacts. Wish we had more time here, but we had a taste, a delicious one, can't wait to return some time in the future.

Punakha and beyond

10 November
At breakfast time we met the hotel owner, a very energetic, "up" lady, Tshering Wangmo, who we chatted to for a little while. She built this place 3 years ago and is finding it a big challenge, responsible for 20 staff. She is married, with a husband who is a professional, with 3 daughters. As her father is dead, and she is the eldest daughter, she has "inherited" responsibility for her extended family, so a great deal rests on her shoulders. Her eldest daughter is acting up, just like an western teenager would, about everything and Facebook, etc. Just simple things like sourcing sink plugs for the hotel is a chore; she has to go to India to search them out and order them. She loves getting feedback, and has a Feedback Book, as well as a list of 5 things that require attention for each day, otherwise there is too much to get done. She is the first to arrive at 5:30, last to leave at 11pm, 2 of her daughters are boarding in India, and she has a 6 year old here. She is the first in her generation of her family to receive an education, and there is a real conflict between buddhism and capitalism; she is a go-getter, but how do you reconcile that with the "not wanting of things" of buddhism? One thing I did say to her is she needs a sign, as Jigme had difficulty finding the driveway - apparently it was taken by some kids from a nearby villlage, who like it  because if was the reflective type of sign, she knows where it is as her mum found out; the boys can't read, so don't know what it says, and have stuck it up at their home … Tshering hasn't the heart to ask for it back!
   A yummy breakfast — I got to personally thank the chef, especially for the food last night. Off we drove, out of town, via a bridge over the river, along a narrow, winding road, barely 1.5 cars wide, in various states of disrepair, sometimes very bumpy, other times just having been made or in the process of being made, with sheer drops in many parts with nothing much to stop vehicles going over the side.  The scenery changed, deep valleys, cyprus pines everywhere, rivulets and small waterfalls off the side of the road, occasional water-driven prayer wheels, farmers in motorised 2-wheel tractors pulling a cart filled with straw, steering was rack-and-pinion, moving a wide handlebar from side to side, sounded like a 2-stroke, put-putting up the hills; every now and then a cow or a few cows on the road or on the side, walking, stopped, grazing … a few small settlements with shops here and there … lots of trucks — EICHER, TATA, AMW — as well as taxis and vans, Hyundai seems the car  or 4WD of choice, as well as the Mahindra, looked to be Jeep-knockoffs. Brightly decorated trucks from India, to and fro, they look fantastic! Speed limit c30-40 kmh, there is no way you could go any faster. On the back of one truck I saw "Don't kiss" …  as usual, you need to toot is you want to pass, it's a well-timed and well-choreographed piece of movement to achieve in tight spaces and corners. I was also amazed to see dwellings just under the road line, so had the thought if a truck went over and a family were in there, that'd be the end of them …
   We stopped at a hill overlooking a temple, outside of the Buddhist Institute, Wandi. Jigme asked a passerby, a woman, about the black-necked crane - there have been some arrivals; the Gandte Valley below is where they arrive from Tibet to nest, or whatever they do in the marshy land. On we drove to a farmhouse, used as a hotel, on a hill above the Black necked Crane Information centre, Phobjikha. A table was set up in the courtyard, the sun was shining, washing on various lines. We had hot drinks, it was just the 2 of us as well as Jigme and Ugyen. Lunch was brought out to us, which was the most delicious meal we've had so far in Bhutan, again very simple: a dish with onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic and ginger; a dish of cooked spinach in a liquidy cheese sauce; unprocessed rice; and, the most amazing potatoes we've ever had - prick potatoes with knife and get pepper in the holes, boil in salted water, fry in oil along with chilli pepper, cut in half and fry again … yummmmmmmmmmm!
Afterwards took pix of the old woman there, said out thanks and off we went to the Centre, where we read some of the information, looked at the displays, and looked at some cranes thru some spotting monoculars. There were about 40+ birds there, including 3 juveniles.
   Drove back from where we came, stopped off at a primary school, where the kids were about to practice dances for tomorrow's Black Necked Crane Festival, to be held at the nearby temple. Had a short chat with one of the teachers there: 187 students, 6 teachers, vacancy for a head teacher. Took lots of pix of the children going thru their paces, while others sat in groups watching, and some playing. Another teacher came up to me to chat, and we asked questions of eachother. Stayed maybe an hour before heading off to the 16th century temple, had a look around, being given information about various aspects of what we were seeing in the temple sacred rooms: the paintings, deities, decoration, etc. We received a blessing from a monk and made a small contribution. As foreigners we weren't allowed in some of the rooms, and managed to say hello to lines of people entering the rooms we couldn't, much to theirs and our delight, these people looked to be simple farmer folk. While waiting for Ugyen, had a chat with a couple of teachers in the temple courtyard, before heading off to the car, and coming across a bunch of kids we had fun with.
   Time to head back 'home', stopped a couple of times to take pix of the breathtaking Himalayan range, back down the winding roads as darkness started to fall. It was dark when we returned to our hotel, and we were both quite tired, we wanted to offer Jingwe and Ugyen a beer or some other drink as thanks, but neither of them drink, so that was that. Made arrangements for us to leave 8.30am tomorrow. Two girls were waiting with our key, which was great.
   Turned 7pm and time to have dinner, so off to the restaurant, shown to a table, saw Tshering in her kira, looked so different. She looked busy, restaurant was full, so even though we asked for her to join us, it was obvious she would not be able to. Ordered drinks, had chicken soup, then Tshering joined us, with a bag of her grandmother's cooked/fried rice nibblies, which she shared with us, while she talked, mainly about herself and her life, how she started the hotel, the stresses and strains, family life, etc, fascinating. She certainly is lively and fun. She went off and we managed to get dinner and as we were eating Tshering rejoined us. She had told us her husband was a professional with a low-paying government job, with an office and chauffeur, but she told us more: he's an engineer with an MBA. He was personally appointed by the present king, in person, to head the Bank of Bhutan and bring it into the 21st century! He now heads the renewable energy part of the Government, overseeing the hydro and infrastructure of the nation, and has had heaps of travel, and she's joined him, to New York, Cairo, Canada, Europe … she would really love to visit Australia one day, and we would love to catch up and show her round. She also told us of some delightful stories relating to the 4th King, who is almost revered here, who is still highly active in government and national affairs, as well as cycling and hiking, being very physically active, interacting with the common person, etc. Tshering told us her husband hopes to be a Minister in the Bhutanese government within a few years, and that we'll get a red carpet invitation to visit! The power went out, and we spoke in the dark for a little while We were the last 2 left, and it was almost 9, so we parted ways as the staff were ready to close up. What an amazing woman, and wonderful stories she told us, incredible!
Things Jigme told us today:
Need to be 18 here to get drivers license, vote, etc. Takes 3–6 months to learn and earn their licence.
By road it takes 2–3 days to traverse Bhutan east to west, 3–4 days to get to India
Roadside repairs — a family is allocated a section of road to maintain, maybe 50kms. It's their fulltime job, men and women together
Soccer is big in Bhutan, as well as archery; cricket is being played here, about 5–6 years now

11 November
Once showered [cold water this morning as it had run out of hot water – we blame everything on the Americans! – dressed, packed up our stuff, off to have breakfast, ordered our hot drinks, had a simple brekky, toast with potatoes as Tshering remembered that we loved the ones we had yesterday – how sweet of her! A little chat with Tshering before we had to leave, swapped email addresses; she is serious about us returning as her special guests, to stay at her grandmother's and for us to have a homestay experience, me to milk the cows and work in the fields! She hopes to visit Australia when her husband makes Minister! Told us that one hours of the work of a power-tiller is worth 3 days of a man's manual labour in the fields! Hugs goodbye, and off we went. Drove back the way we came via Thimphu, the closer we got to the city the better the roads were. Then back along the road we took to get from Paro, feeling as if we knew the lay and look of the land now. This road is probably the best road we've been on, no wonder as it links the airport to the capital. Arriving in Paro – Jigme rang the restaurant ahead of time to let them know we were on our way – we passed a field where there was an archery competition taking place, headed off to a small restaurant, a short distance away from the main street. Offered mint tea – yum, and good for my headache – as well as a coffee. A short wait and we were told lunch was ready, another buffet, unprocessed rice, eggplant with some ind of coating which was delicious, rolled up mashed potato with some form of veg and spice included which was deep fried a la arancini which was also yum yum yummmm; pork, mixed veg, mushrooms in cheese sauce [i think reconstituted dried mushroom] which i love … had seconds of the potato and mushrooms. Dessert was a small bowl of slices of watermelon with ginger in a tart orange syrup … yum!
   After lunch, we drove down the road to the archery competition, saw 6 teenage girls in beautiful coloured hari perform [and sing] a couple of traditional dances, accompanied by the bhutanese lute and hammer harp. After about 15 minutes, the competition recommenced, between 3 teams, I think it was 3 archers per team, shooting at a white painted 2 foot high post, with a bullseye circle in the middle, 150 m away. The archers had the fancy modern bows and arrows, there was a crosswind, and very few hit the post, let alone a bullseye. If you hit the post, you are awarded a coloured ribbon which you attach to your waist, and 2 points, two of your teammates do a short dance with a song to celebrate the achievement. It's 3 points to hit the bullseye. Prizes awarded to the team and individuals, from flatscreen tvs, refrigerators and other appliances, to wooden sideboards to runners up; no trophies or cash prizes here.
   Stayed about an hour, then we headed off to a 7th century temple, Kichu, built by a Tibetan king called Songsengampo, a few minute's drive from town, via rice paddies. You could tell the age of the place just by looking at it, you could breathe it in. Multitudes of prayer wheels all along each wall. At the entrance to an outer courtyard, which itself led to the altar rooms, we were approached by a middle-aged Indian couple, the husband wanted to take pix of us with his wife. He loved the "nemasde", hands clasped together in front of his face, asked where we were from, told us they were from India – really? – wished us well with our journey. To the first of the altar rooms, which had a monk seated, and after a minute started banging a drum and ringing a bell while recorded the audio with my digital recorder … naughty me, I was almost sprung as he thought I was secretly filming or taking pix with a mobile. Jigme told him no I wasn't … [I would never do that] … oooo, naughty! While I was listening to what the monk was doing, Jigme was explaining some of the meanings behind the sculptures and deities and paintings, etc. We then wandered into another altar room which had perhaps 8 nuns in there, as well as a coupe of monks and a head monk who were chanting. We attracted some looks from the nuns, and it was humourous to see that while some were chanting others were having a conversation or a yawn … I just love the colour, smell, sights and sounds of these rooms, with thick, wide wooden floors which are cleaned with pieces of blanket rubbed with feet, to the intricate paintings on the walls, sometimes covered/protected with bright pieces of material, to the candles, 7 bowls of water, sculpture, deities, gods; brightly coloured walls, beams and ceiling hangings, paintings on the ceilings and beams … it's a visual riot really, so much to take in.
   Leaving, we walked round the outside walls of the temple, more prayer wheels, and at the rear spotted some earthquake damage, which occurred in September. There was also damage seen at the temple we saw yesterday afternoon.
   We then checked into our hotel, which was not far from the airport. On our way there we stopped at a lookout above the airport, which snow capped mountains in the distance, wow! The hotel is called the Tashi Namgay Resort, at Damsebu, Paro, It is quite a sumptuous place, the best hotel we've stayed at in Bhutan, 5 star really. Checked in had hot drinks, then arranged to meet Jigme and Ugyen at 4:30. To our room, which is the furthest away from Reception, which is fantastic, spacious, 2 king single beds, a bath and shower, which has stones at its base for foot massage as you stand having your shower. Also a nice sitting room area with tv, a small couch and one-seater.
   Met the guys at 4:30, drove into town, walked up and down the main street, looking at shops, checking out the souvenirs, handicrafts and jewellery. Dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was on the first floor, and rather swanky, a buffet, including shepherds pie, which which steered clear of, stuck to the Bhutanese food. At the service desk, there was a small electronic gizmo, which was a rotating prayer wheel, along with sung mantra, choice oif 5-6 mantras depending on what the staff felt like – flashing lights, very cool.
   Observations: the stray dogs really do lay down wherever they feel like it, on the sides of the roads, in the middle of the archery range, near shops, etc, etc. When the humans went to bed in Thimphu, the dogs came out and barked and barked and ruled the streets. Heard a little bit of barking the last 2 nights, wonder if they'll be as annoying here in Paro as they were in Thimphu …

12 November
5:45 wakeup today, after breakfast we had 1/2 hour wait for mum and dad, Jigme and Ugyen. Went outside and waited, a dull, overcast, grey day, a little cool, perfect weather for climbing/walking. Drove c15 minutes to a carpark at the base of Taktshang Goemba (Tiger's Nest Monastery), which is where horses pick up those that can't do the walk under their own legpower. Google it, and you should recognise it, it's kind of like Bhutan's version of the Sydney Opera House, an icon.
   Warning, graphic description of extreme physical endurance follow … not one for the feint-hearted, unfit, or those that have fear of heights … essentially it's one of those "journeys" you need to do when you have health and fitness, although today there were quite a few elderly people making the attempt. One total [male] show-off - nationality unknown - complete the climb from carpark to temple in an hour! The walking track is rough and ready, horses use it as well, basically dirt and dirt steps, which winds up some 900 metres from the plain below, which we were told is 2100m. When I say winding, think plenty of hairpin bends, double and triple ones. It became soon apparent to me that altitude is not my forte and so had to catch my breath every 30–50 meters in height we travelled. It wasn't all that busy so we weren't being held up, or vice versa. The payoff as you rose above the glacier gouged valley were the views of the valley below, as well as distant mountains, covered in cypress pines.
   Along the way we saw rhododendron plants, being autumn there were no flowers. An enthusiastic bird-watcher, maybe 20 metres from us, exclaimed to his guide "Laughing Thrush" … they're a weird mob those bird-watchers! The higher we climber the more I grimaced, knowing my knees were going to cop it on the way back down, but was blown away by the views, the prayer flags and mounds of rocks people had piled up like natural sculptures, was well as the beautiful trees with fine mosses [I think that's what they are] hanging off their branches like whispy green fairy floss; as well as the occasional birdsong and whinny of horses in the distance below us.
   There is a cafe with viewpoint perhaps 300m down in height of Tiger's Nest, across a chasm and as we neared it, there were wonderful views though the trees … but once we reached the cafe, wow oh wow oh wow oh wowwwww! First question is "How in heaven's name did this Monastery ever get built?" and then "Why?". The things man creates for their gods and religion! It's incredible!
The Tiger's Nest Monastery is one of the most holy sites in Bhutan. The Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown here on the back of a tigeress and then meditated in a cave, contained within the present structure, for three months. The monastery was built in its present form in 1692. It suffered a devastating fire in April 1998. Old photographs and diaries were used to make the reconstruction as close to the original as possible.
   Admiring the views, we had a hot drink and some dried crackers, as well as patted a very friendly cat. I was looking at the distance and the terrain above me, thinking "this is going to be really difficult and a tough test, physically". Girding our loins and saying a mantra "I can do this, I can do this", we continued our ascent to a high point on a mountainside opposite the chasm and realised we had hundreds of steep steps, again with plenty of hairpin bends, to negotiate downwards, to the base of a waterfall, then up more steep steps towards the Monastery. The views to the Monastery were breathtaking and spectacular, a group of buildings it sits perched on a few ledges of a massive stony cliff that went up to the heavens as well as descended steeply below … I was too scared to look for fear I would faint as I'm not good with heights! The views down the the valley were equally spectacular, low cloud, farms and farmhouses way down below. There were a number of other monastery buildings above and opposite the main Monastery, and again wondered how did these get built? How long did it take? How many workers and artisans? We heard the legend that angels' hair fell down the cliff and men used that long hair to help bring the materials … Had to shake my head at the sheer incredible feat of faith and construction …
   Upon entering the walls we foreigners had to surrender our backpacks, any cameras and mobiles to the police stationed there, and were frisked as well. A couple more flights of steep steps to enter the buildings, which pretty much killed off my legs – how were we going to make it out and still be standing? I asked myself. Removing our shoes we were shown into a handful of altar rooms, each a variation on the theme of the temples we've already visited solemn holy places that were quiet and elicited respect. Piles of food offerings and bowls of money – as well as donation boxes outside – I will never tire of the incredible craftsmanship, design and decoration, the religious paraphenalia of major religious buildings of all faiths. In one of the altar rooms, to the side, in an alcove, a young monk  boy of 12 or so was reciting his prayers with a tiny orange-furred kitten in his lap – wish I could've taken that pic, it would've been a "classic".
   Time to leave, and it was quite an arduous descent, climb, then descent again to return to the cafe, where we collapsed for lunch and a hot drink. Gathering our energy we descended back down to the carpark, all in all a 8km round trip which took some 6 hours including the 2 breaks and visit to the Monastery itself. Wow, one of those things you need to do before you die, but my advice would be to do intensive stepping exercise – upwards and down – for a few months beforehand, and try to acclimatise to altitude if possible. But the experience is one of those incredible once-in-a-lifetime ones, and the pix are definitely worth it.
   We need to be at the airport 2 hours early for our 12:30 flight tomorrow, so we can take our time and relax for the rest of the afternoon/evening/night/morning. Next stop is an overnight at Bangkok tomorrow, then onto Istanbul.

Thimphu and beyond

8 November
Drove up north past the Government Ministers' high-walled compound to a hill where there were prayer flags and prayer flag posts capped with short wooden swords to ward off evil spirits. Then a short walk down the hill to a point where we could see a grand view of Thimphu below, with a grey haze in the distance that was almost level with where we were. The large Buddha we visited yesterday afternoon was difficult to make out, but not hard to find, certainly dominates the valley from it's position. Drove further down the hill to the Takin Reserve, where the future of the Bhutanese National Animal is being preserved. There were 2 types of deer housed as well, Musk and another smaller type as well. There were also some dwellings nearby, where woman were creating textiles on looms for sale; small houses with rocks on top of the tin roofs, chillies drying in the sun. At the side of one of the houses, alongside of the washing were strips of meat, hanging to dry.
   Returned to the city centre to swap some USD for Ngultrum [Nu], which is on par with the Indian rupee. Everywhere we go there is a good deal of construction of new houses, and the majority of the labourforce are Indians, living in rickety, shambolic temporary lodgings erected alongside the construction sites. Every now and then, on the sides of the roads, we came across small groups of women, cleaning, weeding, or repairing where they are sitting or squatting. can't get over the decoration of the buildings, which appear quite simple, but when you add the sometimes intricate brick or plasterwork under the eaves, edges of windows, doorways, which are handpainted, as well as in between the windows where it is usually painted white, animals, images from religious motifs, etc. No steel and glass high rises here - the result is a uniformity of design, of a "style", with the differentiation being the brick/plater/painted decoration, use of timber, etc. Notice that all shop signs are small rectangular handpainted white on blue background. The national flag is flown everywhere, as well as large posters of the newly, recently married Royal couple, who are universally adored by the population. Damn, we missed the wedding, it was quite the event we were told!
   Lunch at a restaurant where it soon filled with western tourists. We were soon joined by 3 from Canada and one from San Francisco. Food was westernised Bhutanese, which was delicious: goat curry, rice, potatoes, cabbage, spinach, dried mushrooms with chilli. We had no time to relax really as the new arrivals looked like they were ready to kick us off!
   Next stop was the Textile Museum, where we watched a short video on the history of the national costume, it's origins and development over the last 200 or so years. Afterwards walked down the street to the national Handicrafts Emporium, where we bought some postcards - there was a wonderful array of arts and crafts there, including traditional costume, embroidery, jewellery, footwear, masks, pottery as well as a large selection of books.
   Drove to a 15th century temple, [sounds like] Chungunkar, which sat atop a hill. Imposing, solemn, steeped in history. Spun the multitude of prayer wheels before taking off our shoes and entering the inner sanctum, where a group of monks were performing their prayers. A few people came in and put their hands together and then lowered to the floor prostrating towards the central holy sculpture, including our guide and driver, Jigme and Ugyen. Jigme explained some of the significance of the holy sculptures, which I cannot remember now. But, suffice to say, it was a rather sober time, trying not to feel out of place but knowing we were totally our of place there, in the holy space, crammed with religious painting on the walls as well as multicoloured tapestries and banners and cylindrical Japanese kite-like things, much of the material was faded and obviously old. Incense and offerings, rice scattered on the old timber floorboards by the main monk. Wish I knew more to be able to detail what we saw, what we heard, what it all meant.  You could smell and touch the layers of history of that place.
   Next we visited the National Institute for Zorig Chusum, where the 13 National traditional arts are taught, including wood carving, embroidery, weaving, mask-making, painting, and pottery. All taught in simple classrooms, nothing high tech at all … the intricacy of the work the students were producing was mind-boggling! All by hand and eye. A sign that caught our eye in one of the classrooms - If you're a good human being, then the skills and knowledge you acquire will benefit the whole society otherwise it's like giving a weapon to a child".
   We visited the Folk Heritage Museum, which gave a fascinating insight into life as it was before gas/electricty, perhaps only 20 years ago! Everything done by hand, the grinding of wheat and rice into flour, as well as churning milk for butter. A large wooden structure of 4 storeys, which may have multi-generations of more than 7–8 people. Bottom floor for the animals, next floor up storage of grains, etc for overflow of guests as well as for activities like play and games, next floor up kitchen and living areas, as well as rooms set aside for worship and prayer [altar room], top floor under the roofline for drying of chillies, mushroom and corn. There was an outside hot rock bath, which some of the older generation still use nowadays. Also saw water powered wheat grinder and water powered prayer wheel. To think all of this has changed in a generation, now with electricity and gas, mobiles, computers, internet, email and satellite tv …
   The 4th King of Bhutan is seen as being the Visionary King as he decided to bring Bhutan into the modern world, and the current 5th King is expanding on this, as well as giving land to the poor. TV didn't really enter Bhutan till maybe 6 years ago!
   Afterwards, as we were tired with information overload, back to the hotel for break, tea/coffee – Jigme left us for a short while. Were picked up by Jigme and Ugyen, who drove us to the same restaurant where we met up with Pranita, great to see her again. After a short while Jigme went off to the "guide's room" as he did at lunchtime. Had a great long chat about lots of things, found out Pranita is the youngest of 9 daughters! She was good company and would like to stay in touch.
   Other observations: lots of stray dogs here, not owned by anyone, they just lie wherever they want to during the day and rest, sleep, relax, and take over the streets at night. Went to bed c9pm local time and all we heard were people's voices from down street level as well as dogs barking, incessantly. Same thing first thing this morning. Was funny to see a few dogs lying on the road next to the traffic police shelter - nicely decorated in the Bhutanese style - as the policeman was directing traffic and the cars and vans and trucks went round the dogs …
   No kids on skateboards, no graffiti or tagging, no loud cars with doof doof music …
   Haven't seen any neon signs, but have seen a few lit signs; found out from Pranita that the shop signs are decreed to be white lettering on blue background. A few shops in the vicinity have coloured light ropes and some fairy light ropes to give their shops a bit of pizazz at night.

9 November
A little after 8, headed off out of Thimphu, another bright, sunny day, again with murk in the atmosphere up to a few hundred meters, along very windy, and often times, quite narrow roads. Again, at a slowish pace, no faster than 40 kmh as the roads didn't allow for much faster. Saw plenty of haulage trucks from India, brightly coloured and decorated, as well as 4WDs of all sizes, taxis, sedans, very few motorbikes. Again, if a vehicle wants to overtake, they toot, and as we slow down and/or pullover, they pass … a few close shaves as vehicles pull back over to our side very quickly. The terrain and vegetation changed the further we went, and at one point reminded us of the Dandenongs, quite a few hairpin bends, very little barrier-wise at edges to stop vehicles going over if any crazy occurred, god forbid. Passed a temple built many hundred of years ago on the way. After 1–1.5 hrs arrived at Dochula Pass - at c3000m altitude - with a spectacular view of the Himalayan ranges. There is a temple and 106 stupa complex, built to commemorate a victory of Bhutan over terrorist attack in the mid-90s. Spent a bit of time wandering around and taking in the amazing view of snowcapped mountains in the distance, the highest of which was over 7500 metres. Off to a cafe with an even better view of the range, where we had hot drinks and sweet biscuits. Leaving, we again hugged a very winding road, hugging mountain sides, at some points seeing terraced rice paddies, and the occasional food stands.
   We stopped for a simple lunch at a lovely restaurant - Chimi Lhakhang Cafeteria - in a small village, near a temple dedicated to the Divine Mad Monk. When done, drove onto a place where two mountain rivers converged, Punakha Temple, which was huge! Apparently was where the first wedding ceremony for the current King was held. An imposing steep stepped entrance to a place that was awe-inspring in its scale and wealth of hand-painted detail, jaw-dropping really. The more I saw the more incredulous I was to the skill of the artisans that designed, built and decorated the complex … but the greatest, stupefying sight for me was the interior of the temple itself … every square inch of wall and ceiling and column surface was decorated …columns with stamped [embossed] gold coloured metal, intricate hand paintings everywhere on the walls and ceilings, glassed in cases of deities, giant statues of Budhha and gods, thrones/seats for upper eschelon of monks, brightly coloured banners and flags and other materials, all of which provided a sumptuous feast for the eyes … it was a shame photography was not allowed, I was itching to take pix as the scale of the place and the wealth of visual stimulus was unbelievable. Wow, wow, wow!
   Spent a good deal of time there before heading back to a spot near that village where we had lunch, where we and Jigme were dropped off to walk along a track to a another village, set in the midst of terraced rice paddies, seeing farm life, people going about their daily business, up close, on the way to the Divine Mad Monk's temple, which was quite small and simple, took a look inside. back to the 4WD, then, after a little confusion about our destination, onto our accomodation for 2 nights, the Punatshangchuu Cottages, Wangdi. It looks quite new, and we found our way inside for hot drinks and savoury biscuits with a view over the Punakha River.

Melbourne to Thimphu

Melbourne 14:30 6 November - c.7300 kms and some 8.5 hrs later landed in Bangkok informed as being the 2nd largest airport in the world - 800m walk from plane to Customs, great to stretch our legs. Tall, plenty of steel and glass, the ceilings curved, with crescents of what looked to be silver Thai silk every 50 metres or so, trusses underlit with a blue glow, great affect. Once cleared Customs, baggage ready by the time we arrived at the luggage carousel, efficiency plus when we made our way to the departure area, locating our slight, short handsome hotel representative, dressed in a very attractive, eye-popping cerise coloured jacket. Our shuttle was a 15 minute wait, and the so-called 'airport' hotel as some 20 minutes drive away. Upgraded to a Premier Suite, we pretty much crashed and burned almost as soon as we had a cleansing shower at 21:30 - 01:30 Melbourne-time.
   Up at 03:45 for a 04:30 brekky, to the airport on almost deserted streets at over 120 kms … no need as our 7:30 flight was delayed to well after 9:00, so once through passport control we wandered up and down the massively long duty-free shopping precinct. A long wait in the departure lounge, surrounded by mostly middle-aged adventurers, in the main dressed like us, in 'adventure' gear, big boots and daypacks, some with binoculars hanging round their necks, apparently on a bird-watching tour of Bhutan.
   We didn't realise we'd be landing in India, arriving in Guwahati, where some of the passengers disembarked, and half as many again joined our merry little band. After half an hour we were in the air again, for a short 35 minute hop over to Paro, with the Himalayas in the distance on our left [and we were seated on the left-hand side], the small Druk Air jet following the contours and curves of a steep valley making what seemed a rapid descent, not too many hundred of metres from craggy mountains, a very spectacular entrance indeed. Couldn't swear on a stack of bibles we saw Mt Everest, but, you never know …
   The airport building at Paro is itself a complete contrast to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong airports, based on the traditional design of Bhutanese buildings. Delightful, a on a more 'human' scale. A very simple structure indeed, handpainted decoration, white walls, minimum of fuss. Once inside, striking up a conversation with a fellow passenger from Cork who is here for a 2 week photography tour - grrrr, lucky! Well, so are we, come to think of it, as less than 30,000 foreign visitors are accepted into this wonderful country each year.
   Once we cleared a very casual, informal entry process, we were met by our guide Jigme, who wrapped a small white silk shawl around our necks as a traditional welcome, and driver Ujen, both young men, perhaps in their late 20s. Very polite, asked us if we wanted to drive to Thimphu fast or slow - we preferred slow - a 65 km, 2 hour, journey on curving roads following the contours of valleys, often with fast flowing rivers below. Thimphu, the capital, population some 80,000, altitude of around 2,500 m. Impressions? Dry - currently autumn - steep, rocky slopes, terrace farming, old mud houses being replaced by newer ones, plenty of tin roofs with red chillies drying in the sun, not many cars, we were constantly tooted by vehicles wanting to overtake, lots of stray dogs, every now and then bunches  of people - mainly women - undertaking elementary roadworks by the side of the road, roadside stalls and shops, cypress pines everywhere, all the while Jigme politely answering questions. Bamboo used as scaffolding in new buildings, which seem to be popping up everywhere, many of them white, others various bright base colours with intricate detailing at the first floor level, around windows, animal and plant motifs, the occasional flying penis, some gaudy, others muted, a feast for the eyes. Not many cows, no sheep or horses that we saw. Hardly any bikes or scooters, mainly cars, taxis, vans and lorries, many of the latter painted and decorated.
   Arrived at out hotel, famished and tired, requiring a stop. Once checked in, enjoyed an hours stillness with a noodle, vegetable and chicken dish, which we shared, along with a hot drink. Checked out our room, which is on the 4th floor, running out  of breath as there are no lifts, forgetting we are 2500m up. Pleasantly surprised by the quality of the room, a good size, with windows facing a main intersection, we spotted a traffic cop with great precision waving his arms, directing traffic. Atmospheric, sounds of voices and traffic rising from the streets below and surrounding us.
   An hour later we visited a stupa - National Memorial Choeten - with prayer wheels, paths leading to a small structure with a religious sculpture in the middle, then the stupa itself, large, white, oriented along the 4 directional axis, 4 gods at first floor level, a sculpture of a buddha a level above that, devotees of all ages walking round the structure in a clockwise direction, mumbling prayers, spinning wheels … a place where one contemplates and offers prayers for intervention, assistance, guidance …
   A drive up another winding road, which offered good views of the city below, snow-covered mountains to the north and south, to a great building site where a giant golden Buddha sat on a plinth, being constructed, facing East. Awe-inspiring. Returned to the main streets and went on a short walk, again to stretch legs, smell smells, see what the local people do. Splashes of red on the pavements, signs of betel-leaf chewing. Most of the men in their traditional dress, the Gho, the Kira for women. Was told chewing betel leaves "warms the body". Mobile phones everywhere. Spotted satellite dishes here and there.
   Returned to the hotel, and after about a half hour wait, we met our Tourist Bureau liaison, Pranita, which was a fantastic bonus. She has organised everything for us, and it was a real delight to meet her and spend some time with her. Plan for tomorrow includes visiting a school, and perhaps a school where the 13 Bhutanese traditional arts are taught. Dinner with Pranita at her recommendation. Need a good night's sleep and hope to be bright and alert …