it's beautiful in Bhutan

And now some photos from Bhutan. These are from just a couple of days. With the skies so blue, the air so clear and everything so colourful - it is hard to select just a few.
 First impressions - the airport

 The 50 seater plane and a mountain backdrop

 The terminal outside...

and inside

 Overlooking the airport

 A decorated truck

 Rice fields

 Road workers (many are Indian women)

 Peppers drying

In Paro

 There are dogs everywhere - it seems they are not generally 'owned' but they live very well on scraps. They are all in good condition and apparently get rounded up (somehow) and innoculated each year

 Rice is still a staple in the diet, but rice cookers are how it is done these days!

Inside a store

 Prayer wheels

 The Kichu Resort Paro, where we stayed - beautiful, and very comfortable

 The tea lounge with beautiful woven cushion covers and carved and painted tables, where we were given tea each time we returned to the Resort

 Dogwood flowers

 The Tiger's Nest monastery perched on the cliff face

 Typical scenery

 Remains of the oldest (14th century) Dzong/fortress on the hill

 A prayer wheel turned by water

Men carrying up goods to the ruin for a very expensive per head dinner and celebration

 Prayer flags placed to catch the winds

Ferns and flowers in the rocks

 The ruins

 ... and a colourful, appliqued marquee being erected for the celebration. Saw more of these elsewhere, all with the same pattern.

 Flowers in a garden near by

 and this child and grandmother looked on.

 Peppers drying - a very common sight. The national dish is made with about 8 hot peppers - far too hot for the palate of visitors. We were always given a selection of dishes, in which one might be a bit 'warm'.

Decoration in the Paro Dzong (A fort-monastery shared between government offices and monk's quarters) - paintings,

 woodwork,

close up of a door surround,

patchwork flags and painted woodwork,

 and another close up

 Views from the Dzong - the Paro River

 and a palace of one of the Queen Mother's  (the grandmother)

 Goods a monk sat on the stair wall

 A group of monks - they join the monasteries from age 7.