Hello World!

I’m here in Bhutan! Arrived safely about almost two weeks ago but have been enjoying the place so much, I've been having a hard time finding time to blog. That said, it’s always rewarding to reflect and blog a bit, so I’m trying to commit myself to a blog post a week (you guys can hold me to it!).

A couple first impressions:

• Thimphu is small.
  I guess this was to be expected. A city with about 70,000 people, Thimphu is the only capital city without a streetlight. Instead, the main intersection manages with a white-gloved police directing the traffic “with the balletic grace of someone doing a 1980s robot dance.”  (Lonely Planet has the best descriptions, haha).
  
  

  

  The main intersection in town

  
  

• The place is beautiful. Me and my friend Ru went hiking in the mountains behind our house. We first went up to Dechenphodrang Monastic School, where we ran into a bunch of the monk kids playing soccer. We then went along a surprising tough 3km hike up to a Monastery, Wangditse Goenpa, before heading on another path out of the mountains. The views were incredible and the juxtaposition of Buddhist lifestyle and culture in the beautiful hillsides of Thimphu Valley was breathtaking.
  
  

  
• The people are warm and friendly. I guess this was to be expected as well, but I've found the place even more open and warm to foreigners than a place like India. There’s no bartering and (much to my amazement—and seemingly contrary to economic rationale) they don’t try to rip off the tourists. The staff at the office are all a friendly, intelligent bunch. We've also met up with a few friends that past-interns have introduced us to, all very kind and friendly.
• They like spicy foods here.
  The main dish here is Ema Datsi which translates to chilies and cheese and is... well... chilis and cheese. At it's best it's tear-inducing madness, kinda like the Daal Bati I remember fondly from Rajasthan.
  
  

Feel free to browse the rest of my photo album. I’ll continue to upload pictures there.