Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [0]
The Authors
Getting Started
Itineraries
Snapshot
History
The Culture
Buddhism in Bhutan
Architecture
Environment
Food & Drink
Thimphu
Western Bhutan
Central Bhutan
Eastern Bhutan
Trekking
Directory
Transport
Health
Language
Glossary
Behind the Scenes
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The Authors
LINDSAY BROWN Coordinating author; Thimphu
A former conservation biologist and publishing manager of Outdoor Activity guides at Lonely Planet, Lindsay has trekked, jeeped, ridden and stumbled across many a mountain pass and contributed to Lonely Planet’s South India, India, Nepal and Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway guides, among others. He has still not seen nearly enough of the Himalaya or its peoples.
Life On The Road
It started at an ungodly hour, when usually only the dogs of Thimphu are awake. This cold, dark morning the canine chorus found a human harmony as hundreds of bleary-eyed tourists and locals sought their allotted lifts, and countless car and bus headlights traced a pilgrimage to Paro. We were off to see the Guru Rinpoche thondrol unfurled at the Paro tsechu. To gaze upon the thondrol is to have one’s sins expunged and to witness such an extraordinary festival is a dramatic highlight of visiting Bhutan. The traffic jam at Paro had to be seen to be believed and it was a relief to set out on foot up towards the dzong. Some strolled, some ran, at least three shortcuts were initiated, but there was no need to rush. The enormous thondrol had its own stage and setting separate to the dzong and thousands had already gathered to watch the dances, utter a prayer and attract a blessing.
BRADLEY MAYHEW Western, Central and Eastern Bhutan
Ever drawn to Himalayan peaks and Tibetan Buddhist communities, Bradley has been travelling to Tibetan areas for over a decade. He coordinated the last two editions of Lonely Planet’s Nepal and the last three editions of Tibet, and has written the Tibetan areas of LP’s China and South-west China guides. British-born and nomadic at heart, Bradley currently lives under the big skies of Montana.
Bradley is also the co-author of Lonely Planet guides Central Asia, Jordan, Shanghai and Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks and has worked on Lonely Planet guides from Morocco to Mongolia. He has lectured on Central Asia at the Royal Geographic Society.
My Favourite Trip
This six-week research trip took me right across Bhutan, from Phuentsholing in the southwest to Trashi Yangtse in the far east. Favourites are hard to pin down in such a remarkable country but I thought the little-visited Haa valley was great, as was hiking the scenic Phobjikha valley. My nod for favourite dzongs goes to Punakha and Wangdue Phodrang; the award for ‘best drive’ goes to Mongar to Lhuentse; ‘best discovery’ goes to Eundo Chholing. Of the over 100 temples and lhakhangs I got to see, I ache most to go back to Gom Kora and Kyichu Lhakhang. Oh, and Taktshang, of course!
My favourite place of all? That was a long hike through lush forests, mani walls and sudden chortens up to an achingly beautiful and utterly silent hermitage. Where exactly that is, I’m not telling…
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
Stan Armington, who also authored Lonely Planet’s Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya, has been organising and leading treks in Nepal since 1971. A graduate engineer, he has also worked for the US National Park service in the Yellowstone and Olympic parks as well as serving as a guide on Mt Hood in Oregon. Stan is a director of the American Himalayan Foundation, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club, and specialises in opening bars in Himalayan towns. He has travelled extensively in Bhutan and developed a project to train Bhutanese craftsmen in historic building conservation. He lives in Kathmandu, where he runs a trekking company and tries to keep up with all the changes to trekking routes in both Nepal and Bhutan.
Richard W Whitecross wrote The Culture and Buddhism in Bhutan chapters. He was raised in southern Scotland and, after encountering several lamas at