Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
Holiday in India & Bhutan (12): Punakha
October 13th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Sunday too was part sightseeing and part travel. Leaving our hotel at 9 am, we walked through rice fields to the village of Lobesa and up steps and slopes to the Chimi Lhakand Temple and Monastery which was first built in 1499. It has two really odd dedications. First, it is dedicated to a guy […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (11): Paro To Punakha
October 12th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Saturday was part sightseeing and part travel. According to the original programme, this morning we should have visited the National Museum – something recommended to me by a friend. But the museum was closed, so we were taken instead to an archery contest. Now archery is the national sport in Bhutan and astonishingly these guys […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (10): Tiger’s Nest
October 11th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Today – it was Friday – I experienced the toughest climb of my life and the most stunning view of my life. This was because we visited the so-called Tiger’s Nest. Paro Taktsang, the proper name for the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site. According to legend, Guru Padmasambhava flew to […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (9): Paro
October 10th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Thursday was largely a travelling day, but a much easier one than our other travelling days. The journey was from Phuntsholing, just inside Bhutan, to Paro, a town south of the capital of Bhutan in the west of the country. Our guide in Bhutan is called Jigme (which means fearless) and our driver in Bhutan […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (8): journey to Bhutan
October 9th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Wednesday was totally a travelling day. In our convoy of six SUVs, we left the Mayfair Hotel in Darjeeling, India (where we had spent three nights) at 8.45 am and finally arrived at the Phuntsholing Hotel in Phuntsholing, Bhutan (where we will spend one night) at 6.30 pm India time and 7 pm Bhutan time […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (7): Darjeeling
October 8th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Jenny and I missed the sunrise yesterday but today (Tuesday), together with Gavin and Ann from our group, we caught it. Rising at 4.45 am, it was a mere 10 minute walk from our hotel to a local viewing point for the sun’s appearance at 5.33 am. It was a magical experience: only a few […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (6): Ghoom and Darjeeling
October 7th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
On Monday, hardy members of the GRJ group were out at the incredibly early hour of 4 am to travel to a location called Tiger Hill to view the sunrise, but Jenny and I did not make it. Travel was at a minimum today. First, we returned to the ‘toy train’, this time reversing our […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (5): journey to Darjeeling
October 6th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Next day (Sunday) was essentially about transferring from our hotel in Siliguri (where we spent just one night) to our hotel in Darjeeling (where we will spend three nights). Part of the journey was by road when we were transported by a convoy of six cars. Part of the journey was by a very special […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (4): journey to Shiliguri
October 6th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
There is an early start and then there is an EARLY start. On Saturday, my plan was an alarm at 3 am, bags out at 3.45 am, gather in hotel reception at 4 am, and bus to leave for the railway station at 4.15 am. That was the plan. The phone in my hotel room […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Holiday in India & Bhutan (3): Kolkata
October 5th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
It must be admitted that our arrival in Kolkata had been somewhat underwhelming: dazed with jet lag, no sightseeing, and a huge thunderstorm. But the next day (Friday) was utterly different and totally magical. We left the hotel at 9 am and were not back until 5.45 am, so a day of almost nine hours, […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)