The Monastery Institute

After a somewhat later start, we drive up a steep mountain road to Nalanda Monastery Institute, basically a training school for Buddhist monks, with several of the initiates only 6 years of age. It’s ironic that these boys are entering Continue reading
Tantric Temple

After a very meagre breakfast (breakfasts are getting steadily worse while the other meals may be improving slightly), we have a short drive and then start off by walking up to a temple which nestles on a hilltop below some Continue reading
In Close

I’ve discovered that I’m tending to go to extremes with my lenses on this trip. The shot in the previous post used the 12-35mm at 12mm. This shot was taken down into the Punakha valley from above, using the 100-300mm Continue reading
Of Temples, Portals and Knobs…

We leave Thimphu via a small mountain road which climbs rapidly our of the city towards the north-east. We are treated to great views of the Buddha, which although below the summit is brilliantly positioned and visible from all over Continue reading
The Golden Bhudda

Self explanatory, I hope! Continue reading
Culture and Food

We’ve had another good day. We start at the National Memorial Chorten (a sort of shrine), which is very busy but I get some good shots of old ladies cleaning all the brass lamps, and then the brass lamps burning. Continue reading
To Thimpu

6am: I’ve just woken up and we have to repack and get out early, and there are no lights, so while I can see to type (and the Wifi is working, oddly), I can’t see a bloody thing otherwise. This Continue reading
Long Drive, but Worth It

On Saturday we do a long loop drive via the Chelela Pass, which links the Paro Valley to the one which borders Tibet, and then back round the end of the valley. The pass is at 13,000 feet, and the Continue reading
The Rinpung Zhong

While I rather liked the detail shot from yesterday, I realised that I should really post something showing the grand buildings, so here is a view of the Rinpung Zhong from the nearby river. The interesting thing is that the Continue reading
Getting Shooting

After all the travelling, it was good to get our teeth into a solid day of photography. The day starts with a pre-breakfast, pre-dawn wander around the hotel. However as a result of an extremely cold bedroom my night’s sleep Continue reading
After the Overture, the Performance

It turns out that the descent into Kathmandu was just a warm-up act. The flight from Kathmandu to Paro is only about and hour and a quarter, in a 50-seat propeller plane, but I can’t think of any short, scheduled Continue reading