Woke up at 6:30. Our guide was not going to pick us up until 9 but I decided to take my morning walk around Thimphu. My other companions were still in la-la land. I peered out the window and the sky was a total gray like the day before. The morning air was quite cold, yet I still pursued my plan of walking to Trashi Chhoe Dzong near the northern end of the city.
Trashi Chhoe Dzong
This “walk” took nearly 30 minutes and entailed a distance of 2 to 3 kilometers each way. I passed by many curiosities – government buildings draped with ornate paintings, schoolchildren dressed in the national costume making their way to school, passers-by looking at me curiously… it was a mix of these as I observed the people around me starting their days. I arrived at the dzong, took some quick snaps, had a short conversation with a security guard, then turned back using another way. From the ground, Thimphu seemed much more compact than it looked when we viewed it from high up. There were lots of open spaces and natural greenery that weren’t so apparent previously. Thimphu is easily one of the most scenic capital cities in Asia….