Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Bhutan May 09 - Part 1
Everyone wants to go Bhutan
Bhutan Bhutan Bhutan... everyone is talking about going to Bhutan. The country is receiving more Singaporean tourists for the past year than it did in the past 5 years! It's all Tony's and Carina's fault for having their wedding party there and made this little Kingdom known to the whole Asia. (If you don't know who Tony or Carina is, go google about them :p..)
Why is it expensive to visit Bhutan?
To fly into Bhutan, you can only do so by Druk Air (Bhutanese Airline), which currently has 2 small jets that fly in from Bangkok, Kathmandu and a few cities in India. Not necessarily daily flights and limited seats make getting in and out of Bhutan difficult and expensive.
The government imposes a law that every tourist has to spend a minimum of USD200/ day while in Bhutan. This includes the govt tax of USD65, accommodation, transport and 3 meals which will be arranged by the travel agent you booked your tour with. So, depending on how kind your local tour operator is, you may or may not get the better hotel stay and food.
Where is Bhutan?
As you can see, the Kingdom is surrounded by Tibet on top, which is part of China and India on the other 3 sides. You can find many Tibetans and Indians in the country. Bhutan's younger generation actually goes to Indian Universities after their Secondary School education to obtain their degrees resulting in Hindi becoming a common language in Bhutan besides their local language, Dzongkha(pronounce as Zong-ka)Bhutan is 2 hours behind Singapore, GMT +6.
If you have 5 days or less, you can just visit Paro, Thimphu (Capital), Punakha
If you have 7 to 10 days, you can visit Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Wangdue, Throngsa and Bumthang. As you travel further east away from Paro, the place gets prettier, the people are friendlier and the weather is colder. (Altitude in Bhutan is from 4000 to 13000 ft)
Arrival at Paro International Airport,
the only airport in Bhutan as on Apr 09
The People
Bhutan has a population of 635,000. Being an entire Buddhist country, they don't kill cows, chickens, sheeps or Yaks. You can't find fresh meats here as all meats in the country is imported from India.
Bhutanese are friendly and happy to have pictures of them taken without asking for any tokens in return. My tip is to share with them by letting them view their picture on your digital cam's LCD screen and that is enough to make them very happy. Most locals are poor and a digital camera is not a common possession like in Singapore.
Dzong (pronounce as Zong), or a Buddhist Temple
Thursday, April 9, 2009
一切完美2 The Perfect Cut 2 - 清迈 ChiangMai Part 1
狗仔队发现了谢韵仪和她的“神秘“新男友!?
Spotted by the Paparazzi! Michelle and her "mysterious" new boyfriend!?
抵达时,第一眼看似简陋的住宿颇令我们“吃惊”。。。
A slight shock at night when we checked into our "hotel" on our arrival...
但是一早起来,当我们看见了在晨光的古雅小屋,“惊”变成了美好的“惊奇”。
which turned into a beautiful surprise when we saw the quaint little hut in the morning light..
往拍摄地点的途中,这个逗人喜爱的小女孩吸引了我的目光…
On our way to location for filming, this cute little girl caught my eye...
正在准备第一场戏。 (照片是韵仪用我的CANON拍摄的)
Me in "deep concentration" preparing for my scene. (photo courtesy of Michelle Chia with my Canon)
第一天收工了! 可以穿着昨天刚买的泰裤去“探险”了!
YAY! End of the "work" day, time to go roaming in my newly bought "Thai pants"!
All photos taken with my trusty CANON SX1.
待续...to be continued..